Count Jan Klemens Branicki (also known as Jan Kazimierz Branicki; 21 September 1689 – 9 October 1771) was a Polish nobleman,

magnate The magnate term, from the late Latin ''magnas'', a great man, itself from Latin ''magnus'', "great", means a man from the higher nobility, a man who belongs to the high office-holders, or a man in a high social position, by birth, wealth or ot ...

and

Hetman ( uk, гетьман, translit=het'man) is a political title from Central and Eastern Europe, historically assigned to military commanders. Used by the Czechs in Bohemia since the 15th century. It was the title of the second-highest military ...

, Field Crown

of the

Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, formally known as the Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, and, after 1791, as the Commonwealth of Poland, was a bi-confederal state, sometimes called a federation, of Crown of the Kingdom of ...

between 1735 and 1752, and Great Crown

between 1752 and 1771. One of the wealthiest Polish magnates in the 18th century, owner of 12 towns, 257 villages and 17 palaces. He was the last male representative of the Branicki family. He was a recipient of the Spanish Order of the Golden Fleece.

Biography

He was the son of the

Palatine A palatine or palatinus (in Latin; plural ''palatini''; cf. derivative spellings below) is a high-level official attached to imperial or royal courts in Europe since Roman times.

Podlaskie Voivodeship Podlaskie Voivodeship or Podlasie Province ( pl, Województwo podlaskie, ) is a voivodeship (province) in northeastern Poland. The name of the province and its territory correspond to the historic region of Podlachia. The capital and largest c ...

Stefan Mikołaj Branicki and Katarzyna Scholastyka Sapieha, the daughter of Hetman Kazimierz Jan Sapieha. Jan had three wives: The first wife was Princess Katarzyna Barbara Radziwiłł, the daughter of Count and

Grand Marshal Grand marshal is a ceremonial, military, or political office of very high rank. The term has its origins with the word "marshal" with the first usage of the term "grand marshal" as a ceremonial title for certain religious orders. The following ...

Karol Stanisław Radziwiłł, whom he married on 1 October 1720 in

Biała Podlaska Biała Podlaska ( la, Alba Ducalis) is a city in eastern Poland with 56,498 inhabitants as of December 2021. It is situated in the Lublin Voivodeship (since 1999), having previously been the capital of Biała Podlaska Voivodeship (1975–1998). ...

Brama wjazdowa do Pałacu Branickich Białystok Mariag36

His second wife was Barbara Szembek in 1732; this marriage ended in a divorce. His third and last wife was

Izabella Poniatowska Countess Izabella Poniatowska (1 July 1730 – 14 February 1808) was a Polish noblewoman, sister of king Stanisław Antoni Poniatowski. Life She was the daughter of Stanisław Poniatowski and Konstancja Czartoryska. She was reportedly clo ...

, the daughter of the magnate Stanisław Poniatowski, whom he married in 1748. He was

Podczaszy Deputy cup-bearer () was since the 13th century a court office in Poland and later in Lithuania. Deputy cup-bearer was the deputy of the cup-bearer, with the time more important than his superior. Since the 14th–16th century an honorable court ...

of Lithuania (''podczaszy litewski'') in 1723, Grand Standard-Bearer of the Crown (''chorąży wielki koronny'') in 1724, commander of an infantry regiment (''szef regimentu pieszego'') in 1726, Artillery General of the Crown (''generał artylerii koronnej'') in 1728, ''hetman polny koronny'' in 1735,

Palatine A palatine or palatinus (in Latin; plural ''palatini''; cf. derivative spellings below) is a high-level official attached to imperial or royal courts in Europe since Roman times.

of Kraków Voivodship (''wojewoda krakowski'') in 1746, ''hetman wielki koronny'' in 1752 and

Castellan A castellan is the title used in Medieval Europe for an appointed official, a governor of a castle and its surrounding territory referred to as the castellany. The title of ''governor'' is retained in the English prison system, as a remnant ...

Kraków Kraków (), or Cracow, is the second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula, Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city dates back to the seventh century. Kraków was the official capital of Poland un ...

(''kasztelan krakowski'') in 1762. He was the Starost of

Brańsk Brańsk ( be, Бранск, lt, Branskas) is a town in eastern Poland. It is situated within Podlaskie Voivodeship (province). Etymology The name of the town comes from the river Bronka, a nearby tributary of the Nurzec River. Geography Lo ...

,Urzędnicy centralni i nadworni Polski XIV-XVIII wieku, Kórnik 1992, s. 29.

Bielsk Podlaski Bielsk Podlaski ( be, Бельск Падляскі, , yi, ביעלסק, Bielsk) is a town in eastern Poland, within Bielsk County in the Podlaskie Voivodeship. As of December 2021, the town has a population of 24,883. Geography Bielsk Podlas ...

, Mościsk,

Janów Lubelski Janów Lubelski is a town in southeastern Poland. It has 11,938 inhabitants (2006). Situated in the Lublin Voivodship (since 1999), Janów Lubelski belongs to Lesser Poland, and is located in southeastern corner of this historic Polish province ...

, Bohusław,

Złotoryja Złotoryja (; german: Goldberg, ; Latin: ''Aureus Mons'', ''Aurum'') is a historic town in Lower Silesian Voivodeship in southwestern Poland, the administrative seat of Złotoryja County, and of the smaller Gmina Złotoryja. Having been granted ...

, Krośno and Jezierzysk (''starosta brański, bielski, mościcki, janowski, bohuslawski, złotoryjski, krośnienski, jezierzyski''). Branicki was one of the most powerful and influential magnates in

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...

of the 18th century. He was the leader of the magnates party. Connected with the Radziwiłł and

Potocki The House of Potocki (; plural: Potoccy, male: Potocki, feminine: Potocka) was a prominent Polish noble family in the Kingdom of Poland and magnates of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, forma ...

families and an opponent of the " Familia". He sympathized with confederates of the

Radom Confederation Radom Confederation ( pl, Konfederacja radomska, lt, Radomo konfederacija) was a konfederacja of nobility (''szlachta'') in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth formed in Radom on 23 June 1767 to prevent reforms and defend the '' Golden Liberties' ...

and the

Confederation of Bar The Bar Confederation ( pl, Konfederacja barska; 1768–1772) was an association of Polish nobles ( szlachta) formed at the fortress of Bar in Podolia (now part of Ukraine) in 1768 to defend the internal and external independence of the Pol ...

. Branicki was the owner of

Białystok Białystok is the largest city in northeastern Poland and the capital of the Podlaskie Voivodeship. It is the tenth-largest city in Poland, second in terms of population density, and thirteenth in area. Białystok is located in the Białystok U ...

. At that time Białystok began to develop. In 1745 he established a military and engineer school and a theatre. In 1763–1764 he ran in the

election An election is a formal group decision-making process by which a population chooses an individual or multiple individuals to hold public office. Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative democracy has operat ...

for the King of

, but was beaten by his brother-in-law Stanisław Poniatowski.

Marriage and issue

He married three times: #Princess Katarzyna Barbara Maria Radziwillówna (

, 6 December 1693 -

, 16 October 1730) in

, on 1 October 1720 #Barbara Szembekówna in 1732 and divorced #

on 19 November 1748 with no issue.

Awards

* Knight of the Order of the White Eagle, since 1726. *

Order of the Golden Fleece The Distinguished Order of the Golden Fleece ( es, Insigne Orden del Toisón de Oro, german: Orden vom Goldenen Vlies) is a Catholic order of chivalry founded in Bruges by Philip the Good, Duke of Burgundy, in 1430, to celebrate his marriag ...

(Spanish Order)

Bibliography

* Władysław Konopczyński: Branicki Jan Klemens. W: Polski Słownik Biograficzny. T. 2: Beyzym Jan – Brownsford Marja. Kraków: Polska Akademia Umiejętności – Skład Główny w Księgarniach Gebethnera i Wolffa, 1936, s. 404–407. Reprint: Zakład Narodowy im. Ossolińskich, Kraków 1989,
Alina Sztachelska-Kokoczka ''Magnackie dobra Jana Klemensa Branickiego'', 2006

References

External links