The series of articles “Traces of the Sobieski Family in the World” invites readers to travel not only geographically but also mentally, and to explore places where the presence of one of Poland’s most renowned royal families is recorded. It is also an opportunity to reflect on the ways in which members and associates of this family have been portrayed, commemorated and imagined. The focus is not only on where the members of the Sobieski family were present, but above all on how they were perceived and why certain representations of them – both visual and symbolic – have enjoyed such a long and multi-layered afterlife, while others have faded into obscurity.

In the articles published in the “Heritage abroad. Polonica Database”, we do not seek literal clues; we are not reconstructing genealogies or merely retracing the itineraries of King John III or his Queen Consort Marie-Casimire (Marysieńka). Rather, we concentrate on how the members of the Sobieski family have been recorded in iconography and cultural memory: from carved reliefs and monumental mosaics to symbolic diplomatic gestures and even a silent presence in European propaganda.

As part of the strategic programme “Protection of Polish Cultural Heritage Abroad”, the Instytut Polonika has for several years undertaken conservation work on objects connected with the Sobieski family. The aim is not only to safeguard the material traces of this dynasty’s presence, but also to highlight its prominent role in the history of both Poland and Europe. The final part of this article presents some of the most important of these initiatives.

A series of published texts accompanies the exhibitions planned for 2025, in which the Instytut Polonika is a partner, including the exhibition at the Musei Capitolini “Una Regina polacca in Campidoglio. Maria Casimira e la famiglia reale Sobieski a Roma” (11.06–21.09.2025, The Polish Queen in the Capitol. Maria Kazimiera and the Sobieski Royal Family in Rome).

Place of Birth and Identity

The traces of the Sobieski family in present-day Ukraine tell a story of a presence that is not only tangible but also symbolic, and one inscribed in the architecture, landscape and historical memory of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. It was in the lands of former Red Ruthenia that John III Sobieski was born, and here that his identity as a soldier, landowner, diplomat and, ultimately, king was forged.

The most important site on this map remains Olesko Castle, the birthplace of Jan Sobieski on 17 August 1629. By then, the stronghold was the ancestral seat of the Daniłowicz family, the king’s relatives on his mother’s side. Rebuilt by his father, Jakub, and his grandparents, the castle has retained the form of a Renaissance defensive residence to this day. It fell into decline in the eighteenth century but was rescued in the nineteenth thanks to community involvement. On the bicentenary of the Battle of Vienna, plans were made to donate the castle to the nation as a memorial to the king.

No less important is the Collegiate Church of St Lawrence the Martyr in Żółkiew (Zhovkva in modern-day Ukraine), designed as a church-fortress by Hetman Stanisław Żółkiewski and transformed by Sobieski into the family pantheon. Here, among the epitaphs and tombstones of his father and grandfather, John III wished to be buried: among his own, in a place that evoked the tradition of the hetmans and mission to defend the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. Żółkiew (Zhovkva in modern-day Ukraine) was an ideological manifestation of power: in the side altars and chapels were placed paintings commemorating Sobieski’s victories: Chocim (Khotyn in modern-day Ukraine), Vienna, Párkány (Štúrovo in modern-day Slovakia). The author of many of these was Martin Altomonte, who through this cycle became the painter of Sobieski’s apotheosis. Among other buildings connected with Sobieski in Zhovkva, the synagogue founded by him should be mentioned.

Jaworów (Yavoriv in modern-day Ukraine), on the other hand, though less spectacular, reveals a more private side of King John III. The hunting manor located there was a place of leisure, family life and political reflection. Today this place has not survived, but nineteenth-century descriptions preserve its memory as a symbol of Sobieski’s attachment to his family land, domesticity and the rhythm of provincial magnate life. It was also from there that he departed on expeditions to Ruthenia and Lwów (Lviv in modern-day Ukraine).

It is also impossible to omit Lwów, which, though it lacks Sobieski’s mausoleum, was a city close to his heart. Lwów’s Latin Cathedral, which King John III often visited, and the numerous church foundations of his contemporaries and political allies: all this makes up the broad landscape of Sobieski’s culture in Ruthenia, with a special place reserved for Sobieski’s Royal Town House in the city.

Baroque Echo of the Royal Presence in Italy

Outside Ukraine, the most spectacular traces of the Sobieski family can be found in Italy, especially in Rome. It was there, in the Church of St Stanislaus the Bishop and Martyr, that the solemn exequies were held following John III Sobieski’s death. Among other Polish artefacts linked to the Sobieski family are two portraits of King John III Sobieski and a portrait of young Marie-Casimire, his future Queen Consort (about which more will be said later). Also in Rome, in the Basilica of Santa Maria degli Angeli e dei Martiri, where Pope Clement XI commissioned the magnificent sundial, or meridiana, two plaques dedicated to Marie-Casimire and Sobieski’s victory at Vienna were placed with his consent. Unique works commemorating the Battle of Vienna also survive in the Vatican, including a banner captured at Vienna and presented by the king to the Holy Father, as well as letters of loyalty and faith. Others are connected with the ladies of the Sobieski family, about which more will be said later.

Among the later commemorations of Sobieski, dating from the nineteenth century, a special place is occupied by “Sobieski at Vienna”, a painting by Jan Matejko from the collection of the Musei Vaticani.

Memorabilia of Women from the Sobieski Family

For centuries, the Sobieski story has left other members of the family in the shadow of the royal authority of John III. Yet it was the women of his family – wife, mother and daughters – who played a key role in creating lasting cultural traces, both in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth and beyond its borders. Their presence did not always take the form of monumental gestures or battle victories. It was often more subtle, but also more intimate: recorded in religious foundations, applied art, residential architecture, musical patronage and correspondence.

The best-known figure remains Marie-Casimire d’Arquien, Sobieski’s Queen Consort, who went to Rome after his death. As a royal widow, she led a lavish lifestyle there, combining ceremonial display rooted in family glorification, art and devotion. She took up residence in the Palazzo Zuccari, where the unique tempietto was erected at her request. She surrounded herself with artists, musicians and scholars, supported Jesuit missions, carried out charitable work and funded works of art. The Church of St Stanislaus the Bishop and Martyr in Rome holds Marie-Casimire’s portrait. The painting, executed in a sketchy style and enclosed in a painted illusionistic frame, probably reproduces the original created shortly after the 1674 election of Jan Sobieski to the Polish throne, and is one of the valuable Polish monuments preserved in this Roman church.

An equally fascinating figure was the king’s mother, Teofila Sobieska, née Daniłowicz. Her influence on the upbringing and education of the future king was already emphasised in contemporary sources. Teofila, a well-educated woman sensitive to the importance of her family’s symbolic presence, contributed to the transformation of Olesko Castle into a residence with a distinctly ideological character. Thanks to her foundation initiatives, Olesko became one of the centres of memory of the Daniłowicz and Sobieski families.

Not to be overlooked is Teresa Kunegunda Sobieska, daughter of John III and Marie-Casimire, who became Electress of Bavaria and whose portraits today adorn the palaces in Munich and Schleissheim. She was an active fundraiser and collector, and strongly committed to the commemoration of her family. Her presence in Bavaria, both political and cultural, left traces in her collections of prints, embroidery, archives and epistolography.

The trace of the female members of the Sobieski family also leads to the Lwów Abbey of the Poor Clares, which Marie-Casimire supported as Queen Consort. In the many other residences, their presence is sometimes difficult to grasp in physical space today. It is nonetheless visible in archives, wills, metric books and catalogues of ancient libraries.

Also worth mentioning are the surviving mementoes of Maria Clementina (Maria Klementyna) Sobieska: granddaughter of John III, wife of James III Stuart and mother of the last Stuart descendant, Cardinal Henry Benedict. The couple resided in Rome at the Palazzo Muti, among other places. Their relationship with the Eternal City is commemorated by Maria Clementina Sobieska’s tombstone in the Vatican basilica, made by Filippo Barigioni; the sculptures are by Pietro Bracci, and the portrait was painted by Fabbio Cristofani. The queen’s entrails, removed during embalming, were placed in the Basilica dei Santi XII Apostoli, where there is an epitaph of the queen’s heart, depicting Maria Clementina as a model of piety and royal virtue, with an inscription proclaiming her generosity towards the poor and her defence of the Catholic faith. The queen’s body was dressed in royal robes during her funeral, later changed to a habit. Opposite the monument, in the nineteenth century, a tombstone made by Antonio Canova commemorated her husband James Stuart and their sons Charles Edward and Henry Benedict.

Less spectacular than the Battle of Vienna, the legacy of the female members of the Sobieski family requires a different research sensibility. Inscribed in textiles, manuscripts, liturgical forms and court rituals, it is often hidden in the shadow of male narratives. Yet it is through those artefacts that family memories, connections to places, and cultural and religious continuity survive. Their mementoes do not tell stories of military triumph but of persistence, care and remembrance. This is what makes them equally important in the story of the Sobieski legacy.

The Sobieski Family in Europe: A Symbolic and Cultural Presence

In addition to Ukraine and Italy, where the presence of the Sobieski family was strongest, their traces can also be found in other parts of Europe. In Vienna, the figure of John III Sobieski still evokes associations with the victorious battle of 1683. A street is named after him; on the Kahlenberg, there are magnificent mural paintings by Jan Henrik Rosen recalling the victory over the Ottoman army.

In France, Sobieski was regarded both as an object of admiration and as a figure of political rivalry. The portrait of his son Alexander (Aleksander) Sobieski, now in the Museum of King Jan III’s Palace at Wilanów, Warsaw, was painted by Hyacinthe Rigaud. John III Sobieski’s presence at Versailles was primarily symbolic, as an imagined partner in the diplomatic game. In political texts and pamphlets of the period, he was sometimes portrayed as a counterweight to Louis XIV: an independent, unruly hero representing a different understanding of royal majesty.

In Germany, portraits of Sobieski and prints documenting his political and military endeavours have been preserved in the palaces and museums of Dresden and Berlin. His image was embedded in the history of rivalries and alliances with the Wettin and Hohenzollern dynasties, while at the same time appearing in court culture as that of an exotic, orientalised ruler of the East.

Copperplate engravings depicting the king have survived in Britain, often as copies of French or German designs. Their presence in the collections of the British Museum and the National Portrait Gallery testifies to the fact that Sobieski was a recognisable figure in the Anglo-Saxon world. In English political texts, he was sometimes juxtaposed with the Stuart dynasty, often in opposition: as an example of a king who gained fame not by inheritance but by victory.

In Bohemia, his presence is evident in iconography associated with the Counter-Reformation, for example at Kuks Castle, where he appears in allegorical depictions of battles, as well as in more recent commemorations, such as a modest plaque in Olomouc.

These scattered yet distinct traces of the Sobieski family in Europe show that the memory of this dynasty, especially of John III, was part of a broader narrative of Christian identity, heroism and, at times, tension between East and West. It is a legacy that still demands careful study, not only in archives but also in public, museum and cultural spaces.

It is this mutability and elusiveness that we aim to capture. Each of the subsequent articles in the series will therefore be less an account of a journey than an attempt to analyse how the Sobieski royal family were, and are, perceived in the eyes of others. How were they regarded in France and Germany? What traces did they leave in the Vatican? And, finally, how do these traces construct not only the story of the past but also our contemporary sensitivity to history and heritage?

“Traces of the Sobieski Family in the World” is a series in which history and imagination meet in the cultural space of the material and the symbolic. For what remains of them is not only portraits and monuments; it is also narratives that still invite new readings.

Conservation Work

A special place in the conservation efforts of the Instytut Polonika is occupied by the Royal Town House in Lwów (Lviv in present-day Ukraine), also known as the Korniakt Town House and later the residence of John III Sobieski. In 1640, the residence was purchased by the future king’s parents, Jakub and Teofila Sobieski, and inherited by Jan after their deaths. In 1678, wishing to have his  ceremonial seat in Lwów, he ordered its reconstruction. The façade on the side of the square, with its monumental portal, horizontal articulation and extended attic, acquired a late Renaissance character, while the façade on the side of Ruska Street was also given Renaissance forms. The interior is adorned with cloisters from the mid-seventeenth century and first-floor apartments furnished for royal use. In 2020, as part of works funded by the Instytut Polonika, the historic vestibule was renovated, and conservation of the Renaissance frescoes in the grand hall was undertaken. These works restored the original aesthetic expression of a space that for centuries had symbolised the royal presence in the city. After five years of preparation and archival research, extensive conservation work began in 2024. The scope of work mainly covered the attic: its sculptures, walls and supporting structures; at the same time, the stone detailing of the façade was also conserved.

Another key conservation focus is on objects from the Church of St Stanislaus the Bishop and Martyr in Rome, particularly those connected with Marie-Casimire Sobieska and her descendants. Between 2019 and 2022, the Instytut Polonika carried out the conservation of four altar paintings in this church, including one by Szymon Czechowicz. Between 2024 and 2025, conservation work was undertaken on portraits of John III Sobieski and Marie- Casimire Sobieska. Conservation was also carried out on two plaster busts of Maria Klementyna Sobieska and Pope Clement XII, her protector. These objects come from the collection of the Italian Province of the Ursuline Sisters of the Roman Union and will be presented in 2025 at the exhibition “Una Regina polacca in Campidoglio. Maria Casimira e la famiglia reale Sobieski a Roma” (“The Polish Queen in the Capitol. Maria Kazimiera and the Sobieski Royal Family in Rome”) at the Musei Capitolini. The conservation work included cleaning and protecting the plaster structures and preparing them for museum display.

In Żółkiew (Zhovkva in modern-day Ukraine), a place particularly strongly associated with the Sobieski family, the Instytut Polonika supported multi-phase work on the castle there, the king’s former residence. Among other works, the renovation of the north tower, the completion of the drainage and lightning protection systems, and the installation of a new floor in the exhibition halls were carried out between 2023 and 2024. At the same time, in the neighbouring Capuchin monastery in Olesko, founded by the Sobieski and the Rzewuski families, the historic staircase leading to the main entrance and garden was renovated.

The Polish Museum of America in Chicago is also worth noting, where a stained-glass window depicting John III Sobieski with St John has been restored. This work, along with other artefacts conserved since 2018 as part of the Instytut Polonika’s collaboration with the museum, forms part of the broader context of Sobieski’s presence in Polish iconography.

The Instytut Polonika is also carrying out a research project between 2024 and 2025 entitled “The Glorifying Image of John III Sobieski”. 

These examples illustrate the multifaceted and wide-ranging nature of the Instytut Polonika’s commitment to preserving Sobieski’s heritage. Conservation work is not limited to reconstruction and preservation: it also serves as a pretext for discovering and reinterpreting the complex history of one of the most important royal families of the former Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth.

Further information on the conservation work and other activities of the Instytut Polonika relating to objects associated with the Sobieski family can be found here. 

Among the more than one hundred texts on our portal devoted to objects and traces connected with the Sobieski family, we recommend A Guide to Sobieski Family Sites in Rome and the article Residences and other Buildings Connected with the Sobieski Family. It is also worth consulting the Catalogue of Monuments Connected with the Sobieski Family and the study devoted to the paintings by Jan Henryk Rosen in the Chapel of John III Sobieski in Vienna.

Also noteworthy are the tombstones of members of the family, described in separate texts such as Epitaph to the Heart of Maria Clementina Sobieska and Tombstone of Prince Alexander Sobieski in Rome, as well as Maria Clementina Sobieska, Patron of Oper in Rome and Filippo Juvarra (1678–1736), Stage Designer of Operatic Works in the Roman Theatre of Marie-Casimire Sobieska, which present related Polonica.

The cultural context is further broadened by analyses including The Court Marriage Policy of Marie-Casimire Sobieska and Musical Themes Related to the Sobieski Family in Rome. Marie-Casimire’s journey to Rome is explored in Account of Marie-Casimire’s Journey to Rome, Based on Viaggio a Roma (Roma 1700) by Antonio Bassani. We also invite you to listen to a conversation with Dr Marta Gołąbek, art historian, about Polonica related to the Sobieski family.

All materials related to the Sobieski family in the Polonica database. 

For more information, please visit the Instytut Polonika’s website dedicated to the Sobieski family.