Ostrogski

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Ostrogski was one of the greatest princely families of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania.

They were most likely of Rurikid stock and descended from Sviatopolk II of Kiev. Their dominions in Volynia, Halychyna, and Podolia included 24 towns, 10 townlets, and more than 100 villages. The most important of these were the cities of Ostrog, Korec, and Zaslaw. In 1386, Prince Feodor Danilovich Ostrozhsky received from king Jagiello a charter that confirmed him in possession of the Ostrog castle[1] and neighbourhood.

The most notable among his descendants was Prince Konstanty Ostrogski, who defeated Muscovy 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 Eastern Orthodoxy for Roman Catholicism despite the cultural pressure that led to Polonization of Ruthenian nobility. For several generations the Ostrogskis supported the religion of their forefathers, by opening schools, printing books in Ruthenian language and giving generously to the Orthodox churches' construction.

The last member of the family was Anna Alojza Ostrogska (1600-54), married to Grand Hetman Jan Karol Chodkiewicz. When a junior line of the family (princes Zaslawski) went extinct in 1656, their huge possessions passed to the Lubomirski and other families of Polish szlachta. A complicated litigation concerning Ostrogski inheritance continued until Russian Empire conquered Poland during Partitions.