Poland Banknotes 2000 Zloty banknote 1979 Polish Kings: Mieszko I, Duke of Poland and Bolesław the Brave, Duke and then first King of Poland
National Bank of Poland - Narodowy Bank Polski
Polish People's Republic - Polska Rzeczpospolita Ludowa
Obverse: Portrait of Mieszko I, Duke of Poland 960–992.
Reverse: Portrait of Bolesław I Chrobry - Bolesław the Brave, Duke and then first King of Poland (992–1025).
Watermark: White Eagle - Coat of arms of Poland.
Signatures:
President of the National Bank of Poland - Witold Bien
Chief Treasurer of the National Bank of Poland - Jerzy Lasocki
Issue Date: June 1, 1979
Dimension: 138 x 63 mm
Printer: PWPW - Polska Wytwórnia Papierów Wartościowych S.A. (Polish Security Printing Works, Warsaw, Poland)
Banknote design by Andrzej Heidrich, engraved by Edward Konecki obverse & Barbara Kowalska reverse.
In Circulation: from 19 July 1979 to 31 December 1996 - 2000 zloty banknote virtually withdrawn much earlier - by mid-1993 years - gradually reducing its circulation.
Poland banknotes - Poland paper money
1974-1993
2000 Zloty 5000 Zloty 10000 Zloty 20000 Zloty 50000 Zloty
100000 Zloty 200000 Zloty 500000 Zloty 1000000 Zloty 2000000 Zloty
Mieszko I of Poland
Mieszko I (940 – 25 May 992), was the ruler of the Polans from about 960 until his death. A member of the Piast dynasty, he was son of Siemomysł; grandchild of Lestek; father of Bolesław I the Brave, the first crowned King of Poland; likely father of Świętosława (Sigrid), a Nordic Queen; and grandfather of her son, Cnut the Great.
The first historical ruler of Poland, Mieszko I is considered the de facto creator of the Polish state. He continued the policy of both his father and grandfather, who were rulers of the pagan tribes located in the area of present Greater Poland. Either through alliances or by use of military force, Mieszko extended the ongoing conquests and early in his reign subordinated Kuyavia and probably Gdańsk Pomerania and Masovia. For most of his reign, Mieszko I was involved in warfare for the control of Western Pomerania, eventually conquering it up to the vicinity of the lower Oder. During the last years of his life he fought the Bohemian state, winning Silesia and probably Lesser Poland.
Mieszko I's marriage in 965 to the Czech Přemyslid princess Dobrawa and his baptism in 966 put him and his country in the cultural sphere of Western Christianity. Apart from the great conquests accomplished during his reign (which proved to be fundamental for the future of Poland), Mieszko I was renowned for his internal reforms, aimed at expanding and improving the so-called war monarchy system.
According to existing sources, Mieszko I was a wise politician, a talented military leader and charismatic ruler. He successfully used diplomacy, concluding an alliance with Bohemia first, and then with Sweden and the Holy Roman Empire. In foreign policy, he placed the interests of his country foremost, even entering into agreements with former enemies. On his death, he left to his sons a country of greatly expanded territory, with a well-established position in Europe.
Mieszko I also enigmatically appeared as "Dagome" in a papal document dating to about 1085, called Dagome iudex, which mentions a gift or dedication of Mieszko's land to the Pope (the act took place almost a hundred years earlier).
Bolesław I Chrobry - Bolesław the Brave, Duke and then first King of Poland 992–1025
Bolesław I Chrobry (Bolesław I "the Valiant" or the Brave) (Czech: Boleslav Chrabrý) (967 – 17 June 1025), in the past also known as Bolesław I the Great (Wielki), was a Duke of Poland from 992–1025 and the first King of Poland from 18 April 1025 until his death. He also ruled as Boleslav IV, Duke of Bohemia from 1002 to 1003.
He was the firstborn son of Mieszko I by his Czech first wife, Dobrawa, daughter of Boleslav I the Cruel, Duke of Bohemia. He was named after his maternal grandfather.
Bolesław I was a remarkable politician, strategist, and statesman. He turned Poland into a country that was not only comparable to older western monarchies, but also elevated it into the European elite. Bolesław conducted successful military campaigns in the west, south and east. He consolidated the Polish lands and conquered territories outside of modern borders of Poland such as Slovakia, Moravia, Red Ruthenia, Meissen and Lusatia as well as Bohemia. He was a powerful mediator in Central European affairs.
Bolesław was an ally of Holy Roman Emperor Otto III who may have crowned him rex. Following the death of Otto III in 1002, he carried out a series of successful wars against the Holy Roman Empire and Otto III's cousin and heir Henry II, ending with the Peace of Bautzen in 1018. In the summer of 1018, in one of his most famous expeditions, Bolesław captured Kiev, where, according to legend, he notched his sword when hitting Kiev's Golden Gate. Later a sword called Szczerbiec ("Notched Sword") would become the ceremonial sword used at the coronation of Poland's kings.
Bolesław also managed to establish a Polish church structure with a Metropolitan See at Gniezno, independent of the German Archbishopric of Magdeburg, which had tried to lay claim to Polish areas. During the famous Congress of Gniezno he officially freed himself of tribute to the Holy Roman Empire and finally, at the peak of his reign, he had himself crowned as King, the first Polish ruler to do so.
He was an able administrator; he established the so-called "Prince's law" and built many forts, churches, monasteries and bridges. Bolesław established the first Polish monetary system, of a grzywna divided into 240 denarii, and minted his own coinage. He is widely considered one of the most capable and accomplished of the Piast rulers.