A Royal Wedding Ceremony in the 16th Century
The print depicts the majestic arrival of Anna Habsburg in Kraków. Immediately after the wedding, the work was published with a description in German
A graphic work depicting the entrance of Anna Habsburg into Krakow (1592) by UnknownNational Museum – Palace of the Grand Dukes of Lithuania
Meeting the fiancé
A royal wedding is a special event in the life of a country. It was usually determined by political interests, and the bride saw her future husband for the first time just one or a few days before the wedding. The graphic work depicts several scenes related to the queen's entrance.
Empty carriages can be seen at the top left. This is because from the moment that Anna Habsburg met Sigismund Vasa, she travelled to Kraków in a carriage sent by her husband.
Royal weddings took place at different times of the year, but in the fields surrounding Kraków, such tents were always set up for the guests. They provided protection from the hot sun, rain or snow.
Surviving descriptions of tents show that they were Turkish and very ornately embroidered. Red fabric was stretched between the tents to facilitate comfortable passage. A large canopy between the tents depicts a meeting between Sigismund Vasa and Anna Habsburg in May 1592.
The third scene at the bottom shows the procession of Sigismund Vasa and a carriage in which Anna Habsburg is riding.
They moved towards the city gates of Kraków, where they were met by a salvo of cannon fire.
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