Kontusz

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Stanisław Antoni Szczuka in a representative national Polish outfit. A red kontusz tied with a pas kontuszowy. Underneath a żupan with a low collar. Left hand holds a fur cap with a low band. Characteristic hair and moustache. A portrait by an unknown artist. Wilanów

Kontusz (pronounce /'kɔntuʃ/) is a type of outer garment worn by the Polish and Lithuanian male nobility (szlachta). It became popular in the 16th century and came to the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth via Hungary from Turkey. In the 17th century, worn over an inner garment (żupan), the kontusz became the most notable element of male Polish national attire.

A szlachcic - nobleman in a Polish national outfit: a red kontusz and a blue żupan, tied with yellow pas kontuszowy. Satiric painting by Jan Piotr Norblin.

The kontusz was a long robe, usually reaching to below the knees, with a set of decorative buttons down the front. The sleeves were long and loose, on hot days worn untied, thrown on the back. In winter a fur lining could be attached to the kontusz, or a delia worn over it. The kontusz was usually of a vivid colour, and the lining had to be of a contrasting hue. The kontusz was tied with a long, wide belt called a pas kontuszowy.

The kontusz was more of a decorative then useful garment. Tradition sais that first kontusze were worn by szlachta who captured them on Ottomans to display as loot.

Throwning kontusz sleeves on one's back and stroking one's mustache was considered to be a signal of readiness for a fight.

In 1776, Sejm deputies from different voivodeships of Poland were obliged to wear different coloured żupans and kontuszes denoting their voivodeships.

Unlike żupan, kontusz was worn only by the nobility.