LDK kunigaikščiai Radvilos ir jų palikimo žymės Veisiejų krašte

ENVeisiejai is a direct, spiritual heir of the names of the land of Veisė and the origins of the name of the city have to be counted from the first mention of Veisiejai in July, 1253 in King Mindaugas Act. After about 150 or more years of commemoration of the first name of Veisiejai Manor, the family of Lithuanian Patriots Radvilos comes to this country. This family did tremendous work in Lithuanian history, and left a deep spiritual, cultural and material heritage. By 1831, the members of the Radvilos family were: 1 queen, 1 cardinal, 3 bishops, 37 vojvodas, 22 ministers (chancellors, etymons, marshals, treasurers), and many other officials (elders, pilgrims, hunters, etc.). Radvila Rudasis was considered by the King to be one of the few worthy hunter companions and in 1546 he was appointed the Hunter of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania (GDL) and the Governer of Birštonas. Quite often in the hunting trips of the young King, Radvila discussed the most important state affairs. We know from the history of hunting that hunting was an important branch of the economy. Beginning with the 15th century the Veisiejai hunting manor, later the manor-city governors and its creators were the Radvilos. It is perfectly logical to believe that the biggest hunter in Lithuania, who had dignitaries of the GDL, had to take care of hunting management and royal hunting organization in his own and the King‘s big groves. One can think that there were more than one hunting houses or mansions in the castles of the Radvila estates, including the current Veisiejai town estate, Aukštadvaris near Veisiejai, Liškiava, and elsewhere. Radvila Rudasis was one of the most active politicians, a state and military character of the GDL, a defender of its sovereignty, and a supporter of the Reformation.With his cousin he took care of the marriage of his sister Barbora Radvilaitė and the King of Poland, the Grand Duke of Lithuania Žygimantas Augustas in 1547. After the death of his cousin, he took over the office of Vojvoda of Vilnius, the Chancellor of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, and became a trusted advisor and trustee of Žygimantas Augustas. In 1514–1523 on the privilege of Žygimantas Senasis to Jurgis Radvila, the larger half of Merkinė forest and part of Alytus, Punia forest was connected to Seirijai Estate, by indicating in the privilege of the boundaries of the Radvila Estate along the river Mara past Seinai lake near the present Punskas, along Kirsna river, Lazda-Raišupis river, the lakes of Rimietis and Dusai, further along Simnas lake to Žuvintas and beyond Balbieriškis it boarded the Nemunas. According to the documents of the Lithuanian Metric, new facts about the origins of Veisiejai and Seirijai Estate are presented, the names of Leipalingis, Lipliūnai are updated, and new facts about the Druskininkai area are presented. The children and grandchildren of Mykolas Radvila have left traces in the history of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and in the development of Veisiejai region and manor-town. The most prominent of them were the Dukes Jonušas and Boguslavas Radvila. They rescued Lithuania in the most difficult years of war and diplomacy of Moscow and Sweden. Boguslavas‘s daughter, Liudvika Karolina (1667-1695), was only two years old when her father Duke Boguslavas Radvila died on December 31, 1669. On December 27, 1668 he wrote a testament, left all the property to his single daughter, and wanted her to marry the evangelist.Liudvika Karolina was in contact with the Evangelical Reformed Church of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania throughout her life, she supported its activities, and established 12 scholarships for young people from Lithuania to study at the Universities of Frankfurt at Oder, Berlin, and Königsberg. At her expenses, in 1680 the first Primer Catechism of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania was published in Lithuanian. In general, the influence of her estate on Lithuanian farms and not only them was great. She married to Liudvikas Leopoldas, the son of the Elector of the Brandenburg (elected prince), in Lithuania. The Radvilos were great patrons of art and had a wealth of art. An example of their patronage can also be the oldest collection of Lithuanian graphic portraits, the 17th century Radvilos portrait album.