Society

After the Deluge that devastated the Grand Duchy of Lithuania in the middle of the 17th century, a family appeared along the Radvila and Sapieha clans at the top of the government that had a nice short name that you will soon find out that had Roman origins. The family came from the town of Rozhanka in the environs of Grodno. […]

Between the beginning of the 16th century and the middle of the 17th century, there were about 800 functioning towns and cities in the GDL that had the traits of city-like settlements, however only a small number of them had rights to self-rule. During the following 400 years after the establishment of the first self-governing city, Vilnius, in 1387, up until 1795, it is estimated that there were approximately 250 self-ruling cities that had the kind of Magdeburg rights generally given in the GDL. The Magdeburg rights were the primary legal act that set a city apart from other settlements that did not have privileges issued to them. One of these cities was Biržai, which during the existence of the GDL belonged to the Radvila family, who were the dukes of Biržai and Dubingai and one of the most powerful noble families in the GDL. It was their private city. […]

Frederik August I (1670-1733), Elector of Saxony, became the King of Poland and the Grand Duke of Lithuania (1697-1733) on June 27th, 1697. During the coronation, the new ruler took the name of Augustus II, but often was called the Strong due to his unusual physical strength. Saxony was one of the most economically developed states in Europe at the end of the 17th century. Entering into a personal union with Saxony, the Commonwealth had better prospects in international politics than many surrounding nations. The new leader, having his own state, could hope that he would be able to rule the boyars of the Commonwealth. […]