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| Poland 200 Zlotych |
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| Polish złoty |
Polish banknotes 200 Zlotych note 1994, issued by the NBP
National Bank of Poland - Narodowy Bank Polski
Polish złoty, Polish banknotes, Poland banknotes, Polish bank notes, Polish paper money, Poland bank notes, Poland paper money.Front design: Portrait of King Sigismund I the Old in centre area, enclosed to left by fragment of wreath interwoven with ribbon; to right of portrait - inscription, "ZYGMUNT I STARY". Left of portrait - at top, depiction of eagle, emblem of Polish Republic, and inscription, "NARODOWY BANK POLSKI"; below that - hologram; below that - inscription, "WARSZAWA 25 MARCA 1994 r."; below that - inscription, "PREZES", and signature; below that - inscription, "GLOWNY SKARBNIK", and signature. On left-hand side of note, in area of watermark - composition of guilloche lines. In top left-hand corner, arranged vertically - number "200", with line underneath and inscription below, "DWIESCIE ZLOTYCH". In bottom left-hand corner - marking for the visually impaired, consisting of triangle with raised edges. Right-hand side of note contains two separate fields, upper and lower. Upper field bears number "200", with drawing of crown in oval below and four "200"s around crown, and drawing of small wreath underneath. In background of crown and small wreath - fragment of large wreath. Lower field framed at top and bottom with white ornamentation. Number "200" in top left-hand corner, line below that, marking for the visually impaired and upper right-hand field are all filled with white ornamentation. Background of note consists of guilloche mesh with intersecting lines of light yellow, beige, light brown, olive green, light pink and light grey.
Back design: Depiction of eagle intertwined with letter "S" in centre area, within hexagon from the Sigismund Chapel in cathedral on Wawel Hill (Polish white eagle with Sigismund I the Old`s monogram S). At top - inscription, "NARODOWY BANK POLSKI". Below - rectangular field of ornamentation bearing number "200" to left and inscription, "DWIESCIE ZLOTYCH", to right. Above inscription - legend, "BANKNOTY EMITOWANE PRZEZ NARODOWY BANK POLSKI SA PRAWNYM SRODKIEM PLATNICZYM W POLSCE". To left of eagle - drawing of crown in oval and four "200"s around crown, with depiction of Wawel Castle courtyard forming background for eagle, and guilloche ribbon above. To left and right of courtyard, and in background of upper part of eagle - composition of guilloche lines making up repeated number "200". In top right-hand corner - number "200" filled with white ornamentation, and in bottom corner - initials "NBP". Area of watermark and margins printed with composition of guilloche lines.
Watermark: portrait of King Sigismund I the Old
Polish złoty banknotes, "Sovereigns of Poland", (1994)
In 1995, notes were introduced in denominations of 10 złoty, 20 złoty, 50 złoty, 100 złoty and 200 złotych.
Sigismund I of Poland (Polish: Zygmunt I Stary; Lithuanian: Žygimantas I Senasis) (1 January 1467 – 1 April 1548), of the Jagiellon dynasty, reigned as King of Poland and also as the Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1506 until 1548. Earlier, Sigismund had been invested as Duke of Silesia. A successful monarch and a great patron of arts, he established Polish suzerainty over Ducal Prussia (East Prussia) and incorporated the duchy of Mazovia into the Polish state, securing the nation's wealth, culture and power.
Sigismund I, the fifth son of Casimir IV and Elisabeth of Habsburg, had ruled Głogów, Silesia, since 1499 and became margrave of Lusatia and governor of all Silesia in 1504. In a short time his judicial and administrative reforms transformed those territories into model states. He succeeded his brother Alexander I as grand prince of Lithuania and king of Poland in 1506. Although he established fiscal and monetary reforms, he often clashed with the Polish Diet over extensions of royal power. At the Diet’s demand he married Barbara, daughter of Prince Stephen Zápolya of Hungary, in 1512, to secure a defense treaty and produce an heir. She died, however, three years later, leaving only daughters. In 1518 Sigismund married the niece of the Holy Roman emperor Maximilian, Bona Sforza of Milan, by whom he had one son, Sigismund II Augustus, and four daughters. One of them later married John III of Sweden, from whom the Vasa kings of Sweden were descended.
In 1521 Sigismund’s army, led by one of the principal advisers and commanders, Jan Tarnowski, subdued the Order of the Teutonic Knights, a paramilitary religious order that ruled East Prussia. In 1525 the Teutonic grand master Albert became a Lutheran and agreed to do public homage to Sigismund in return for being granted the title of secular duke of Prussia; Albert then dissolved the order, and Ducal Prussia came under Polish suzerainty. Sigismund added the duchy of Mazovia (now the province of Warsaw) to the Polish state after the death, in 1529, of the last of its Piast dynasty rulers. Again under the command of Tarnowski, Sigismund’s army defeated the invading forces of Moldavia at Obertyn in 1531 and Muscovy in 1535, thereby safeguarding Poland’s eastern borders.
Sigismund, influenced by his wife, brought Italian artists to Kraków and promoted the development of the Polish variety of the Italian Renaissance. Although a devout Catholic, he accorded religious toleration to Greek Orthodox Christians and royal protection to Jews. At first he vigorously opposed Lutheranism but later resigned himself to its growing power in Poland.
Sigismund I was a member of the Order of the Golden Fleece.
Sigismund's Chapel (Kaplica Zygmuntowska) of the Wawel Cathedral is one of the most notable pieces of architecture in Kraków. Built as a funerary chapel for the last Jagiellons, it has been hailed by many art historians as "the most beautiful example of the Tuscan Renaissance north of the Alps". Financed by King Sigismund I the Old, it was built in 1519-33 by Bartolomeo Berrecci.
A square-based chapel with a golden dome houses the tombs of its founder King Sigismund, as well as King Sigismund II Augustus and Anna Jagiellonka. The inner sculptures, stuccos and paintings were designed by some of the most renowned artists of the age, including the architect Berrecci himself, Georg Pencz, Santi Gucci and Hermann Vischer.