The event commemorates the coronation of Bolesław I the Brave (Bolesław Chrobry,) who became the first king of Poland in 1025.
The coronation, believed to have taken place in Gniezno Cathedral on either Easter Sunday, April 18, or on the feast of Saint Adalbert (Wojciech), April 23, marked Poland’s emergence as a sovereign state recognized across Europe.
At midday, an official assembly of Poland’s lower and upper houses of parliament, the Sejm and Senate, is being held at the Gniezno sports and events arena.
Speeches are scheduled from Duda, Tusk, and parliamentary Speakers Szymon Hołownia and Małgorzata Kidawa-Błońska.
During the assembly, lawmakers will read out a joint parliamentary resolution adopted earlier this month, which states that Bolesław’s coronation firmly placed Poland as a political force on the map of Europe. It also highlights the coronation of his son, Mieszko II Lambert, later the same year, as proof of the young state’s stability.
The resolution notes that these two coronations “had fundamental importance for the survival of our homeland,” which, in the centuries to follow, faced both internal strife and external threats. It also praises “the courage and wisdom of our ancestors,” who laid the foundations for Poland’s enduring place in Europe.
Earlier in the day, Duda unveiled a memorial plaque in Gniezno Cathedral honouring the 1,000th anniversary of both coronations and laid a wreath at the monument to Bolesław the Brave located outside the cathedral.
The state ceremony was originally scheduled for Saturday, but was moved forward due to a period of national mourning declared in Poland following the funeral of Pope Francis’ personal aide in Rome.
The anniversary is being marked not just by state officials but also by the Catholic Church, which is hosting religious celebrations in Gniezno from Wednesday through Sunday. These coincide with the annual feast of Saint Adalbert, Poland’s main patron saint and a central figure in the country's early Christian identity.
Church celebrations will begin on Saturday evening in Gniezno Cathedral.
On Sunday, Cardinal Kazimierz Nycz will lead a mass during which a personal message from Pope Francis, signed in March, will be read aloud.
A highlight of the mass will be the use of the Dąbrówka Chalice, dating back to around 1180 and sometimes called the “royal chalice.” The Apostolic Nuncio to Poland is also expected to bless and commission 10 missionaries heading to countries including Uzbekistan, Zambia and Vietnam.
Also on Friday, a special train decorated to promote Poland’s first five royal coronations will arrive at Gniezno station. The train is a collaboration between the City of Gniezno and the regional rail company Koleje Wielkopolskie.
A major historical exhibition also opens Friday at the sports arena, titled “Sleepless heads that wear crowns: princes, kings, leaders, heroes—1,000 years of Polish statehood in the documents of the State Archives.”
It features original seals, decrees, and letters spanning from medieval parchments to 19th-century manuscripts, illustrating how official documents helped shape Polish national identity.
Starting May 1, the exhibition will be free to the public in Kościuszko Park in Gniezno and will later tour the country.
Materials on display come from the Central Archives of Historical Records, the Archives of Modern Records, and 15 other regional state archives.
This millennium celebration is the latest in a series of major anniversaries tied to Gniezno’s deep historical roots.
In 2016, the city marked 1,050 years since Poland’s Christian baptism, and in 2017, it commemorated 600 years of the Polish primacy, the formal role of the archbishop of Gniezno as the highest-ranking church official in the country.
As the first capital of Poland and the heart of the early Piast dynasty, Gniezno remains a symbolic centre of both Polish statehood and religious life. Its cathedral holds the relics of Saint Adalbert, whose body was brought there by Bolesław the Brave in 997.
In 1000, the Holy Roman Emperor Otto III made a pilgrimage to his tomb, leading to the creation of the first independent church province in Poland with subordinate bishoprics in Kraków, Wrocław, and Kołobrzeg – an act that significantly boosted Poland’s standing in Europe.
(rt/gs)
Source: IAR, PAP