Anna Woynarowska (died after 1742), was a Ukrainian noble. She was one of the greatest and most powerful of the private

creditor A creditor or lender is a party (e.g., person, organization, company, or government) that has a claim on the services of a second party. It is a person or institution to whom money is owed. The first party, in general, has provided some property ...

s of

Charles XII of Sweden Charles XII, sometimes Carl XII ( sv, Karl XII) or Carolus Rex (17 June 1682 – 30 November 1718 O.S.), was King of Sweden (including current Finland) from 1697 to 1718. He belonged to the House of Palatinate-Zweibrücken, a branch line of t ...

during the

Great Northern War The Great Northern War (1700–1721) was a conflict in which a coalition led by the Tsardom of Russia successfully contested the supremacy of the Swedish Empire in Northern, Central and Eastern Europe. The initial leaders of the anti-Swedi ...

, and her claim on the Swedish state dragged on for years after the end of the war. In Sweden, she became known simply as "The Polish Countess".

Life

Anna Woynarowska was the daughter of the Cossack colonel Ivan Mirovich (d. 1706) and a member of the Mirowicz family of the Ukraine. She married Andrei Stanislaus Woynarowski (1680-1740), a nephew of

Ivan Mazepa Ivan Stepanovych Mazepa (also spelled Mazeppa; uk, Іван Степанович Мазепа, pl, Jan Mazepa Kołodyński; ) was a Ukrainian military, political, and civic leader who served as the Hetman of Zaporizhian Host in 1687–1708. ...

and a colonel of the Ukrainian

Cossacks The Cossacks , es, cosaco , et, Kasakad, cazacii , fi, Kasakat, cazacii , french: cosaques , hu, kozákok, cazacii , it, cosacchi , orv, коза́ки, pl, Kozacy , pt, cossacos , ro, cazaci , russian: казаки́ or ...

, with whom she had the daughter Carolina Eleonora and the son Stanislaus. The Cossacks of Mazepa was allied to Charles XII of Sweden against Russia, and Mazepa had, further more, given Charles XII a considerable loan, likely from the Cossack war fund. When Ivan Mazepa died in 1709, the debt note of a half a million ''

riksdaler The svenska riksdaler () was the name of a Swedish coin first minted in 1604. Between 1777 and 1873, it was the currency of Sweden. The daler, like the dollar,''National Geographic''. June 2002. p. 1. ''Ask Us''. was named after the German Thaler. ...

'' which Charles XII owed to Mazepa was inherited by his nephew, Andrei Stanislaus Woynarowski. When Andrei Stanislaus Woynarowski was taken prisoner by the Russians in 1716 and sent to Siberia, where he eventually died in captivity, he authorized Anna Woynarowska (then residing in Breslau with their children) to act as his proxy and demand payment of the debt from the Swedish king. Charles XII acknowledged the debt note as legitimate but did not pay it, and after his death in 1718, Anna Woynarowska traveled to the Swedish capital of Stockholm to demand payment from the

Riksdag of the Estates Riksdag of the Estates ( sv, Riksens ständer; informally sv, Ståndsriksdagen) was the name used for the Estates of Sweden when they were assembled. Until its dissolution in 1866, the institution was the highest authority in Sweden next to t ...

. Woynarowska was but one of a very large crowd of the creditors of Charles XII demanding payment for financing the Great Northern War - it is mentioned that numerous of them arrived as late as 1731 and that their demands put a great pressure on state finances for years after the end of the war. The debt to Anna Woynarowska was however one of the largest and she became one of the most well known of these creditors. A debt of half a million was impossible for the Swedish crown to pay in the financial state after the war, and Anna Woynarowska was provided with a state allowance until the debt could be paid in full. In Sweden, Anna Woynarowska became known as "The Polish Countess" and the proceedings and negotiations between her and the Swedish state around the debt dragged on for years because of the poor state finances. Additionally, her state allowance was irregularly paid because of the near empty state treasury. In 1725, Anna Woynarowska was given a payment of four barrows of gold as well as the

Tynnelsö Castle Tynnelsö Castle ( sv, Tynnelsö slott) is a castle in Sweden. It is on Tynnelsö island in Lake Mälaren, a few kilometres north-east of Strängnäs. The castle was built during the Middle Ages by the bishops of Strängnäs. History The oldes ...

. She sold Tynnelsö in 1742 and left Sweden.

References

* Lundh-Eriksson, Nanna: Den glömda drottningen. Karl XII:s syster. Ulrika Eleonora D.Y. och hennes tid. Affärstryckeriet, Norrtälje. (1976) * Nordisk familjebok / Uggleupplagan. 32. Werth - Väderkvarn / * Siw Wesslén: Eskilstuna i Kungl. bibliotekets okatalogiserade samling Polish people of the Great Northern War 17th-century Polish nobility 18th-century Polish nobility Ukrainian nobility 18th-century Ukrainian people {{DEFAULTSORT:Woynar, Anna