The locator and the first leader of Zubrzyca Górna at the beginning of the 16th century was known by the name ‘Ostrosz’. After his death, Andrzej Moniak who married Ostrosz’s widow received the foundation charter. Not long after a dispute over the village headship ensued with Mateusz, the founder’s son (whose existence Andrzej Moniak was hiding). The court ruled in favour of Ostrosz but Moniak delayed the implementation of the ruling. Eventually, history saved him. Helped by the Bukowiński and Wilczek families, he helped suppress the Protestant uprising in Orawa (1672) by putting up 700 riflemen at his expense, in return for which Leopold I of Habsburg freed all these families from dependence on Orawa Castle in 1674 (except for the freedom to remain Catholics) and donated to them a part of the village leader’s estate among other things. For their loyalty, the families were ennobled and received a coat of arms: a wolf passant holding a sword in one paw and a cross in the other. As of that moment, the ennobled families acquired the position that allowed them to amass family fortunes. However, the situation was still tense at the turn of the 18th century. New armies devastated Upper Orawa and the Moniak family who were loyal to the Habsburgs had to leave their home to protect themselves. They returned to Zubrzyca in 1710 and stayed there since.