Poland Turns Christian

In the early Middle Ages, the present Polish lands were populated by Slav tribes. Following long lasting processes, in the 9th century, the tribes started to form larger tribal groups to eventually create the state of Poland during the century to come. The territory of the present Wielkopolska or Great Poland became the centre of the budding state with Gniezno as its capital. Dukes of the Piast dynasty ruled in Poland, and Duke Mieszko I became the first recorded head of the Polish state.

He was converted to Christianity in 966. That extremely important act strengthened the young country’s sovereignty and its internal unity; Poland also became formally a part of Christian Europe.

In the shade of the big city of Poznan today, at that time Gniezno was the capital of the country. It was a ducal stronghold and in the newly erected church the body of St Adalbert was laid; St Adalbert, Poland’s patron, was killed during his evangelic mission to the land of Prussians. In the year 1000, Gniezno hosted the famous meeting of the German Emperor, Otto III, with Mieszko’s son, Bolesław Chrobry (Boleslaus the Brave), later crowned the first Polish king. In the jubilee year 2000, the city became again the host of a contemporary Gniezno meeting – presidents of European countries arrived there to confirm the great idea of European unification.