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Polish-Hungarian friendship and brotherhood through history
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Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine began, Polish-Hungarian diplomatic relations have reached an all-time low. These two nations who used to have extensive, one could say special relations with each other for centuries are now further apart than they’ve ever been. Instead of talking about why this has happened, let’s instead take a look at the numerous events in history which helped forge this strong bond between the two countries.
Dynastic ties
The oldest ties between Poland and Hungary go all the way back to the creation of both states. They both came to be independent Christian kingdoms at around 1,000 AD. Beset on the West by the stronger and more influential Holy Roman Empire, and on the East by the richer Kievan Rus, the two countries established good relations with each other from the start.
The Polish Piast and the Hungarian Árpád dynastic families have been connected since the very beginning. Béla I of Hungary had a Polish Piast wife, whom he wed during his exile from the country. Following the extinction of both original ruling houses, Louis I united the two kingdoms in a personal union between 1370 and 1382. After a brief time period, the two thrones were united once again by Wladyslaw of Jagiello from 1440 until his death at the Battle of Várna in 1444.
The last common ruler of both states was a Hungarian nobleman, Stephan Báthory, who was duke of Transylvania before the Szlachta (Polish nobility) elected him to lead the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. He presided over both states between 1576 and 1586. He was buried at the Wawel Castle in Kraków and is considered an influential leader throughout the history of both countries.
Fight for independence
From the 15th century, both Poland and Hungary had started facing common threats from neighbouring powers. One was the army of the Ottoman Turks who entered into constant wars against the two kingdoms. Possibly the most decisive moment of cooperation came in 1683 during the Second Siege of Vienna.
Turkish forces were poised to take the Austrian capital when the Polish army arrived at the nick of time. They swept away the Ottoman army with one of the largest cavalry charges ever recorded in history. In the following years, the Polish troops together with the Holy League helped liberate the whole Hungary from Ottoman occupation
Later in the 18th-19th centuries, both Poland and Hungary suffered under the yoke of foreign powers. Rákóczi II, leader of the Rákóczi Uprising (1703-1711) published his famous declaration from the Polish city of Brzeżany (nowadays Berezhany in Ukraine) before returning home to lead the anti-Habsburg movement.