Władysław IV Waza

He was no doubt a popular king in his time. Brought up and educated in the court of his parents Sigismund III Vasa (Zygmunt III Waza) and Anna Habsburg, he was already a favourite among Poles as a child and as a promising young man. His election as King of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth in 1632 was one of the most uncontested elections in the history of elective kings. He owed his popularity primarily not due to his political decisions, but to his personal charm and the way he related to others, including the way he managed to win over heads of state and officials of other countries. His personal doctor for many years at the court wrote, ‘Not once have I seen him frown at me.’ And that is despite facing serious difficulties connected with the state or personal tragedies.

The king’s many titles to the throne

Władysław IV Waza held many titles, for although he was primarily the King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania, he claimed his inherited right to the Swedish throne. His father Sigismund III Vasa had been deposed in 1599, but Władysław still retained the title of the King of Sweden. Having been chosen the Tsar of Russia in 1610, following the invasion of Moscow by his father Sigismund, he never assumed the throne due to his father’s position and due to an uprising but he kept the title until 1634. It was then in 1634, in the Treaty of Polanów that followed the surrender of the Muscovy forces, that he gave up his claims to the tsardom and returned the royal insignia in exchange for a peace treaty favourable for the Commonwealth. He chose the interests of the state over his own personal ambitions.

The educated king

Władysław was not just well educated (he studied at the Kraków Academy for three years and for two years in Rome), he was also well travelled. He embarked on a European tour at the age of thirty assuming the name Snopkowski, possibly for safety purposes, but also to give himself greater personal freedom. He gained great experience and knowledge from his travels for he took a keen interest in military tactics and craftsmanship, as well as following the best achievements in the world of the arts. It is to his great credit that once he became king, he ensured that innovative arms and tactics helped him win major wars and his love of the arts contributed to the growth of Warsaw as a great cultural centre.

Władysław IV Waza the military tactician

Władysław was most certainly a military tactician, but perhaps not a great warrior himself. The first war that brought him fame was the Battle of Chocim with the Ottoman Empire in 1621. During the battle he was stricken with illness and therefore stayed in his tent, leaving Hetman Chodkiewicz to lead the army to victory. But in the whole of Europe it was he who earned the name of the ‘Defender of Christianity’. His greatest success was the victory over the Muscovite army at the siege of Smoleńsk in 1634. The act of surrender of Mikhail Shein (the commander of the Muscovy forces) to Władysław IV Waza was pictured in paintings for it was seen as a great success of the Commonwealth. Indeed, the ensuing Treaty of Polanów reflected the military gains of the Commonwealth forces. Władysław IV Waza contributed to this success as a good tactician making innovative use of artillery and fortifications – models that he had followed and experience that he had acquired during his travels in Europe.

Patron of the arts

Władysław’s more personal interests were connected with music and works of art. He managed to assemble a large collection of art by Italian and Belgian baroque masters. He was given credit for bringing the genre of the opera to Poland (though some would claim that Sigismund III had already introduced Italian versions of the opera in his time). But Władysław IV went even further than his father in his love of the arts, for he sponsored a large orchestra and choir, created an amphitheatre in the palace where dozens of operas were staged and contributed to the education and wider opportunities for Polish musicians and composers, such as Bartłomiej Pękiel, Adam Jarzębski, Marcin Mielczewski, Wincenty Lilius and others. The arts flourished in the time of Władysław IV Waza and he is well remembered for this reason.

The last days

A painful event that took place at the very end of Władysław’s life was the 1648 Khmelnytsky (Chmielnicki ) Uprising of the Cossacks to whom the king had made promises in order to secure their participation in a war with the Turks. The king’s war plans were rejected by the Sejm ( all wars required the Sejm’s approval), the Cossacks saw this as a betrayal and the revolt ensued. But in the same year,1648, the king died and so was unable to deal with the consequences of the rebellion. He was buried in the Wawel Cathedral in Kraków and his heart was buried in the Vilnius Cathedral in Lithuania.