The Hungarian Crown ( pl, Korona Węgierska) was a part of the

Polish Crown Jewels The only surviving original piece of the Polish Crown Jewels ( pl, Polskie Klejnoty Koronne) from the time of the Piast dynasty is the ceremonial sword – Szczerbiec. It is currently on display along with other preserved royal items at the W ...

. It was made in the 16th century, resembling the

Crown of Saint Stephen The Holy Crown of Hungary ( hu, Szent Korona; sh, Kruna svetoga Stjepana; la, Sacra Corona; sk, Svätoštefanská koruna , la, Sacra Corona), also known as the Crown of Saint Stephen, named in honour of Saint Stephen I of Hungary, was the ...

, as a private crown of

John II Sigismund Zápolya John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Secon ...

History

The original Hungarian Regalia were handed over by Queen

Isabella Jagiellon Isabella Jagiellon ( hu, Izabella királyné, links=no; pl, Izabela Jagiellonka, links=no; 18 January 1519 – 15 September 1559) was the Queen consort of Hungary. She was the oldest child of Polish King Sigismund I the Old, the Grand Duke of Lit ...

to Ferdinand of Austria in 1551, when she was forced to leave

Transylvania Transylvania ( ro, Ardeal or ; hu, Erdély; german: Siebenbürgen) is a historical and cultural region in Central Europe, encompassing central Romania. To the east and south its natural border is the Carpathian Mountains, and to the west the Ap ...

, which fell into Ferdinand's hands in accordance with the treaty of

Nyírbátor Nyírbátor () is a town in Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg county, in the Northern Great Plain region of eastern Hungary. With its historic atmosphere, this city is known for its 15th- and 16th-century ecclesiastic and secular architectural heritage an ...

. According to a contemporary Polish chronicler, she broke the cross off the Crown of Saint Stephen’s peak for her son, John Sigismund Zápolya. The copy of the main Hungarian insignium was probably made at that time. After John Sigismund's death the crown was inherited in 1571 by King

Sigismund II Augustus Sigismund II Augustus ( pl, Zygmunt II August, lt, Žygimantas Augustas; 1 August 1520 – 7 July 1572) 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 Poland, Isabella's brother. The Polish king treated the crown of Hungary as a family keepsake, and kept it in a private vault in the

Tykocin Castle The Tykocin Royal Castle is a 15th-century castle located on the right bank of the river Narew in Tykocin, Poland. It fell into ruin in the 18th century and its reconstruction began in 2002. History The castle – then located on a border are ...

. In 1572, when the last of the

Jagiellons The Jagiellonian dynasty (, pl, dynastia jagiellońska), otherwise the Jagiellon dynasty ( pl, dynastia Jagiellonów), the House of Jagiellon ( pl, Dom Jagiellonów), or simply the Jagiellons ( pl, Jagiellonowie), was the name assumed by a cad ...

died the insignium was used as an exequial crown during the

funeral A funeral is a ceremony connected with the final disposition of a corpse, such as a burial or cremation, with the attendant observances. Funerary customs comprise the complex of beliefs and practices used by a culture to remember and respect th ...

ceremonies to Sigismund Augustus in

Knyszyn Knyszyn ( be, Кнышин, yi, קנישין, translit=Knishin, lt, Knišinas) is a town in north-eastern Poland, northwest of Białystok. It is situated in the Podlaskie Voivodeship (since 1999), and was formerly in the Białystok Voivodeshi ...

and eventually passed to his sister

Anna Jagiellon Anna Jagiellon ( pl, Anna Jagiellonka, lt, Ona Jogailaitė; 18 October 1523 – 9 September 1596) was Queen of Poland and Grand Duchess of Lithuania from 1575 to 1587. Daughter of Polish King Sigismund I the Old and Italian duchess Bon ...

. After the king's death the opposition led by the primate, made the guardian of the

Wawel The Wawel Royal Castle (; ''Zamek Królewski na Wawelu'') and the Wawel Hill on which it sits constitute the most historically and culturally significant site in Poland. A fortified residency on the Vistula River in Kraków, it was established on ...

Royal Treasury, refused to bestow the Polish royal insignia on the newly

elected Elected may refer to: * "Elected" (song), by Alice Cooper, 1973 * ''Elected'' (EP), by Ayreon, 2008 *The Elected, an American indie rock band See also *Election An election is a formal group decision-making process by which a population ...

Anna Jagiellon and her husband

Stephen Báthory Stephen Báthory ( hu, Báthory István; pl, Stefan Batory; ; 27 September 1533 – 12 December 1586) was Voivode of Transylvania (1571–1576), Prince of Transylvania (1576–1586), King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania (1576–1586) ...

. Unable to use the

Crown of Bolesław I the Brave The Crown of Bolesław I the Brave (in Polish ''korona Chrobrego'', also known in Latin as the ''corona privilegiata'') was the coronation crown of the Polish monarchs. History The exact origins of the Polish crown are unknown. According ...

, Báthory used the Hungarian Crown as an alternative. In about 1576 the crown was bequeathed to the State Treasury at the

Wawel Castle The Wawel Royal Castle (; ''Zamek Królewski na Wawelu'') and the Wawel Hill on which it sits constitute the most historically and culturally significant site in Poland. A fortified residency on the Vistula River in Kraków, it was established on ...

, where it was kept until October 1795. It was then stolen by Prussian soldiers after the seizure of

Kraków Kraków (), or Cracow, is the second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city dates back to the seventh century. Kraków was the official capital of Poland until 1596 ...

by the

Prussian army The Royal Prussian Army (1701–1919, german: Königlich Preußische Armee) served as the army of the Kingdom of Prussia. It became vital to the development of Brandenburg-Prussia as a European power. The Prussian Army had its roots in the co ...

, and was appropriated to the collections of the

Hohenzollerns The House of Hohenzollern (, also , german: Haus Hohenzollern, , ro, Casa de Hohenzollern) is a German royal (and from 1871 to 1918, imperial) dynasty whose members were variously princes, electors, kings and emperors of Hohenzollern, Brandenbu ...

in Berlin. After 1809 it was destroyed, as was the majority of Polish regalia. The Hungarian Crown was made in the form of rims topped with a globe and a cross at their intersection. It was decorated with enamel plaques,

filigree Filigree (also less commonly spelled ''filagree'', and formerly written ''filigrann'' or ''filigrene'') is a form of intricate metalwork used in jewellery and other small forms of metalwork. In jewellery, it is usually of gold and silver, ma ...

work,

pendant A pendant is a loose-hanging piece of jewellery, generally attached by a small loop to a necklace, which may be known as a "pendant necklace". A pendant earring is an earring with a piece hanging down. Its name stems from the Latin word ...

s and precious stones including four large

sapphire Sapphire is a precious gemstone, a variety of the mineral corundum, consisting of aluminium oxide () with trace amounts of elements such as iron, titanium, chromium, vanadium, or magnesium. The name sapphire is derived via the Latin "sapphir ...

s and

rubies A ruby is a pinkish red to blood-red colored gemstone, a variety of the mineral corundum ( aluminium oxide). Ruby is one of the most popular traditional jewelry gems and is very durable. Other varieties of gem-quality corundum are called sap ...

. In the 18th century the crown was depicted in the portrait of

Louis I of Hungary Louis I, also Louis the Great ( hu, Nagy Lajos; hr, Ludovik Veliki; sk, Ľudovít Veľký) or Louis the Hungarian ( pl, Ludwik Węgierski; 5 March 132610 September 1382), was King of Hungary and Croatia from 1342 and King of Poland from 1370 ...

Marcello Bacciarelli Marcello Bacciarelli (; 16 February 1731 – 5 January 1818) was a Polish-Italian painter of the late-baroque and Neoclassic periods. Biography He was born in Rome, and studied there under Marco Benefial. In 1750, with the recommendation of the ...

, painted to embellish the Marble Room at the

Royal Castle in Warsaw The Royal Castle in Warsaw ( pl, Zamek Królewski w Warszawie) is a state museum and a national historical monument, which formerly served as the official royal residence of several Polish monarchs. The personal offices of the king and the adm ...

References

External links

{{Crowns Individual crowns Polish Crown Jewels

History

References

Further reading

External links