The House of Mielżyński () is the name of one of Poland's oldest noble families. They used the

Nowina coat of arms Nowina () is a Polish coat of arms. It was used by several ''szlachta'' families in the times of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. The original clan consisted of only 24 families. History Nowina is one of the oldest Polish heraldic marks ...

History

Reference to the family's founder, Jan z Mielżyn, first appeared in the late 14th century. The family bares the arms of the house of Nowina thereby claiming ties to

Stanislaus of Szczepanów Stanislaus of Szczepanów (; 26 July 1030 – 11 April 1079) was a Polish Catholic prelate who served as Bishop of Kraków and was martyred by the Polish King Bolesław II the Bold. He is the patron saint of Poland. Stanislaus is vener ...

. The Mielżyńskis evolved into a significant and consistent presence in Polish politics until the end of the 20th century. As Greater Poland's wealthiest family they became patrons of the arts. Their estates included over 20,000 hectares and the palaces of Pawłowice and Iwno prior to WWII. As

magnates The term magnate, 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 members of the

szlachta The ''szlachta'' (; ; ) were the nobility, noble estate of the realm in the Kingdom of Poland, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, and the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. Depending on the definition, they were either a warrior "caste" or a social ...

, they built dynastic connections to the royal houses of Europe through marriage. Anna Miełżyńska (1600-1640) was the grandmother of Catherine Opalinska, the queen consort of King

Stanislaus Leszczynski Stanislav and variants may refer to: People *Stanislav (given name), a Slavic given name with many spelling variations (Stanislaus, Stanislas, Stanisław, etc.) Places * Stanislav, Kherson Oblast, a coastal village in Ukraine * Stanislaus County, ...

of Poland. She was the great-grandmother of Maria Leszczynska, the queen consort of

Louis XV Louis XV (15 February 1710 – 10 May 1774), known as Louis the Beloved (), was King of France from 1 September 1715 until his death in 1774. He succeeded his great-grandfather Louis XIV at the age of five. Until he reached maturity (then defi ...

of France. The connection through Anna Miełżyńska was extensive for the Mielżyńskis, linking a Polish family to the blood lineages of the House of Bourbon; thereby the thrones of France and modern Spain. On 19 September 1786, Maxymilian Antoni Jan Mielżyński obtained the hereditary title of

Count Count (feminine: countess) is a historical title of nobility in certain European countries, varying in relative status, generally of middling rank in the hierarchy of nobility. Pine, L. G. ''Titles: How the King Became His Majesty''. New York: ...

(hr. Mielzynski h. Nowina) from

King King is a royal title given to a male monarch. A king is an Absolute monarchy, absolute monarch if he holds unrestricted Government, governmental power or exercises full sovereignty over a nation. Conversely, he is a Constitutional monarchy, ...

Frederick William II of Prussia Frederick William II (; 25 September 1744 – 16 November 1797) was King of Prussia from 1786 until his death in 1797. He was also the prince-elector of Brandenburg and (through the Orange-Nassau inheritance of his grandfather) sovereign princ ...

. His sons, Stanisław Kostka and Mikołaj, appeared in the 1824 list of persons authorized to bear the title of Count in the Kingdom of Poland. Josef (1765–1824; son of Maceij by his wife Seweryna Lipska) obtained the hereditary title of Count from King

Frederick William III of Prussia Frederick William III (; 3 August 1770 – 7 June 1840) was King of Prussia from 16 November 1797 until his death in 1840. He was concurrently Elector of Brandenburg in the Holy Roman Empire until 6 August 1806, when the empire was dissolved ...

on 12 July 1817 (L.P. 20 January 1818). The family used the German style "von" interchangeably with Polish style "hr." to denote the hereditary title of

. The modern Mielżyński line descended from Maxymilian exists today with branches in America. The family lineage was last published in "Ruvigny's Titled Nobility of Europe" in 1980.

External links

Fundacja Rodziny Mielżyńskich , The Mielżyński Family Foundation
Polish noble families Clan of Nowina German noble families {{Poland-hist-stub

History

See also

External links