Ostrów Lednicki

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Lednogóra.  Ostrów Lednicki.  ruiny grodziska.JPG

Ostrów Lednicki is an island in Lake Lednica in western central Poland . One of the most important castles of the early Polish Piasts was located on it . The baptism of the Piast ruler Mieszko I (* around 945 ; † 992 ) possibly took place on it, which was the starting point for the Christianization of Poland .

geography

The island is located in Lake Lednica in the Greater Poland Lake District .
An old trade route from Magdeburg to Kiev ran between Posen and Gnesen directly along the lake.

The island is about 7.5 hectares and today belongs to the Gmina Łubowo in the powiat Gnesen in the Greater Poland Voivodeship .

history

Foundation walls of the church
Remains of the hall
Remains of the hall and the chapel
Model of the castle

The island was inhabited as early as the Neolithic .

During extensive excavations, a Slavic rampart with a total circumference of 500 meters was uncovered in the north of the island . Dendrodata gave a date of 963 and 964 for the wood used in the construction of the castle. It is therefore assumed that the castle was built in the early 1960s, precisely at the time when Mieszko I appears, according to historical tradition (965 marriage, 966 baptism, 968 establishment of the Posen diocese ).

In the south of the complex, the remains of a stone palace with a chapel and in the north the remains of a stone church were recovered. The chapel contains a baptistery , i. H. a stone baptismal font that is 1.8 × 4.6 m in size. The existence of a baptistery suggests that the castle played a central role in the baptism of the population at that time.

The construction time of the palace is estimated to be between approx. 865 and 885 at the latest. The hall and chapel are the oldest known stone structures on the territory of today's Poland.

In 1038 the castle was badly damaged by the invasion of Bohemian troops as well as Gniezno and other places in Greater Poland . A new earth-wood wall is being built.

The castle obviously played a prominent role for the Polish dukes and kings from the 10th to the 12th centuries.

The island is not mentioned for the first time until 1136 in a document from Pope Innocent II.

In 1854, the royal Prussian chamberlain, Count Albin Belina-Wesierski, acquired the island from the Prussian state and was very committed to maintaining and maintaining the complex.

Muzeum Pierwszych Piastów

The "Museum of the First Piast" ( "Muzeum Pierwszych Piastów" ) has been located on the site since 1969 and has been a "Historical Monument" since 1994.

literature

  • Manfred Alexander: Small history of Poland. Reclam, Stuttgart 2008, ISBN 978-3-15-017060-1 .
  • Henryk Samsonowicz: Historia Polski do roku 1795. Wydawnictwa Szkolne i Pedagogiczne, Warsaw 1990, ISBN 83-02-04285-4 .

Web links

Commons : Ostrów Lednicki  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. Zarządzenie Prezydenta RP z dnia 8 września 1994

Coordinates: 52 ° 31 ′ 35 ″  N , 17 ° 22 ′ 39 ″  E