Scroll with an image of Prince Przemysl II, painted in watercolour by the artist of our publishing house, Marek Miha. The portrait refers stylistically to the series of drawings Poczet królów i książąt polskich by Jan Matejko, in which the artist did not include an image of Prince Przemysl II. PRZEMYSŁ II After the heirless death of Boleslaw the Pious in 1279, Przemysl became lord of the whole of Greater Poland. In 1282, he forced the Duke of Pomerania to pay a fief tribute. Henry IV Probus bequeathed Malopolska to him in his will. In 1295, the Pope consented to the coronation of Przemysl, as king of Poland. In 1296, Przemysl set out on a tour of Pomerania, where he was assassinated, with the unexplained involvement of Czechs, by the Brandenburg margraves.

Scroll with an image of King Ladislaus Jagiello, painted in watercolour by the artist of our publishing house, Marek Miha. The portrait is a colourful interpretation of the drawings from the cycle Poczet królów i książąt polskich executed in pencil by Jan Matejko. WŁADYSŁAW JAGIEŁŁO (1362 - 1434) Jagiełło, son of Olgierd, ruler of Lithuania, from 1377 Grand Duke of Lithuania. In 1385 he married Jadwiga of Anjou and concluded a personal union between Lithuania and Poland. As a result, he was baptised and named Ladislaus. In 1386, he became the Polish king. The victory won by Jogaila at Grunwald in 1410 over the Teutonic Order led to an increase in the importance of Poland and its monarch in the international arena, and the union with Lithuania was strengthened in 1413 with the Union of Horodela.

A scroll with an image of King Casimir the Great, painted in watercolour by the artist of our publishing house, Marek Miha. The portrait is a colourful interpretation of drawings from the series Poczet królów i książąt polskich (A Selection of Polish Kings and Princes) made in pencil by Jan Matejko. KAZIMIERZ THE GREAT (1310 - 1370) The last of the Piast dynasty, king of Poland from 1333. Due to the construction of dozens of new cities, as well as the expansion or construction of several hundred new castles and fortresses, he was called ‘the one who found Poland wooden and left it brick’. The talented ruler was also famous for the small number of wars fought and an effective foreign policy. His reign consolidated the unification process of the Polish lands and brought Poland out of political isolation in Europe, after nearly two centuries of district disintegration.

Scroll with an image of King Bolesław Chrobry, painted in watercolour by the artist of our publishing house, Marek Miha. The portrait is a colourful interpretation of drawings from the cycle Poczet królów i książąt polskich executed in pencil by Jan Matejko. BOLESŁAW CHROBRY (967 - 1025) The son of Mieszko I, the first crowned king of Poland. He was an ally of Emperor Otto III, whom he hosted in Gniezno in 1000. He waged victorious wars over Milsko and Lusatia. He organised missionary expeditions to Kyiv. He installed his son-in-law, Svyatopolk, on the throne of Kyiv, and recaptured the Chernivian lands previously occupied by Prince Vladimir of Kyiv, incorporating them into his own state. Historians are increasingly adding the word ‘Great’ to his name.