Poland Locations

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In Poland at the turn of the 14th and 15th centuries, similar to the Czech lands, wars over governance, territory, and faith were occurring. The country’s prosperity and its cultural and economic growth were particularly hampered by the relentless attacks of the Teutonic Knights from the so-called Crusader states on northern Polish territories, justified by the need for Christianization and the suppression of the still dominant paganism in the Baltic region.
Unfortunately, Poland was not unified for long, because after the death of Casimir III the Great, the Piast dynasty, which had long unified and ruled the country, ended in the male line. The crown was taken by Casimir’s cousin, Ludwig I of Anjou, the King of Hungary, but he struggled to gain the obedience of the Polish nobility, and his rule and ability to unite a larger coalition against the Crusader invasion were thus very limited.
The most suitable solution eventually was the marriage of Ludwig’s daughter Hedwig to Jagell, the Grand Duke of Lithuania. He took the name Vladislav, was accepted as the King of Poland, and, along with the rest of Lithuania, was baptized. This created the Polish-Lithuanian coalition, which significantly weakened the Teutonic Order.
However, the Crusaders did not want to give up so easily, and the war continued for many more years. A turning point in this conflict was the Battle of Grunwald in 1410, in which the Teutonic forces were decisively defeated by the Polish-Lithuanian army. Many Czech fighters fought on the side of the Poles at that time, including Jan Zizka and Jan Sokol of Lamberg.

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