It took several hundred years for Vladislav Varna to be laid to rest in his native Kraków, and another thirty for him to be commemorated on the Varna battlefield. What secrets are hidden in the Thracian barrows on which the monument-mausoleum of the battle-scarred king was erected, and did he really die on the battlefield?

Wladyslaw III Varna - the little-great king
"By God's Grace, King of Poland, Hungary, Dalmatia, Croatia, Rashka, Bulgaria, Slavonia, the lands of Cracow, Sandomierz, Leczyca, Sieradz, Kuyavia, the lord and heir of Pomerania and Rus, the highest prince of Lithuania" Vladislaus III Varnańczyk was barely twenty years old on the day of his death, 10 November 1444. For a decade, however, he had already been ruling by means of guardians, i.e. lords governing individual districts, or the crown council. At the age of 16, he left Krakow and also assumed the Hungarian throne in Buda.

This eldest son of Władysław Jagiełło and Sophia Holszańska was called Władysław Jagiellończyk until the 19th century. The ruler's later nickname is linked to the disastrous defeat and death of the king at the Battle of Varna. This clash decided the further fate of the Balkan part of Europe.

In 1443, following the encouragement of Pope Eugenius IV, Ladislaus began preparations for war with the Ottoman Empire. Initially, the royal efforts were not in vain. At the head of the Christian armies, Ladislaus won a series of clashes in the autumn of 1443 and winter of 1444. These resulted in the signing of a ten-year truce at Segedin, Hungary, on 12 June 1444. According to its provisions, Sultan Murad II was to leave Serbia and give back 24 Danube castles taken from the Serbs and Hungarians.

Battle of Varna
However, the Segedin pact did not last long. The young victor again succumbed to the promptings, this time of the papal legate in Hungary, Julian Cesarini. For the situation at hand was not to Rome's liking, who resorted to deception and a false promise. Varna was promised the support of the Burgundian and Venetian fleets, and probably also the future fame of the young crusader, with the result that the truce was broken. Despite the objections of his subjects, who even demanded the ruler's return to Poland, Ladislaus set off for another war with the Turks later that year.

After a series of victories, his luck turned, his Venetian allies betrayed him and he was met at the gates of Istanbul by Turks several times his number. He decided to retreat and with an army of less than 20,000 reached the coastal city of Varna. Here they were to be joined by a Venetian armada, which, however, did not arrive. The Battle of Varna took place on 10 November 1444, when King Vladislav III's army clashed with an Ottoman army of around 60 000 led by the Sultan himself. The impetuous Jagiellonian did not wait for support. At the head of a small court horde, he launched an attack on the Janissaries protecting Murad II. Unfortunately, the battle ended in the tragic death of King Vladislav III.

How did Ladislaus the Great die?
The legendary sage Hoxha Nasreddin described the event as follows:

. Janczar named Kodża Khazer with a valiant attack wounded his horse, knocked down the outcropping of hell on the ground, cut off the wicked head and, bringing it to the padyszach, praises, favours and a generous reward was achieved. The head of the unfortunate king was sent to Brussa, formerly the capital of the state, to be displayed there for the common people to see. To preserve it from deterioration, it was immersed in honey.

The treacherous Cesarini also did not escape from Varna unscathed. When severely wounded he tried to escape, he was plundered and killed "near a marsh by the impious hands of the Hungarians, not at the instigation of the nobility, but from the fury of the people", as his friend, the future Pope Pius II, wrote.

The mystery of the lost body of the Polish king
The body of King Władysław of Varna was never found. From the very beginning, this gave rise to numerous myths and divagations about his death, or as others wanted - a clever disappearance. And these argued later that they had seen Ladislaus on Madeira, where he was called Henry the German or O Principe Polako, the Polish Prince. Someone wanted to see the deceased in a certain Mikołaj Rychlik or Jan of Wilczyna. The Czechs also had their own eremite who claimed to be the son of Jagiello, and history knows of even more such cases.

Today, scholars tend to agree that the king died on the battlefield at Varna, although the details outlined by Nasreddin seem to be merely licentia poetica. Vladislav's tombstone was not placed in Wawel Cathedral until 1906, more than 450 years after the ruler's death. It is a so-called cenotaph, or empty symbolic tomb. Many years also had to pass in Varna before the ruler was commemorated with a monument-mausoleum, including a copy of the royal sarcophagus.

Monument-mausoleum to Vladislav Varna in Varna
First, in 1924, a park was established on the site of the Varna battlefield and then, on 4 August 1935, Bulgarian Tsar Boris III officially opened the monument-mausoleum of Vladislav III Varna.

This would not have been possible had it not been for the efforts of Colonel Petyr Dimkov. He was an extraordinary figure. He combined service in the Bulgarian army with herbalism and a passion for historic preservation. Thanks to his wide-ranging interests, he was heard in many different circles, which also contributed to the construction of the mausoleum.

It was probably Dimkov's idea to convert one of the two remaining Thracian barrows into a memorial to the king. In the centre of the building, there is a stone replica of a Cracovian tombstone, depicting Varnańczyk in a reclining pose, wearing a crown with his arms folded, with Szczerbiec in his hands. Noteworthy is the young lion resting at the ruler's feet - on the one hand a symbol of bravery and courage, and on the other an animal attribute associated with another great crusader - Richard the Lionheart.

It did not stop there, and in 1964, the 520th anniversary of the battle, the doors of the museum named after Vladislav Varnaenko were officially opened. It houses numerous exhibits, donated by institutions from Poland, Hungary, the Czech Republic and Serbia, as well as artefacts collected directly on the battlefield. Particularly noteworthy are the only fully preserved knight's armours from that period in Europe. In addition, we can see weapons, including impressive Turkish swords and knives, flags, paintings and sculptures.

The park, surrounding the museum and monument, covers 30 acres. Many unusual plants and trees have been planted here, with a number of minor monuments set between them. Among them is a monument to the Hungarian national hero and advisor to King Ladislaus III, János Hunyady, who saved the rest of the Polish-Hungarian troops after the defeat. There are also symbolic sarcophagi of fallen Christians with the medieval coats of arms of the countries involved in the battle of Varna. The site from where Sultan Murad II is said to have commanded is also on display.

Traces of the Battle of Varna in Golden Sands
One of the paintings depicting the pivotal moment of the Battle of Varna shows a human figure of a king "of medium beauty, with black hair, and eyes, graceful in sight, with a breakfast gender and countenance", as described by the chronicler Marcin Bielski. The sea looms in the distance. How can this be translated into our contemporary park space?

It is almost a breakneck task, but the museum itself comes to our aid. Here, on the site of the so-called "moat of the Janissaries", we find an inconspicuous plaque stating that "this may have been the site of a deadly skirmish", and nearby a stone with an inscription about a brave king. Strangely enough, this information is mostly overlooked in the numerous descriptions and photographs of Varna's park. Could it be that the legend that King Vladislav III Varnańczyk survived the battle is still alive?

It is obligatory to take at least half a day, e.g. during your Bulgarian holidays, and come here to experience for yourself this discreet charm of a mystery from more than half a millennium ago.