Kdo si vzal Sigismund II Augustus?

Sigismund II Augustus (Polish: Zygmunt II August, Lithuanian: Žygimantas Augustas; 1 August 1520 – 7 July 1572) was King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania, the son of Sigismund I the Old, whom Sigismund II succeeded in 1548. He was the first ruler of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth and the last male monarch from the Jagiellonian dynasty.

Sigismund was elder of two sons of Italian-born Bona Sforza and Sigismund the Old, and the only one to survive infancy. From the beginning he was groomed and extensively educated as a successor. In 1529 he was chosen as king in vivente rege election while his father was still alive. Sigismund Augustus continued a tolerance policy towards minorities and maintained peaceful relations with neighbouring countries, with the exception of the Northern Seven Years' War which aimed to secure Baltic trade. Under his patronage, culture flourished in Poland; he was a collector of tapestries from the Low Countries and collected military memorabilia as well as swords, armours and jewellery. Sigismund Augustus' rule is widely considered as the apex of the Polish Golden Age; he established the first regular Polish navy and the first regular postal service in Poland, known today as Poczta Polska. In 1569, he oversaw the signing of the Union of Lublin between Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, which formed the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth and introduced an elective monarchy.

Sigismund Augustus married three times; his first wife, Elizabeth of Austria, died in 1545 at just eighteen. He was then involved in several relationships with mistresses, the most famous being Barbara Radziwiłł, who became Sigismund's second wife and Queen of Poland in spite of his mother's disapproval. The marriage was deemed scandalous and was fiercely opposed by the royal court and the nobility. Barbara died five months after her coronation, due to heavy illness. Sigismund finally wedded Catherine of Austria. Neither marriage resulted in living children.

Sigismund Augustus was the last male member of the Jagiellonian dynasty. Following the death of his sister Anna in 1596 the Jagiellonian dynasty came to an end.

Elisabeth von Österreich (* 9. Juni 1526 in Linz; † 15. Juni 1545 in Vilnius) aus dem Haus Habsburg war Titularkönigin von Polen.

Ба́рбара Радзиви́лл (Варва́ра Радзиви́лл, бел. Барбара Радзівіл, пол. Barbara Radziwiłłówna, 6 декабря 1520, Вильна — 8 мая 1551, Краков) — королева польская и великая княгиня литовская, наследница владений Гаштольдов. Жена Станислава Гаштольда, а затем великого князя литовского и короля польского Сигизмунда II Августа.

Kateřina Habsburská (polsky: Katarzyna Habsburżanka; litevsky: Kotryna Habsburgaitė; 15. září 1533, Innsbruck – 28. února 1572, Linec) byla jedním z patnácti dětí Ferdinanda I., císaře Svaté říše římské, a Anny Jagellonské, královny uherské a české. V roce 1553 se provdala za polského krále Zikmunda II. Augusta a stala se polskou královnou a litevskou velkovévodkyní. Jejich manželství nebylo šťastné a neměli spolu žádné děti. Po pravděpodobném potratu v roce 1554 a nemoci v roce 1558 se Zikmund od Kateřiny stále více odcizoval. Snažil se, ale neúspěšně, získat od papeže rozvod. V roce 1565 se Kateřina vrátila do Rakouska a žila v Linci až do své smrti. Zikmund zemřel jen několik měsíců po ní, čímž vymřela mužská linie dynastie Jagellonců. Dynastie však formálně pokračovala ještě jednu vládu – vládu Zikmundovy sestry Anny Jagellonské, která byla korunována mužským titulem Rex Poloniae (král Polska).