The proudest and most independent in spirit (according to its own legend, at least) of the Slavic countries, Poland, was very often ruled by foreigners. Moreover, many legendary Polish kings were newcomers. The French, Lithuanians, Hungarians, Germans, Swedes, Czechs and Russians sat on the Polish throne.
True, to what extent the Russian tsars, each of whom was predominantly of German blood at the time when he was crowned separately in Warsaw, can be considered Russian is a big question. But the fact is a fact: when Poland was part of Russia as the Kingdom of Poland and the Russian Emperor was obliged to undergo a separate coronation with the Poles for the legitimacy of his reign, all three Alexanders and both Nicholas were kings of Poland.
French on the Polish throne
The first thing that comes to mind with this phrase is the story of Henry III of Valois, who so persistently sought the Polish throne and so dishonestly fled from his throne after a very short reign. He, of course, entered Polish legends, but not in the way he would have liked.However, even before Henry, there were French on the Polish throne. The first was Louis of Anjou, who went down in the history of neighboring Hungary as Lajos the Great - since he ruled both countries. However, strictly speaking, Louis belonged to the Neapolitan, that is, Italian, branch of the dynasty, so he can be remembered in the same way as an Italian on the Polish throne.
Louis of Anjou had no sons, only two daughters. He bequeathed Hungary to the eldest, Maria, and Poland to the younger, Jadwiga. Moreover, he died when both were still just girls, and it turned out to be difficult for them to retain their thrones. Jadwiga, under pressure from the Poles, had to marry the old ugly Lithuanian prince Jogaila, who was considered a bit of a scumbag in his family, instead of taking as her husband the young Austrian duke, whom she really liked. When the wedding took place, the bride was not even fifteen and she walked down the aisle in dark clothes, without a single decoration, so that no one could suspect that she was happy about this day.
The Polish people fell in love with Jadwiga very much during her lifetime, and after her death many believed that she was a saint. But the Catholic Church canonized her only in our time. When this happened in 1997, Pope John Paul II, himself a Pole, came to Krakow and addressed the queen’s tombstone: “You have waited a long time, Jadwiga...”
Well, it’s always worth remembering that Poland, like many other countries, was once conquered by Napoleon and even married a Polish noblewoman.
Hungarian - the object of all-Polish love
Polish history was connected with Hungary not only by Jadwiga’s father, but also by the king who replaced the escaped Henry of Valois, Stefan Batory, born Istvan Batory. The Bathory family was at one time one of the most influential in Eastern Europe thanks to a cunning system of marriage alliances, and when one of them ascended the throne, the rest probably thought that they had won a great dynastic game and from now on the Bathory family would be remembered as royalty. But Istvan was unable to found a dynasty - his wife Anna, a Polish woman, a distant descendant of Jogaila, was over fifty and she could not conceive a child, and Istvan saw no point in making heirs on the side.
Stefan Batory not only became a great Polish king - he is remembered with delight and love by all the peoples he then ruled: Poles, Lithuanians and Belarusians. Moreover, he did not speak any of the three languages and he had to write decrees in Latin. This did not stop Stefan in his frenetic activity; he also corresponded with the Russian Tsar Ivan IV - challenging him to a duel. Simply because he believed that it was impossible to be so cruel in the world. In addition to challenging him to a duel, he sent the king a stack of books for self-education.
Czechs also wanted to be Poles
Some of the Czech kings were not averse to being also the Polish king. This distinguished two representatives of the Přemyslid dynasty, Wenceslas II and his son Wenceslas III. Wenceslas the Father received the Duchy of Krakow from the hands of the Polish king Przemysl II. In fact, this gesture was already preparing Wenceslas to receive the throne after Przemysl; it was believed that whoever owns Krakow also owns Poland. He also later received the crown of Hungary, establishing the glorious tradition of future kings of Poland (or Hungary) ruling both these countries.
Vaclav himself was a very interesting person. He became the King of the Czech Republic after his stepfather-regent, who had been sitting too long, suddenly turned out to be guilty of various kinds of crimes and had to be beheaded. Vaclav spent his childhood from seven to twelve years old as a hostage with a stern German knight, who went down in history as Otto the Long, and this probably spoiled Vaclav’s character a little, otherwise his stepfather would have gotten off with some kind of exile.
In Polish history, he was not noted for anything interesting, except for marrying the daughter of King Przemysl after the death of the latter, and having a crowd of illegitimate children. Why he needed Poland at all, except for vanity, was not very clear. In any case, Vaclav's son Vaclav Poland almost drank away, but he was killed earlier. After this, Czechs were no longer announced on the Polish throne.
Sweden also wants Poland
At a time when kings in Poland were already elected, one of the Swedish kings almost managed to found a dynasty in Poland - that is, not only he himself was king, but also his two sons. We are talking about Sigismund Vasa, where Vasa is not a nickname, but the surname of the Swedish royal dynasty.Prince Sigismund participated in the elections with some reason - his mother was Katherine Jagiellonka, one of Jogaila's offspring. By placing the Swedish prince on the throne, Poland hoped to settle land disputes on the Lithuanian shores (Lithuania generally plays a huge role in Polish history). They were waiting for him with great enthusiasm, but no one liked the prince on the spot. He walks wrong, sits wrong, looks wrong, talks wrong... The hostility was mutual, and the prince even thought about transferring the crown along with the country to the Austrians, but later his thoughts turned in a different direction: how to make Sweden and Poland a single country?
Now the plans seem ridiculous: where are the Swedes and where are the Poles? But at that time Poland owned much more of the Baltic lands, and the Swedes owned modern Finnish and Estonian lands, so it would have been a wonderful empire with the Baltic Sea in the middle. The project, however, failed. Moreover, having become the Swedish king, Sigismund discovered that the Swedes did not like him just like the Poles, and that this was the only point on which the two peoples were ready to unite.
Germans in the city
From time to time the Germans also ruled Poland. We are talking not only about the Second World War, but also about the times of kings. For example, at the end of the seventeenth century, the Elector of Saxony, who went down in the history of Poland as Augustus the Strong, was chosen as the Polish king. He was allowed to the throne only on condition of accepting the Catholic faith.
Augustus entered Russian history as an ally of Peter I in the war against Sweden. However, at the same time, he entered into secret agreements with the Swedish king. In general, he pursued a two-faced policy. His son Augustus also became King of Poland (yes, diversity in royal families was considered unnecessary), but this one became even less famous - exclusively for his special extravagance and love for the beautiful life. In general, the Poles did not get along well with the Germans long before Hitler. Although no one can surpass Hitler: he was very fond of building death camps in Poland. And kill thousands of people in them.
It is impossible to write about Poland under the rule of Nazi Germany without shuddering. , and this is only one of the few evidence of a huge tragedy.
They are the first Polish princely and royal dynasty. They ruled from the end of the 9th century until 1370.
967 – 1025 – years of life of Boleslav I the Brave. He was a prince for 33 years, then became a king. United and expanded Polish lands. He conquered Eastern Pomerania, Moravia and partly Slovakia.
990 – 1034 years of life of Sack II. Troubled times for Poland: wars, political isolation, civil strife. The king had to suppress the rebellions and give up part of the lands conquered by his predecessor. Mieszko II was killed by conspirators.
1271 – 1305 – Czech ruler Vaclav II. In 1300 he became king of Poland. He died during the years of conflict between contenders for the imperial throne of the Roman Empire.
1261 – 1333 – Vladislav I (Lokotok). Became king in 1320. He united Polish lands and fought against foreign rule.
1310 – 1370 – Casimir III. To develop the country, he took up reforms, creating a set of laws for all of Poland and establishing connections with neighbors - the Germans, Czechs and Hungarians. Founded the University of Krakow.
1326 – 1382 – Louis I is a Hungarian king; in 1370 he became the Polish king after the death of his uncle, who left no heirs. Despite the fact that he owned vast territories and carried out reforms, the Poles did not respect him, believing that he was doing little for Poland, limiting himself to collecting taxes.
1373 – 1399 – Jadwiga I, daughter of Louis I, after his death received Poland as an inheritance. In 1384 she took the title of king, although, according to Polish law, a woman had no right to this. Because of this, she only ruled for a year. After Jadwiga got married, the country was governed jointly with her husband.
Jagiellonian Dynasty
1362 – 1434 – the years of the life of Vladislav II, the first representative of the Lithuanian princely family. In 1386 he took over as Polish king. His reign is associated with the famous Battle of Grunwald and the baptism of Lithuania.
1424 – 1444 – Vladislav III. He fought for the Hungarian throne and died in the war with the Ottoman Turks.
1427 – 1492 – Casimir IV – achieved access to the sea in the fight against the Teutons. During his reign, the gentry increased its influence in the country.
1459 - 1501 – Jan I. He had to constantly fight with his neighbors - the Principality of Moscow, the Tatars, and the peoples of Moldova. He fought against the expansion of the rights of the gentry. He died suddenly.
1461 – 1506 – Alexander I Jagiellon. He continued to fight with his neighbors. Established a set of uniform laws.
1467 – 1548 – Sigismund I. He paid tribute to the Tatars, carried out military reform to strengthen the country's defense capability.
1520 – 1572 – Sigismund II. Famous for the conclusion of the Union of Lublin, which united Poland and Lithuania into the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. He fought with Ivan the Terrible and lost Polotsk to him, and made laws. Catholics and Orthodox Christians received equal rights.
Elective kings
1551 – 1589 – Henry III. He sought the throne by making promises to the nobility. He was little involved in the affairs of the country. In 1574 he fled to France, taking its throne.
1533 – 1586 - Stefan Batory. He fought with the gentry to strengthen royal power, developed education, the monetary system, and the bureaucracy. He continued to fight with Ivan the Terrible for Livonia.
Subsequently, the elected kings had to continue the struggle with the Polish nobility - the gentry, which proceeded with varying degrees of success. The most famous kings of this time were Jan II Casimir (1609 – 1672), Mikhail Vishnevetsky (1640 – 1673), Augustus II the Strong (1670 – 1733).
The last king of Greater Poland, Stanisław II Poniatowski (1732 - 1798), was an intelligent and educated man. He was involved in reforms, the financial system, and the army. He fought unsuccessfully against the gentry, which led to civil war and the division of Poland between neighbors. Poniatowski had to renounce the throne and live the last years of his life in Russia.
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Queens of Poland from 1282 to 1757
I’ve wanted to for a long time and today I’ll tell you about the queens of Poland.
Yadviga Boleslavovna (1266-1339)
The wife of the King of Poland Wladyslaw Loketek (Lokotok - a nickname given for her short stature, some sources indicate 130 cm). Gave birth to six children
Elizabeth of Bosnia (1340-1387)
Daughter of Ban Stefan II of Bosnia from the House of Kotromanić. Her mother, Elisabeth Kujawska, was the granddaughter of the Polish king Władysław Łokietek. Second wife of King Louis I the Great of Hungary and Poland. She had two daughters - Jadwiga and Maria. Elizabeth of Bosnia's youngest daughter, Jadwiga, became Queen of Poland. After the death of her husband, Elizabeth served as regent for her minor daughter Mary, who became the Hungarian queen. During the struggle for power in Hungary, both Elizabeth and Mary were imprisoned. Elizabeth was strangled in prison in front of her daughter.
Elizabeth and Mary in prison (artist Orlai Petrics Soma)
Jadwiga of Anjou (1373-1399)
Queen of Poland. Daughter of the King of Hungary and Poland, Louis I of Anjou. On February 18, 1385 she married Vladislav II Jagiello. Having given birth to a daughter in 1399, who died a month later, Jadwiga then went to the grave herself.
Portrait by Marcello Baciarelli
Anna of Celsa (1381-1416)
After Jadwiga's death, her husband Jagiello became king of Poland. In 1402 he married Anna of Celje, the only daughter of Count William of Celje and Anna of Poland, the youngest daughter of Casimir III the Great. Anna gave birth to a daughter, Jadwiga, in 1408. Little else is known beyond his death in 1416.
Anna and her husband Jagiello (artist unknown)
Elzbieta Granovskaya (1372-1420)
The only child of the Sandomierz governor Otto of Pilecki and, probably, his second wife Jadwiga from Melsztyn (godmother of Jagiello). After her father's death in 1384, she inherited his vast estates, including Pilica and Lancut. Elzbieta became the richest girl in Poland. Before her marriage to Jagiello in 1417, she was allegedly married twice. Queen of Poland from 1417, but two years later the queen began to show symptoms of tuberculosis and died in 1420.
(artist unknown)
Sofya Andreevna Golshanskaya (1405-1461)
The last fourth wife of Jagiello. From the noble Lithuanian princely family of the Golshansky (Olshansky) coat of arms Hypocentaur. The second of three daughters of Andrei Ivanovich Golshansky, the Kyiv governor, Prince of Vyazyn, and Alexandra Dmitrievna, a representative of the princely family of Drutsky. She got married at the age of 17, while Yagalo was supposedly 71 years old. She gave birth to three sons. Two survived - Vladislav and Kazimir. After the death of her husband, she actively helped her sons rule. She was the initiator of the first translation of the Bible into Polish (the so-called “Queen Sophia Bible”).
Jagiello and Sophia. Drawing by A. Leser
Elisabeth of Habsburg (1436-1505)
Daughter of Holy Roman Emperor Albrecht II, wife of King Casimir IV of Poland. Over 30 years of marriage, she gave birth to 13 children: 6 sons and 7 daughters. Four of her sons became kings, which is why she is also called the "mother of kings."
(artist unknown)
Elena Ivanovna of Moscow (1476-1513)
Daughter of the Grand Duke of Moscow Ivan III, wife of the King of Poland Alexander Jagiellon. I wrote about her 
Alexander King of Poland and Queen Helena (unknown Polish artist)
Barbara Zapolya (1495—1515)
The daughter of the Hungarian prince Stefan Zapolya, the first wife of the king of Poland Sigismund I. She gave birth to two daughters - Anna and Jadwiga.
(artist unknown)
Bona Sforza (1494-1557)
Second wife of King Sigismund I, daughter of the Duke of Milan Gian Galeazzo Sforza and Isabella of Aragon. She gave birth to six children (the last boy was stillborn). Bona was famous for her beauty and had great energy. Even during the life of her elderly spouse, she actually ruled the country, but her pride and alien style of governance repelled the then Polish nobility from her.
Engraving depicting Bona, 1517
Elizabeth of Austria (1526—1545)
Daughter of Holy Roman Emperor Ferdinand I and his wife, Anne of Bohemia. The first wife of King Sigismund II Augustus of Poland. Married at age 16. She developed a hostile relationship with her mother-in-law, Bona Sforza, and later her husband began to avoid her proximity - presumably because Elizabeth suffered from epilepsy. She died without leaving children at the age of 19.
(artist unknown)
Barbara Radziwill (1520-1551)
She was born into the family of the most powerful Lithuanian magnates, the Radziwills: her father was Yuri Radziwill, her brother was Nikolai the Red Radziwill, and her cousin was Nikolai the Black Radziwill). In 1547, she secretly married Sigismund II Augustus. In 1548 he officially announced this marriage. Barbara was declared the Polish queen, which was fiercely resisted by the king's mother Bona Sforza and the Polish nobles, who feared the dominance of the Radziwills - supporters of the complete independence of Lithuania from Poland. Only on May 7, 1550, Barbara was crowned in Krakow, but she soon fell ill and died on May 8, 1551. Hypotheses have been put forward that she was poisoned by her mother-in-law Bona Sforza. The husband was in grief, he loved her very much.
Joseph Zimler. Death of Barbara Radziwill (1860)
Catherine of Habsburg (1533—1572)
Third wife of Sigismund II Augustus, sister of his first wife. The king married at the behest of Bona Sforza's mother, but he soon separated from his wife and tried to initiate a divorce. Have no children. 
Jan Matejko. “The Death of Sysigmund II in Knyszyn” (Catherine on the left in a green dress)
Anna Jagiellonka (1523-1596)
Daughter of Sigismund I the Old, Queen of Poland and Grand Duchess of Lithuania since 1575. In 1574, when Henry of Valois became king of Poland, one of the conditions was that he would marry Anna. Henry did not fulfill his promise (Anna was 51 years old, he was 23 years old and had no desire) and fled to France as soon as his brother, the French king, died. Anna was declared Queen of Poland and married to Stefan Batory (he was 10 years younger than Anna). Stefan led the country.
(artist Martin Kober)
Anna of Habsburg (1573-1598)
Daughter of Archduke Charles Ferdinand of Styria. In 1592 she married the Polish king Sigismund III Vasa. At first, the Polish gentry did not want to agree to this marriage and even convened an inquisitorial diet, at which they decided to depose the king from the Polish throne, but, having recognized her heart and high qualities of mind, everyone fell in love with her. Anna was the mother of King Vladislav IV of Poland. She gave birth to five children in six years of marriage. She died in childbirth on her fifth birthday.
(artist unknown)
Constance of Habsburg (1588-1631)
Anna's sister, second wife of Sigismund III. She gave birth to seven children.
(artist - Joseph Heintz the Elder)
Maria Luisa Gonzaga (1611-1667)
Frenchwoman. Queen of Poland (under the name Louis Marie), wife of the last kings of the Vasa dynasty - Wladyslaw IV and John II Casimir. Daughter of the French Duke Charles de Nevers from the House of Gonzaga and Catherine de Mayenne (niece of the famous Duke of Guise). Cardinal Richelieu did not give her permission to marry for a long time for political reasons. Therefore, she married for the first time only in 1645 to Vladislav IV, and after his death in 1648 to his brother John II Casimir. She had great influence on the kings' husbands. But she had no children.
In a portrait by Van Egmont (1645)
Eleanor Maria of Austria (1653-1697)
Daughter of Holy Roman Emperor Ferdinand III and his third wife Eleanora Gonzaga. Archduchess of Austria, married to Michael Koribut of Wisniewiecki, Queen Consort of Poland. The king died three years later, their only son died at birth on November 29, 1670. She married a second time to Charles V, Duke of Lorraine, becoming Duchess of Lorraine.
(artist unknown)
Marysenka - Marie Casimira Louise de Grange d'Arquien (1641-1716)
A Frenchwoman from the Nevers nobility. From the age of 5 - in Poland, in the retinue of Queen Marie Louise of Nevers. At the age of 17, she married the last descendant of the “great hetman,” Jan Zamoyski, and after his death 6 years later, she married the brilliant Jan Sobieski, who had courted her before. She used her extensive connections at the Polish court to get the crown for her husband. And she achieved her goal: her husband became King John III Sobieski of Poland. From her marriage to Sobieski, Marysenka had 14 children (including the mother of Emperor Charles VII).
Maria Kazimira surrounded by children (artist - Jerzy Siemiginowski-Eleuter)
Christiane Ebergardina of Brandenburg-Bayreuth (1671-1727)
Wife of Augustus the Strong, Elector of Saxony, titular queen of Poland since 1697. Christiana remained true to her Protestant religion when her husband converted to Catholicism in order to gain the crown of Poland. Christiana was the godmother of “Arap Peter the Great” Abram Petrovich, who later received the surname Hannibal. Christiane lived alternately in palaces in Pretsch and Torgau and rarely appeared at the Dresden court. Christiane Ebergardina died alone at the age of 55 and was buried on 6 September in the Bayreuth city church. Neither her husband nor her only son attended the funeral.
(artist unknown)
Ekaterina Opalinskaya (1680-1747)
Wife of King Stanislaw Leszczynski of Poland. She gave birth to two daughters - Anna and Maria. Mary later became Queen of France, wife of Louis XV.
(artist - Jean-Baptiste van Loo)
Maria Josepha of Austria (1699-1757)
The eldest of the two daughters of Holy Roman Emperor Joseph I and Wilhelmina Amalia of Brunswick-Lüneburg. On August 20, 1719, she married Augustus of Saxony, who later became Elector of Saxony and King of Poland. Over the course of 20 years, she gave birth to 14 children, of whom 11 survived.
Maria Josepha of Austria (artist - Rosalba Carriera)- the last queen of Poland, because King Stanisław II August Poniatowski was not married, and the civil war that began under him caused intervention by neighboring powers and led to the first division of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth in 1772 between them.
Mieszko I laid the foundations of Polish statehood. It was under this Polish prince that Christianity of the Latin rite was established as the sovereign religion. During the reign of Mieszko I and thanks to his government activities, the Polish lands were united together. Kuyavia, Eastern Pomerania and Mazovia were annexed to the territory of Greater Poland. Poland began to play an important role in the political life of all of Europe.
Boleslaw I the Brave continued the work of his father Mieszko I in terms of collecting Polish lands. The Krakow land was annexed to Poland. In 999, the prince managed to capture Moravia. And a year later, even part of the Slovak lands. In 1025 Bolesław was crowned King of Poland in Gniezno. He glorified himself in numerous battles and received the nickname Brave. But he made many enemies. Almost all neighbors were hostile to Poland.
Mieszko II continued the expansionist policy of his father Bolesław I the Brave. During his reign, raids were made on the Czech Republic and Saxony. However, Holy Roman Emperor Conrad II pacified Mieszko II's attempts to increase his influence. In 1034, the Polish king was brutally murdered. The Polish feudal lords were dissatisfied with the policies he pursued. But the murder of the king only plunged Poland into even greater chaos and turmoil.
During his reign, he followed the example of Boleslav I the Brave. He continued to interfere in the internal affairs of neighboring states, such as Hungary. In addition, he took part in the Czech internecine wars. But it was Bolesław II who regained his royal title. Under him, no one challenged the independence of the Polish state. As a result of the revolt of the magnates in 1079, Bolesław II was forced to flee the country forever.
after many years of socio-political crisis in Poland, he tried to restore statehood, establish Christianity and raise the broken authority of the Polish government. If it were not for the timely assistance of the Holy Roman Emperor Henry III provided to Casimir, the Polish lands could have become part of the Czech Republic and returned to paganism. But Casimir I was forced to pay for the assistance provided with the independence of Poland.
came to grips with the issue of subjugating Pomerania. Polish troops under his command managed to capture Gdansk. Boleslav III did not refuse to intervene in the affairs of foreign states (Kievan Rus and Hungary). But the biggest result of his reign was the Statute, which actually introduced the seignorate system in the country. The statute prescribed that the Polish state was split into many small parts. The era of feudal fragmentation began.
in 1177 he ascended the Polish throne. He managed to become a powerful prince of Poland. The foreign policy of the Polish state under him was peaceful. Casimir III paid more attention to internal problems. His goal was to unite the Polish lands, but he failed to achieve this goal. Bloody unrest broke out again in Poland after the death of Casimir II.
was first married to Versheslav from Novgorod. But after the tragic death of their son Boleslav, the prince chose Maria as his wife. The son of Bolesław IV received an inheritance in Mazovia. The result of the king's reign was a reduction in the powers of the prince-princeps. In practice, the country was led by aristocrats who extended their influence over a certain fiefdom. Due to such fragmentation of the state, Boleslav IV never managed to receive a royal title.
was not a strong ruler. His years in power were not marked by an authoritarian style of government. He relied entirely on the Polish aristocracy when making decisions. Foreign policy turned out to be a failure. Trips to Western Pomerania ended in nothing. And his support (the ruler relied on the provincial aristocracy as the main force) betrayed him and got out of control. Separatist tendencies were intensifying in the country, and the king could not do anything about them.
almost became the last Polish king from the Piast dynasty. He received the crown not without effort, since the previous ruler of Poland, Leszek Chorny, died childless. As a result, a struggle for the throne developed between the Piasts, in which Przemysl II emerged victorious. However, he did not have to rule for long. He would be kidnapped and beaten. The most likely customer of the harsh reprisal against Przemysl II is called Otto of Brandenburg.
received this nickname for his small stature, which did not exceed 140 centimeters. The ruler actively fought for the unification of Polish lands. Although his path to the Polish crown was thorny and difficult, Wladyslaw I was able to annex Greater Poland and Eastern Pomerania to his possessions. In 1293, Jadwiga of Kalisz became the wife of Władysław. In their marriage they had six children.
in 1370 he took the Polish throne. As a result, he owned vast territories from the Baltic shores to the Balkans. Under him, a number of laws were adopted on local self-government, on the rights of the crown and the privileges of cities. But this king cared little about the affairs developing in Poland. Louis I lived permanently on Hungarian territory. After his death, the Polish throne was taken by his daughter from his second marriage, Jadwiga.
Already at the age of eleven she became the Queen of Poland, and a year later she married Prince Jagiello of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. Jadwiga remained in the memory of the Poles as a good-natured, wise and pious woman. He constantly provided assistance to the poor and knew four foreign languages perfectly. Helped in the transformation of the University of Krakow. In 1997, the Vatican declared Queen Jadwiga a saint.
, former Grand Duke of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, became engaged to Queen Jadwiga of Poland in 1386. He was baptized into Catholicism, taking the name Vladislav. Among the main achievements of his reign on the Polish throne were the baptism of Lithuanian lands and the victory in the Battle of Grunwald. Thus, the expansion of the German knights to the East was stopped. He competed with the leader of the Lithuanian opposition Vytautas. According to the testimony of Jan Dlugosz, Jagiello died in 1434 from a cold.
did not occupy the Polish throne for long. At first, regents helped him rule the country, and in 1444, at the age of nineteen, the king went on a campaign against the Turkish troops of Murad II. However, the campaign failed miserably. Vladislav III heroically fell in battle near the city of Varna. The body of the Polish king was never found. Because of this, a lot of rumors appeared about his lucky salvation.
led a fairly successful fight against the Teutonic Order. In 1466, the Peace of Torun was concluded, according to which many territories were annexed to Poland. Casimir IV wanted to create close alliances with many of Poland's neighbors, including Prussia and the Czech Republic. During the reign of Casimir IV, the University of Krakow began to play an important role in European education. The Latin language became widespread.
tried to correct the situation with the increased gentry privileges in Poland, but he failed. The king was in a very difficult financial situation, so he had to seek help from the gentry. She took advantage of this situation and further strengthened her position, reducing the rights of the bourgeoisie and actually laying the foundation for serfdom in Poland. The expedition against the Moldavian ruler Stefan ended in failure.
turned out to be a very wasteful king of Poland. Wars with neighbors did not stop throughout his reign. The Tatars attacked Polish territories and literally devastated many lands. In 1505, the Radom Constitution was adopted. The royal power was losing its influence, and the gentry, on the contrary, strengthened their position. Alexander Jagiellonczyk was buried in Vilna, and not, according to tradition, in Poland.
closely took up the issues of defense of his state. Salaries were paid to the troops. There are new rules regarding defense issues. Military-financial reform was also implemented. Sigismund I was a great philanthropist, had an extensive library, and constantly invited eminent artists and sculptors to his palace. It was he who signed a number of letters of safe conduct for the pioneer printer Francis Skaryna.
established good relations with Turkey and Austria. But relations with Moscow were spoiled. As a result of a series of wars, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania lost many important cities, for example, Polotsk. In 1563, a privilege was signed, which equalized the rights of Catholics and Orthodox Christians. The gentry continued to prosper during his reign, trying not to spoil relations with the authorities. Royal prosecutors appeared in the povets.
had little interest in the internal affairs of Poland. He did not know the language or traditions. Royal ceremonies irritated him. Periodically he took money from the royal treasury to pay off debts due to constant losses at cards. Of course, although short, the memorable reign of the Frenchman on the Polish throne influenced the rapprochement of the two peoples. In 1574, Henry III fled from his residence in Wawel, Poland.
tried in every possible way to strengthen the power of the King of Poland. Fought with tycoons. In defiance of the reform movements, he provided all possible assistance to the Catholic Church and the Jesuits. It was during his reign that numerous Jesuit colleges were opened. Stefan Batory also paid increased attention to the development of the public administration infrastructure of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. Under him, the Polish grosz became the main means of payment.
left conflicting feelings in the memory of descendants. On the one hand, the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth reached the peak of its development under him. But during the reign of the king, the first shoots of a crisis in the Polish-Lithuanian state began to be observed. The principle of unanimity began to spread at the Seimas. Any attempts by the king to moderate the rights of the gentry ended in failure. Sigismund III tried to unite Poland and Sweden under one rule, but he failed.
began modernizing the Polish army. Artillery and infantry were improved. He renounced all claims to the Moscow throne. According to the results of the Polyanovsky Peace, Poland confirmed its borders before the Smolensk War of 1632-1634. In the field of religion, Vladislav IV showed religious tolerance and tried to play on the existing contradictions in his own interests. He was a great connoisseur of painting and regularly supported artists financially.
carried out a number of radical reforms in the army, but the Turkish threat again loomed over the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. But this was of little concern to the gentry and Lithuanian magnates. The last years of Jan III were also not very positive. There was complete discord in the family. The king's sons understood that Jan III Sobieski had little time left to live, so even during his lifetime they began to divide the throne. And the wife openly traded positions.
turned out to be the last king of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. In the first years of his reign, he tried to save Poland from a deep crisis. Numerous reforms began in the army, treasury, and legislative system. However, Stanislav Poniatowski was never able to cope with his main enemy - the right of “liberum veto”, which impeded the normal legislative process. Although the country adopted a Constitution in 1791, it was already too late. As a result of the partitions, the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth ceased to exist.
Jozef Piłsudski was the first head of the revived Polish state. However, it was under him that an authoritarian regime was established in the country. The role of the legislative branch of government was greatly limited. In Poland, a policy of “sanation” (“moral recovery”) was pursued, the real goal of which was to strengthen Pilsudski’s power. In 1935, a new Polish constitution was approved, formally establishing a strong presidential regime.
still receives an ambiguous characterization among Poles. On the one hand, he was the communist leader of Poland for a long time. Under him, many human rights were violated. On the other hand, he was the first president of independent Poland. In 1990, he agreed to hold multi-party elections for the presidency. Wojciech Jaruzelski peacefully transferred power to the victorious Lech Walesa.
, although he was an electrician by profession, was able to become the leader of the Polish Solidarity movement. In 1990 he became president. He faced the difficult tasks of reviving the Polish state, economic problems, and carrying out reforms that were painful for society. As a result of the policy of implementing a set of tough economic transformations, the level of income of the population dropped significantly, but subsequent years showed the effectiveness of the measures taken.
in his election program he proclaimed a “return to moral values.” Together with his twin brother, he headed the Law and Justice party. He was President of Poland for less than five years. Tragically died in a terrible plane crash in Russia. At the same time, many high-ranking Polish government officials died. Many cities have streets named after Lech Kaczynski.
Graduated from the Faculty of History at the University of Warsaw. For almost ten years he taught history at a Catholic seminary. Then he became involved in political activities. At one time he belonged to the Conservative People's Party. He was elected by the Polish people to the presidency in 2010. Komorowski ran for the Civic Platform party. He defeated his competitor Jaroslaw Kaczynski in the second round.
Andrzej Duda- Current President of Poland.
