Sigismund II Augustus, Date of Birth, Place of Birth, Date of Death

    

Sigismund II Augustus

King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania

Date of Birth: 01-Aug-1520

Place of Birth: Kraków, Lesser Poland Voivodeship, Poland

Date of Death: 07-Jul-1572

Profession: statesperson

Nationality: Sweden

Zodiac Sign: Leo


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About Sigismund II Augustus

  • Sigismund II Augustus (Polish: Zygmunt II August; 1 August 1520 – 7 July 1572) was the King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania, the only son of Sigismund I the Old, whom Sigismund II succeeded in 1548.
  • Sigismund was the only legitimate son of Italian-born Bona Sforza and Sigismund the Old.
  • From the beginning he was groomed and extensively educated as a successor.
  • In 1529 he was crowned vivente rege while his father was still alive.
  • Sigismund Augustus continued a tolerance policy towards minorities and maintained peaceful relations with neighbouring countries, with the exception of the Northern Seven Years' War which aimed to secure Baltic trade.
  • Under his patronage the culture flourished in Poland; he was a collector of tapestries from the Low Countries and collected military memorabilia as well as swords and armours.
  • Sigismund Augustus' rule is widely considered as the apex of the Polish Golden Age.
  • In 1569 he oversaw the signing of the Union of Lublin between Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, which formed the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth and introduced an elective monarchy.
  • Sigismund Augustus married three times; his first wife, Elizabeth of Austria, died in 1545 at just eighteen.
  • He was then involved in several relationships with mistresses, the most famous being Barbara Radziwill, who became Sigismund's second wife and Queen of Poland in spite of his mother's disapproval.
  • The marriage was deemed scandalous and was fiercely opposed by the royal court and the nobility.
  • Barbara died five months after her coronation, presumably due to ill health, however, rumours circulated that she was poisoned.
  • Sigismund finally wedded Catherine of Austria, but remained childless throughout his life.
  • Sigismund Augustus was last male member of the Jagiellons.
  • Following the death of his sister Anna in 1596 the Jagiellonian Dynasty came to an end.

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