Royal coronations in Poland officially began in 1025 and continued until 1764, when the final King of an independent Poland, Stanisław August Poniatowski, was crowned at St. John's Cathedral in Warsaw. Most Polish coronations took place at the Wawel Cathedral in Kraków, but crownings also occurred in Poznań and at Gniezno Cathedral. Whenever practical, Polish coronations were conducted as close as possible as to the date of the previous sovereign's funeral. This was explained by Joachim Bielski in the sixteenth century as osoba umiera, korona nie umiera, or "the royal person dies, the crown dies not". With the emergence of an independent, republican Poland after World War I, coronations in the Polish state have been rendered obsolete.
Though many of the Polish Crown Jewels were stolen and destroyed by king Frederick William III of Prussia in March 1809 after the Third Partition of Poland, remaining pieces are exhibited at the National Museum in Warsaw.
Read more about Royal Coronations In Poland: The Ceremony, List of Polish Coronations, Pretenders and Royal Consorts Not Crowned, Further Reading
Famous quotes containing the words royal and/or poland:
“Oh, I know my family’s not of royal blood, but you needn’t throw it in my face all the time.”
—Robert N. Lee. Rowland V. Lee. Queen Elyzabeth (sic)
“It is often said that Poland is a country where there is anti-semitism and no Jews, which is pathology in its purest state.”
—Bronislaw Geremek (b. 1932)