Ledóchowski

Ledóchowski (plural: Ledóchowscy) is the name of a Polish and Austrian noble family whose origins can be traced back to the Volhynian Voivodship. Because Polish adjectives have different forms for the genders, Ledóchowska is the form for a female family member. Members of the family have over the centuries distinguished themselves through services to the Catholic Church, the Austrian Crown as well as the Polish Crown.

History

The Ledóchowski family is of Polish as well as Austrian aristocratic family. Their lineage begins in 1457 in the Volhynian Voivodeship of the Commonwealth of the Crown of the Polish Kingdom, where the boyar knight Nestor Halka took the name of his estate, Ledochow, as his own. It is said that the boyar dynastic family Halka family draw their origins to the times of the Kievan Rus in 971[1] As direct descendants of these boyar knights, members of the Ledóchowski family bear the same Coat of Arms with the name Szalawa (Herb Szalawa). Their descendance from the Halka Family was further reflected by the official Austrian title of Halka von Ledóchow Count Ledóchowski.[2] The family was Orthodox until the 17th century.

After the partition of Poland in the late 18th century, the country was carved up between Austria, Germany and Russia. Antoni Halka von Ledóchow Count Ledóchowski (1755–1835), also known simply as Count Antoni Halka-Ledóchowski, obtained the hereditary title of Count in Austria from Emperor Francis II on 8 May 1800. The title was confirmed in the Kingdom of Poland in 1824, and in Russia on 18 May 1845.

Members of this family have distinguished themselves with their services to the:

Historical Museum of Warsaw

Ledóchowski Family Exhibition at the Historical Museum Warsaw in 2008

The Historical Museum of Warsaw[3] sponsored a temporary exhibition of the Ledóchowski family in October 2008. The Patrons of the Exhibition include Austrian President Heinz Fischer and President of Poland Lech Kaczyński. Historical Documents and Portraits were lent on a temporary basis to the museum by family members living in Europe.[4]

Present day

Members of the noble family Ledochowski currently live and flourish in Austria, Poland and the United Kingdom. There are however other thriving families carrying this name or variations thereof who are not related to this noble family. It's worth noting that peasant families who were somehow associated with the townships of Ledochow or Leduchowka (present day Ukraine) may have ended up with this surname.[5]

Notable members of the Ledóchowski family

References

  1. ↑ Halka-Ledóchowski, Sigismund, p. 264
  2. ↑ Gothaisches Genealogisches Taschenbuch der Gräflichen Häuser; 1840.
  3. ↑ Historical Museum of Warsaw website
  4. ↑ Official Summary of Exhibition
  5. ↑ William Hoffman.
  6. ↑ Pyotr Krasnov (see Sources below).
  7. ↑ Die Kapuzinergruft (see Sources below).
  8. ↑ Der Radetzkymarsch (see Sources below).
  9. ↑ The Jesuit (see Sources below).

Sources

Further reading

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