Z dziejów dóbr Wiszniew w XV–XVIII wieku

Abstract

In the 15-19th centuries Wiszniew constituted the center of a vast landed property situated in the Oszmiansk administrative district. The article discusses the pre-partition period of the estate. In those times the property belonged to mighty and meritorious families of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, bearing the names of: Giedygoólwicz, Gasztold, Steckiewicz, Komajewski, Chreptowicz or Saniewski. The parish church started functioning already in 1451. In the first half of the 17th century it acquired a new baroque building, raised by voivode of Nowogród, Jerzy Chreptowicz. Zofia Sawaniewska née Chreptowicz established a congregation at the parish church. Since then 'ksieza komunisci' (Bartolomici) managed the parish. Joachim Chreptowicz - Chancellor of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, the initiator and one of the founders of 'Komisja Edukacji Narodowej', a leading physiocrat, an economic activist and one of most outstanding people of his epoch - was the subsequent possessor of the Wiszniew estate. He founded an ironworks in Wiszniew, one of the first and one of the greatest in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. He also introduced modern methods of administration and well-known social reforms. Already in the 19th century his sons ran the estate, developing their father's activities.