Stanisław Lubomirski (1583–1649) – the founder of the Discalced Carmelites monastery in Nowy Wiśnicz

Abstract

Stanisław Lubomirski of the coat of arms of Fellowship or Śreniawa without a cross died in 1649. He was the founder of the Discalced (Barefoot) Carmelite Monastery in Nowy Wiśnicz. Lubomirski was the son of Sebastian, the castellan of Małogoszcz and Anna Branicka from Ruszcza. He was born in 1583, later studied at Jesuit College in Munich and at the University of Padua (1600), then travelled widely over France and the Netherlands. In 1613 he married princess Zofia Ostrogska (died in 1622) who gave birth to his 5 children, three sons and 2 daughters. The victory at the battle of Chocim brought him a significant recognition and fame. He received honours and state functions: the royal cup bearer and a deputy of the grand hetman of Lithuania Jan Karol Chodkiewicz in 1620; a Ruthenian voivode in 1628 and then a voivode of Kraków in 1638. The king gave him 7 starosties (royal lands). Lubomirski was an outstanding representative of the contemporary generation as well as of a new breed of political activists. Thanks to his connections with the court, warfare and business skills, he became one of the most important and influential figures in Poland of that time – so important that he became independent of the king. Although he was hot tempered, highly ambitious and utterly arrogant, Lubomirski showed a lot of care for his country as well as other people, especially those who were close to him. He could be really kind and benevolent to them. Such attitude bound the poorer nobility who were escaping from declassing with the Lubomirski’s family, increasing its future significance. Thus this Śreniawa took under his wings a considerable number of noblemen seeking his care. It mustn’t be forgotten that not only did he create a splendid court and the mightiest stronghold in the country as well as the milieu, where he charmed with eastern splendour and lordly extravagance, but above all he was a distinguished and generous patron. Taking it all into consideration, Lubomirski can be regarded not only as an outstanding figure in the history of Poland of the first half of the 17th century but also as a role model of a Polish parliamentarian and senator. Nowy Wiśnicz, accordingly, with its presently non-existent monastery, is nowe not only a provincial town but also a place where a piece of great Polish history found its place and commemoration. The town is therefore a meaningful example of links between ‘a small homeland’ and a ‘bigger homeland’, the links of a small town with the life of the whole country and a nation at the times of its glory and inconceivable suffering.