Gniezno

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Gniezno

Gniezno is a town

Town

A town is a type of human settlement ranging from a few to several thousand inhabitants, although it may be applied loosely even to huge metropolitan areas; the precise meaning varies between countries and is not always a matter of legal definition....
in central-western Poland

Poland

Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe. Poland is bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian Enclave and exclave, to the north....
, some 50 km east of Poznan

Poznan

Poznan is a city in west-central Poland with over 567,882 inhabitants . Located on the Warta River, it is one of the oldest cities in Poland, making it an important historical centre and a vibrant centre of trade, industry, and education....
, inhabited by about 73,000 people. Situated in the Greater Poland Voivodeship

Greater Poland Voivodeship

Greater Poland Voivodeship is a Voivodeships of Poland, or province, in west-central Poland. It was created on January 1, 1999, out of the former Poznan Voivodeship, Kalisz Voivodeship, Konin Voivodeship, Pila Voivodeship and Leszno Voivodeship Voivodeships, pursuant to the 1998 Local Government Reorganization Act....
(since 1999), previously in Poznan Voivodeship

Poznan Voivodeship

Sorry, no overview for this topic
. It is the administrative capital of the Gniezno County

Gniezno County

Gniezno County is a unit of territorial administration and local government in Greater Poland Voivodeship, west-central Poland. It was created on January 1, 1999 as a result of the Local Government Reorganization Act of 1998....
(powiat).

History
There are archaeological traces of human settlement since the late Paleolithic

Paleolithic

The Paleolithic or Palaeolithic or "Old Stone" era is a Prehistory era distinguished by the development of the first stone tools, and covers roughly 99% of human history....
. Early Slavonic settlements on the Lech Hill and the Maiden Hill are dated to 8th century. At the beginning of the 10th century this was the site of several places sacred to the Slavic religion.

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Encyclopedia

Gniezno is a town

Town

Poland

Poznan

Greater Poland Voivodeship

Poznan Voivodeship

Sorry, no overview for this topic
. It is the administrative capital of the Gniezno County

Gniezno County

History

There are archaeological traces of human settlement since the late Paleolithic

Paleolithic

Legend of Lech, Czech and Rus

According to the Polish version of legends: three brothers Lech, Czech and Rus were exploring the wilderness to find a place to settle. Suddenly they saw a hill with an old oak and an eagle on top. Lech said: this white eagle I will adopt as an emblem of my people, and around this oak I will build my stronghold, and because of the eagle nest [Polish: gniazdo] I will call it Gniezdno [modern: Gniezno]. The other brothers went further on to find a place for their people. Czech went to the South (to found the Czech Lands

Czech lands

The "Czech lands" is an auxiliary term used mainly to describe the combination of Bohemia, Moravia and Czech Silesia.Today, those three historic provinces compose the Czech Republic....
) and Rus went to the East (to create Russia

Russia

Russia , or the Russian Federation , is a list of countries spanning more than one continent country extending over much of northern Eurasia....
and Ukraine

Ukraine

Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Russia to the east; Belarus to the north; Poland, Slovakia, and Hungary to the west; Romania and Moldova to the southwest; and the Black Sea and Sea of Azov to the south....
).

Cradle of the Polish state

In 10th century Gniezno became one of the main towns of the early Piast dynasty

Piast dynasty

Piast dynasty was the first Polish historical Royal dynasty that ruled Poland from its beginnings starting with the semi-legendary Piast the Wheelwright....
, founders of the Polish state.

Congress of Gniezno

It is here that the Congress of Gniezno

Congress of Gniezno

The Congress of Gniezno took place on March 11 1000. Scholars disagree over the details of the decisions made at the meeting, especially whether the ruler of Poland was pledged the king's crown or not....
took place in the year 1000 AD, during which Boleslaus I the Brave

Boleslaw I of Poland

Boleslaw I the Brave , in the past also known as Boleslaw I the Great , ruled as Duke of Poland from 992-1025 and as the first King of Poland in 1025....
, duke of Poland, received Holy Roman Emperor

Holy Roman Emperor

Image:HRR 14Jh.jpgThe Roman of the Emperor's title was a reflection of the translatio imperii principle that regarded the Holy Roman Emperors as the inheritors of the title of Emperor of the Western Roman Empire, a title left unclaimed in the West after the death of Julius Nepos in 480....
Otto III

Otto III, Holy Roman Emperor

Otto III was the fourth ruler of the Saxon or Ottonian dynasty of the Holy Roman Empire. He was elected king of Germany in 983 on the death of his father Otto II, Holy Roman Emperor....
. The emperor and the Polish duke celebrated the foundation of the Polish ecclesiastical province (archbishopric) in Gniezno, with newly established bishopric in Kolobrzeg

Kolobrzeg

Kolobrzeg is a city in Middle Pomerania Pomerania in north-western Poland with some 50,000 inhabitants . Kolobrzeg is located on the Parseta River on the south coast of the Baltic Sea ....
for Pomerania

Duchy of Pomerania

The Duchy of Pomerania was a duchy in Pomerania on the southern borders of the Baltic Sea. It existed from the 12th century till mid 17th century and was ruled by dukes of the House of Pomerania ....
; Wroclaw

Wroclaw

Wroclaw is the chief city of the historical region of Lower Silesia in south-western Poland, situated on the Oder River river. Over the centuries the city has been part of Kingdom of Poland , Bohemia, Austria, Prussia, and Germany....
for Silesia

Silesia

Silesia is a historical region of Central Europe located mostly in present-day Poland, with parts in the Czech Republic and Germany.Silesia is rich in mineral and natural resources, and includes several important industrial areas....
; Kraków

Kraków

Krak?w , in English also spelled Krakow or Cracow , is one of the largest and oldest cities in Poland, with a population of 756,336 in 2007 ....
for Lesser Poland

Lesser Poland

Lesser Poland is one of the historical regions of Poland. It forms the southeastern corner of the country. It should not be confused with the modern Lesser Poland Voivodeship, which covers just a part of the historical region of Lesser Poland...
and later also already existing since 968 bishopric in Poznan

Poznan

Greater Poland

Greater Poland or Great Poland, Polish Wielkopolska is a historical region of west-central Poland. Its chief city is Poznan. Administratively, most of the region now forms Greater Poland Voivodeship , although some parts lie in Lubusz Voivodeship, Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship and L?dz Voivodeship Voivodeships of Poland....
.

Royal coronation site

The 10th century Gniezno cathedral witnessed royal coronations of Boleslaus I in 1024 and his son Mieszko II Lambert

Mieszko II Lambert

This article is about a Polish king. See also Duke Mieszko II the Fat.Mieszko II Lambert ruled from 1025-1034 as duke and short-term king of Poland....
in 1025. The cities of Gniezno and nearby Poznan

Poznan

Poznan is a city in west-central Poland with over 567,882 inhabitants . Located on the Warta River, it is one of the oldest cities in Poland, making it an important historical centre and a vibrant centre of trade, industry, and education....
were captured, plundered and destroyed in 1038 by the Bohemia

Bohemia

History...
n duke Bretislav I, which pushed the next Polish rulers to move the Polish capital to Kraków

Kraków

Krak?w , in English also spelled Krakow or Cracow , is one of the largest and oldest cities in Poland, with a population of 756,336 in 2007 ....
. The archiepiscopal cathedral was reconstucted by the next ruler, Boleslaus II of Poland, who was crowned king here in 1076.

In the next centuries Gniezno evolved as a regional seat of the eastern part of Greater Poland, and in 1238 municipal autonomy was granted by the duke Wladyslaw Odonic

Wladyslaw Odonic

'Wladyslaw Odonic Plwacz' was duke of Greater Poland from 1229 to 1234. A member of the Piast dynasty, he was the son of Odon of Poznan and the father of Przemysl I of Greater Poland and Boleslaus of Greater Poland....
. Gniezno was again the coronation site in 1295 and 1300.

Regional site of Greater Poland

The city was destroyed again by the Teutonic Knights

Teutonic Knights

The Order of the Teutonic Knights of St. Mary's Hospital in Jerusalem , or for short the Teutonic Order was a Germans Roman Catholic religious order....
' invasion in 1331, and after an administrative reform became a county within the Kalisz Voivodeship

Kalisz Voivodeship

Sorry, no overview for this topic
(since the 14th century till 1768). Gniezno was hit by heavy fires in 1515, 1613, was destroyed during the Swedish invasion wars

Polish-Swedish wars

The Polish?Swedish Wars were a series of wars between the Polish?Lithuanian Commonwealth and Sweden, in the wider meaning to the series of wars in which both Sweden and Polish?Lithuanian Commonwealth participated between 1563 and 1721, in the narrower meaning denoting the two wars between 1600 and 1629....
of the 17th-18th centuries and by a plague in 1708-1710. All this caused depopulation and economic decline, but the city was soon revived during the 18th century to become the Gniezno Voivodeship

Gniezno Voivodeship

Gniezno Voivodeship was a unit of administrative division and local government in Poland for a short time from 1768, when it was cut from the Kalisz Voivodeship, to the partitions of Poland in 1772-1795....
in 1768.

Within Prussia

Gniezno was annexed by the Kingdom of Prussia

Kingdom of Prussia

The Kingdom of Prussia was a Germany monarchy from 1701 to 1918 and, from 1871, was the leading state of the German Empire, comprising almost two-thirds of the area of the empire....
in the 1793 Second Partition of Poland

Second Partition of Poland

The Second Partition of Poland or Second Partition of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth took place in 1793 as the second of partitions of Poland that ended the existence of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth by 1795....
and became part of the province of South Prussia

South Prussia

South Prussia was a Provinces of Prussia of the Kingdom of Prussia from 1793 to 1807. It was created out of territory annexed in the Partitions of Poland of Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth and included the regions of Greater Poland and Masovia....
. It was included within the Duchy of Warsaw

Duchy of Warsaw

The Duchy of Warsaw was a Poland state established by Napoleon Bonaparte in 1807 from the Polish lands ceded by the Kingdom of Prussia under the terms of the Treaties of Tilsit....
during the Napoleonic Wars

Napoleonic Wars

The Napoleonic Wars were a series of conflicts involving Napoleon I of France First French Empire and changing sets of European allies and opposing coalitions that ran from 1803 to 1815....
, but was returned to Prussia in the 1815 Congress of Vienna

Congress of Vienna

The Congress of Vienna was a conference of ambassadors of European states chaired by the Austrian statesman Klemens Wenzel von Metternich, and held in Vienna from September, 1814 to June, 1815....
. Gniezno was subsequently governed within Kreis Gnesen

Kreis Gnesen

Kreis Gnesen is one of several Kreise in the northern administrative Bromberg district, in the Prussian province of Posen....
of the Grand Duchy of Posen and the later Province of Posen

Province of Posen

The Province of Posen was a province of Kingdom of Prussia from 1848-1918 and as such part of the German Empire from 1871 to 1918; the whole area is now part of Poland....
. On January 20 1920 after the Treaty of Versailles

Treaty of Versailles

The Treaty of Versailles was one of the peace treaty at the end of World War I. It ended the declaration of war between German Empire and Allies of World War I....
, the town became part of the Second Polish Republic

Second Polish Republic

The Second Polish Republic, Second Commonwealth of Poland or interwar Poland is the Republic of Poland between World War I and World War II....
.

World War II

Gniezno was annexed into Nazi Germany

Nazi Germany

Nazi Germany and the Third Reich are the colloquial English names for Germany under the regime of Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party , which established a Totalitarianism dictatorship that existed from 1933 to 1945....
on 26 October 1939 after the invasion of Poland

Invasion of Poland (1939)

The Invasion of Poland in 1939 precipitated World War II. It was carried out by Nazi Germany, the Soviet Union, and a small Slovak invasion of Poland contingent....
and made part of Reichsgau Wartheland

Reichsgau Wartheland

Reichsgau Wartheland was the name given by Nazi Germany to the largest subdivision of the territory of Greater Poland which was directly incorporated into the German Reich after Invasion of Poland in 1939....
. The town was occupied by the Red Army

Red Army

The Red Army was the armed force first organized by the Bolsheviks during the Russian Civil War in 1918 and, in 1922, became the army of the Soviet Union....
in January 1945 and restored to Poland.

Archbishops of Gniezno

Gniezno's Roman Catholic

Roman Catholic Church

The Roman Catholic Church, officially known as the Catholic Church is the world's largest Christianity Ecclesia , representing over half of all Christians and one-sixth of the world population....
archbishop

Archbishop

In Christianity, an archbishop is an elevated bishop. In the Roman Catholic Church, the Anglican Communion and others, this means that they lead a diocese of particular importance called an archdiocese, or in the Anglican Communion an Ecclesiastical Province, but this is not always the case....
is traditionally the Primate

Primate (religion)

Primate is a title or rank bestowed on some bishops in certain Christianity churches. Depending on the particular tradition, it can denote either jurisdictional authority or ceremonial precedence ....
of Poland (Prymas Polski). After the partitions of Poland

Partitions of Poland

The Partitions of Poland or Partitions of the Polish Lithuanian Commonwealth took place in the second half of the 18th century and ended the existence of the Polish?Lithuanian Commonwealth....
the see was often combined with others, first with Poznan and then with Warsaw

Warsaw

Warsaw is the Capital and World's largest cities of Poland. It is located on the Vistula River roughly from both the Baltic Sea coast and the Carpathian Mountains....
. In 1992 Pope

Pope

The Pope is the Bishop of Rome, the leader of the Roman Catholic Church and head of state of Vatican City. The current pope is Pope Benedict XVI, who was elected April 19, 2005 in Papal conclave, 2005....
John Paul II

Pope John Paul II

Pope John Paul II John Paul II is widely acclaimed as one of the most influential leaders of the twentieth century. He has been Pope_John_Paul_II#Role_in_the_fall_of_Communism in bringing down communism in Eastern Europe, as well as significantly improving the Roman Catholic Church's relations with Judaism, the Eastern Orthodox Church, and A...
reorganized the Polish hierarchy and the city once again had a separate bishop. Cardinal Józef Glemp, who had been archbishop of Gniezno and Warsaw and retained Warsaw, was designated to remain Primate until his retirement, but afterward the Archbishop of Gniezno, at present Henryk Muszynski

Henryk Muszynski

Henryk Muszynski is the Archbishop of Gniezno, Poland, having been appointed by Pope John Paul II when the Polish hierarchy was reorganized in March 1992....
, would again be Primate of Poland.

Royal coronations in Gniezno cathedral

25 December 1024 - Boleslaus I the Brave
25 December 1025 - Mieszko II Lambert and his wife Richensa of Lotharingia
Richensa of Lotharingia

Richeza of Lotharingia was since 1013 the wife of King Mieszko II of Poland .She was the daughter of the Count Palatine Ezzo of Lotharingia and Mathilde of Saxony ....
25 December 1076 - Boleslaus the Generous and his wife Wyszeslawa of Kiev
26 June 1295 - Przemysl II and his wife Margaret of Brandenburg
August 1300 - Wenceslaus II of Bohemia

Historical population

1912: 25,339 inhabitants
1980: 62,400 inhabitants
1990: 70,400 inhabitants
1995: 71,000 inhabitants

People from Gniezno

Hermann Senator
Hermann Senator

Hermann Senator was a German internist who was a native of Gniezno in the Prussian-controlled province of Posen . He studied medicine in Berlin, where he received his medical doctorate in 1857....
(1834-1911), German physician
Jacob Caro
Jacob Caro

'Jacob Caro' was a Jewish Germany historian.Caro was born in Gniezno, Grand Duchy of Posen, the son of Joseph Chayyim Caro. After several years of diligent study at the universities of University of Berlin and University of Leipzig, he attracted considerable attention by his work Das Interregnum Polens im Jahr 1586, oder die H?user Zborows...
(1836–1904), German historian
Ludwik Cwiklinski
Ludwik Cwiklinski

Ludwik Cwiklinski , was a Classical philology, professor and rector of Lviv University , editor of "Eos" magazine , Minister of Education in Vienna ....
(1853-1942), Polish classical philologist
Günther Pancke
Günther Pancke

G?nther Friedrich Wilhelm Ludwig Pancke was an Schutzstaffel-Obergruppenf?hrer and the Higher SS and Police Leader of Denmark.Pancke was born in Gniezno , Province of Posen, German Empire....
(1889 - 1973), German SS - General
Heinz Reinefarth
Heinz Reinefarth

Heinrich Reinefarth was a Germany military officer during and official after World War II. During the Warsaw Uprising his troops committed numerous war World War II atrocities in Poland#Warsaw Uprising atrocities....
(1903-1979), German SS - General
Pawel Arndt
Pawel Arndt

Pawel Arndt is a Poland politician. He was elected to Sejm on September 25, 2005 getting 6546 votes in 37 Konin district, candidating from Platforma Obywatelska list....
(* 1954), Polish politician
Arkadiusz Radomski
Arkadiusz Radomski

Arkadiusz "Arek" Radomski is a Poland football who plays as a holding midfielder. Radomski started his career in Mieszko Gniezno in 1993. He played only two matches in Polish First League....
(* 1977), Polish footballer

Education

Collegium Europaeum Gnesnense (part of Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznan
Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznan

Adam Mickiewicz University is one of the major Poland universities, opened on May 7, 1919 in Poznan. It is named after the Polish poet Adam Mickiewicz....
)
The Gniezno School of Humanism and Management - Millennium (Gnieznienska Wyzsza Szkola Humanistyczno-Menedzerska Millennium)
The Archbishop's Ecclesiastical Seminary (Prymasowskie Wyzsze Seminarium Duchowne)
The State Higher Vocational School in Gniezno (Panstwowa Wyzsza Szkola Zawodowa)

Arts and culture

Aleksander Fredro Theatre (Teatr im. A. Fredry)
Museum of the Polish State Origins (Muzeum Poczatków Panstwa Polskiego)
Museum of Archdiocese (Muzeum Archidiecezji Gnieznienskiej)

Twin towns

Anagni

Anagni is an ancient town in Latium, central Italy, in the hills east-southeast of Rome, famous for its connections with the papacy and for the picturesque monuments of its unspoiled historical center....
, Italy

Italy

Italy , officially the Italian Republic , is a country located on the Italian Peninsula in Southern Europe and on the two largest islands in the Mediterranean Sea, Sicily and Sardinia....
Esztergom

Esztergom

Esztergom is a city in northern Hungary, about 50 km north-west of the Capital Budapest. It lies in Kom?rom-Esztergom county, on the right bank of the river Danube, which forms the border with Slovakia there....
, Hungary

Hungary

Hungary , officially in English the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in the Carpathian Basin of Central Europe, bordered by Austria, Slovakia, Ukraine, Romania, Serbia, Croatia, and Slovenia....
Falkenberg

Falkenberg

Falkenberg is a urban areas in Sweden in the provinces of Sweden of Halland on the Sweden west coast. It is the administrative centre of Falkenberg Municipality, Halland County....
, Sweden

Sweden

Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic countries on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden has land borders with Norway to the west and Finland to the northeast, and it is connected to Denmark by the ?resund Bridge in the south....
Sergiyev Posad

Sergiyev Posad

Sergiyev Posad is a types of inhabited localities in Russia and the administrative center of Sergiyevo-Posadsky District of Moscow Oblast, Russia....
, Russia

Russia

Russia , or the Russian Federation , is a list of countries spanning more than one continent country extending over much of northern Eurasia....
Speyer

Speyer

Speyer is a city in Germany with approx. 50,000 inhabitants, located beside the river Rhine. It lies 25 km south of Ludwigshafen and Mannheim....
, Germany

Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered to the north by the North Sea, Denmark, and the Baltic Sea; to the east by Poland and the Czech Republic; to the south by Austria and Switzerland; and to the west by France, Luxembourg, Belgium, and the Netherlands....
Radviliškis

Radviliškis

Radvili?kis is a city in the Radvili?kis district municipality , ?iauliai County, Lithuania. Radvili?kis has been the administrative center of the district since 1950, and is an important railway junction....
, Lithuania

Lithuania

Lithuania , officially the Republic of Lithuania is a country in Northern Europe, the southernmost of the three Baltic states. Situated along the southeastern shore of the Baltic Sea, it shares borders with Latvia to the north, Belarus to the southeast, Poland, and the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad Oblast to the southwest....
Roskilde

Roskilde

Roskilde Roskilde train station is a major stop between Copenhagen and the region of Denmark located to its west. The city is an economic center for the region....
, Denmark

Denmark

Denmark is a Scandinavian country in northern Europe and the senior member of the Kingdom of Denmark. It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries....
Uman

Umán

Um?n is a small city and its surrounding municipalities of Mexico of the same name in the States of Mexico of Yucat?n, Mexico.Um?n is located at...
, Ukraine

Ukraine

Veendam

Veendam is a municipality and a town in the northeastern Netherlands provinces of the Netherlands of Groningen .A Holland America Line cruise ship, the MS Veendam, is named for the city....
, Netherlands

Netherlands

The Netherlands is a country that is part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It is a parliamentary democratic constitutional monarchy. The Netherlands is located in North-West Europe, and bordered by the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east....

External links

(English and German version also available), The official site of the Gniezno City's Administration, from which much of the above was taken and adapted.
The official site of the Gniezno County
Gniezno County

Gniezno County is a unit of territorial administration and local government in Greater Poland Voivodeship, west-central Poland. It was created on January 1, 1999 as a result of the Local Government Reorganization Act of 1998....
, (English, German, Spanish, French, Italian and Russian version also available)