Famous Polish Emperors & Kings

Sigismund III Vasa was the elder son of Swedish king John III Vasa. As the king of Poland and Sweden, he not only enjoyed prosperity but also tried to unite the two states, although he ended up creating conflicts between them. His lust for power also resulted in the Zebrzydowski Rebellion.

Stanisław August Poniatowski reigned as the King of Poland from 1764 to 1795. He is best remembered as the last ruler of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. Poniatowski made several attempts to reform and strengthen the ailing Commonwealth, which proved to be difficult due to several external and internal oppositions. He is often criticized for his failure to prevent the partitions.

Stephen Báthory reigned as the King of Poland from 1 May 1576 to 12 December 1586. A member of the Báthory noble family of Hungary, Stephen ruled Transylvania during the 1570s before becoming the third elected king of Poland. Stephen Báthory is counted among the most successful kings in the history of Poland.

Władysław III was 10 when he succeeded his father, Władysław II Jagiełło, to the throne of Poland. However, he spent most of his rule guided and dominated by Polish noble Oleśnicki. He also ruled as the king of Hungary and Croatia and the duke of Lithuania.

Wenceslaus III became King of Hungary following the death of Andrew III whose only daughter, Elizabeth, was engaged to Wenceslaus. Wenceslaus renounced his hereditary rights to Austria and claim to Hungary before succeeding his father as King of Bohemia and Poland. His reign in Bohemia was however cut-short as he was assassinated before he could invade his rival's territories in Poland.

The eldest son of Polish king Casimir IV Jagiełło, Vladislaus II reigned over both Hungary and Bohemia and is remembered for uniting the two kingdoms. He had significant conflicts with rulers such as Hungarian king Matthias Corvinus and Holy Roman emperor Maximilian I. He was also known by his nickname Dobzse László.