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4. Pomeranian temples in the times of St Otto’s mission

The first mention about pagan temples in Pomerania comes from Thietmar (VII, 72). He writes that bishop Reinbem, having assumed his office in the Kołobrzeg (Kolberg) diocese founded during the congress in Gniezno in 1000, “destroyed and bumt down temples with idols and purified the sea inhabited by evil spirits by throwing into it four Stones anointed with holy oil and blessed with holy water,” through which he “planted the holy shrub of Gospel among the barbarians.” The results did not last long. Thietmar gives this information in the context of Reinbem being sent to the prince’s court in Kiev as a chaplain of Boleslaus the Brave’s daughter, which is interpreted as a proof of pagan reaction and demolition of the bishopric in Kołobrzeg (SSS, vol. 2, p. 447). T. Palm (1937, p. 26) and H. Łowmiański (1979, p. 167) ques-tioned the reliability of Thietmar’s mention about destroying temples, which may be conventional. Indeed, the relation lacks any details: the idols are not named, the location of the temples is not specified either. The chronicler begins the relevant text by a reservation that he does not have enough knowledge or eloquence to present the matter in detail, which does not mean that he was not acquainted with the basie facts. The information about a kind of “baptism” of the sea performed in Pomerania by bishop Reinbem proves that his activity was not totally unknown in Germany. Thietmar’s relation is; contemporary to the events, as he died in 1018. As we know, he was not an ardent supporter of the idea of founding an archbishopric in Gniezno. In the relevant part of his chronicie he madę no reference to the Christianization of central Pomerania, which should have been mentioned in connection with Emperor Otto III’s pilgrimage to St Adalberfs grave in Gniezno, as a result of which the Gniezno metropoly and the Kołobrzeg bishopric were created. He was not interested in glorifying the hated ruler of Poland and his hardly tolerated archbishopric. It seems that Thietmar added the mention about Reinbem’s activity just in passing, as a biographical detail, which makes it morę reliable. Thus, we can assume that around 1000 there were somę temples in central Pomerania. According to H. Bollnow (1964, p. 93), at least the most important one, the destruction of which was probably related to the magie act of “christening” the sea, was situated in Kołobrzeg. It was not a coincidence that this town was chosen for the seat of the bishop.

Later information about Pomeranian paganism comes from Gallus Anonimus, but he does not describe any forms of cult or sanctuaries. Baszkiewicz’s analysis (1986a), however, showed that a special role in the beliefs of the inhabitants of central Pomerania might have been at-tributed to Białogard (Belgard), which was fegarded as the symbolic centre of the region.

Much morę information about the temples of Western Pomerania is available. It is disputable whether this region belonged to Pomerania in the times of the first Piasts. Although Kołobrzeg was an important town, it was undoubtedly inferior to Wolin, described by Ibrahim ibn Jacob (MPHsn, vol. 1, 1964, p. 50) as a formidable port with twelve gates belonging to the Viltzens. If, despite the Piasts’ attempts to seize the Oder estuary, Kołobrzeg was chosen as the seat of the bishopric, in 1000 Boleslaus the Brave cannot have controlled Wolin or Szczecin, which belonged to the Lutizens then (Łowmiański, 1963-1985, vol. 5, p. 415; Labuda, 1988). In 1007 envoys came to Henry II from the Lutizens and “the great town called Wolin” (Thietmar, VI, 33). In 1043 Amorr Jarlaskald (Labuda, 1954, p. 306), descri-bing how Wolin was bumt down by Norwegian king Magnus, confirmed that the Wolinians retained their religion.

Only the victories of prince Boleslaus the Wrymouth madę Pomeranian prince Vartislav, who controlled the towns at the Oder estuary, surrender to Poland and accept Christianity. The mission in this area was undertaken by bishop Otto of Bamberg. There are three lives of this saint (Ebo’s, Herbord’s, and the so-called Life from Priifening, written probably by Wolfger, librarian of the local monastery), containing a lot of data about pagan sanctuaries, which follows from the fact that such information most effectively glorified the saint as well as from the essence of the matter. The most important towns of Pomerania had temples at that time, although available sources present them only in a several-year span.

In 1123 the first mission in Wolin was undertaken by bishop Bernard, a Spanish monk and ascetic, but it was unsuccessful. In 1124 Otto arrived in Pomerania and christened it for the first time, but when he left a generał apostasy occurred. His first expedition was limited to the genuine Pomeranian territories and the area upon the Oder, closely connected with them. Otto neglected the former land of the Lutizens, considered as a part of German dioceses, which was not a coincidence. Bishop of Bamberg's second mission, organised in 1128, covered the whole territory of Vartislav and brought lasting results (Labuda, 1979, p. 10-18; Dziewulski, 1960).

In the times of St Otto Szczecin dominated among the towns at the Oder estuary, also in religious matters. Wolin probably lost its position after the defeat in 1043. It can be argued that the bishopric for Western Pomerania was founded in 1140 exactly in Wolin, but it is a rather telling fact that the Wolinians rejected the first mission, advising Otto to “go and convert those who are considered the leaders of the tribe. If those convert, they [the