Ostrów Lednicki is an

island An island or isle is a piece of land, distinct from a continent, completely surrounded by water. There are continental islands, which were formed by being split from a continent by plate tectonics, and oceanic islands, which have never been ...

in the southern portion of Lake Lednica in

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

, located between the cities of

Gniezno Gniezno (; ; ) is a city in central-western Poland, about east of Poznań. Its population in 2021 was 66,769, making it the sixth-largest city in the Greater Poland Voivodeship. The city is the administrative seat of Gniezno County (''powiat'') ...

and

Poznań Poznań ( ) is a city on the Warta, River Warta in west Poland, within the Greater Poland region. The city is an important cultural and business center and one of Poland's most populous regions with many regional customs such as Saint John's ...

. The word ''ostrów'' is an archaic Polish word for "holm" (i.e., river or lake island) - hence in English it is sometimes known as "Lednica Holm". A '' gród'' (a

medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with the fall of the West ...

Slavonic fortified settlement) was built here in the Middle Ages. Existing ruins of a chapel, church and palace, thought to be the home of the first Kings of the

Piast The House of Piast was the first historical ruling dynasty of Poland. The first documented Polish monarch was Duke Mieszko I (–992). The Piasts' royal rule in Poland ended in 1370 with the death of King Casimir III the Great. Branches of ...

dynasty, have been roofed over for preservation. Today the ruins are of

archaeological Archaeology or archeology is the study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of Artifact (archaeology), artifacts, architecture, biofact (archaeology), biofacts or ecofacts, ...

significance, and the site of the Museum of the Piast Dynasty, opened in 1969. It is Poland's largest open-air museum. The site is one of Poland's official national Historic Monuments (''

Pomnik historii Historic Monument (, ) is one of several categories of objects of cultural heritage in Poland, objects of cultural heritage (in the singular, ''zabytek'') in Poland. To be recognized as a Polish historic monument, an object must be declared suc ...

''), as one of the first such monuments designated on September 16, 1994. The list of national monuments is maintained by the National Heritage Board of Poland.

Significance

The island is important in the national history of Poland. During the reign of the first ruler of the Polish state,

Mieszko I Mieszko I (; – 25 May 992) was Duchy of Poland (966–1025), Duke of Poland from 960 until his death in 992 and the founder of the first unified History of Poland, Polish state, the Civitas Schinesghe. A member of the Piast dynasty, he was t ...

, and Boleslaw the Brave, it stood as one of the main defensive and administrative centers of the kingdom. The ruined castle and other buildings here were constructed during Mieszko I's reign, just before the year 966. It is also one contender for the historical site of the personal

baptism Baptism (from ) is a Christians, Christian sacrament of initiation almost invariably with the use of water. It may be performed by aspersion, sprinkling or affusion, pouring water on the head, or by immersion baptism, immersing in water eit ...

of Mieszko I, his wife Dobrawa of Bohemia, and his court, which took place on the

Holy Saturday Holy Saturday (), also known as Great and Holy Saturday, Low Saturday, the Great Sabbath, Hallelujah Saturday, Saturday of the Glory, Easter Eve, Joyous Saturday, the Saturday of Light, Good Saturday, or Black Saturday, among other names, is t ...

of April 14, 966. The date is the

Baptism of Poland The Christianization of Poland ( ) refers to the introduction and subsequent spread of Christianity in Poland. The impetus to the process was the Baptism of Poland ( ), the personal baptism of Mieszko I, the first ruler of the future Polish st ...

, the historical introduction of

Christianity in Poland Religion in Poland is Secularization, rapidly declining, although historically it had been one of the most Catholic Church, Catholic countries in the world. According to a 2018 report by the ''Pew Research Center'', the nation was the most r ...

. The event also marks the beginning of the Polish state. The island is also the scene of Józef Ignacy Kraszewski's historical 1876 novel '' An Ancient Tale''.

References

External links

Archaeological sites in Poland Gniezno County Islands of Poland {{Poland-geo-stub