Polish kings are often known and associated  with events that in some way shaped Polish history. Remember the Teutonic Knights with whom Poland had often been at war for a period of nearly 200 years? The predecessor of Zygmunt Stary, King Kazimierz IV Jagiellończyk (Casimir, the Jagiellonian) continued fighting with the Teutonic Knights, for despite the great victory of Polish and Lithuanian forces in the Battle of Grunwald in 1410, they still occupied Gdańsk Pomerania, Chełmno Land and Warmia. It is only after the Thirteen Years’ War (1454-1466) and the Toruń Peace Treaty in 1466 that these lands returned to Poland. The Teutonic Order was dissolved and their lands became a country known as the Duchy of Prussia.

Prussian Homage

The greatest achievement of Zygmunt I Stary was the “Prussian Homage” ( in Polish “Hołd Pruski”) in 1525. On the grand medieval marketplace of Kraków, the Duke of Prussia, Albrecht Hohenzollern, paid homage, that is, promised loyalty to the King of Poland and Grand Duchy of Lithuania. From this moment, Prussia could not attack the Commonwealth of Poland and Lithuania and in the case of foreign attacks, Prussia was obliged to defend it. The event was so significant that the famous Polish 19^th century artist, Jan Matejko, painted an enormous painting which brought to life the magnificence of that moment and gave life to the people who took part in this unique ceremony. Matejko was right. Should you be able to visit the National Gallery in Kraków and stand next to the enormous canvas, you, too, will become a witness of Polish history in the making.

The Golden Age

Zygmunt I Stary was crowned in 1507. He ruled for the next 40 years at a time known as the ‘Golden Age’ of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. The lands of the Commonwealth stretched from the Baltic Sea to almost the vicinity of the Black Sea. In the 16^th century Poland was known as the ‘Granary or Breadbasket of Europe’ for it produced such large quantities of wheat and grain, that buyers from all of Europe came to Poland for supplies. Large grain storage buildings, known as ‘spichlerze’ or ‘granaries’ were built along the Vistula River, thus trade flourished and towns became richer.

Bona Sforza, the wife of King Zygmunt I Stary

Everyone in Poland knows of Queen Bona, the charismatic wife of Zygmunt I Stary. She was an Italian princess from the Sforza family in Milan. She was very well educated so much to the surprise and disapproval of the court advisors she took a keen interest in matters of the state. And she did influence many areas of politics, but also the arts. To what extent she was behind the renovation project of the Wawel Castle, we may never know, but it was rebuilt in the fashionable renaissance style. The impressive Zygmunt Chapel with its famous Zygmunt bell attracts the attention of people even today. Queen Bona supported trade, towns and cities, as well as talented young nobleman, whom she was willing to send to study abroad. The one thing she did not quite succeed in was to change the culinary preferences of the local nobleman, for they did not quite take to the vegetables and fruit brought from Italy for the novel dishes served at the royal court. Strangely enough, today not a single Pole can envisage Polish traditional cuisine without the so-called  ‘włoszczyzna’, that is, what is known as ‘Italian vegetables’ – a set of vegetables added to every Polish soup or Polish sauce. You can find them bundled together and secured by a rubber band at every veggie stall, supermarket or veggie drawer of a household fridge. And who do we owe it to? Queen Bona, of course!

Mikołaj Kopernik, Mikołaj Rej and Jan Kochanowski

It would be wrong not to mention the great Poles who lived and worked in the time of Zygmunt I Stary. They are important for the world, but also for us, Polish people. Mikołaj Kopernik or Nicolaus Copernicus, as he is known to the world, changed the way we understood the universe. He was the first to discover, that much to the surprise of some, the Earth moved around the Sun rather than being the centre of everything! This vital piece of science concerned all those living on Earth. Rather the reverse was true for Mikołaj Rej and Jan Kochanowski. In those times all literary texts were written in the language of Latin, being thus accessible only to those who were lucky enough to receive a sound education. Mikołaj Rej and Jan Kochanowski wrote beautiful pieces of literature in the Polish language, thus changing the perception of every single Pole of who she or he was as a Polish person. People had the chance to express their grief, love, sensitivity, thoughts about their surroundings, amazement at the world, and so much more, with words that were a part of them and a part of their identity. The Polish language entered the world of the arts.

Zygmunt I Stary lived for 81 years. This may have been due to the Italian diet, but probably more importantly to the times of prosperity and relative calm that Poland and the Duchy of Lithuania enjoyed during his rule.

Andreas Jungholz, Sigismund I the Old, 1546

Hans von Kulmbach, Sigismund I the Old, circa 1511/1528

Marcello Bacciarelli, Sigismund I of Poland, between 1768 and 1771

Jan Matejko, Zygmunt I Stary, circa 1893

Jan Matejko, Zygmunt Stary and Bona Sforza with the court, 19th century

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Zygmunt_Stary_i_Bona
_Sforza.jpg

Coin: City Denar, Elbląg, Zygmunt Stary, Gabinet Numizmatyczny
Damian Marciniak

Jan Matejko. Prussian Homage, 1 January 1882

Photo: Kgbo, Gallery of 19th-Century Polish Art in the Sukiennice in Kraków, 2022

Photo: Great Brightstar, Royal arms of King Sigismund I the Old on display at the Gallery of 19th-Century Polish Art at Sukiennice in Kraków, 2023

Photo: Dennis, G.Jarvis, Sigismund’s Chapel, one of the masterpieces of Polish architecture, built in 1519 – 33, Wawel Cathedral in Kraków,

Georg Braun, Frans Hogenberg, View of Wawel near the end of the 16th century, 1617

Sigismund Bell

https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?search=Dzwon+Zygmunta&title=Special:MediaSearch&go=Go&type
=image

Photo: Jakub Hałun, Celebration of the 500th anniversary of The Sigismund Bell in Kraków, 2021

Photo: Jakub Hałun, Celebration of the 500th anniversary of The Sigismund Bell in Kraków, 2021

Photo: Jakub Hałun, Dance show at the Celebration of the 500th anniversary of The Sigismund Bell in Kraków, 2021

Photo: Jakub Hałun, Dance show at the Celebration of the 500th anniversary of The Sigismund Bell in Kraków, 2021