150px, Józef Kazimierz Kossakowski (1738–1794) 150px, Jan Nepomucen Kossakowski (1755–1808) 150px, Józef Dominik Kossakowski (1772–1842) Kossakowski () was a Polish-Lithuanian noble family originated from

Mazovia Mazovia or Masovia ( ) is a historical region in mid-north-eastern Poland. It spans the North European Plain, roughly between Łódź and Białystok, with Warsaw being the largest city and Płock being the capital of the region . Throughout the ...

. They were first mentioned in the 13th century and initially settled in

Ciechanów County Ciechanów County () is a unit of territorial administration and local government (powiat) in Masovian Voivodeship, east-central Poland. It came into being on January 1, 1999, as a result of the Polish local government reforms passed in 1998. Its a ...

, from where they branched out to the

Grand Duchy of Lithuania The Grand Duchy of Lithuania was a sovereign state in northeastern Europe that existed from the 13th century, succeeding the Kingdom of Lithuania, to the late 18th century, when the territory was suppressed during the 1795 Partitions of Poland, ...

Podolia Podolia or Podillia is a historic region in Eastern Europe located in the west-central and southwestern parts of Ukraine and northeastern Moldova (i.e. northern Transnistria). Podolia is bordered by the Dniester River and Boh River. It features ...

Volhynia Volhynia or Volynia ( ; see #Names and etymology, below) is a historic region in Central and Eastern Europe, between southeastern Poland, southwestern Belarus, and northwestern Ukraine. The borders of the region are not clearly defined, but in ...

, and

Livonia Livonia, known in earlier records as Livland, is a historical region on the eastern shores of the Baltic Sea. It is named after the Livonians, who lived on the shores of present-day Latvia. By the end of the 13th century, the name was extende ...

History

Legendary origins

According to family legend, the Kossakowski family traced their origins back to a

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of Roman civilization *Epistle to the Romans, shortened to Romans, a letter w ...

soldier named Valerius, who, during one of his battles, had a raven land on his helmet and assist him in combat. Hence his nickname, ''Corvus'' (the raven). His descendants were said to have arrived in Poland via

Hungary Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia and ...

. Kazimierz Stanisław Kossakowski (1837–1905), the family historian, identified Gopta Primus Gothorum Heros, who lived around the year 440, as the progenitor of the family. Valerius, according to him, was believed to be his descendant.

Origins in Mazovia

The Kossakowski family was first recorded in the 13th century in the Ciechanów Land. In 1224,

Konrad I of Masovia Konrad I of Masovia (ca. 1187/88 – 31 August 1247), from the Polish Piast dynasty, was the sixth Duke of Masovia and Kuyavia from 1194 until his death as well as High Duke of Poland from 1229 to 1232 and again from 1241 to 1243. Life Konrad w ...

granted land to one of his army commanders, Wawrzęta/Wawrzyniec Korwin. In the 14th and 15th centuries, the Kossakowski family appeared in the

Łomża Land Łomża Land (Polish: ''ziemia łomżyńska''), named after the town of Łomża, was an administrative unit (ziemia) of the Duchy of Masovia, and after Kingdom of Poland and the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. It was part of Masovian Voivodeship ...

, where they established several noble villages named Kossaki. The family gained particular prominence through the sons of Mroczek of Kossaki, Mikołaj Jakub and Stanisław Wojciech, who held official positions in the

Wizna Land Wizna Land (Polish: ''ziemia wiska''), named after the town of Wizna, was an administrative unit (ziemia) of the Duchy of Mazovia, Kingdom of Poland and the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. With its capital in Wizna, it belonged to Masovian Voivo ...

. They became the progenitors of the two most significant branches of the family.

Lithuanian branch

The great-grandsons of Mikołaj Jakub Kossakowski, Franciszek Nikodem and Mikołaj, were the first members of the family to attain the office of starosta, successively becoming starostas of Łomża. distinguished himself in the

Battle of Kircholm The Battle of Kircholm (; Polish: ''Bitwa pod Kircholmem''; Swedish: ''Slaget vid Kirkholm''; ) was one of the major battles in the Polish–Swedish War of 1600–1611. The battle was decided in 20 minutes by a devastating charge of Polish-Li ...

, and his son settled in the

, eventually becoming the castellan of Mścisław. From him descends the Lithuanian magnate branch of the Kossakowski family. The heir to the Lithuanian estates of the family was Jan Eustachy's grandson, Dominik Kossakowski, the founder of the town of Jonava. He had four sons: Michał, who became the

voivode of Vitebsk Vitebsk Voivodeship (; ; ) was a unit of administrative division and local government in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania (from 1569 Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth) from the 15th century until the partitions of Poland in 1795. History Zygmunt Gl ...

and

Brasław Braslaw or Braslav (; ; Lithuanian: Breslauja; Polish: Brasław) is a town in Vitebsk Region, Belarus. It serves as the administrative center of Braslaw District. As of 2025, it has a population of 9,338. History The town was first mentione ...

; Szymon Marcin, the

Grand Hetman of Lithuania Grand may refer to: People with the name * Grand (surname) * Grand L. Bush (born 1955), American actor Places * Grand, Oklahoma, USA * Grand, Vosges, village and commune in France with Gallo-Roman amphitheatre * Grand County (disambiguation), s ...

; Józef Kazimierz, the

bishop of Livonia The Diocese of Livonia, later Roman Catholic Diocese of Inflanty was a territorial division of the Roman Catholic Church established in 1186 as the Diocese of Üxküll and promoted as Metropolitan Archdiocese of Riga in 1255. Re-established afte ...

; and Antoni, castellan of Livonia. Szymon Marcin and Józef Kazimierz were sentenced to death and executed for treason against the fatherland. Antoni established a branch of the family in , and Michał in . At the end of the 18th century, Michał Kossakowski received for the family the title of count, granted by the imperial court in Vienna. The line in Vaitkuškės maintained a high aristocratic status within the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...

. Successive heirs, Józef Kossakowski and Stanisław Szczęsny Kossakowski, each left only one son, which helped preserve the estate from significant diminishment. The son of the latter, the heraldist Stanisław Kazimierz Kossakowski, divided the estate among his three sons; however, it was largely lost due to confiscations following

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

Coat of arms

Coat of arms of the Kossakowski family was Ślepowron.

Notable members

Jan Nepomucen Kossakowski Jan, JaN or JAN may refer to: Acronyms * Jackson, Mississippi (Amtrak station), US, Amtrak station code JAN * Jackson-Evers International Airport, Mississippi, US, IATA code * Jabhat al-Nusra (JaN), a Syrian militant group * Japanese Article Numbe ...

(1755–1808), bishop of

and later of

Vilnius Vilnius ( , ) is the capital of and List of cities in Lithuania#Cities, largest city in Lithuania and the List of cities in the Baltic states by population, most-populous city in the Baltic states. The city's estimated January 2025 population w ...

* Józef Dominik Kossakowski (1771–1840), colonel, member of the

Targowica Confederation The Targowica Confederation (, , ) was a confederation established by Polish and Lithuanian magnates on 27 April 1792, in Saint Petersburg, with the backing of the Russian Empress Catherine II. The confederation opposed the Constitution of 3 May ...

, son-in-law of

Stanisław Szczęsny Potocki Count Stanisław Szczęsny Feliks Potocki (; 1751–1805), of the Piława coat of arms, known as Szczęsny PotockiE. Rostworowski, Potocki Stanisław Szczęsny (Feliks) herbu Pilawa, n:Polski Słownik Biograficzny, t. XXVIII, Wrocław–Wars ...

* Józef Kossakowski (1772–1842), general of French army, aide-de-camp of

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led Military career ...

* Józef Kazimierz Kossakowski (1738–1794), bishop of Inflanty, a member of the Targowica Confederation *

Szymon Marcin Kossakowski Szymon Marcin Kossakowski (; 1741 in Šilai, Jonava – 1794) was a Polish–Lithuanian nobleman (szlachcic), and one of the leaders of the Targowica Confederation. In 1793, he became the last Grand Hetman of Lithuania. Biography He participat ...

(1741–1794) one of the leaders of the Targowica Confederation and the last

. *

Michał Kossakowski Michał () is a Polish and Sorbian form of Michael and may refer to: * Michał Bajor (born 1957), Polish actor and musician * Michał Chylinski (born 1986), Polish basketball player * Michał Drzymała (1857–1937), Polish rebel * Michał Helle ...

(1733–1798) – voivode of Witebsk and

Bracław Voivodeship The Bracław Voivodeship (; ; , ''Braclavśke vojevodstvo'') was a unit of administrative division of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. Created in 1566 as part of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, it was passed to the Crown of the Kingdom of Pola ...

Antoni Kossakowski Antoni is a Catalan, Polish, and Slovene given name and a surname used in the eastern part of Spain, Poland and Slovenia. As a Catalan given name it is a variant of the male names Anton and Antonio. As a Polish given name it is a variant of the f ...

(1735–1798) – castelan in

* Jakub Kossakowski (1752–1784) –

podstoli Deputy pantler ( Lithuanian: pastalininkis, Polish: podstoli) was a court office in Poland and Lithuania. They were the deputy of a pantler, and was responsible for the King's and Grand Duke's pantry. From the 14th century, this was an honorary c ...

Kaunas Kaunas (; ) is the second-largest city in Lithuania after Vilnius, the fourth largest List of cities in the Baltic states by population, city in the Baltic States and an important centre of Lithuanian economic, academic, and cultural life. Kaun ...

(1755–1808) – bishop of Inflanty and

* Adam Kossakowski (1756–1828) – auxiliary bishop of Livonia and Vilnius,

Jesuit The Society of Jesus (; abbreviation: S.J. or SJ), also known as the Jesuit Order or the Jesuits ( ; ), is a religious order (Catholic), religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rom ...

* Stanisław Kazimierz Kossakowski (1837–1905) – heraldist and photographer

Palaces

File:Kossakowskich.jpg, Kossakowski Palace in

Warsaw Warsaw, officially the Capital City of Warsaw, is the capital and List of cities and towns in Poland, largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the Vistula, River Vistula in east-central Poland. Its population is officially estimated at ...

File:Palace of Kasakovskiai, Vaitkuškis 19th c..jpg, Kossakowski palace in Vaitkuškis

References

Notes

Bibliography

* * {{poland-noble-stub