Jan Matejko : King Batory at Pskov
The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth was formed by the union of the Kingdom of Poland and Grand Duchy of Lithuania in 1569. The new Commonwealth ( Republic of Both Nations ) was one of the largest and most populous countries of 16th and 17th- century Europe .
The Commonwealth was an important European center for the development of modern social and political ideas. It was famous for its rare quasi-democratic political system, praised by philosophers such as Erasmus; and, during the Counter-Reformation, was known for near-unparalleled religious tolerance, with peacefully coexisting Catholic, Jewish, Eastern Orthodox, Protestant and Muslim communities. The Commonwealth gave rise to the famous Christian sect of the Polish Brethren antecedents of British and American Unitarianism.
The map shows the greatest extent of the borders of the Kigdom of Poland ( named as a Crown ) and The Grand Duchy of Lithuania Anno Domini 1635.
On the map the main castles and fortresses defending the Commonwealth from the east.
Castles located current in Poland ( they were on the plan ) are marked in green, castles located in the Belarus in the red and
located in Lithuania in the blue. Castles located in Ukraine are marked in the color pink. Dyneburg ( Latvia ) in the color yellow.
Other Polish castles can be seen here and here.
Here you can see a plan of Kamieniec Podolski - the bigest Fortress at Podole.
I have added main Castles of the Teutonic Order in East Prussia.


Enjoy and have fun!


The Coat of arms of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth

hi b!

let me give you a 5*s for this really nice piece of work!

was glad to refresh my knowledge
about our one time common great leader,
the Hungarian Báthory István.

Stephen Báthory's
"Dragon's Teeth"
coat-of-arms

also have read back to I. Lajos
when we also had common king,

and formed a great alliance:
Coat of arms (clockwise from upper left):
paternal (Hungary – the Arpad stripes – and Anjou-Sicily),
Poland, Dalmatia, and Hungary (the double cross).

related from GEC:
Castles of historical Hungary
Borders of Historical Hungary

best,
g