Konstanty Korniakt

Konstanty Korniakt (Greek: Κωνσταντίνος Κορνιακτός, Konstantinos Korniaktos;^[a] c. 1517 – 1 August 1603) was a merchant of Greek descent,^[3] active throughout Central and Eastern Europe; a leaseholder of royal tolls who collected customs duty on behalf of the king. During his lifetime he was the wealthiest man in Lviv (Lwów, in Polish) and even owned numerous villages.^[4] He was a wholesale merchant and founder of the Korniakt family dynasty.^[1]

Konstanty Korniakt
Portrait of Korniakt at prayer [1]
Born	Konstantinos Korniaktos (Κωνσταντίνος Κορνιακτός) 1517 Candia, Kingdom of Candia
Died	1603 Lwów, Crown of the Kingdom of Poland, Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth
Known for	Financing the construction of the Korniakt Palace in Lviv,[2]
Spouse	Anna Dzieduszycka
Children	7 children

Konstanty Korniakt coat of arms

Biography

Korniaktos, a Greek,^[5][6][7] was born in the city of Candia (today Heraklion) on Crete in 1517.^[8] He moved to Constantinople at a young age where already in 1540 he became a wealthy merchant. Later he moved to Moldavia where he lived for the rest of his life. Some time in the 1560s Korniakt settled in the city of Lwów (now Lviv, Ukraine) where he took over a business of his older brother Michael.^[9][10] Already at the time Moldavia in Lviv was closely associated with Walachia.^[11] The King of Poland Sigismund II Augustus granted him official title of nobility on 12 February 1571 as szlachcic Konstanty Korniakt, also awarded a number of other privileges, thereby establishing the Krucina coat of arms.^[1] Krucina,^[1]

The Korniaktowska Tower in the Dormition Church, Lviv by Pietro di Barbona, paid for by Korniakt.^[12]

Konstanty Korniakt dealt with international trade, especially from the Ottoman Empire and the Holy Roman Empire. He became a merchant and traded in wine, cloth, cotton, honey, hides and furs and soon became very wealthy, even lending money to the kings of Poland including Sigismund II Augustus, and other noble families.^[1]

Contributions

Korniakt was a patron of architecture and built a magnificent house near the market, which later was rebuilt by John III Sobieski and is now known as the Korniakt Palace. He also expanded the Wallachian church and funded its famous tower.^[13] He was an ardent follower of the Eastern Orthodox Church and defended its interests maintaining friendly relations with other Christian denominations.

Family

Around 1575 he married Ruthenian noblewoman^[1] Anna Dzieduszycka h. Sas, and soon had children. His sons were Alexander, Constantine (father of Captain Charles Francis) and Michael Korniakt, his daughters were Katarzyna, Anna (married Jan "Gratus" Tarnowski), Sophia (married Abraham Hubert) and Catherine (married Aleksander Chodkiewicz and after his death the governor of Belz, Duke Konstanty Wiśniowiecki).

Soon after his death in 1603, all of his children converted to Catholicism and eventually were polonized.^[1] His son subsequently sold part of his estate and land in Lwów, and his brother Alexander Korniaktow left and moved to the property he inherited from his parents in Przemyśl. He was owner of three residences in the villages Sośnica, Złotowice and Białoboki, the latter being chosen for the family. In 1610 the construction of the castle began.

Annotations

1. ^
   His Greek, original name was Konstantinos Korniaktos.^[14] In Polish, his name is spelt Konstanty Korniakt. It is sometimes spelt Constantine Korniakt.^[4] Other spellings of his surname include Corniaktos, Kornak, Korniak, Korniat, Korneadi, Korneades, Carneadi, Coretho, Carinacto.^[15]

See also

• Korniakt Palace

Further reading

• Lemko, I. Interesting facts out of the history of Lviv. "Apriori". Lviv 2011. 128 pages. (Лемко І. Цікавинки з історії Львова. — Львів : Апріорі, 2011. — 128 с. : іл.) — ISBN 978-617-629-024-7.

References

1. Krzysztof Bulzacki (2007–2012). "Rody Lwowskie – część I (Lwów noble families – part one): Konstanty Korniakt (1520–1603)". Alembekowie, Boimowie, Korniaktowie, Kampianie, Barączowie, Baczewscy (in Polish). Stanisław Kosiedowski – Mój Lwów. Retrieved 10 July 2013.
2. Adam Bujak; Jerzy Janicki (1997). Lwów. Wydawn. p. 17. ISBN 83-907436-1-2. Korniaktowska Tower after its founder, a Cretan-born Greek named Korniakt, and classed by connoisseurs without a trace of exaggeration alongside the finest campanillas of Florence
3. Anna Benn; Hans Hoefer; Dorothy Stannard (1995). Russia: with chapters on Ukraine and Belarus. Apa Publications (HK) Ltd. pp. 306–307. ISBN 0-395-66167-6. "Korniakt", was also built at the end of the 16th century for a well- known Greek merchant who used his influence to build a specially wide house
4. Isaievych, Iaroslav Dmytrovych (2006). Voluntary brotherhood: confraternities of laymen in early modern Ukraine. Canadian Institute of Ukrainian Studies Press. p. 47. ISBN 1-894865-03-0. …the Greek merchants Constantine Korniakt and Manolis Arphanes Marinetos are added. This second redaction appeared no earlier than 1589, as wealthy Greeks began to join the confraternity at a later date, once it had expanded its activities. Korniakt was actually the wealthiest man in Lviv: he traded in Eastern, Western, and local goods, collected customs duty on behalf of the king, and owned a number of villages.
5. Malinowski, Jerzy (1993). Where East meets West: portrait of personages of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, 1576–1763 : exhibition catalogue. National Museum in Warsaw. p. 222. ISBN 83-7100-088-X. Konstanty Korniakt Lwow merchant of Greek origin
6. Vasylʹ Mudryĭ, Naukove tovarystvo im. Shevchenka, Shevchenko Scientific Society (U.S.) (1962). Lviv: a symposium on its 700th anniversary. New York. p. 175. OCLC 3999247. Foreign merchants who chose Lviv as their second home, repaid the city a hundredfold: the Greek from Crete, called Koreto de Candia, whose name was popularly abbreviated into Korniakt, was the most prominent Ukrainian patrician leader in Lviv in the late 16th and early 17th century, erected a beautiful bell-tower on the pattern of Renaissance campaniles attached to the church of Assumption.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
7. Beleckij Platon (1960). Le portrait dans la peinture ukrainienne (" Parsuna ") des XVII e et XVIII e siècles. Ecole des hautes études en sciences sociales. pp. 630–636. OCLC 295668339. bienfaiteur de la Confrérie Constantin Korniaktos, Grec d'origine
8. École pratique des hautes études (France). Section des sciences économiques et sociales (1979). Cahiers du monde russe et soviétique, Volume 20. Mouton. p. 354. OCLC 185427756. A famous case is Constantine Korniakt at the end of the sixteenth century who was a native of Crete, became a wine merchant in Lvov, was a leaseholder of royal tolls and finally achieved nobility.
9. Isayevych, Ya.D. Kostiantyn Korniakt. Encyclopedia of History of Ukraine. Volume 5. Institute of History of Ukraine. "Naukova Dumka". Kyiv 2008
10. Kostiantyn Korniakt at the Litopys Publishing
11. Dormition Church. Ruthenian-Walachian holy landmark of Lviv. Ukraina Incognita.
12. Adam Bujak; Jerzy Janicki (1997). Lwów Львів Leopolis. Wydawnictwo Bosz. p. 17. ISBN 83-907436-1-2. Korniaktowska Tower after its founder, a Cretan-born Greek named Korniakt, and classed by connoisseurs without a trace of exaggeration alongside the finest campanillas of Florence.
13. Victor E. Louis; Jennifer M. Louis (1976). The complete guide to the Soviet Union. M. Joseph. p. 184. ISBN 0-7181-1077-3. …built by Pietro di Barbona in 1574-80 for a Greek merchant, Constantine Korniakt. who financed the building of several churches in Lvov.
14. Panagiōtakēs, Nikolaos (1998). Anthē charitōn: meletēmata heortia sungraphenta. Istituto Ellenico di Studi Bizantini e Postbizantini di Venezia. p. 21. OCLC 301347251. Κωνσταντίνο Κορνιακτό, ό όποιος τον είχε ...
15. Polska Akademia Umiejętności (1969). Polski słownik biograficzny, Volume 14. Instytut Historii PAN. p. 82. OCLC 309990360. (Korniat, Korneadi, Korneades, Carneadi, Coretho, Carinacto) Konstanty h. Crucini (ok. 1520 — 1603)