Andrzej Stanisław Załuski

Who was Andrzej Stanisław Załuski?

Andrzej Stanisław Kostka Załuski was a priest in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth.

In his religious career he held the posts of abbot and later Bishop of Płock, bishop of Łuck, Bishop of Chełmno and Bishop of Cracow. He was a supporter of the Jesuits in Poland.

A member of the Polish nobility of the Junosza coat of arms, he also held the position of the Great Crown Chancellor from 1735 to 1746. As a politician he was engaged in the movement that wanted to reform the failing political system of the Commonwealth.

He studied in Danzig and Rome.

Załuski was a corresponding member of Societas eruditorum incognitorum in terris Austriacis, the first learned society in Habsuburg Austria.

He is perhaps most famous as co-founder of Załuski Library, one of the largest 18th-century collections of books in the world. He also sponsored the seminary in Pułtusk.