Charenza, also Karentia or Karenz, later also Gharense, was a medieval ''
Slavic burgwall'' on the island of
Rügen
Rügen (; la, Rugia, ) is Germany's largest island. It is located off the Pomeranian coast in the Baltic Sea and belongs to the state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania.
The "gateway" to Rügen island is the Hanseatic city of Stralsund, where ...
in the
Baltic Sea
The Baltic Sea is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that is enclosed by Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Sweden and the North and Central European Plain.
The sea stretches from 53°N to 66°N latitude and from ...
. It was the administrative centre of the
Rani tribe and of the
Principality of Rugia
A principality (or sometimes princedom) can either be a monarchical feudatory or a sovereign state, ruled or reigned over by a regnant-monarch with the title of prince and/or princess, or by a monarch with another title considered to fall under ...
. Today, the remnants are called Venz Castle (German: ''Venzer Burgwall'').
Name
The name Charenza (also spelt ''Karentia'' or ''Karenz'') may be derived from an old personal name, ''Chareta'', or from the Rani word for "root", ''Koreta''. In its original form, the name was Korenitsa.
Temples
Charenza was not only the administrative hub of the
Rani tribe, but also a religious centre with the temples of
Rugievit,
Porevit and
Porenut. The main religious centre of the Rani, however, was
Arkona on
Wittow.
Danish conquest
In 1168, King
Valdemar I of
Denmark
)
, song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast")
, song_type = National and royal anthem
, image_map = EU-Denmark.svg
, map_caption =
, subdivision_type = Sovereign state
, subdivision_name = Kingdom of Denmark
, establish ...
and his archbishop
Absalon captured Arkona. Charenza surrendered a few days later after negotiations with the Rugian princes
Tetzlav
Tetzlav, also known as ''Tezlaw'', ''Tetzlaw'' and ''Tetislaw'' (before 1163 – between 1170 and 1181) was a Prince of Rügen.
Life
According to the Pomeranian chronicler, Thomas Kantzow, he was a son of the Rani king, Ratislaus of Rügen (1 ...
and
Jaromar I Jaromar is a masculine given name. It is the Polabian form of the West Slavic name, Jaromir. It may refer to:
People:
Jaromar, also Jaromar of Rügen, is the name of several members of Rügen's princely house:
* Jaromar I (1141–1218), Prince o ...
. The temples were destroyed, the princes agreed to become Danish vassals and the population adopted the Christian faith. In 1180, the administrative centre of the
Principality of Rugia
A principality (or sometimes princedom) can either be a monarchical feudatory or a sovereign state, ruled or reigned over by a regnant-monarch with the title of prince and/or princess, or by a monarch with another title considered to fall under ...
was moved to
Rugard
The Rugard, at , is the highest elevation in the central region of the German Baltic Sea island of Rügen. This push end moraine was formed in the last ice age and lies on the northeastern perimeter of the town of Bergen auf Rügen.
There was ...
(today
Bergen auf Rügen
Bergen auf Rügen is the capital of the former district of Rügen in the middle of the island of Rügen in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Germany. Since 1 January 2005, Bergen has moreover been the administrative seat of the '' Amt'' of Bergen a ...
, just a few kilometres to the southeast).
Records
In the 12th century, Charenza was mentioned by
Saxo Grammaticus and
Helmold von Bosau.
The last records are from the early 13th century. When the Danish king raised money to build 12 churches on
Rügen
Rügen (; la, Rugia, ) is Germany's largest island. It is located off the Pomeranian coast in the Baltic Sea and belongs to the state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania.
The "gateway" to Rügen island is the Hanseatic city of Stralsund, where ...
, one of them was the ''capelle nostre in Charenz'', which in 1232 was granted the village of
Gagern as a fief. In 1234, when the Rugian prince
Vitslav I granted
Lübeck law
The Lübeck law (german: Lübisches (Stadt)Recht) was the family of codified municipal law developed at Lübeck, which became a free imperial city in 1226 and is located in present day Schleswig-Holstein. It was the second most prevalent form o ...
to
Stralsund
Stralsund (; Swedish: ''Strålsund''), officially the Hanseatic City of Stralsund (German: ''Hansestadt Stralsund''), is the fifth-largest city in the northeastern German federal state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania after Rostock, Schwerin, N ...
, the document was signed in Charenza. The last record mentioning Charenza was in 1237. In the 14th century, "Gharense" was mentioned as belonging to the parish of
Gingst.
Coordinates
Older research located Charenza at
Garz (), while newer studies locate Charenza near Venz (
Trent community, ), the supposed site of Gharense, which also fits the hints given in the ''
Gesta Danorum'' of
Saxo Grammaticus for Charenza's location.
Sources
*Kratzke, Reimann, Ruchhöft: ''Garz und Rugendahl auf Rügen im Mittelalter.'' In: ''Baltische Studien 2004 – Pommersche Jahrbücher für Landesgeschichte.'' Neue Folge Bd. 90, Verlag Ludwig, Kiel 2005, pp. 25–52,
*Sven Wichert: ''Beobachtungen zu Karentia auf Rügen im Mittelalter.'' In: ''Baltische Studien 2005 – Pommersche Jahrbücher für Landesgeschichte.'' Neue Folge Bd. 91, Verlag Ludwig, Kiel 2006, pp. 31–38, {{ISBN, 3-937719-35-0
External links
Garz Castle
Principality of Rügen
Early Slavic archaeology