First Piasts' Museum at Lednica

The Museum of the First Piasts at Lednica is a multi-branch institution that showcases relics of palatial and sacral architecture as well as wooden rural buildings, featuring the most important remains of the stronghold of the first Piasts from the early Middle Ages. The museum was established on January 1, 1969, as the Archaeological Reserve on Ostrów Lednicki, and its name was changed to the current one in 1975. The site is closely linked to the history of Poland during the reigns of Mieszko I and Bolesław the Brave, when Ostrów Lednicki served as a key defensive and administrative center of the country. On the island, there are ruins of a monumental stone structure that may have included a temple, a palatium, and a baptistery, with walls reaching up to 3 meters in some places. It is believed that it was on Ostrów Lednicki in 966 that Mieszko I was baptized. As the only archaeological and ethnographic open-air museum in Poland, it contains relics of a stronghold from the second half of the 10th century, confirming the development of early Polish statehood. Its structure also includes the Wielkopolska Ethnographic Park and several other sites related to the folk culture of the region. The museum engages in publishing activities, issuing the series "Studia Lednickie," which presents research results in archaeology, ethnography, anthropology, and natural sciences. Interestingly, the defensive complex of the stronghold was connected to the mainland by wooden bridges, indicating a well-developed communication infrastructure at the time. The museum holds significant importance in Polish national consciousness and was awarded the title of "monument of history" by the President of Poland in 1994.