Beata Łaska

Beata Łaska (born Kościelecka, * ~ 1515; † 1576 in Kaschau , Kingdom of Hungary ) was a Polish nobleman and the first woman who can be shown to have undertaken high mountain tours in the High Tatras .

Life

Beata Łaska was the daughter of Katharina Ochstadt von Thelnitz ( pol. Katarzyna Telniczanka , * 1480, † 1528) a former mistress of King Sigismund I "the old" . In 1509 Katarzyna was married to the king's castellan and treasurer, Andrzej Kościelecki. The marriage was childless for six years until their daughter Beata was born in 1515. However, many historians are of the assumption that this child also came from King Sigismund I.

On February 3, 1539 Beata married Prince Illa (Elias) Ostrogski (* 1510, † August 15, 1539) at Wawel Castle in Krakow . Ostrogski was the descendant of one of the richest and most powerful families in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania . The daughter Elisabeth Ostrogska (also known as Halschka von Ostrog ) emerged from the marriage, but she was only born after her father's death.

When her first husband died after only six months of marriage, he left the young widow an extraordinarily large fortune. Many had already unsuccessfully cast an eye on this when the now 49-year-old princess gave in to the recruitment of Albert (Pol. Olbracht ) Łasky , who was 21 years younger and always struggled with financial difficulties .

Albert Łasky led a lavish life and engaged in alchemy . He called English alchemists to Kesmark in the hope that they would be able to artificially produce gold.

In 1565 Beata Łaska came to Kesmark and solemnly moved into the castle. Shortly afterwards - on June 10th, 1565 - she undertook a sensational excursion to the "Snow Mountain ", as the High Tatras were called at the time. She found a lot of fun in the area, Christian Genersich observed , and apparently didn't mind the intricacies of the company. Carriages were driven on bad roads to the edge of the mountains, then ridden on Vietrifte in the Weißwassertal (Slov. “Bielovodská dolina”). Numerous farmhands accompanied the first tourist known by name to one of the most beautiful mountain basins of the High Tatras leading to the Green Lake (Slov. "Zelené pleso").

Some sources , mostly from Poland , also name their husband as a companion, but this is doubtful because the extremely unconventional behavior of his wife at the time served as an occasion for him to lock her in the castle and thus to appropriate her fortune, which he has over the years missed. He described their trip to the High Tatras as "immoral". (In a tax book from that time it is said: “She was guilty of the laws of morality, so her husband had her imprisoned in a tower of his castle.”) The dungeon (in which she was literally walled in) was in a tower of the Kesmarker Castle, it only had a small window that gave a view of the High Tatras.

During her imprisonment, Albert Łasky wasted all of her fortune. In 1571 Albert was financially ruined and in the end, he was forced to pledge the castle to Hans Rueber, Baron von Pixendorf . Rueber then freed Beata Łaska from her captivity.

The unhappy Beata Łaska withdrew to Košice, where she died in 1576.

Her fortune did not bring her husband luck: his plans were too high-flying, his ambitions too costly, including the alchemy that led him to London , so that he died in great poverty.

literature

Ernst Hochberger: High Tatras. Mountains of Northern Slovakia. 4 vols. Sinn 1992
Ernst Hochberger: Significant and interesting women in the history of Slovakia. In: Karpatenjahrbuch 2004. 55 year, Stuttgart 2003, ISBN 80-88903-47-5 , pp. 73–91
Anton Klipp: The High Tatras and the Carpathian Association. Karlsruhe 2010, ISBN 3-927020-12-5

Web links

Beata Laska in Novy čas (Slovak)

Individual evidence

↑ Katerina was the king's favorite mistress. With the monarchs she had three illegitimate children (Johann, also Jan (usz) de Thelnicz (* 1499, † 1538) the future bishop of Vilna and Posen , as well as the daughters Regina (* 1500, † 1426) and Katherina (* 1503; † 1548)).
↑ Albert Łasky (* 1536; † 1605) was a Polish nobleman and at times owner of the Kesmark Castle. His father Hieronymus Łasky (* 1496; † 1541) received the castle from Zápolya on September 30, 1528 for the services rendered to him. The Łasky's came from a Polish noble family and derived their name from an estate called “Lask” near Lodz .
↑ ^a ^b Anton Klipp: The High Tatras and the Carpathian Association. Karlsruhe 2010, ISBN 3-927020-12-5 , p. 51f
^ Johannes Rueber, Freiherr zu Pixendorf (* ~ 1529; † March 22, 1584) was an Imperial Colonel and Austro-Hungarian General in the service of four emperors of the House of Habsburg .
↑ In 1583, Sebastian Thököly († 1607) acquired the rule in Kesmark from Johann Rueber, as this was also in financial difficulties.

personal data
SURNAME	Łaska, Beata
ALTERNATIVE NAMES	Łaska z Kościelecka, Beata
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	Polish nobles
DATE OF BIRTH	around 1515
DATE OF DEATH	1576
Place of death	Kosice , Kingdom of Hungary

[1] Katerina was the king's favorite mistress. With the monarchs she had three illegitimate children (Johann, also Jan (usz) de Thelnicz (* 1499, † 1538) the future bishop of Vilna and Posen , as well as the daughters Regina (* 1500, † 1426) and Katherina (* 1503; † 1548)).

[2] Albert Łasky (* 1536; † 1605) was a Polish nobleman and at times owner of the Kesmark Castle. His father Hieronymus Łasky (* 1496; † 1541) received the castle from Zápolya on September 30, 1528 for the services rendered to him. The Łasky's came from a Polish noble family and derived their name from an estate called “Lask” near Lodz .

[:0-3] Anton Klipp: The High Tatras and the Carpathian Association. Karlsruhe 2010, ISBN 3-927020-12-5 , p. 51f

[4] Johannes Rueber, Freiherr zu Pixendorf (* ~ 1529; † March 22, 1584) was an Imperial Colonel and Austro-Hungarian General in the service of four emperors of the House of Habsburg .

[5] In 1583, Sebastian Thököly († 1607) acquired the rule in Kesmark from Johann Rueber, as this was also in financial difficulties.