Wolczko Wolf

Wolczko Wolf, native of Drogobych, was a Polish merchant, revenue officer, banker, and purveyor to the Polish King Władysław II Jagiełło (r. 1386–1434). The earliest known evidence of his activities is a documentfrom 1404 which names him as executor of a large sum of money in the king’s name for the town of Lvov. For the next three decades his affairs also involved the lease of the king’s and the town’s revenues in Lvov, and those of the customs stations of Chelm and the salt mines of Drogobych. Wolczko made loans to the king and his court, and, with the king’s consent, to the members of the feudal aristocracy. His interests were also in commerce and was engaged in the import of spices, silk, furs, and English cloth as well as in the export of wax.

Developing settlements was another activity in which Wolczko was successful. In 1423 he was granted administrative rights and jurisdiction over the village of Werbiz (near Sambor), which he developed most successfully. He was granted rights to other estates in the vicinity, but in 1432 he was compelled to retire from these activities, as it was forbidden for a Jew to have jurisdiction over Christian settlers, and his rights were taken over by Christians.