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34-690: First mentioned in the 14th century, it became the site of the elections , from 1573 to 1764, of Polish kings by the szlachta (nobility) of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth . The Wola district later became famous for the Polish Army's defence of Warsaw in 1794 during the Kościuszko Uprising and in 1831 during the November Uprising , when Józef Sowiński and Józef Bem defended the city against Tsarist forces. In

68-406: A Polish king had occurred in 1386, with the selection of Władysław II Jagiełło (Jogaila), Grand Duke of Lithuania , as the first king of Poland's second dynasty. The electors chose Władysław II Jagiełło as king, and he married a daughter of Louis I, Jadwiga of Poland , but had no promise that his dynasty would continue on the throne. He would need to issue more privileges to the nobility to secure

102-481: A Polish ruler's vote a century before the earliest Icelandic ones by the Althing ). Still, sources for that time are very sparse, and it is hard to estimate whether those elections were more than a formality. The election privilege, exercised during the gatherings known as wiec , was usually limited to the most powerful nobles ( magnates ) or officials, and was heavily influenced by local traditions and strength of

136-824: A chequered co-existence, with Piast rulers like Mieszko I, Casimir I the Restorer or Władysław I Herman trying to protect the Polish state by treaties, oath of allegiances and marriage alliances with the Imperial Ottonian and Salian dynasties. The Bohemian Přemyslid dynasty , the Hungarian Arpads and their Anjou successors, the Kievan Rus' , later also the State of the Teutonic Order and

170-565: A constitutional-parliamentary monarchy. The tradition of electing the country's ruler, which occurred either when there was no clear heir to the throne, or to confirm the heir's appointment, dates to the very beginning of Polish statehood. Legends survive of the 9th-century election of the legendary founder of the first Polish royal family, Piast the Wheelwright of the Piast dynasty , and similar voting of his son, Siemowit (that would place

204-461: A precursor of the general sejm (Polish parliament). The elections reinforced the empowerment of the electorate (the nobility), as the contender to the throne would increasingly consider issuing promises that he undertook to fulfil in the event of a successful election. Wenceslaus II of Bohemia made the first of such undertakings (the Litomyšl Privilege ) in 1291. Nonetheless, for most of

238-516: A symbol of anarchy ". In the period of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth , 10 elections (composed of the convocation, election and coronation sejmik) were held in Poland, resulting in the elevation of 11 kings. Piast dynasty The House of Piast was the first historical ruling dynasty of Poland . The first documented Polish monarch was Duke Mieszko I ( c.  960 –992). The Piasts' royal rule in Poland ended in 1370 with

272-648: Is buried in Trzebnica Abbey . Nevertheless, numerous families, like the illegitimate descendants of the Silesian duke Adam Wenceslaus of Cieszyn (1574–1617), link their genealogy to the dynasty. About 1295, Przemysł II used a coat of arms with a white eagle – a symbol later referred to as the Piast coat of arms or as the Piast Eagle . The Silesian Piasts in the 14th century used an eagle modified by

306-671: The Civitas Schinesghe from about 960. The Piasts temporarily also ruled over Pomerania , Bohemia and the Lusatias , as well as part of Ruthenia , and the Hungarian Spiš region in present-day Slovakia . The ruler bore the title of a duke or a king , depending on their position of power. The Polish monarchy had to deal with the expansionist policies of the Holy Roman Empire in the west, resulting in

340-607: The Grand Duchy of Lithuania were mighty neighbours. The Piast position was decisively enfeebled by an era of fragmentation following the 1138 Testament of Bolesław III Wrymouth . For nearly 150 years, the Polish state shattered into several duchies, with the Piast duke against the formally valid principle of agnatic seniority fighting for the throne at Kraków , the capital of the Lesser Polish Seniorate Province . Numerous dukes like Mieszko III

374-479: The Henrician Articles , passed by the first elected king, Henry of Valois . Particularly in the late 17th and 18th centuries, the political instability from the elections led numerous political writers to suggest major changes to the system: most notably, to restrict the elections to Polish candidates only (that became known as the "election of a Piast"), as many kings were from foreign nations, meaning

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408-521: The elections of individual kings , rather than dynasties , to the Polish throne . Based on traditions dating to the very beginning of the Polish statehood, strengthened during the Piast and Jagiellon dynasties, they reached their final form in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth period between 1572 and 1791. The "free election" was abolished by the Constitution of 3 May 1791 , which established

442-701: The 1990s. Most of them are concentrated along the Towarowa and Prosta streets; these include Varso Tower (310 m (1,020 ft)), Warsaw Spire (220 m (720 ft)), Warsaw Unit (202 m (663 ft)), Skyliner (195 m (640 ft)), Warsaw Trade Tower (187 m (614 ft)), The Warsaw Hub (130 m (430 ft) x2), Łucka City (120 m (390 ft)), Ilmet (103 m (338 ft)) and Warta Tower (82 m (269 ft)). Many other buildings rising over 100 metres (330 ft) are currently undergoing construction in Wola, such as

476-471: The 19th century, Wola developed as a factory and workers' district. During the 1905 revolution , a May Day march led by Felix Dzerzhinsky ended in clashes with the police, resulting in 25 deaths. Until being incorporated into Warsaw in 1916, Wola was the village of Wielka Wola. During the Warsaw Uprising (August–October 1944), fierce battles raged in Wola. Around 8 August, Wola was the scene of

510-511: The Great and the Polish nobility ( Privilege of Buda ). Louis had no sons, which created another dilemma for the succession of the Polish throne. In an attempt to secure the throne of Poland for his line, he gathered the nobles and sought their approval to have one of his daughters retained as the queen regnant of Poland in exchange for the Privilege of Koszyce (1374). The next election of

544-467: The Old attempted to secure the hereditary throne for his 10-year-old son, there was a political crisis, and the Polish parliament, the sejm , ruled that a new king could be chosen during the life of his predecessor (that became known in the Polish politics as the vivente rege ). In 1572, Poland's Jagiellon dynasty became extinct upon the death, without a successor, of King Sigismund II Augustus . During

578-689: The Old , Władysław III Spindleshanks or Leszek I the White were crowned, only to be overthrown shortly afterwards, and others restored and ousted, at times repeatedly. The senior branch of the Silesian Piasts, descendants of Bolesław III Wrymouth 's eldest son Duke Władysław II the Exile , went separate ways and since the 14th century were vassals of the Bohemian Crown . After the Polish royal line and Piast junior branch had died out in 1370,

612-483: The Piast dynasty, electors customarily endorsed rulers from that dynasty, in accordance with hereditary descent. The Piast dynasty came to an end with the death without an heir of the last of the Polish Piasts of the main line, Casimir III the Great , in 1370. In a milestone for the process of the free elections, Casimir's nephew, Louis I of Hungary , became king after the agreement between him, Casimir III

646-560: The Polish crown fell to the Anjou king Louis I of Hungary , son of late King Casimir's sister Elizabeth Piast . The Masovian branch of the Piasts became extinct with the death of Duke Janusz III in 1526. The last ruling duke of the Silesian Piasts was George William of Legnica who died in 1675. His uncle Count August of Legnica , the last male Piast, died in 1679. The last legitimate heir, Duchess Karolina of Legnica-Brieg died in 1707 and

680-443: The Polish election became a multi-national struggle. The elections also often saw the Polish nobility attempt to elect a weak and controllable monarch, and there were large amounts of corruption, particularly related to bribes. None of the projects at reforming the Polish election came into force, however. The Constitution of 3 May 1791 eliminated the practice of electing individuals to the monarchy. Three special sejms handled

714-457: The country's regions. Most importantly, however, the Poles decided that they would choose the next king by election, and they finally established the terms of such election at a convocation sejm ( sejm konwokacyjny ) in 1573. On the initiative of nobles from Southern Poland, supported by the future Great Crown Chancellor and hetman Jan Zamoyski , all male szlachta ( nobles ) who assembled for

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748-611: The death of King Casimir III the Great . Branches of the Piast dynasty continued to rule in the Duchy of Masovia (until 1526) and in the Duchies of Silesia until the last male Silesian Piast died in 1675. The Piasts intermarried with several noble lines of Europe, and possessed numerous titles, some within the Holy Roman Empire . The Jagiellonian kings ruling after the death of Casimir IV of Poland were also descended in

782-643: The ensuing interregnum , anxiety for the safety of the Commonwealth eventually led to agreements among the political classes that pending election of a new king, the Roman Catholic Primate of Poland would exercise supreme authority, acting as interrex (from the Latin ); and that special "hooded" confederations (Polish: konfederacje kapturowe , named after the hoods traditionally worn by their members) of nobility would assume power in each

816-517: The female line from Casimir III's daughter. The early dukes and kings of Poland are said to have regarded themselves as descendants of the semi-legendary Piast the Wheelwright ( Piast Kołodziej ), first mentioned in the Cronicae et gesta ducum sive principum Polonorum (Chronicles and deeds of the dukes or princes of the Poles), written c. 1113 by Gallus Anonymus . However, the term "Piast Dynasty"

850-472: The guarantee that upon his death, one of his sons would inherit. The royal council chose the candidates, and the delegates of nobility and towns confirmed them during the sejm. The principle of election continued in effect throughout the nearly two centuries of the Jagiellon Dynasty , but just as in Piast times, it actually amounted to mere confirmation of the incoming heir. One could describe

884-502: The king not to be adhering to the laws of the state. While seemingly introducing a very democratic procedure, free elections, in practice, contributed to the inefficiency of the Commonwealth's government. The elections, open to all nobility, meant that magnates, who could exert significant control on the masses of poorer nobility, could exert much influence over the elections. The elections also encouraged foreign dynasties' meddling in Polish internal politics. On several occasions, if

918-523: The largest single massacre by German forces in Poland, of 40,000 to 50,000 civilians. The area was held by Polish fighters belonging to the Armia Krajowa . Wola is currently divided into the neighbourhoods of Czyste , Koło , Mirów , Młynów , Nowolipki, Odolany, Powązki and Ulrychów, which in many cases correspond to old villages or settlements. Numerous office and residential high-rises of up to 53 stories have been built in Wola since

952-555: The magnates could not come to an agreement, two candidates would proclaim themselves the king and civil wars erupted (most notably, the War of the Polish Succession of 1733–1738 , and the War of the Polish Succession of 1587–1588 , with smaller scale conflicts in 1576 and 1697). By the last years of the Commonwealth, royal elections grew to be seen as a source of conflicts and instability; Lerski describes them as having "become

986-530: The monarchy of Poland at that time as "the hereditary monarchy with a[n] elective legislature." A major reason was the desire on the part of Polish nobility to retain the Polish–Lithuanian union , and the Jagiellon dynasty were the hereditary rulers of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania . Nonetheless, the pretense of having a choice by elections remained important for the nobility, and when in 1530 Sigismund I

1020-577: The office skyscrapers The Bridge (174 m (571 ft)) and Skyliner II (130 m (430 ft)), the Towarowa 22 complex ((150 m (490 ft), (120 m (390 ft) and (110 m (360 ft)), and the residential Towarowa Towers (105 m (344 ft) x2). 52°14′0″N 20°57′26″E  /  52.23333°N 20.95722°E  / 52.23333; 20.95722 Royal elections in Poland Royal elections in Poland ( Polish : wolna elekcja , lit. free election ) were

1054-408: The process of the royal election in the interregnum period: The elections played a major role in curtailing the power of the monarch and so were a significant factor in preventing the rise of an absolute monarchy , with a strong executive, in the Commonwealth. Most tellingly, one of the provisions of the pacta conventa included the right of revolution ( rokosz ) for the nobility if it considered

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1088-424: The purpose would become electors. Any Catholic nobleman could stand for election, but in practice, only rich and powerful members of foreign dynasties or Commonwealth magnates had a serious chance for consideration. With the election of the first king of the "free election" period, the elections assumed their final form, which would remain stable for the next two centuries. These elections would be solidified in

1122-563: The ruler. Traditions diverged in different regions of Poland during the period of fragmentation of Poland . In the Duchy of Masovia , the hereditary principle dominated, but in the Seniorate Province , elections became increasingly important. In the other provinces both elements mixed together. By the 12th or 13th century, the wiec institution limited participation to high-ranking nobles and officials. The nationwide wiec gatherings of officials in 1306 and 1310 can be seen as

1156-436: Was not applied until the 17th century. In a historical work, the expression Piast dynasty was introduced by the Polish historian Adam Naruszewicz ; it is not documented in contemporary sources. The first "Piasts", probably of Polan descent, appeared around 940 in the territory of Greater Poland at the stronghold of Giecz . Shortly afterwards they relocated their residence to Gniezno , where Prince Mieszko I ruled over

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