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Polish Crown Jewels


The only surviving original piece of the Polish Crown Jewels from the time of the Piast dynasty is the ceremonial swordSzczerbiec. It is currently on display along with other preserved royal items at the Wawel Royal Castle Museum in Kraków.

Several royal crowns were made, including several during the 16th Century, a "Hungarian Crown", a "Swedish Crown" used by the Vasa kings, and others that were subsequently lost or destroyed. The crown jewels used by the Saxon kings, and some remainders of older Polish monarchs which were appropriated by king Augustus II, also the Elector of Saxony; like a cup of Queen Jadwiga so-called roztruchan, and the magnificent scale armour, so-called karacena, of King John III Sobieski are today on display in the Grünes Gewölbe and the Rüstkammer in Dresden, Germany.

In AD 1000, during his pilgrimage to the tomb of Saint Adalbert in Gniezno, the capital of Poland until about 1040, Emperor Otto III officially recognized Duke Bolesław I the Brave as King of Poland (see Congress of Gniezno), crowning him and presenting him with a replica of the Holy Lance, also known as Saint Maurice's Spear. This relic, together with the vexillum attached to it, was probably the first insignia of the nascent Kingdom of Poland, a symbol of King Bolesław's rule, and of his allegiance to the Emperor. It remains unknown what images, if any, were painted or embroidered on the vexillum.


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