page_title: Sigismund III Vasa
section_title: Decline and death
hierarchical_section_title: Sigismund III Vasa / Decline and death
context_page_description: Sigismund III Vasa, also known as Sigismund III of Poland, was King of Poland, Grand Duke of Lithuania and monarch of the united Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth from 1587 to 1632 as well as King of Sweden and Grand Duke of Finland from 1592 until his deposition there in 1599.
  Sigismund was the son of John III of Sweden and his first wife, Catherine Jagiellon of Poland. Elected to the throne of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, he sought to create a personal union between the Commonwealth and Sweden, and succeeded for a time in 1592. After he had been deposed in 1599 from the Swedish throne by his Protestant uncle, Charles IX of Sweden, and a meeting of the Riksens ständer, he spent much of the rest of his life attempting to reclaim it.
  A pious yet erratic ruler, Sigismund attempted to hold absolute power in all his dominions. Shortly after suppressing internal opposition, Sigismund took advantage of a period of civil unrest in Muscovy, known as the Time of Troubles, and invaded Russia, holding Moscow for two years and Smolensk thereafter. In 1617 the Polish–Swedish conflict, which had been interrupted by an armistice in 1611, broke out again.
context_section_description: Throughout these wars King Sigismund tried to stabilize and streamline the Commonwealth government. The electoral monarchy in Poland had created a nobility with extensive powers and a great deal of division. Sigismund worked to gain more power for the king as well as to allow government business to pass with a majority of votes of the parliament rather than unanimity, which was extremely hard to achieve and meant that things often did not get done. All these actions led to a rebellion, but the King was ultimately victorious and, despite the criticism from historian Paweł Jasienica, his reign marked a period of Polish greatness.
  Sigismund made the Commonwealth the dominant power of Central and Eastern Europe and ensured that Poland remained a solidly Catholic country in the face of Protestant incursions. He was considered a bold and an enlightened monarch with the qualities of a Renaissance man, as is evidenced by his devout faith and his artistic talent. Sigismund was a gifted artist, painter and goldsmith; only one of his three paintings survived – one was for centuries erroneously attributed to Tintoretto. From his personal workshop came the main part of the famous silver coffin of St. Adalbert of Prague at the Cathedral in Gniezno. Sigismund was also immensely passionate about alchemy and ancient methods of turning metals into gold; he often cooperated with the famous alchemist and philosopher Michael Sendivogius (Polish: Michał Sędziwój).
  Towards the end of his reign, Sigismund III withdrew altogether from politics and devoted himself exclusively to family matters and his interests in performing arts. Shortly after the sudden death of his second wife, Constance of Austria, Sigismund fell dangerously ill and experienced severe mental and psychological problems. He became bedridden due to gout and joint pain, an affliction which was likely inherited from his grandfather Sigismund I the Old. The king eventually died of a stroke on 30 April 1632 at the age of 65 in the Royal Castle in Warsaw. His body was interred inside Wawel Cathedral in Kraków and he was succeeded by his son, Władysław IV.
caption: Sigismund III on catafalque following his death
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