Early life featuring Casimir inside the
Collegiate Basilica of
Wiślica ,
Klára Zách I, 1911. A painting by a Hungarian
Art Nouveau painter depicts a younger Casimir in the company of his sister, Queen
Elizabeth (on the left), conversing and observing the innocent Klára Záh, who stands at the center of the composition surrounded by ladies of the court. Casimir was born on 30 April 1310 in
Kowal,
Kuyavia, the third son of
Władysław I Łokietek (Ladislaus the Short) and
Jadwiga of Kalisz. At the time of Kazimierz's birth, his father was one of the most powerful Polish princes, ruling over most of
Lesser Poland and Kuyavia, including the capital of the kingdom,
Kraków. Ladislaus had royal ambitions, which were rekindled by the deaths in 1305 of Wenceslaus II and, a year later, Wenceslaus III, kings of Bohemia, who also ruled over a significant part of Poland and were kings of Poland. In 1311, the legal title to the Polish crown was taken over by the new
Bohemia king,
John of Bohemia, who, although he was never crowned, used the title of Polish king until 1335. Through considerable military and diplomatic effort, Ladislaus managed to take control of a large part of the Polish lands and was crowned king in Kraków on 20 January 1320. A sign of his growing political importance was the marriage of his daughter Elizabeth to the Hungarian king
Charles I of Hungary on 6 June 1320. It was probably around that time that the king began to look for a bride for his son and only heir. According to some accounts, the first candidate was
Jutta, daughter of
John of Bohemia, but these plans never came to fruition. Subsequently, seeking allies against the
Teutonic Order, the king turned to
Gediminas,
Grand Duke of Lithuania, who in 1323 announced his willingness to accept baptism. The marriage of Casimir to the Lithuanian princess
Aldona of Lithuania took place on 16 October 1325, at
Wawel Cathedral. An important episode in Casimir's youth was his stay at the Buda court on a diplomatic mission around 1329/1330. There, he became involved in a romance with Klára Záh, the daughter of the Hungarian magnate
Felician Záh. Klara's father learned of the affair only after Casimir had left Hungary. Seeking revenge for the dishonor brought upon his daughter, and accusing Queen Elizabeth, Casimir's sister, of complicity, he burst into
Buda Castle during a royal feast and attacked the royal couple, wounding the king and cutting off the queen's fingers. Záh was killed on the spot, and his family suffered severe repressions. Meanwhile, Poland became entangled in a war with the King of Bohemia, who sought to reclaim the Kraków throne, aided by
Brandenburg and the
Teutonic Order. Although Poland was supported by Lithuania and Hungary, the war did not go well for her. Władysław managed to defend his crown, yet the overall outcome of the conflict was unfavourable. The Teutonic Order seized Kuyavia, a move later confirmed by John of Bohemia, while John himself occupied the
Dobrzyń Land, driving out Ladislaus' cousins, and received homage from the
Duke of Płock and most of the Silesian princes as King of Poland. In 1331, Casimir was granted the governorship of Greater Poland and Kuyavia, thus becoming both a witness to and a participant in the wars that were going unfavorably for the kingdom. After concluding a truce with the Teutonic Knights, King Władysław went to Greater Poland to deal with the
Dukes of Głogów, who ruled over the southern part of that province and supported the Teutonic Order. In the fighting, Casimir distinguished himself by leading his Polish-Hungarian unit in a successful assault on besieged
Kościan, during which he carried out a massacre of its defenders. At the time of his father's death on 2 March 1333, he inherited a small and weakened realm consisting of two ravaged provinces,
Lesser Poland and
Greater Poland, between which lay the
Łęczyca and
Sieradz lands, granted in lifetime administration to the Kuyavian Piasts as compensation.
Reign for the Basilica at Wiślica, with Casimir kneeling beneath the
Virgin Mary. '' (council) under the reign of Casimir the Great (yellow) had been lost, but the kingdom was expanding to the east Succession to the throne by Casimir met with no major obstacles. The king was crowned at Wawel Cathedral on 25 April 1333, eight weeks after his father's death. The coronation was performed by Archbishop
Janisław of Gniezno, assisted by Bishop
Jan Grot of
Kraków and Bishop
Jan Doliwa of
Poznań. Casimir's wife,
Aldona of Lithuania, was crowned alongside him. The king's mother,
Jadwiga of Kalisz, withdrew to the convent of the
Poor Clares in
Stary Sącz. The political situation of Poland, however, was very difficult. The Bohemia king,
John of Bohemia, was still widely regarded as the rightful king of Poland and remained formally at war with Casimir. As such, he was the overlord of the Silesian dukes (with the exception of the
Duchy of Świdnica) and the
Duke of Płock, whose lands surrounded Casimir's small realm. The truce with the Teutonic Order had been extended before the coronation, but it was set to expire in mid-1334. Casimir's only strong asset was his alliance with
Hungary. The alliance with Lithuania had weakened and was also politically inconvenient, as the Lithuanians still adhered to paganism. In order to improve the political situation, Casimir launched a diplomatic campaign. He first extended the truce with the Teutonic Order for another year, and then, in July 1333, signed a peace treaty with
Louis V, Duke of Bavaria,
Margrave of Brandenburg, the emperor's son. New prospects opened for Casimir after the death of
Henry, Duke of Carinthia and Tyrol, former King of Bohemia, whose inheritance became the subject of rivalry among the
Habsburgs,
Luxembourgs, and
Wittelsbachs. Casimir skillfully maneuvered between these powerful German dynasties. In May 1335, he began negotiations for a marriage between his daughter and the emperor's younger son,
Louis II, Elector of Brandenburg. The Luxembourgs, alarmed by this rapprochement, sent
Charles,
Margrave of Moravia and son of King John, to Kraków with a proposal to settle all disputes amicably. Meanwhile, in June 1335, an agreement was signed in
Chojna, setting the terms for the marriage of Elizabeth, younger daughter of Casimir, to Louis II, Elector of Brandenburg and establishing an alliance between Poland and the Empire. At the same time, Casimir dispatched an embassy to
Trenčín, where a meeting was taking place between John of Bohemia, his son Charles, and the Hungarian king
Charles I of Hungary. On 24 August 1335, after the meeting, the Polish envoys issued a document stating that the Luxembourgs were ready to renounce the title of Kings of Poland in exchange for Casimir's pledge not to infringe upon Bohemian possessions in Silesia and Mazovia. Following the meeting, the Bohemian chancery ceased to style John as King of Poland and Casimir as King of Kraków. Casimir, however, delayed the ratification of this agreement. At the same time, in July 1335, he submitted a complaint to
Pope Benedict XII against the Teutonic Order for seizing lands belonging to the Polish kingdom, while the Primate of Poland accused the Order of destroying churches and plundering church property. The Pope initiated an investigation into the matter, delegating it to two cardinals. Meanwhile, the Polish–Teutonic dispute was also being settled by an arbitration court, a process already initiated by
Władysław I Łokietek. The court convened in
Visegrád, with John of Bohemia and Charles I of Hungary acting as arbiters. It was the first personal meeting of the three monarchs. The verdict was issued in November 1335. John of Bohemia annulled the grant of the
Dobrzyń Land and Kuyavia to the Teutonic Knights, and these territories were to be returned to the Kingdom of Poland. In return, Casimir was forced to renounce
Pomerania and the
Chełmno Land, which were formally declared a perpetual
alms of the King of Poland to the Teutonic Order. Casimir began to rebuild the country and strengthen its defenses. During his reign, nearly 30 towns were supplied with fortification walls and some 50 castles were constructed, including castles along the
Trail of the Eagle's Nests. These achievements are still celebrated today, in a commonly-known ditty that translates as follows:
inherited wooden towns and left them fortified with stone and brick (Kazimierz Wielki zastał Polskę drewnianą, a zostawił murowaną). He organised a
meeting of kings in Kraków in 1364, at which he exhibited the wealth of the Polish kingdom. Casimir is the only king in Polish history to both receive and retain the title of "Great", as
Bolesław I is more commonly known as "the Brave".
Reforms in
Kraków which he founded in 1364. Casimir ensured stability and great prospects for the future of the country. He established the Corona Regni Poloniae – the Crown of the Polish Kingdom, It was regarded as a rare distinction, since it was only the second university founded in Central Europe, after the Charles University in Prague.
Succession extracted from his tomb in 1869. In 1355, in
Buda, Casimir designated his nephew
Louis I of Hungary as his successor should he produce no male heir, just as his father had with
Charles I of Hungary to gain help against Bohemia. In exchange, Casimir gained a favourable Hungarian attitude, needed in disputes with the hostile Teutonic Order and the
Kingdom of Bohemia. At the time, Casimir was 45 years old and so producing a son did not seem unreasonable. Casimir left no legal son; however, begetting five daughters instead. He tried to adopt his grandson,
Casimir IV, Duke of Pomerania, in his last will. The child had been born to his eldest daughter,
Elizabeth of Poland, Duchess of Pomerania, in 1351. This part of the testament was invalidated by Louis I of Hungary, however, who had traveled to
Kraków quickly after Casimir died (in 1370) and bribed the nobles with future privileges. Casimir III also had a son-in-law,
Louis II, Elector of Brandenburg of Bavaria,
Margrave and
Prince-elector of
Brandenburg, who was considered a possible successor, but he was deemed ineligible as his wife, Casimir's daughter Cunigunde, had died in 1357 without issue. Thus, King Louis I of Hungary became the successor in Poland. Louis was proclaimed king upon Casimir's death in 1370, though Casimir's sister Elisabeth, Louis's mother, held much of the real power until her death in 1380.
Society (
herm) of
Saint Sigismund held in
Płock likely depicts Casimir's physiognomy. Casimir was facetiously named "the Peasants' King". He introduced the codes of law of Greater and Lesser Poland as an attempt to end the overwhelming superiority of the nobility. During his reign, all three major classes — the nobility, priesthood, and bourgeoisie — were more or less counterbalanced, allowing Casimir to strengthen his monarchic position. He was known for siding with the weak when the law did not protect them from nobles and clergymen. He reportedly even supported a peasant whose house had been demolished by his own mistress, after she had ordered it to be pulled down because it disturbed her enjoyment of the beautiful landscape. His popularity with the peasants helped to rebuild the country, as part of the reconstruction program was funded by a land tax paid by the lower social class. Casimir's legendary Jewish mistress
Esterka remains unconfirmed by direct historical evidence. == Family ==