The series of articles 'Traces of the Sobieskis in the World' is an invitation to travel not only geographically, but also mentally through the places where the presence of one of the most famous Polish royal families is recorded. It is also an opportunity to reflect on the ways in which the members and constituents of this family have been portrayed, commemorated and imagined. We are interested here not only in where the Sobieski were present, but above all in how they were perceived and why some representations of them, both visually and symbolically, have had such a long and multi-layered life, while others have been forgotten.

In the articles published in the 'Heritage Abroad. Database of Polonica" articles, we are not looking for literal clues, we are not reconstructing genealogies, we are not merely reconstructing the itinerary of John III or Maria Kazimiera. Rather, we focus on how the Sobieskis have been recorded in iconography and cultural memory - from carved reliefs and monumental mosaics to symbolic diplomatic gestures or a silent presence in European propaganda.

Within the framework of the strategic programme "Protection of Polish Cultural Heritage Abroad", the Polonica Institute has been carrying out a number of conservation works on objects related to the Sobieski family for several years. Their aim is not only to secure material traces of the presence of this dynasty, but also to remind us of its significance for the history of Poland and Europe. We write about the most important of these activities in the last part of this article.

A series of published texts accompanies the exhibitions planned for 2025, of which the Polonica Institute is a partner, including the exhibition taking place at the Capitoline Museums '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 Sobieskis in today's Ukraine are a story about a presence that is not only real, but also symbolic - a presence inscribed in the architecture, landscape and historical memory of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. It was in the lands of the former Red Ruthenia that John III Sobieski was born, and it was here that his identity as a soldier, landowner, diplomat and, finally, king was shaped.

The most important point on this map remains Olesko Castle , the birthplace of Jan Sobieski on 17 August 1629. The stronghold was by then the ancestral seat of the Daniłowicz family, the king's family on his mother's side. The castle, rebuilt by his father Jakub and his grandparents, has retained the form of a Renaissance defensive residence to this day. It declined in the 18th century, but was saved in the 19th century thanks to community involvement. On the bicentenary of the relief, it was planned to donate the castle to the nation as a memento of the king.

No less important is the Collegiate Church of St Lawrence in Zhovkva , designed as a church-fortress by Hetman Stanislav Zhovkva and transformed by Sobieski into the family pantheon. Here, among the epitaphs and tombstones of his father and grandfather, John III wanted to be buried - among his own, in a place that told of the Hetman's tradition and mission to defend the Republic. Zhovkva was an ideological manifestation of power - it was there, in the side altars and chapels, that paintings commemorating the king's victories were placed: Chocim, Vienna, Parkany. The author of many of these was Martin Altomonte, who became the painter of Sobieski's apotheosis through this cycle. Among other buildings connected with Sobieski in Zhovkva, it is worth mentioning the synagogue founded by him .

Javory, on the other hand, although less spectacular, shows a more private face of the king. The hunting manor located there was a place of rest, family life and political reflections. Today this place no longer exists, but 19th-century descriptions preserve its memory as a symbol of Sobieski's attachment to his family land, homeliness and the rhythm of provincial magnate life. It was also from there that he set off on expeditions to Russia and Lviv.

It is also impossible to omit Lviv, which, although it does not have Sobieski's mausoleum, was a city close to Sobieski. Lviv's Latin cathedral, where the king frequented, the numerous church foundations of his contemporaries and political allies - all this makes up the broad landscape of Sobieski's culture in Ruthenia, and its special place is Sobieski' s royal town house in Lviv.

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 after the death of John III . Among other Polish artefacts referring to the Sobieski family, there are two portraits of Jan III Sobieski and a portrait of young Maria Kazimiera (about which more 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 Maria Kazimiera and Sobieski's victory at Vienna were placed with his consent . Unique works commemorating the Vienna Victory also survive in the Vatican, including a flag captured at Vienna and presented by the King to the Holy Father, and letters of loyalty and faith. Others are connected with the ladies of the Sobieski family, about which more later.

Among the later commemorations of Sobieski, dating from the 19th century, a special place is occupied by " Sobieski at Vienna", a painting by Jan Matejko from the collection of the Vatican Museums .

Memorabilia of women from the Sobieski family

The Sobieski story, for centuries, 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, daughters - who played a key role in creating lasting cultural traces, both in the 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 thus more intimate - recorded in religious foundations, applied art, residential architecture, musical patronage and correspondence.

The best-known figure remains Maria Kazimiera d'Arquien, Queen of Poland, wife of John III, who went to Rome after his death and there - as a royal widow - led a lavish lifestyle combining representativeness based on family glorification, art and devotion. She took up residence in the Palazzo Zuccari , where, among other things, the characteristic tempietto was erected to her order. She surrounded herself with artists, musicians and scholars. She supported Jesuit missions, carried out charitable work and funded works of art. There is a portrait of her in the Church of St Stanislaus the Bishop and Martyr in Rome . The painting, in a sketchy style and framed in a painted illusionistic frame, probably repeats the original created shortly after the election of Jan III Sobieski in 1674, and is one of the valuable Polish monuments preserved in this Roman temple.

An equally fascinating figure was Teofila of Daniłowicz Sobieska, the mother of John III, whose influence on the upbringing and education of the future king was already emphasised in contemporary sources. Teofila, a well-educated woman who was sensitive to the importance of family representation, contributed to the transformation of Olesko Castle into a residence with a distinctly ideological character. It was thanks to her foundation initiatives that Olesko became one of the centres of memory of the Danilowicz and Sobieski families.

Not to be overlooked is Teresa Kunegunda Sobieska , daughter of John III and Maria Kazimiera, who became Elector of Bavaria, and whose portraits today adorn the palaces in Munich and Schleissheim, among others. She was an active fund-raiser and collector, as well as someone who was 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 Sobieski women also leads us to the Lviv Abbey of the Poor Clares, which Maria Kazimiera supported as queen, and to various residences where their presence is sometimes difficult to grasp in physical space today, but is visible in archives, wills, metric books and catalogues of ancient libraries.

Also worth mentioning are the surviving mementos of Mary Clementine Sobieski - 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, his sculptures are by Pietro Bracci and his portrait was painted by Fabbio Cristofani. The queen's entrails, removed during embalming, were placed in the Santi Apostoli church 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 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, but this was in the 19th century, was a tombstone made by Antonio Canova, commemorating her husband James Stuart and their sons Charles Edward and Henry Benedict.

The legacy of the women of the Sobieski family - less spectacular than the relief of Vienna - 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 them that family memories, connections to places, cultural and religious continuity survive. Their mementos do not tell stories of military triumph - but of persistence, care and remembrance. And this is what makes them equally important in the story of the Sobieski legacy.

The Sobieski in Europe: a symbolic and cultural presence

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

In France, Sobieski functioned as both a figure of admiration and political competition. The portrait of his son Alexander Sobieski , which is now in the Wilanów Museum, was painted by Hyacinth Rigaud. John III Sobieski's presence at Versailles is primarily symbolic as an imagined partner in the diplomatic game. In political texts and pamphlets of the period, he was sometimes depicted as a counterbalance to Louis XIV - an independent, unruly hero, representing a different understanding of monarchical majesty.

In Germany, portraits of Sobieski and prints documenting his political and military activities have been preserved in the palaces and museums of Dresden or Berlin. His figure was inscribed in the history of the rivalries and alliances with the Wettin and Hohenzollern dynasties, and at the same time was present in court culture as an exotic, orientalised ruler of the East.

Copperplate engravings depicting the king, among others, have survived in Britain, often being copies of French or German designs. Their presence in the collections of the British Museum or the National Portrait Gallery testifies to the fact that Sobieski was a recognisable figure also 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 marked, for example, in iconography associated with the Counter-Reformation in, for example, Kuks Castle, where he appears in allegorical representations of battles, as well as more contemporary realisations such as a modest plaque in Olomouc .

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

It is this mutability and non-obviousness that we want to capture. Each of the subsequent articles in the series will therefore not so much be an account of a journey as an attempt to analyse how the Sobieski were and are present in the eyes of others. How were they perceived in France and Germany? What traces did they leave behind in the Vatican? And finally, how do these traces build not only the story of the past, but also our contemporary sensitivity to history and heritage?

"Traces of the Sobieskis 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 are not only portraits and monuments. They are also narratives that still demand new readings.

Conservation work

A special place in the conservation efforts of the Polonika Institute is occupied by the Royal Tenement House in Lviv, also known as the Korniakt Tenement House, later the residence of John III Sobieski. In 1640, the tenement was bought by the future king's parents, Jakub and Teofila Sobieski, and inherited by Jan after their death. In 1678, wanting to have his own representative seat in Lviv, he ordered its reconstruction. The façade from the side of the square, with its monumental portal, horizontal articulation and extended attic, acquired a late Renaissance character. The façade on the side of Ruska Street also took on Renaissance forms. The interior is graced by cloisters from the mid-17th century and first-floor flats furnished for royal use. In 2020, as part of works funded by the Polonica Institute, the historic vestibule was renovated , and conservation of the Renaissance frescoes in the representative hall was undertaken. These works restored the original aesthetic expression of a space that for centuries had been a symbol of the royal presence in the city. After five years of preparation and archive searches, 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 conserved.

Another key conservation focus is on objects from the Church of St Stanislaus in Rome, particularly related to Maria Kazimiera Sobieska and her descendants. Between 2019 and 2022, the Institute carried out the conservation of four altar paintings located in this church, including one by Szymon Czechowicz. Between 2024 and 2025, conservation work was carried out on portraits of Jan III Sobieski and Maria Kazimiera Sobieska . Conservation work was also carried out on two plaster busts of Maria Klementyna Sobieska and Pope Clement XII , her protector. The 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') in the Capitoline Museums. The conservation work included cleaning and protecting the plaster structures and preparing them for museum display.

Also in Zhovkva, a place particularly strongly associated with the Sobieski family, the Institute supported multi-phase work on the castle there - the king's former residence. Amongst other things, the renovation of the north tower, the completion of the drainage and lightning protection system and the construction 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 - associated with the Sobieski and Rzewuski foundations - the historic staircase leading to the main entrance and garden was renovated .

It is also worth mentioning the Polish Museum in America (Chicago), where the stained-glass window with the image of Jan III Sobieski with St. John was restored. This object, as well as other artefacts conserved since 2018 as part of the Institute's collaboration with the museum, is part of the broader context of Sobieski's presence in Polish iconography.

The Polonica Institute is also conducting a research project between 2024 and 2025 "The glorifying image of Jan III Sobieski". .

These examples show how multifaceted and wide-ranging the Polonica Institute's concern for the preservation of Sobieski's heritage is. Conservation work is not limited to reconstruction and preservation, but is also a pretext for discovering and re-telling the multifaceted history of one of the most important royal families of the former Republic of Poland.

Information on conservation work and other activities of the Institute Polonica related to objects associated with the Sobieski family.

Among more than one hundred texts devoted to objects and traces connected with the Sobieski family, which can be found on our portal, we recommend the " Guide to Polonics in Rome " and the article " Residences and other buildings connected with the Sobieski family". It is also worth looking at the " Catalogue of monuments connected with the Sobieski family " and the study devoted to the paintings by Jan Henryk Rosen in the so-called Chapel of Jan III Sobieski in Vienna. Also worthy of note are the tombstones of members of the family, which are described in the separate texts "Epitaph of the Heart of Maria Klementyna Sobieska" and " Tombstone of Prince Alexander Sobieski in Rome ", as well as the texts " Maria Klementyna Sobieska, patron of opera in Rome " or " Filippo Juvarra (1678-1736), stage designer of operatic works in the Roman theatre of Maria Kazimiera Sobieska" . , presenting related polonics. The cultural context is broadened by analyses of, among others, ' The court marriage policy of Maria Kazimiera Sobieska ' and ' Musical threads related to the Sobieski family in Rome ' . And we write about Maria Kazimiera's journey to Rome in the text " Account of Maria Kazimiera's journey to Rome on the basis of Viaggio a Roma (Roma 1700) by Antonio Bassani ". We would also like to invite you to listen to a conversation with Dr Marta Gołąbek, art historian, about polonies related to the Sobieski family .

All materials related to the Sobieski family in the database of polonics.

For more information, please visit the the Institute's website dedicated to the Sobieski family