LOUIS THE GREAT

Common belief is that during Louis the Great’s reign three seas washed Hungary’s shores. The truth is that in those decades, Hungaryreached a peak in its territorial size, the monarch’s reign expanded to Poland and Moldavia, which did not mean that three seas washed the country’s shores. Regardless of that, we can state that Louis the Great’s 40-year reign is the prime of the medieval Hungarian Kingdom.

The 16-year-old Louis seized control under strange conditions in 1342: the state functioned properly, the treasury was not empty, the economy was improving, and the country was not threatened by internal or external forces. Following his father’s (Charles Robert) legacy, he endeavoured to strengthen the kingdom. To achieve his plans, he created the law of entail in 1351, which remained in effect until the Reform Era.

Without having any internal problems, Louis was able to focus on foreign politics, which meant the same with war campaigns at the time. The Knight King personally led his campaigns to Italy, Dalmatia and Lithuania. During his Italian campaign he marched into Naples in 1348. His millennial relief represents this prosperous period.

The statue of is a creation of György Zala.