Lewko ben Yarden

Lewko, the son of Yarden and Kaszyca from Kraków was an outstanding moneylender, official and landowner in the second half of the 14th century.

Lewko was a successful moneylender and provided loans to the Polish monarchs Caimir the Great, Louis d’Anjou, and Władysław II Jagiełło, to the high aristocracy from the secular and ecclesiastical circles, and to more ordinary nobles and burghers. As a member of a council summoned by Casimir the Great in 1368 in order to arrange the organization of salt mines, he became the co-lessee of mines in Bochnia and Wieliczka and provided a help in administration of the royal mint in Kraków. During 1360s, he served as an intermediary to raise a payment from the townspeople for the governor, Bodzanta, who held royal estates around Kraków. For his contributions, at the king’s request in 1370, and again in 1378 and 1382, his family is granted a letter which guaranteed protection and equal rights with other citizens of Kraków.

Lewko was also active in real estate business working in partnership with Kraków’s wealthiest Jews (including Smerlin and Jossman), as well as with the Silesian scholar and financier David Falken. Lewko and his family lived in Krakow, in the quarter reserved for the Jews. He owned a brewery and number of houses in Jewish quarter, and in other section of the city, two of which were gifts from the King Casimir the Great. After his death, his wife and sons inherited his properties and business. According to legend, he owed his incredible wealth to his possession of a sorcerer’s ring.