On July 4, 1569, the Union of Lublin was ratified by King Sigismund II Augustus, the king of the Polish Golden Age. Poland sealed its destiny with the Grand Duchy of Lithuania for the next 226 years to come by creating a system that was called by many historians the Noble Republic, a Republican system shaped by the humanistic ideas of the Renaissance.
From 1569 the Polish and Lithuanian nobility would jointly elect their monarchs for a life term and any noble or European prince could run for king.
The Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth was born – a unique state and political system in Europe.
The documentary movie „The last Jagiellon King” is the story of Sigismund II Augustus and the events that led to the passing of that crucial political act for Central and Eastern Europe. This first English-narrated documentary movie on the life of king Sigismund II Augustus will take you back to the almost fairytale-like Poland and Lithuania of the XVI century.
Stanisław Jegliński
Main picture: Sigismund II Augustus, King of Poland by Lucas Cranach the Younger, circa 1553, National Museum in Kraków, public domain
