Vladislaus II, also known as Vladislav, Władysław or Wladislas, was King of Bohemia from 1471 to 1516 and King of Hungary and of Croatia from 1490 to 1516. As the eldest son of Casimir IV Jagiellon, he was expected to inherit Poland and Lithuania. George of Poděbrady, the Hussite ruler of Bohemia, offered to make Vladislaus his heir in 1468. George needed Casimir's support against the rebellious Catholic noblemen and their ally King of Hungary Matthias Corvinus. The Diet of Bohemia elected Vladislaus king after George's death, but he could rule only Bohemia proper because Matthias, whom the Catholic nobles had elected king, occupied Moravia, Silesia and both Lusatias. Vladislaus tried to reconquer the four provinces with his father's assistance but was repelled by Matthias.
Fresco from walls of the St. Wenceslas Chapel in St. Vitus Cathedral, Prague (1508)
Rey de Bohemia. An ideal portrait of Vladislaus Jagiellon, depicted as the King of Bohemia and "Arch-Cupbearer of the Empire" on fol. 33r of Portuguese armorial Livro do Armeiro-Mor (1509)
Kutná Hora was the medieval center of silver mining and the second richest town of the Kingdom of Bohemia.
Vladislav Hall within the Prague Castle
Casimir IV was Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1440 and King of Poland from 1447 until his death in 1492. He was one of the most active Polish-Lithuanian rulers; under him, Poland defeated the Teutonic Knights in the Thirteen Years' War and recovered Pomerania.
Casimir IV, 17th-century depiction by an unknown artist
Lithuanian coin of Grand Duke Casimir IV Jagiellon with the Columns of the Gediminids and Vytis (Pogonia)
Tomb of Casimir IV in the Wawel Cathedral, late Gothic masterpiece by Veit Stoss
Casimir IV in advanced age, by Jan Matejko
