|
''Kasztanka'' (; Polish for "chestnut"; born 1909 or 1910, died November 23, 1927) was the famous mare that belonged to interwar Poland's leader, Marshal Józef Piłsudski. ==Life== ''Kasztanka'' is the Polish word for the chestnut color in horses, and Piłsudski so named his horse due to her color. She was foaled at Ludwik Popiel's ''Czaple Małe'' (Little Herons) estate probably in 1909 or 1910, and reared at his ''Czaple Wielkie'' (Great Herons) estate, in Miechów County, Kraków Province. Offered by her owner to the riflemen of the First Brigade of the Polish Legions, she became the service mount of Commandant Józef Piłsudski, who entered Kielce on her in August 1914 and kept her as a riding horse until her untimely death 13 years later. She was an elegant mare of moderate height, about at the withers, chestnut (light reddish-brown) in color, with markings that included a blaze and four white stockings. Kasztanka was Józef Piłsudski's favorite horse and faithful companion in the Polish Legions' battles at the side of Austro-Hungary and Germany in World War I, for the independence of Poland. Indeed, she acknowledged only Piłsudski. Her task was to carry the Commandant during the First Brigade's marches. She was not remarkable for any unique gait nor for extraordinary feats of courage, but she was very loyal. Kasztanka was somewhat high-strung and hated artillery fire, but when her master asked, she remained controlled and obedient under difficult conditions, reciprocating his devotion.〔 The Polish Legions' First Uhlan Regiment, commanded by Colonel Władysław Belina-Prażmowski, presented Piłsudski with new trappings for Kasztanka, and it was in these that she henceforth appeared.〔 In 1922 Kasztanka went to Mińsk Mazowiecki into the care of the 7th Lublin Uhlan Regiment. From there she would be sent to Warsaw when Marshal Piłsudski, as Commander-in-Chief, was to take part in state ceremonies and, seated astride Kasztanka, review military parades. When he was at his country house in Sulejówek, the mare was sometimes brought there to visit, especially to the Marshal's daughters, Wanda and Jadwiga.〔 Kasztanka gave birth to two foals over the course of her life, a colt and a filly. Other than that in both cases she gave birth when she was stabled at the 7th Uhlan Regiment in Mińsk Mazowiecki, little information has been preserved concerning their sires, except that they were government-owned stallions. The colt, a gray named ''Niemen'' after the river, inherited only his dam's good looks but not her personality; he was lazy. He was proposed to succeed Kasztanka in serving Marshal Piłsudski, but never did.〔 Kasztanka's filly, which Piłsudski christened ''Mera'' in memory of the river that flowed through Zułów, the family estate where he had been born, was foaled April 10, 1925, and was a chestnut like Kasztanka. In 1930, according to her surviving records, Mera was in the care of the First Light Cavalry Regiment as "officer's service horse of First Marshal Józef Piłsudski."〔 Marshal Piłsudski rode Kasztanka for the last time on November 11, 1927, at the Polish Independence Day parade on Warsaw's Saxon Square (now Piłsudski Square).〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Kasztanka」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
|