Pac (family)

Pacowie (Polish: Pacowie, Lithuanian: Pacai, Belarusian: Па́цы) was one of the most influential noble families in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania during the era of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. Numerous high-ranking officials of the Commonwealth came from their ranks. Their coat of arms was Gozdawa.

The family reached the height of its influence during the second half of the 17th century. Their lands were located mainly in Hrodna (Polish: Grodno) and Lida.

The family's ancestor Kimantas was mentioned in the privilege of 1388 issued by Grand Duke of Lithuania Vytautas the Great as Kymunt. The estate of the family in proximity of Grodno was mentioned in the road description, charted by the Teutonic Knights, as Kymundsdorf. Kimantas and his son Daukša (Dowkszewicz) were among the signatories of the Union of Vilnius and Radom of 1401. Daukša's son Pac is considered the first member of the family; his ancestors took his first name as their family name, beginning with his son Jerzy Pac (d. 1505/6).

Their lands were concentrated in the southern Lithuania propria, around the county of Jewzno. The family sponsored the construction of several notable examples of Baroque architecture in Lithuania; the most significant of these, St Peter and St Paul's Church in Vilnius and the Monastery of Pažaislis, were commissioned by family members.

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