Jerzy Ossoliński

Jerzy Ossoliński
Coat of arms	Topór
Spouse(s)	Izabella Daniłowicz
Issue
Franciszek Ossoliński Urszula Brygida Ossolińska Helena Tekla Ossolińska Anna Teresa Ossolińska
Noble family	Ossoliński
Father	Jan Zbigniew Ossoliński
Mother	Anna Firlej
Born	December 15, 1595(1595-12-15) Sandomierz, Poland
Died	August 9, 1650(1650-08-09) (aged 54) Warsaw, Poland

Ossoliński Palace (left) and Kazanowski Palace (right) in Warsaw. They were both plundered and burned down by Swedes and Germans of Brandenburg in 1650s.

Prince Jerzy Ossoliński (1595–1650) was a Polish szlachcic, Crown Court Treasurer from 1632, voivode of Sandomierz from 1636, Reichsfürst (Imperial Prince) since 1634, Crown Deputy Chancellor from 1639, Great Crown Chancellor from 1643, starost of Bydgoszcz (1633), Lubomel (1639), Puck and Bolim (1647), magnate, politician and diplomat. Famous for being extensively educated, skillful politician and speaker.

Biography

He was sent with diplomatic missions to the Pope in Rome in 1633. He negotiated with Brandenburgians of Duchy of Prussia in 1635 and led another diplomatic mission to Emperor Ferdinand II and his parliament in Regensburg (Polish Ratyzbona) in 1636. As a leader of the pro-Habsburg faction at the royal court, he found an ally in the second wife of Władysław IV Waza, Cecilia Renata of Austria, daughter of Ferdinand II. In 1639 and 1641 he once again negotiated with envoys from the Duchy of Prussia. A Catholic, he opposed Protestants and advocated limiting their rights and privileges. In his pro-Habsburg and anti-Protestant stance he was allied with Chancellor Albrycht Stanisław Radziwiłł and Queen Cecilia Renata, first wife of Władysław.

Topór coat of arms.

In 1643 he was appointed Chancellor of the Crown. He often supported king Władysław IV Waza from the House of Vasa, arguing for increasing monarch power, although he was known for limiting and withdrawing his support if he knew it was impossible to win. Nonetheless he was among the few who supported Władysław plans in late 1640s to wage an offensive war on the Ottoman Empire. He had few friends among the lesser szlachta, whom he mostly disliked and treated the Sejm and regional sejmiks as a 'necessary evil', although he rarely broke any laws.

From 1644 he switched his alignment from pro-Habsburg to pro-French and supported the second marriage of King Władysław with Ludwika Maria Gonzaga. During his life he became the enemy of Adam Kazanowski and Jeremi Wiśniowiecki, whose power diminished with the marriage between Władysław and Cecylia in 1637. Rival of bishop and chancellor Piotr Gembicki, whom he eventually forced to retire from politics in 1642, receiving his position of Great Crown Chancellor.

He was not the wealthiest of magnates, his possessions were fairy small - compared to those of Radziwiłłs or Wiśniowieckis, but almost none of them were mortgaged or loaned. In 1635 he funded the expansion of his family castle in Ossolin. Between 1639-1642 he funded the palace in the capital city of Warsaw.

After the death of Władysław IV in 1648 he supported the election of his half brother John Casimir and was instrumental in his election.

Ossoliński also was in favour of treaties with the Cossacks, he took part in the negotiations and was an important contributor to the Treaty of Zborów in 1649.

He was a well regarded speaker and orator (he served twice as the Speaker of the Sejm in 1631 and 1635). He was also an author of:

• Orationess... (1647)
• Mercurius Sarmatiae (1716)
• Pamiętnik (en. The Diary) 1595-1621 (1952)

He also wrote the diaries of the embassy to Germany (published in 1877) and to Rome (1883).

Brother of Krzysztof Ossoliński (1587–1645), voivode of Sandomierz (1638), and Maksymilian Ossoliński (1588–1665), chorąży sandomierski (1624), Deputy Court Treasurer.

External links

• Ossolinski Gallery of Portraits

References

• Jacek Jędruch, Constitutions, Elections and Legislatures of Poland 1493-1993, Hippocrene Books, 1998, ISBN 0-7818-0637-2, p. 113

Persondata
Name	Ossolinski, Jerzy
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	1595
Place of birth	Sandomierz, Poland
Date of death	1650-08-09
Place of death	Warsaw, Poland