Korniakt, Konstiantyn

Korniakt, Konstiantyn [Корнякт, Костянтин; Kornjakt, Konstjantyn], 1517–1603. Merchant and philanthropist. A Greek by origin, in the mid-16th century he worked at the court of the Moldavian hospodar A. Lapuşneanu. In the 1560s he moved to Lviv, where he became one of the city's wealthiest merchants. He conducted extensive trade with the territories under Ottoman rule and with Germany, and eventually owned over 40 villages in the Lviv and Peremyshl areas. In 1589 he became a member of the Lviv Dormition Brotherhood, although he later supported Bishop Hedeon Balaban in his struggle with the brotherhood. He personally financed the construction of the belfry of the Dormition Church in Lviv (1572–8). The belfry and his house, the famous Korniakt building, are among the finest examples of Ukrainian Renaissance architecture.

[This article originally appeared in the Encyclopedia of Ukraine, vol. 2 (1988).]