Stanisław "the Pious" Radziwiłł (May 12, 1559 – March 19, 1599) was a sixth generation Radziwill family noble (szlachcic

Szlachta

The szlachta was a legally privileged noble class with origins in the Kingdom of Poland. It gained considerable institutional privileges during the 1333-1370 reign of Casimir the Great. In 1413, following a series of tentative personal unions between the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and the Kingdom of...

) of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania

Grand Duchy of Lithuania

The Grand Duchy of Lithuania was a European state from the 12th /13th century until 1569 and then as a constituent part of Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth until 1791 when Constitution of May 3, 1791 abolished it in favor of unitary state. It was founded by the Lithuanians, one of the polytheistic...

 in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth

Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth

The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth was a dualistic state of Poland and Lithuania ruled by a common monarch. It was the largest and one of the most populous countries of 16th- and 17th‑century Europe with some and a multi-ethnic population of 11 million at its peak in the early 17th century...

. He was a general starost (elder) of Duchy of Samogitia (Samaiten, from 1595 till his death), a first ordynat of Olyka

Olyka

Olyka is a town in Ukraine in the region of Volhynia. It is located east of Lutsk on the Putilovka river and has approximately 3,800 inhabitants .- History :...

, and Great Lithuanian Marshal (from 1592 till his death).

Son of Mikołaj "the Black" Radziwiłł and Elżbieta Szydłowiecka. Raised as a Calvinist, he converted to Roman Catholicism and was known as a very pious person, which gained him the nickname Pobożny (Pious). He was also known for his scholarly interests - he collected books and could read in many languages. He avoided politics, but fought in the wars with Muscovy under Polish king Stefan Batory

Stefan Batory

Stephen Báthory was a Hungarian noble Prince of Transylvania , then King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania . He was a member of the Somlyó branch of the noble Hungarian Báthory family...

. It was he who built most of the Olyka Castle

Olyka Castle

The Olyka Castle was the principal seat of the Radziwill princely family in Volhynia from 1564 until the late 18th century. The founder of the castle was Prince Mikołaj "the Black" Radziwiłł who gave Olyka to his youngest son Stanisław...

.

Sources

• Margaret Odrowaz-Sypniewska, The Radziwill Dynasty: From Pagan Times to the 1960's - Part One, http://www.angelfire.com/mi4/polcrt/radziwill.html