Polish Golden Age
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The Polish Golden Age was the Renaissance period in the Kingdom of Poland and subsequently in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, which started in the late 15th century. Historians argue that the Poli
King Sigismund II Augustus and Queen Barbara Radziwiłł in Vilnius by Jan Matejko
Jagiellonian University in Kraków
De revolutionibus orbium coelestium, the seminal work on the heliocentric theory of Renaissance astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus (1473–1543)
Nicolaus Copernicus, one of the most important astronomers in history
Sigismund II Augustus
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Sigismund II Augustus was King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania, the son of Sigismund I the Old, whom Sigismund II succeeded in 1548. He was the first ruler of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth
Polish Golden Age
…circumstances many elected to pursue their studies abroad. Sigismund I the Old, who built the presently existing Wawel Renaissance castle, and his son Sigismund II Augustus, supported intellectual and artistic activities and surrounded themselves with the creative elite. Their patronage example was followed by ecclesiastic…
Portrait by Lucas Cranach the Younger, 1553
A 1568 Lithuanian coin of Sigismund II Augustus with the coat of arms of Lithuania, Gediminas's Cap, and Columns of Gediminas
Child armour of Sigismund II Augustus, commissioned by his father-in-law Emperor Ferdinand I.
Posthumous painting of Queen Elizabeth of Austria, by Lucas Cranach the Younger.