1025: THE BIRTH OF A KINGDOM

• enlarge
• enlarge
• enlarge
• enlarge
• enlarge

1/4

Tickets

Regular ticket: PLN 20 

Concessionary ticket: PLN 10

Family ticket: PLN 30 (ticket for one or two adults + children, not more than six persons)

Group ticket (at least ten persons): PLN 15/person

Tickets are available at the Museum’s ticket office or online.

>> > BUY AN EXHIBITION TICKET

On Fridays (10 a.m. - 6 p.m.) admission to the exhibition 1025: The Birth of a Kingdom is free.

1,000 years ago

The exhibition 1025: The Birth of a Kingdom is the first in a series of cultural events organised in Poland to mark the millennial anniversary of the coronation of the first Polish king. A unique set of over 500 early medieval artefacts creates a unique story about the roots of our state. The exhibition is a unique opportunity to see in a single place archaeological artefacts related to everyday life, medicine or non-Christian beliefs and world-class relics of goldsmithery from the royal treasury of the Piasts. Among them, there is no shortage of artefacts normally not on public display.

The story of the Piast dynasty is presented in five modules. The narrative is supplemented by a number of interactive posts, including ones involving scent and touch, as well as multimedia, audio stations and infographics.

The co-organisers of the exhibition are the Museum of Gniezno Archdiocese and the Museum of the First Piasts at Lednica (MFP).

1025: THE BIRTH OF A KINGDOM

Take a look behind the scenes of the exhibition’s creation

• enlarge
• enlarge
• enlarge
• enlarge
• enlarge
• enlarge
• enlarge
• enlarge
• enlarge

1/4

I. THE KINGDOM

We begin our journey through the kingdom by learning about its landscape and the lives of its inhabitants, several dozens of posts with archaeological artefacts providing information about such aspects as dietary habits, changes in biodiversity, agriculture, medicine, or fashion. Among the artefacts found by archaeologists will be valuable cultural relics, such as a fragment of the oldest string musical instrument in Poland, as well as seeds of, for example, peaches and peas painstakingly collected by archaeobotanists. We will show bones of animals hunted by the inhabitants of Piast gords, from a bear and an aurochs to a capercaillie and a pigeon. Also on view will be rare fully preserved fish traps. Lead bars, on the other hand, as well as vessels with traces of tar and honey will serve as a starting point for stories about natural resources and the development of technology, while early medieval ice skates and sledge skids will illustrate the topics of climate and the weather.

The exhibition will present more than 300 artefacts from the collection of the Museum of the First Piasts at Lednica: the unique artefacts were obtained as a result of archaeological research, including underwater surveys that have been carried out on Lake Lednica for decades.

enlarge

Works related to individual months on the calendar pages in the Psalter of the Poor Clares of Wrocław, 13th century, Digital Library of the University of Wrocław

Thanks to the interactive stations, visitors will learn how the oldest Polish music sounded, as well as how the properties of various trees (hard oak, pliable ash or soft-to-work maple) influenced the use of their wood in the 11th century. Respectfully presented human bones with traces of healed fractures and other injuries will serve as testimony to the medicine of the time. 

Also presented will be the communities living in the kingdom from outside the Piast state, such as the Pechenegs, Scandinavians, Balts and Ruthenians. The presentation of each of these is accompanied by an exhibit, including a part of a reflex bow or a silver-encrusted arrowhead, as well as an audio station with recorded speech in the now extinct Prussian language.

enlarge

King David with a lyre and Child in his lap, Golden Codex of Pułtusk, 11th century, National Museum in Krakow, Polona

II. GNIEZNO, THE HEART
OF THE KINGDOM

Approaching the heart of the exhibition, we learn about the central strongholds of the kingdom, where its most precious treasures are kept. The objects presented here have been selected to represent different types of valuables: from goldsmithery relics to precious textiles. By presenting the treasures of the kingdom, the exhibition highlights the history of these objects and familiarises the visitor with the symbolism of the representations contained in them. This is the case with the scenes from the Old Testament adorning the chalice and the horsemen depicted on the Płock diadem decorated with sapphires and rubies. Visitors also learn about traces of lost or destroyed treasures. Evidence of ancient splendour includes 1,000-year-old gold-foil-covered glass mosaic cubes found during excavations in Poznan.

Sculpture and masonry architecture also developed most rapidly in the main centres of the kingdom. Therefore, this part of the story will present a fragment of an ornamental archivolt from Gniezno Cathedral, which is not normally on public display, as well as early medieval tiles with secular decoration. The texts and infographics accompanying the exhibits present, among other things, a reconstructed image of the town of Gniezno and its cathedral in the 11th century, as well as construction techniques such as the production of so-called artificial stone, a material which allows delicate sculptural details to be made even in the absence of soft stone such as sandstone or limestone.

enlarge

King David with a lyre and Child in his lap, Golden Code of Pułtusk, 11th century, National Museum in Krakow, Polona

expand textword wrap

enlarge

A ruler surrounded by the mighty, Golden Codex of Pułtusk, 11th century, National Museum in Krakow, Polona

III. THREE KINGS

Having seen the culture and wealth of the court, it is time to become familiar with the rulers and the mighty who influenced the politics of the kingdom. We focus our attention on three kings: Bolesław I the Brave, Mieszko II and Bolesław II the Bold. Material evidence of their reign, as well as a starting point for the story of the challenges they faced, are coins, including coronation denarii and a specimen of Princes Polonie. The latter coin is also one of the earliest testimonies to the use of the word ‘Poland’. The riches of Bolesław I the Brave’s times are illustrated by gold thread and costly jewellery found during excavation work.

The stories of conquests and invasions are told not only through military objects. A special role is played by the bones of those killed in battle, discovered by archaeologists. The marks left on the skulls by sword and spear blows illustrate the brutality of the wars fought at the time. The most dangerous of these was the invasion of the Bohemian Duke Bretislav, which brought the Kingdom of Poland to the brink of an abyss.

Other important characters in the story are Richeza of Lotharingia, the first Queen of Poland, and her daughter Gertrude, the first Polish female writer. The personal prayers of the latter constitute a unique monument of early medieval poetry. Visitors also get to know Agnieszka, who as superior of a cloister and ruler of Quedlinburg minted her own coins, as well as the mighty Sieciech, whose influence at one time threatened the position of the royal family.

IV. THE KING AND THE CROSS

The court of the Piasts provided support for Christianity in the newly established kingdom. Thanks to that, great changes in the sphere of faith and religion took place in Polish territories. The last of the large modules of the exhibition presents material evidence of Christianisation. These include fragments of a reliquary box lining, as well as some of the oldest fragments of a bell in Poland. Bells changed the soundscape of the kingdom and were, according to Christians, supposed to have a protective significance. The preserved crosses are also the starting point for the depiction of clerics active in Poland in the 11th century, above all St Adalbert and St Bruno of Querfurt.

enlarge

Felling of old trees, scene from a polychrome in the church of the former monastery of Canons Regular in Czerwińsk and Wisłą, 13th century. Photo: PHM / Mariusz Szachowski

The story told does not focus exclusively on Christianity. In order to learn about the spiritual world of the inhabitants of Poland in the 11th century, we turn to cult objects whose interpretation is often difficult. We thus invite visitors to explore non-Christian cult sites, such as Mount Ślęża and the alleged ‘island of sacred horses’ where riding horses may have been sacrificed. We also present the most likely cult horse figurines and painted Easter eggs. At a separate post, we showcase one of the largest offerings believed to ensure good fortune, i.e. bones or seeds buried in the foundations of newly erected buildings. For years, the Christian and non-Christian worlds functioned side by side, giving rise to syncretic beliefs and rituals, as exemplified by the depositing of precious objects in graves.

 

A number of matters related to ancient beliefs remain in the realm of conjecture, so at the same time we recommend caution in drawing conclusions. An example of such an issue is pottery marks preserved on vessels, sometimes believed to have cult or magical properties.

enlarge

Projekt/Design: Kaja Nosal

V. A KINGDOM WITHOUT A KING

In the space crowning our story, we emphasise the long-term significance of the seminal 11th-century coronation pointing out that Poland’s ascendancy to the kingdom in 1025 had a lasting significance, independent of whether or not a crowned ruler was at the head of the state at any given time. In order to demonstrate this, we fast forward to later times. More than 200 years after the coronation of Bolesław I the Brave, the idea of Poland as a kingdom played a key role in building a sense of community despite deep political divisions.

Curators of the exhibition: Dr Tomasz Borowski (PHM), Agnieszka Leszkowicz (PHM), Dr Andrzej Kowalczyk (MFP)

Substantive co-operation: Michał Zambrzycki (PHM), Maria Więckowska-Sztark (PHM), Teresa Krzysztofiak (MFP)

Coordination: Weronika Krzemień, Iwona Jesionowska

Exhibition design and production: New Amsterdam

Co-organisers: Museum of Gniezno Archdiocese, Museum of the First Piasts at Lednica

Honorary patronage of the Primate of Poland, Archbishop Wojciech Polak

Honorary patronage of the Minister of Culture and National Heritage Hanna Wróblewska

Media patrons: Polskie Radio SA, TVP Historia, Polish Press Agency, Gość Niedzielny, Mówią Wieki, historia.org.pl, Do Rzeczy Historia, dzieje.pl, onet.pl

The exhibition co-financed by the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage as part of the task ‘The delivery of two temporary exhibitions (1025: The Birth of a Kingdom and A Decade of Breakthroughs)’.