The House of Ostrogski (; ; ) was one of the more prominent families in the

Kingdom of Poland The Kingdom of Poland (; Latin: ''Regnum Poloniae'') was a monarchy in Central Europe during the Middle Ages, medieval period from 1025 until 1385. Background The West Slavs, West Slavic tribe of Polans (western), Polans who lived in what i ...

, 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, ...

and in 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 ...

. The family spanned from the 14th century Ruthenian noble Daniil Ostrogski to the 17th century Polish members. After the death of

Janusz Ostrogski Prince Janusz Ostrogski () (1554 – 17 September 1620 in Tarnów) was a Polish-Lithuanian noble and statesman. He served as a voivode of Volhyn (1584-1593), as a castellan of Kraków (from 1593 on), and as a starosta of Bohuslav (from 1591), ...

, the last male heir, most of the family's possessions passed to the Zasławski family. The family played a crucial role in preserving the

Eastern Orthodoxy Eastern Orthodoxy, otherwise known as Eastern Orthodox Christianity or Byzantine Christianity, is one of the three main Branches of Christianity, branches of Chalcedonian Christianity, alongside Catholic Church, Catholicism and Protestantism ...

, particularly during the

Union of Brest The Union of Brest took place in 1595–1596 and represented an agreement by Eastern Orthodox Churches in the Ruthenian portions of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth to accept the Pope's authority while maintaining Eastern Orthodox liturgical ...

signing in 1595. Members contributed to printing books in

Church Slavonic Church Slavonic is the conservative Slavic liturgical language used by the Eastern Orthodox Church in Belarus, Bulgaria, North Macedonia, Montenegro, Poland, Russia, Ukraine, Serbia, the Czech Republic and Slovakia, Slovenia and Croatia. The ...

(Kyiv uthenianrecession) and supporting the Orthodox brotherhoods. By the 17th century almost all members turn to Catholicism and became fully associated with the Polish nation (

Polonization Polonization or Polonisation ()In Polish historiography, particularly pre-WWII (e.g., L. Wasilewski. As noted in Смалянчук А. Ф. (Smalyanchuk 2001) Паміж краёвасцю і нацыянальнай ідэяй. Польскі ...

). Many of their possessions were passed on or inherited by members of Sanguszko family.

History

The Ostrogski family was most likely of

Rurikid The Rurik dynasty, also known as the Rurikid or Riurikid dynasty, as well as simply Rurikids or Riurikids, was a noble lineage allegedly founded by the Varangian prince Rurik, who, according to tradition, established himself at Novgorod in the ...

stock and descended from Sviatopolk II of Kiev. Some scholars however claim that their descent is from the Galicia-Volhynia line of the Rurikid dynasty. Vasilko Romanovich (c.1256-1282), Prince of

Slonim Slonim is a town in Grodno Region, in western Belarus. It serves as the administrative center of Slonim District. It is located at the junction of the Shchara and Isa (river), Isa rivers, southeast of Grodno. As of 2025, it has a population of ...

, may have been the grandfather of Prince Daniel Ostrogski. The probable progenitor of this family was Prince Danylo Dmytrovych (''or Danylo Wasilijewicz''), who received Ostroh from

Liubartas Liubartas or Demetrius of Liubar (died ) was a Lithuanian prince from the Gediminid dynasty. He was the prince of Volhynia, and from 1320, he ruled over Lutsk, Liubar and Zhytomyr. Liubartas was also the last ruler of the Kingdom of Galicia–Vo ...

, son of

Grand Duke of Lithuania This is a list of Lithuanian monarchs who ruled Lithuania from its inception until the fall of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania in 1795. The Lithuanian monarch bore the title of Grand duke, Grand Duke, with the exception of Mindaugas, who was crown ...

Gediminas Gediminas ( – December 1341) was Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1315 or 1316 until his death in 1341. He is considered the founder of Lithuania's capital Vilnius (see: Iron Wolf legend). During his reign, he brought under his rule lands from t ...

. His son, Prince Feodor Danilovich Ostrogski, was a supporter of King Jagiello, who in 1386 confirmed him in possession of the Ostroh Castle and appointed

governor A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...

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 ...

in 1387. In addition to Ostrog Feodor Danilovich Ostrogski became owner of Korets, Zaslav (Izyaslav, in present

Khmelnytskyi Oblast Khmelnytskyi Oblast (), also known as Khmelnychchyna (), is an administrative divisions of Ukraine, oblast (province) in western Ukraine covering portions of the historical regions of western Podolia and southern Volhynia. The Capital (political) ...

, Ukraine), and other towns. In some chronicles Feodor is called ''Dux Fethko de Ostrog''.Jan Długosz ''Annales seu cronici incliti regni Poloniae'' in 1432 year Their dominions in Volynia, Galicia, and

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 ...

included 24 towns, 10 townlets, and more than 100 villages. The most notable among Feodor's descendants was Grand Hetman of Lithuania, Prince

Konstanty Ostrogski Konstanty Iwanowicz Ostrogski ( – 10 August 1530) was a Ruthenian prince and magnate of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. He later had the title of grand hetman of Lithuania from 11 September 1497 until his death in 1530. Career Ostrogski began ...

, who defeated

Muscovy Muscovy or Moscovia () is an alternative name for the Principality of Moscow (1263–1547) and the Tsardom of Russia (1547–1721). It may also refer to: *Muscovy Company, an English trading company chartered in 1555 *Muscovy duck (''Cairina mosch ...

in the Battle of Orsha (1514) and his son Konstanty Wasyl Ostrogski (or ''Konstantin Konstantinovich Ostrozhski''). Unlike other Ruthenian magnates, the Ostrogskis refused to give up

for

Roman Catholicism The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

despite the cultural pressure that led to

of Ruthenian

nobility 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 ...

. For several generations the Ostrogskis supported the religion of their forefathers, by opening schools, printing books in

Ruthenian language Ruthenian (see also #Nomenclature, other names) is an exonymic linguonym for a closely related group of East Slavic languages, East Slavic linguistic Variety (linguistics), varieties, particularly those spoken from the 15th to 18th centuries in ...

with

Cyrillic The Cyrillic script ( ) is a writing system used for various languages across Eurasia. It is the designated national script in various Slavic, Turkic, Mongolic, Uralic, Caucasian and Iranic-speaking countries in Southeastern Europe, Ea ...

such as " Ostrog Bible" (written by Ivan Fedorov) and making a generous charitable contributions to the construction of the Orthodox churches in the region. The last male member of the family was

(d. 1620); the last female was Anna Alojza Ostrogska (1600–54), married to Grand Hetman

Jan Karol Chodkiewicz Jan Karol Chodkiewicz (; 1561 – 24 September 1621) was a Polish–Lithuanian identity, Polish–Lithuanian military commander of the Grand Ducal Lithuanian Army, who was from 1601 Field Hetman of Lithuania, and from 1605 Grand Hetman of Lit ...

. When a junior line of the family (princes Zasławski or Zasławski-Ostrogowski) which inherited the Ostrogoski fortune became extinct in 1682 (with the death of

Aleksander Janusz Zasławski Prince Aleksander Janusz Zasławski-Ostrogski (1650–1682) was the last male representative of the Ostrogski princely line. He was the 4th ordynat of the Ordynacja Ostrogska, Ostrogski Family Fee Tail. Biography Son of Prince Władysław Dominik ...

), their huge possessions passed to the

Lubomirski The House of Lubomirski is a Princely Houses of Poland, Polish princely family. The Lubomirski family's coat of arms is the Drużyna coat of arms, which is similar to the Szreniawa coat of arms but without a cross. Origin and the coat ...

family (due to their marriage with Aleksander sister, Teofilia Ludwika Zasławska) and other families of Polish

szlachta The ''szlachta'' (; ; ) were the nobility, noble estate of the realm in the Kingdom of Poland, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, and the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. Depending on the definition, they were either a warrior "caste" or a social ...

. A complicated litigation concerning the Ostrogski inheritance continued until 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 ...

annexed Poland during the Partitions.

Notable family members

* Daniil Ostrogski (? - after 1366), ancestor of the Ostrogski house. * Feodor Ostrogski (1360–1446), governor of

. *

(1460–1530) - Hetman of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. * Ilia Ostrogski (1510–1539), Braclaw starost * Elizaveta Ostrogska (1539–1582) * Konstanty Wasyl Ostrogski (1526–1608), marshal of Volhynia and

voivode Voivode ( ), also spelled voivod, voievod or voevod and also known as vaivode ( ), voivoda, vojvoda, vaivada or wojewoda, is a title denoting a military leader or warlord in Central, Southeastern and Eastern Europe in use since the Early Mid ...

of the Kiev Voivodeship. *

(1554–1620), Voivode of Volhynian Voivodship and

castellan A castellan, or constable, was the governor of a castle in medieval Europe. Its surrounding territory was referred to as the castellany. The word stems from . A castellan was almost always male, but could occasionally be female, as when, in 1 ...

of Kraków. * Aleksander Ostrogski (1571–1603), Voivode of the Volhynian Voivodship. * Aleksander Janusz Zasławski-Ostrogski (c.1650 - 1682), Last of Dukes Ostrogski-Zasławski. * Władysław Dominik Zasławski-Ostrogski (c.1616-1656), Voivode of Sandomierz Voivodship. *

Zofia Ostrogska Princess Zofia Ostrogska (; 1595–1622) was a Polish–Lithuanian noblewoman of Ruthenian origin, known as the heiress of one of the greatest fortunes in Poland. She was the wealthiest woman in Poland. She married Stanisław Lubomirski in 16 ...

(1595–1662), married Stanisław Lubomirski. * Anna Alojza Ostrogska (1600–1654), married

. * Katarzyna Ostrogska (1602–1642), married Tomasz Zamoyski. * Teofilia Ludwika Zasławska (1650–1709), married Dymitr Jerzy Wiśniowiecki, then Józef Karol Lubomirski * Katarzyna Ostrogska (1560–1579), married Krzysztof Mikołaj "the Thunderbolt" Radziwiłł

Family tree

References

External links

Ostrozki
at the

Encyclopedia of Ukraine The ''Encyclopedia of Ukraine'' (), published from 1984 to 2001, is a fundamental work of Ukrainian Studies. Development The work was created under the auspices of the Shevchenko Scientific Society in Europe (Sarcelles, near Paris). As the ...

Ostrogski Dynasty
* *

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ostrogski Family

History

Notable family members

Family tree

See also

References

External links