The magnificent interiors of Prague's St Vitus Cathedral hide a not-so-obvious Polonica. In the beautiful royal Habsburg tomb, next to her husband and son, lies the forgotten Polish princess, Anna Jagiellonka.

In order to appreciate the treasures hidden inside, both the literal treasures from the cathedral treasury and those resulting from the wealth of the church's architecture and interior design (over 20 chapels, two unusual entrances, a bell tower with a bell with a sound similar to that of Kraków's "Sigismund", or a triforium with stone portraits of the most important figures from the time of the church's construction), a few-hour trip is not enough. It is therefore worth dividing the tour into several stages, one of which may be a visit to the choir, the presbytery and the Habsburg mausoleum. Apart from its artistic value, the mausoleum testifies to the international importance of the Jagiellonian dynasty at the turn of the 15th and 16th centuries.

Out of chronicling duty, let us add that this is not the only Polish accent in the church. After all, it was here that King Wenceslas II of Bohemia and Poland of the Přemyslid dynasty married Ryksa Elisabeth, daughter of the Polish King Přemysl II, in 1303. The precious relics of St Adalbert are also somewhat Polish, as they were stolen from Gniezno Cathedral by Duke Bretislaus I in 1039.

Marriage of Anne Jagiellon to Ferdinand I - outcome of the Vienna Convention (1515)
. There have been many rifts in Polish-Czech history, but it is worth looking at events that unite rather than divide. A perfect occasion for this may be the nuptials, especially if they are accompanied by the motto: "marry young, but only with profit!". The historian Paweł Jasienica attributed these words to the Habsburgs, whose motto in matrimonial policy for centuries was profitable marriages.
And so, at the memorable Vienna Convention in July 1515, the three rulers met: Ladislaus II Jagiellon, King of Bohemia and Hungary, his younger brother Sigismund the Old, King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania, and Emperor Maximilian I Habsburg. A key finding of the convention was that the Jagiellonians, threatened by the alliance of the Empire, the Teutonic Order and the Muscovite state, agreed to a double marriage between the children of Ladislaus II Jagiellon, Prince Louis, and our heroine, Queen Anne, and Maximilian I's grandsons Maria of Austria and Archduke Ferdinand (later Emperor Ferdinand I).

The situation was complicated by the fact that initially Anna Jagiellonka (remember, not to be confused with her namesake and cousin, the wife of Stefan Batory) was betrothed per procura to Emperor Maximilian, and only later, Ferdinand, son of the Spanish royal couple Philip the Beautiful and Joan of Arc, was chosen as her husband. In return, the Emperor pledged to stop supporting the Teutonic-Moscow alliance. In the long run, the Vienna Agreement proved favourable to the Habsburgs, securing them the Czech and Hungarian crowns (after the heirless death of Louis the Jagiellonian, who was killed in a battle with the Turks at Mohacz, 1526).

The second ceremony, in which the young couple were already personally introduced to each other and married, took place in May 1521 in Linz. The wedding was officiated by Cardinal Matthäus Lang von Wellenburg, and the guests included many crowned heads, aristocrats and bishops. Although the fete was not as festive as the one in Vienna, the accompanying knights' tournament went down in history.

Marriage of Anne Jagiellon and Ferdinand I - love till the grave
Queen Anne Jagiellon is said to have been initially reluctant towards her future husband, but - as time has shown - the choice turned out to be a happy one for her. According to biographers, Ferdinand I was "a shapely boy with thick blond hair, a round face, large eyes, a short nose of nice shape and an expressive mouth". In contrast, biographers describing Anne noted her "narrow, petite face with a small, delicate mouth and pale red hair and blue eyes" and pointed to the French origin of her mother, Anne de Foix. We also know that the girl, born in Buda, where Ladislaus II ruled, learned Hungarian, Latin and, in time, Czech from an early age.
After their marriage, the young couple settled in Prague, which was then an extremely dynamic, vibrant city. The subjects loved their queen, who stood out for her wisdom and modesty. Her husband, too, was enduringly devoted to her. He not only entrusted her with his feelings, but also consulted her on matters of state importance. The couple had fifteen children, but the last of the births, on 27 January 1547, was the cause of the death of Queen Anne, known as the Bohemian-Hungarian Queen.

According to the customs of the time, a ruler did not remain a widower for long and a new wife was found for him as soon as possible. Ferdinand I, however, remained faithful to his first love to the end. As a sign of his despair, he grew a beard and started wearing black robes, which, according to historians, initiated the popularity of black as a colour for mourning throughout Bohemia. In the end, he had himself buried next to his beloved so that "even after death he would be next to her". The king's last will was fulfilled. Although he died in Vienna, his body was laid to rest in the family tomb in St Vitus Cathedral, which Anna also had a hand in extending. Years later, he was symbolically joined by his parents and first-born son, Maximilian II Habsburg.

The Habsburg Mausoleum in Prague - architecture
Rudolf II, son of Maximilian II and grandson of Anna and Ferdinand, was responsible for the spectacular commemoration of his ancestors. During his reign, Prague became the de facto capital of the Habsburg states. While Rudolf II's policies are controversial, he undoubtedly contributed to the artistic and intellectual flourishing of the city. International artists created under his patronage, so it is not surprising that the family tomb too received a spectacular new setting.
It is likely that the tomb originally had a more modest form, but Rudolf II, known for his panache, commissioned a carved mausoleum from the Flemish artist Alexander Colin. Interestingly, the white marble elements were made in Innsbruck and only transported from there, according to legend, by sleigh to the new capital. Only the framing, in the form of a wrought iron grating with a gilded finish, was made by a local craftsman, Georg Schmidthammer.

The structure, known as the Colin Mausoleum, is located in the middle of the cathedral's presbytery and is a kind of top structure built over an underground tomb in which the royal remains from the old crypt were deposited. It consists of a catafalque, resembling a large three-person bed with a headboard decorated with coats of arms. Lying on it, on stone sheets and pillows with tassels, are the full-figure figures of Maximilian II, Ferdinand I (centre) and Anne Jagiellon. The monarchs are dressed in festive robes, with royal apples in their hands. The Queen, on the other hand, has only her crown as insignia, plus an ornate double chain, rings and a belt with a clasp fastening the fabric at her waist. Attention is drawn to the richly decorated sleeves of the dress.

The monarch's figures are guarded by seven angels, with the angels duplicated in the central part, above Ferdinand's head. On a raised platform, but already outside the field with the figures of the dead, stands a small sculpture of the Risen Christ with a cross in his hand. The sides of the pedestal are decorated with medallions of Bohemian kings.

Anna Jagiellonian - Mother of the Nation
For a long time, this part of the cathedral was closed to the public. It was not until the 1970s that the corpse was exhumed and the building opened to the public. However, it is known from surviving accounts that the former inhabitants of Prague had a very positive opinion of both the tombstone and the queen herself, who was even nicknamed "Mother of the Nation". It is only a pity that so little space has been devoted in Polish literature to this interesting woman, "Queen of the Romans, Bohemia and Hungary". On the other hand, however, we must remember that during her lifetime she was not a very frequent visitor on Polish soil, so her figure is still waiting to be duly described.