Prince Nicholas II Niemodliński

Prince Nicholas II Niemodliński - in 1476, after the death of his father Nicholas I, together with his older brother Jan II called Dobre, he took over the reign of his estates in Opole. Together, the brothers made the most important decisions about their principality. In 1497, the governor of Silesia, the Cieszyn Duke, Kazimierz II, organized a sejmik in Nysa. The subject of the meeting was to be the issue of the threat to Hungary from the Turks and a petition to Władysław Jagiellończyk regarding the approval of privileges for Silesian principalities. The convention was also hosted by the Bishop of Wrocław, Jan IV Roth, Henryk Ziębicki and, among others, Nicholas II. On June 26, tragic events took place in the town hall. Prince Nicholas II threw a dagger at the bishop and the Cieszyn hub, who was in conflict with the Dukes of Opole. The attacks were unsuccessful, while Nicholas took refuge in the church of St. James because he wanted to avoid responsibility. The prince was captured in front of the altar and, contrary to custom, placed in a dungeon on the bishop's order. He was brought before a juror's court in Nysa, although he was entitled only to the royal court. The prince protested that the trial was in German and that he was being tried unlawfully. The attempted buyout for a huge sum of 100,000 Hungarian zlotys did not help either. He was sentenced to death. In the last letter, Mikołaj made his brother John the Good his successor. The judgment of the city court was carried out almost immediately in order to avert the danger of bringing relief from Opole. On June 27, 1497, the prince was beheaded in the Market Square in Nysa. Prince Nicholas' last words will be remembered forever; "Oh Nysa! Nyso! Is that why my ancestors gave you to the Church, that you would now tear my life away? ”. Upon hearing of his brother's death, Jan Dobry wanted to organize an armed expedition against Kazimierz Cieszyn, but it was prevented by Władysław Jagiellończyk, who did not want a civil war in Silesia. Prince Mikołaj rested in the Piast mausoleum in the Franciscan church in Opole. There is an inscription on his tombstone: "I am buried here, I who fell faithful to my principles and bravely bent my neck to the executioner's sword. Passer-by, tell the proud rulers that Prince Nicholas exists. " After the prince's body was brought to Opole through the Bishop's Gate, also known as the Mikołajska Gate, it was walled up.