Gniezno

Gniezno is a city in Greater Poland in Poland. It is traditionally regarded as having been the first capital of Poland, and has been witness to many important events in early Polish history. Gniezno has become the seat of the second Polish diocese (after Poznań) and the first archbishopric. The coronations of several kings of Poland took place in the Gniezno cathedral.

Gniezno is situated in the northeastern part of the Greater Poland, between three lakes: Jelonek, Swietokrzyskie and Winiary, in what is called the Gniezno Lake District. It is only 50 kilometres away from Poznań and relatively close to Kujawsko-Pomorskie.

See

• ⊙ The Assumption and St. Adalbert's Cathedral, with the reliquaries of St. Adalbert (Czech: Wojtiech; Polish: Wojciech), famous Romanesque bronze door from c. 1170, the most precious monument of romanesque art in Poland, the tombs of St. Adalbert and numerous Gothic, Renaissance and Baroque monuments and tombs of Gniezno bishops and archbishops and some Polish primates.
• The Archbishopric Archives contain numerous documents including papal bulls from the early Middle Ages, the most precious of which are the Golden Gniezno Codex, the bulla od pope Innocent II from 1136 and the pergamine Gospel book - a manuscript from France from c. 800.
• ⊙ The Gothic Church of St. John the Baptist from the mid 19th century, with unique polichromy in the presbytery.
• ⊙ The Archbishopric Museum with precious liturgical vessels, including the chalice of St. Adalbert, chalice of Dobrava (the wife of first polish Dukre, buried in Poznań) or the Royal Chalice.
• ⊙ The Gothic Parish church of the Holy Trinity from the 15th century
• ⊙ The Gothic-Baroque Franciscan Assumption and St. Anthony's Church with the miraculous icon of Our Lady, the Mistress of Gniezno; next door is the Baroque Franciscan Monastery from the 18th century
• ⊙ Gothic Church of St. Michael Archangel from the 15th century, rebuilt in 1815 with a neo-Baroque rower from 1900.
• The Primates' Palace

Museums

• ⊙ The Gniezno Archbishopric Museum, 2 Kolegiaty str, ☎ +48 61 426 3778, open 9.00-17.30 (May-Sep, except Mondays) or 9.00-15.00 (Oct-Apr, except Sundays, Mondays and church holidays)
• ⊙ The Museum of Beginnings of The Polish State, Kostrzewskiego str. 1, ☎ +48 61 426 4641, open from Tuesday to Sunday 9:30 - 17:30 (May–Sep) or 10.00-17.00 (Oct-Apr). As the main part of the museum is an interactive show about the earliest polish history, one needs to make an obligatory advance booking!

Useful

Inside the range of 4 km:

• ⊙   Tourist-Information Gniezno, Gniezno