Clan of Ostoja

Chased by a group Teutonic Knights, he had succeeded in crossing a river on horse despite being clad in full armor, and then raised his voice so the Lord would hear him and said "Ostałem" which means "I still stay" from which comes the name of Ostoja.

According to Tadeusz Manteuffel and Andrew Gorecki[27] the Clan consisted of people related by blood and descending from a common ancestor in early medieval time.

The original nests of the Ostoja family were situated in Lesser Poland and the Clan expanded north to Kujawy and Pomerania during the formation of the Polish state.

The expansion of the Clan went both east, south and north, in the beginning of the 15th century Ostoja families also owned land in Pomerania, Prussia, Lithuania (including what is now Belarus), Ukraine, Moravia, Croatia, Transylvania, Upper Hungary and Germany.

As Jan z Jani lead Prussian confederation together with Mikołaj Szarlejski followed by excellent diplomatic work of Stibor de Poniec, the Clan was ruling in Pomerania, Kujavia and partly Greater Poland.

He later became Holy Roman Emperor, King of Germany, Bohemia, Hungary (including present-day Slovakia, Balkan states, Romanian and Bulgarian lands), Italian republics and Prince of Luxembourg.

In 1412 Stibor was meeting with Zawisza Czarny (The Black Knight) in his Castle of Stará Ľubovňa in Slovakia, preparing the negotiation between Sigismund and Polish King Vladislav Jogaila, which ended with the Treaty of Lubowla.

In the end, it was the Clan of Ostoja that was the leading force in breaking down Teutonic side, they did it not only by using fine art of sword but also with outstanding diplomatic skills.

[57][58][59][60][61] Altogether, Stibor of Stiboricz was – together with his son - Ispán of several counties, Prince of Galizia, Duke of Transylvania, owner of over 300 villages, towns which in total was about half of western Slovakia of today.

He was governor of Archdiocese of Esztergom, Diocese of Eger, Master of Hungarian Court, closest friend and adviser to the Holy Roman Emperor Sigismund.

It was written 4 August 1431 and the difference in the testament from his father's wish told that in case Stibor of Beckov did not have a son, all the properties that he personally owned would pass to his daughter Katarina.

If the marriage of Kararina and Duke Przemyslaus II did not result in any heir, all the properties would go back to the close family of Scibor of Beckov, as in the testament of his father.

As Albert II would be the successor on the Hungarian throne and the Clan of Ostoja would hold the position in Upper Hungary and south of Poland together with the Piast dynasty, the focus could then be to stop Ottoman Empire to expand more in west direction.

This Castle was made to be one of the most significant residences of that time, including great paintings, sculptures and chapel that was formed by artist from many different countries.

[73] Unfortunately, Stibor de Beckov died suddenly in battle against Hussite forces soon after the agreement between Emperor Sigismund, Albert II of Germany and the Piast dynasty had been made.

In this situation and because Katarina did not marry her Prince of Piast, Emperor Sigismund gave orders to the Hungarian Court to cancel the testament of Stibor of Beckov.

Following the death of Albert II of Germany in 1439 when defending Hungary against Turks, Mikołaj Szarlejski recognized opportunity to regain the land of his family and the Clan in Slovakia.

Using the money from Gdańsk, Stibor de Poniec was able to persuade the mercenaries to leave the stronghold and he took control of Malbork without battle; King Casimir IV Jagiellon entered the castle in 1457.

Both sides had equal forces and before Albert II of Germany become king of Hungary, Stibor of Stiboricz successfully challenge Austria, burning down the country to the ground except for Vienna that he left alone.

The list of those Magnates during the days of the Commonwealth include following families:[93][94] Princely Houses: Radziwill, Sapieha, Wisniowiecki, Lubomirski, Czartoryski, Ostrogski, Sanguszko.

[97] According to the Etymological Dictionary of the Polish Language, "a proper magnate should be able to trace noble ancestors back for many generations and own at least 20 villages or estates.

In the second half of the century, they clearly turned into military commanders and supporters of the resistance, leading Confederations and armies against foreign forces and specially against Russia.

He opened his own printing house, where different decrees (like "agreement between the Lord and the peasants"), directions, resolutions and even sermons, later delivered by him in Orthodox and Roman Catholic churches.

of King Poniatowski became supreme commander of Sandomierz uprising initiated by Kościuszko and Karol Podgorski escaped the Russian side by joining the Prussian army where he became General Major.

For example, according to Norman Davis, the consequences of the January Uprising in 1863 in the Russian part of the former Commonwealth included deportation of 80,000 people to Siberia and other working camps.

He worked with astronomy, made sculptures, painted and was also interested in several different fields including optics, physics, electricity and magnetism, history, archaeology, chemistry, botany, and zoology.

[115] Kacper Kotkowski (1814–1875) was Catholic priest, head and commissar of the Sandomierz uprising[116] while Stanisław Błociszewski received the Order of Virtuti Militari for his patriotic fight as an officer against Russian forces.

In Russia, Andrzej Miklaszewski was Actual State Councillor (e.g., Marshall and General - Table of Ranks) and in his position being able to help many families, saving them from exile in Siberia.

Tadeusz Ostaszewski (1918–2003) was professor of fine arts in University of Kraków, Adam Kozłowiecki (1911–2007) was Archbishop of the Archdiocese of Lusaka in Zambia, Andrzej Zagórski (1926–2007) was devoted officer of Armia Krajowa that wrote over 250 publications about Polish underground resistance and Kazimierz Tumiłowicz (1932–2008) was creator of Siberian association of remembrance and social worker in Greater Poland.

Criteria used: published in Polish, German, Hungarian, Slovakian, Lithuanian Encyclopedia as well as in Ukraine and Belarus, listed in publications, articles and documentary films.