King Wladislav 3 († 1444) Mi 289

Wladislav 3, King of Poland from 1434; of Hungary from 1440. After Janos Hunyadi through his victorious campaigns 1442-44 had forced sultan Murad 2 to make peace, the Pope convinced the young king that the time was due to finally crush the Ottoman empire and liberate Jerusalem. The enthusiastic Wladislav set out with a small army on a crusade against the Turks, but fell in a major battle near Varna in Bulgaria in 1444. The Christian forces were scattered and fled.

Janos Hunyadi (1407-56) Mi 286

Janos Hunyadi (1407-56), Hungarian officer and politician, 1446-53 regent for the minor Laszlo 5; one of the leading commanders from the Turkish wars. He was the wealthiest landowner in Hungary and commanded a considerable army. He understood the seriousness of the Ottoman threat to Hungary and all of Europe, and worked persistently to strengthen the central state power and to build a modern army. In 1440 Hunyadi got the Polish King Wladislav 3 elected as ruler also in Hungary. Thus, his country could benefit from the support from the mighty Poland against the Turks.

In fact, there are two graves of King Wladyslaw: First in Warna and second in the cathedral on the Wawel (castle) hill in Cracow. But both graves are symbolic graves only.

After the battle of Warna in 1444 the body of King Wladyslaw has never been found. The Turks had cut off his head in order to show it in their capital. The King's body has probably remained unknown and he has been buried together with the other killed knights. A legend says that he has been buried in the Greek church in Warna.

Source: "Necropolis of the Polish Kings", in Polish.