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Sigismund I

(Encyclopedia)Sigismund I, 1467–1548, king of Poland (1506–48), son of Casimir IV. Elected to succeed his brother, Alexander I, Sigismund faced the problem of consolidating his domestic power in order successfu...

Sigismund II

(Encyclopedia)Sigismund II or Sigismund Augustus, 1520–72, king of Poland (1548–72). Crowned in 1530 to assure his succession, he assumed the royal functions at the death of his father, Sigismund I. By the Unio...

Piłsudski, Joseph

(Encyclopedia)Piłsudski, Joseph yo͞oˈzĕf pēlˌso͞otˈskē [key], 1867–1935, Polish general and politician. He was exiled (1887–92) to Siberia for an alleged attempt on the life of Czar Alexander III, who ...

Kołobrzeg

(Encyclopedia)Kołobrzeg kôlôbˈzhĕk [key] or Kolberg, town (1994 est. pop. 46,300), Zachodniopomorskie prov., NW Poland, on the Baltic Sea at the mouth of the Prośnica River. It is a seaport, seaside resort, a...

Constantine Nikolayevich

(Encyclopedia)Constantine Nikolayevich kənˌstəntyēnˈ nēkôläyāˈvĭch [key], 1827–92, grand duke of Russia; brother of Czar Alexander II. Constantine supported all the reforms instituted by his brother, w...

Velikiye Luki

(Encyclopedia)Velikiye Luki vyĭlyēˈkēə lo͞oˈkē [key], city (1989 pop. 114,000), W central European Russia, on the Lovat River. A railroad junction, it has industries producing rolling stock and foodstuffs. ...

Dzierżoniów

(Encyclopedia)Dzierżoniów jēĕrzhôˈnyo͞of [key], Ger. Reichenbach, town, Dolnośląskie prov., SW Pol...

Casimir I

(Encyclopedia)Casimir I kăsˈəmēr [key], c.1015–1058, duke of Poland (c.1040–1058), son of Mieszko II. He succeeded in reuniting the central Polish lands under the hegemony of the Holy Roman Empire, but he w...

Vistula Lagoon

(Encyclopedia)Vistula Lagoon, Pol. Zalew Wiślany, shallow inlet of the Baltic Sea, 322 sq mi (834 sq km), c.60 mi (100 km) long and from 6 to 11 mi (9.7–18 km) wide, N Poland and W Russia, separated from the Gul...

Beltsville swine

(Encyclopedia)Beltsville swine, two breeds of swine developed at the agricultural research center of the U.S. Department of Agriculture in Beltsville, Md. The breeds are designated Beltsville No. 1 and Beltsville N...