 | This articleneeds additional citations forverification. Please helpimprove this article byadding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "Duchy of Zator" – news ·newspapers ·books ·scholar ·JSTOR(February 2024) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
Duchy of Zator | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1445–1564 | |||||||||
 Coat of arms (19th century) | |||||||||
| Capital | Zator | ||||||||
| Historical era | Middle Ages Early modern period | ||||||||
| 1445 | |||||||||
• Again divided | 1474 | ||||||||
• Re-united | 1490 | ||||||||
• Sold toPoland | 1494 | ||||||||
| 1564 | |||||||||
• Seized byHabsburgs(First Partition of Poland) | 1772 | ||||||||
| |||||||||
.jpg)
TheDuchy of Zator was aSilesian duchy.It was split off theDuchy of Oświęcim, when after eleven years of joint rule the sons of DukeCasimir I in 1445 finally divided the lands among themselves, whereby his eldest sonWenceslaus received the territory around the town ofZator. The fragmentation of the duchy continued after Wenceslaus' death in 1468, when in 1474 his sonsCasimir II andWenceslaus II as well asJan V andWładysław again divided the Zator territory in two along theSkawa river.[1]
After the death of Casimir II in 1490 however both parts of the duchy were reunited, and in 1494 Jan V as the last surviving brother became its sole ruler.[citation needed] As Jan himself had no heirs, he decided in the same year to sell the duchy to KingJohn I Albert of Poland, under a guarantee that he would remain duke until his death.[2][3] Jan was killed in 1513 and Zator was united with Poland. At theGeneral sejm of 1564, KingSigismund II Augustus issued privileges of incorporation recognizing both Duchies of Oświęcim and Zator as part of thePolish Crown into theSilesian County of theKraków Voivodeship, although the Polish kings retained both ducal titles and the name of the Duchy survived in the legal acts (it had however no special privileges).[4]
The lands of the former Duchy became part of theHabsburg monarchy after theFirst Partition of Poland in 1772. Though part of AustrianGalicia, Zator and Oświęcim from 1818 to 1866 belonged theGerman Confederation. Until 1918, theEmperor of Austria also called himselfDuke of Zator as a part of hisgrand title.[citation needed]
When theSecond Polish Republic was established in 1918, even the ducal title ceased to exist.[citation needed]
The Dukes of Zator belonged to theSilesian branch of thePiast dynasty (see alsoDukes of Silesia).
Semi-officially from 1494 and officially from 1513 the duchy was part of the Kingdom of Poland.
| Emperor | Acceded | Deceded |
| Joseph II | 1772 | 20 February 1790 |
| Leopold II | 20 February 1790 | 1 March 1792 |
| Francis I | 1 March 1792 | 2 March 1835 |
| Ferdinand I | 2 March 1835 | 2 December 1848 |
| Francis Joseph I | 2 December 1848 | 21 November 1916 |
| Charles I | 21 November 1916 | 11 November 1918 |
 | Original |  | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lower Silesia | |||
| Upper Silesia | |||
| Other | |||
49°59′47″N19°26′17″E / 49.996389°N 19.438056°E /49.996389; 19.438056
