# Bolesław V the Chaste takes Kraków (1243)

URL: https://poland-history.com/timeline/1243-boleslaw-v-the-chaste-takes-krakow
Location: Kraków
Categories: ruler-change

Bolesław V, son of Leszek the White, secured Kraków after defeating Konrad of Masovia. Within the broader Fragmentation period: After 1138 Poland split into duchies ruled by rival Piast princes. Mongol invasions, German settlement, the growth of towns and the arrival of the Teutonic Knights reshaped the land before it was reunited. At this point in the timeline (1243), the governing authority was Bolesław V the Chaste (High Duke of Poland). His long reign saw Mongol raids, the canonisation of St Stanislaus and the chartering of Kraków under Magdeburg law. Bolesław V the Chaste takes Kraków mattered because succession and legitimacy shaped alliances, institutions and the direction of state policy. The event is placed here so readers can follow it alongside changes in government, warfare, society, religion and culture across Polish history.

## Why it matters
Bolesław V the Chaste takes Kraków mattered because succession and legitimacy shaped alliances, institutions and the direction of state policy.

Ruler at the time: [Bolesław V the Chaste](https://poland-history.com/rulers/boleslaw-v-the-chaste)

## Sources
- [Wikipedia — Bolesław V the Chaste](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boles%C5%82aw_V_the_Chaste)
- [Encyclopaedia Britannica topic lookup — Bolesław V the Chaste takes Kraków](https://www.britannica.com/search?query=Boles%C5%82aw+V+the+Chaste+takes+Krak%C3%B3w)
- [Wikipedia — History of Poland during the Piast dynasty (period overview)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Poland_during_the_Piast_dynasty#Fragmentation_of_the_realm_(1138%E2%80%931320))