Commemorative plaque in memory of the Tyszkiewicz family displayed in Trakų Vokė

Countess Anna Janina Maria Tyszkiewiczowa, née Radziwiłłówna, a wife of the last owner of the Trakų Vokė (Waka Trocka) estate, Jan Michał Tyszkiewicz, was honoured with a commemorative plaque on the Kaplica pw. Najświętszej Maryi Panny (the Blessed Virgin Mary Chapel) in Trakų Vokė, unveiled on Pentecost Sunday. 

Trakų Vokė is located by the road from Vilnius to Trakai. Currently the town lies within the administration of Vilnius. 

From 1850 to 1939, the Trakų Vokė estate belonged to the Tyszkiewicz family. Its last owner, Jan Michał Tyszkiewicz, was a well-respected Second Polish Republic Sejm deputy. He died in an aircraft accident on May 31, 1939, while coming back to his family in Trakų Vokė from Catholic retreats in Międzyrzecze Podlaskie. He was buried in Trakų Vokė near a chapel in his family’s estate. When World War II began, the Countess Anna Tyszkiewiczowa escaped to England with her three children: Izabela, Zygmunt, and Anna. She died in Brighton in 1983. 

The plaque on the Kaplica pw. Najświętszej Maryi Panny is an execution of legacy of the Countess Tyszkiewiczowa who was yearning till the end of her life for the place she had had to leave. It was funded by her children. 

The plaque was unveiled by dr Liliana Narkowicz, author of a monograph on the House of Tyszkiewicz, who maintains contact with the descendants of the former owners of Trakų Vokė, currently residing in England. The plaque was dedicated by Fr. Gintaras Petronis.

The inscription on the plaque, written in Polish and Lithuanian, included the following:

“THE COUNTESS ANNA JANINA TYSZKIEWICZOWA, NÉE RADZIWIŁŁÓWNA, BORN 26.07.1907. IN TYCZNO NEAR RZESZÓW, DIED 12.11.1983 R. IN BRIGHTON, UNITED KINGDOM. MARRIED TO JAN MICHAŁ TYSZKIEWICZ OF TRAKŲ VOKĖ BURRIED NEAR THIS CHAPEL. Parents of Izabela (born 26.02.1932), Zygmunt (born 04.02.1934), and Anna (born 02.04.1938). THE CHILDREN ASK FOR PRAYER FOR THEIR PARENTS.”

On the same day in Trakų Vokė, a commemorative medallion was displayed on a house where an organist Franciszek Iwanowski had used to live before World War II.

Based on: magwil.lt, inf.wł

Source: http://www.wilnoteka.lt/pl/artykul/w-wace-trockiej-wspomnienie-tyszkiewiczow

Tłumaczenie by Michał M. Kowalski w ramach praktyk w Europejskiej Fundacji Praw Człowieka, www.efhr.eu. Translated by Michał M. Kowalski within the framework of a traineeship programme of the European Foundation of Human Rights, www.efhr.eu.