The old Polish castle on the castle hills above the best ford of the middle Oder, rebuilt under Mieszko I before 1000, with the cathedral of St Adalbert of the bishopric founded by Bolesław III in 1125 under Gniezno.
It is the head of the Lubusz land and Silesia's outpost towards Brandenburg and Lusatia. German town law comes under Henry the Bearded ('1226 or earlier', de.wikipedia).
Who holds it
- Name
- Bolesław I the Tall
- Title
- Duke of Silesia (castle and land); bishop of Lubusz (see)
- Since
- Silesian since 1138
- Confidence
- medium
de.wikipedia (Lebus; Land Lebus); en.wikipedia (Lubusz Land)
Lord in 1200
Duke Bolesław I the Tall, through his castellan of Lubusz; the bishop of Lubusz (Church map) holds the cathedral and its estates
How things stand that morning
Silesian on 1 January 1200 (medium-high confidence). Magdeburg wants the see as its suffragan; the Wettins and Ascanians want the land.
Charter
None in 1200.
Communities
Polish castle folk; the clergy of the cathedral.
Militia
None as a town.
Walls and castle
Castle and cathedral on the castle hills; no town wall.
Trade and crafts
The Oder ford and river traffic between Silesia and the Baltic; the crossing of the road from Brandenburg and the Barnim into Greater Poland.
What the year holds
What happened next, if nothing in play changes it. Each event carries what it depends on and what would stop it.
- 1206; 1209-1210Traded by Henry to Władysław Spindleshanks for Kalisz (1206, not lasting); taken by Margrave Conrad II of Lusatia (1209); recovered by Henry after Conrad's death (1210).Depends on: Later politics.
Where the sources disagree
Evidence: Silesian possession and the bishopric are attested; the castellan is not pinned.
Primary sources for Silesia (Bolesław the Tall)
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
Last revised 4 November 2026. Published 4 November 2026. Suggest a correction on the OMNIA Discord.