Mieszko's chief residence: a castle in the Prosna valley at Zawodzie, south-east of the later town, with the collegiate church of St Paul that he founded and where he will be buried in 1202, and a market settlement beside it on the road from Greater Poland to Sieradz and Kraków.
The chartered town on its present site is laid out only in 1253-60.
Who holds it
- Name
- Duke Mieszko III, in residence, with his castellan
- Title
- Lord of the castle and market
- Since
- see lord_1200
- Confidence
- medium
Lord in 1200
Duke Mieszko III, in residence, with his castellan
How things stand that morning
A ducal castle with a market settlement; no town law.
Charter
None. No town law in 1200: the place is a ducal castle (gród) with a market settlement (suburbium) under ducal law. The chartered town comes in 1253-60.
Council
None: the castellan and the duke's officers judge, collect the market dues and tolls, and keep order.
Communities
The ducal court; Jewish moneyers in the duke's service (their place of work not pinned).
Fairs and markets
A market under the castle (day not pinned).
Militia
None as a town body; the castle garrison and the knights of the castle district.
Walls and castle
Earth-and-timber castle at Zawodzie; the collegiate church.
Trade and crafts
The Prosna crossing on the roads to Sieradz, Łęczyca and Kraków and to Silesia; the court's demand; the mint (Mieszko's bracteates may have been struck here: not pinned).
Places of note
- Zawodzie: Castle and St Paul's.
Where the sources disagree
Evidence: Residence, burial and foundation are firm; the town's market arrangements in 1200 are general.
Primary sources for Greater Poland
Chronicles, registers, sagas and inscriptions written in or near 1200 that cover this entry. Each has its own page with editions, translations and where to read it.
- Chronicle of the Poles, by Master Vincent (Wincenty Kadłubek), Wincenty Kadłubek (about 1190 to 1208). Book 4 is a contemporary's account of the fight for the senior throne of Kraków. Read online
- The annals of the Kraków chapter and the other Polish annals (kept from the 11th century; the Kraków chapter annals continued to 1266). Short dated entries that fix the chronology Kadłubek blurs: the deaths of dukes and bishops, Mieszko the Old's captures of Kraków, Prussian raids on Masovia, church consecrations. Read online
Sources and studies
- Kalisz, en.wikipedia
- Mieszko III the Old, en.wikipedia
- Mieszko III., de.wikipedia
- History of the Jews in Poland, en.wikipedia
Last revised 4 November 2026. Published 4 November 2026. Suggest a correction on the OMNIA Discord.