Ignacy Wyssogota Zakrzewski (1745–1802) was a notable
Polish nobleman
Nobility is a social class found in many societies that have an aristocracy. It is normally appointed by and ranked immediately below royalty. Nobility has often been an estate of the realm with many exclusive functions and characteristics. T ...
, politician, art collector, Freemason, and the
Mayor of Warsaw
The Mayor of Warsaw (officially in ) is the head of the executive of the capital of Poland elected directly during local elections for a term of five years.
Overview
The first city mayor of Warsaw was Jan Andrzej Menich (1695–1696). Th ...
during the last years of the
Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth
The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, also referred to as Poland–Lithuania or the First Polish Republic (), was a federation, federative real union between the Crown of the Kingdom of Poland, Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania ...
, in 1792 and 1794.
Biography
Ignacy Wyssogota Zakrzewski was born in
Stary Białcz (
Greater Poland Voivodeship
Greater Poland Voivodeship ( ) is a Voivodeships of Poland, voivodeship, or province, in west-central Poland. The province is named after the region called Greater Poland (''Wielkopolska'' ). The modern province includes most of this historic re ...
).
He was deputy of
Poznań
Poznań ( ) is a city on the Warta, River Warta in west Poland, within the Greater Poland region. The city is an important cultural and business center and one of Poland's most populous regions with many regional customs such as Saint John's ...
for the
Great Sejm
The Great Sejm, also known as the Four-Year Sejm (Polish language, Polish: ''Sejm Wielki'' or ''Sejm Czteroletni''; Lithuanian language, Lithuanian: ''Didysis seimas'' or ''Ketverių metų seimas'') was a Sejm of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwea ...
and one of the co-authors of the reforms of treasury passed by the
Sejm
The Sejm (), officially known as the Sejm of the Republic of Poland (), is the lower house of the bicameralism, bicameral parliament of Poland.
The Sejm has been the highest governing body of the Third Polish Republic since the Polish People' ...
during the
Constitution of 3 May. In 1791 he co-founded the Society of Friends of the Constitution, and was among the most notable supporters of the reforms passed by that act, along with
Hugo Kołłątaj and
Ignacy Potocki. In 1792 he became the
Mayor of Warsaw
The Mayor of Warsaw (officially in ) is the head of the executive of the capital of Poland elected directly during local elections for a term of five years.
Overview
The first city mayor of Warsaw was Jan Andrzej Menich (1695–1696). Th ...
, but was overthrown by the
confederation of Targowica. After the outbreak of the
Kościuszko's Insurrection and the
Warsaw Uprising of 1794 he again held that post. Simultaneously, he held a number of important government posts during the war with Russia, among them he headed the
Provisional Temporary Council and the
Supreme National Council. After that part of Poland, along with Warsaw, was finally annexed in the effect of the
Third Partition, he was arrested by the Russians and imprisoned in
St. Petersburg. Released from prison in 1796, he returned to Poland and spent the remainder of his life in a small manor in
Żelechów
Żelechów (Yiddish language, Yiddish זשעלעכאָוו) is a town in eastern Poland in Masovian Voivodeship in Garwolin County. It is the seat of Gmina Żelechów. Żelechów is from Warsaw and far from Lublin. More than 4000 people live in ...
. He died on 15 February 1802.
Remembrance
Ignacy Wyssogota Zakrzewski is one of the characters immortalized in
Jan Matejko
Jan Alojzy Matejko (; also known as Jan Mateyko; 24 June 1838 – 1 November 1893) was a Polish painter, a leading 19th-century exponent of history painting, known for depicting nodal events from Polish history. His works include large scale ...
's 1891 painting,
Constitution of 3 May 1791
The Constitution of 3 May 1791, titled the Government Act, was a written constitution for the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth that was adopted by the Great Sejm that met between 1788 and 1792. The Commonwealth was a dual monarchy comprising th ...
.
References
Sources
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Zakrzewski, Ignacy Wyssogota
1745 births
1802 deaths
People from Międzychód County
18th-century Polish nobility
Mayors of Warsaw
Kościuszko insurgents
Members of the Great Sejm
Recipients of the Order of the White Eagle (Poland)