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:
“Vanessa wanted to be a ballerina. Dad had such hopes for her.... Corin was the academically brilliant one, and a fencer of Olympic standard. Everything was expected of them, and they fulfilled all expectations. But I was the one of whom nothing was expected. I remember a game the three of us played. Vanessa was the President of the United States, Corin was the British Prime Minister—and I was the royal dog.”
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