Study tour “Pomeranian islands as a gateway to the Baltic”
On 4-6 November 2022, the second annual German-Polish staff trip of the partner institutions took place under the title “Pomeranian islands as a gateway to the Baltic”.
Over the course of three days, staff from the US, the Pomeranian State Museum in Greifswald, the Museum – Dominican Monastery in Prenzlau and the Archaeological-Historical Museum in Stargard visited a number of towns and cities associated with the former Duchy of Rügen, which was eventually incorporated into the Duchy of Pomerania in 1328. Already this direction, in a way, defined the localities and objects they found on the route – mainly related to medieval history. On the first day, the route led from Szczecin to Reinberg and Stralsund, the only Pomeranian town whose historic centre is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Particularly noteworthy here are the preserved layout of the medieval buildings, brilliantly displayed in the House Museum, and the St. Nicholas Church with its pre-Reformation furnishings.
The second day’s destination was the island of Rügen. It is, of course, difficult to thoroughly explore an island of almost 1,000 square kilometres in one day, but the most historically significant sites were selected – the church at Waase on the adjacent islet of Ummanz, with its phenomenal Antwerp altar and gothic Marian chandelier, the monastery church in Bergen, the megalith at Nobbin perched on a cliff, the church with the legendary Swiatowid image in Altenkirchen, of course Arkona and the nearby fishing village of Vitt.
On the last day, the route took us through one of the largest towns in the former Rügen principality, Barth, where the last representative of the local, Slavic in origin dynasty, Wislaw III, who was also known for his Minnesanger works, died. The town is also known for the existence of the ducal seat of Boguslav XIII at the end of the 16th century and the establishment of a ducal printing house here by the same duke, known for the publication of the Biblio Bardzka in 1588, as well as for the temporary residence of the Polish king Stanislav Leszczynski during the Swedish period at the beginning of the 18th century. We continued on to one of the most important pilgrimage sites on the map of old Pomerania – Kenz, where Barnim VI ended his life, and then to Franzburg (former Neuencamp), Kirch Baggendorf, Glewitz and finally to the castle – pointed out to us by Prof. Felix Biermann – Turow.
In many of the sites visited, what deserved particular attention, apart from the preserved furnishings, were the discovered and conserved medieval wall paintings, quite rare in the Polish part of Pomerania, and a certain monumentalism of the rural buildings, which confirms the thesis of the greater affluence of Vorpommern than of Rear Pomerania in the Middle Ages. Rainbows in various forms were also an interesting and recurring phenomenon in the churches. Paweł Migdalski and Marcin Majewski played the role of guides, assisted by Barbara Ochendowska-Grzelak, Rafał Simiński and Felix Biermann. We would like to thank all the pastors who were willing to open their churches, which are closed at this time of year, to accompany us or even to share their knowledge with us. We hope that these types of trips will become a tradition at the partner institutions and will continue even after the project ends.
Take a look at the photo report: