How to Pronounce Sigismund II Augustus
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Aug 01, 1520 Kraków, Lesser Poland Voivodeship, Poland Died on 07 Jul 1572 (aged 51)
King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania
LeoSigismund Ii Augustus - Place of Birth, Date of Birth, Age, Wiki, Facts, Net Worth, Birthday, Biography and Family
Sigismund Ii Augustus, Date of Birth, Place of Birth, Family, Facts, Age, Net Worth, Biography and More in FamedBorn.com
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.
