Gniezno - Bazylika Wniebowzięcia Najświętszej Maryi Panny

Gniezno was an important pagan cult center and around 940
became one of the main fortresses of the early Piast rulers. It may be, that the Lech Hill could have been the burial place of rulers even before the baptism of Mieszko I. After the adoption of Christianity by Mieszko I, his son Bolesław I deposited the remains of Saint Adalbert in a church.

The Congress of Gniezno took place in the year 1000, during which Duke Bolesław I the Brave, received Holy Roman Emperor Otto III. They celebrated the foundation of the archbishopric in Gniezno. In 1025 Bolesław I became the first king of Poland. Until 1320 the city was the coronation place of Polish kings. Gniezno was plundered and destroyed in 1038 by Bohemian troops and again by the Teutonic Knights' invasion in 1331. The city was soon rebuilt during the reign of King Casimir III.

Trade flourished, four annual fairs took place and Gniezno was one of the major cities of Poland until the mid-17th century. It was devastated during the Swedish invasions and by a plague in 1708 -1710. All this caused depopulation and economic decline, but the city was soon revived during the 18th century. Gniezno was annexed by Prussia in 1793 and renamed Gnesen.

After the invasion of Poland, Gniezno became part of the German Reich in 1939. In January 1945, the city was occupied by the Red Army and rejoined Poland after the end of World War II. The German inhabitants fled or were expelled.
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A church here existed already n the 9th century. This church was altered and substantially enlarged over time. After the Bohemian troops in 1038 had destroyed the cathedral and stolen the bones of St. Wojciech the cathedral was rebuilt in the Romanesque architectural style and consecrated in 1064.

In 1104 a synod took place here with the participation of a legate of the Holy See, concerning the recovery and future preservation of Wojciech's relics. In 1127 the recovery and preservation of the holy head of Wojciech in the cathedral were celebrated.

In 1331, the Teutonic Knights pillaged and destroyed the cathedral. Ten years later a Gothic church was built. Casimir III the Great greatly contributed to the reconstruction of Gniezno. At the end of the 14th century, the construction of the chancel and large nave was completed.

The Gniezno Doors, a pair of bronze doors, are the most important works of art here. They are decorated with eighteen bas-relief scenes from the life of St. Adalbert, whose remains had been purchased for their weight in gold and brought back to the cathedral. The doors were made about 1175 and are one of the most important works of Romanesque art in Poland.

The door is said to have been created by artists from the Meuse area and cast in Gniezno itself. However, there are also speculations that there is a connection with the Hildesheim Cathedral; because the scenes of Bernward's door in the Hildesheim Cathedral have a comparable arrangement, which is rare on medieval picture doors.

The left wing is made of a single piece of gunmetal bronze and measures 328 × 84 × 1.5 centimeters. The right wing has almost the same dimensions, but was cast in 24 separate pieces and only then assembled.

The 18 pscenes thematically follow the legends about the life of Adalbert. They are evenly distributed on both wings of the door. The cycle begins at the bottom left and runs on the left wing from bottom to top, on the right wing vice versa from top to bottom.

The martyrdom of Adalbert. Below, the head of Adalbert is impaled on a stake.