[1] Between 1124 and 1128 AD, Otto von Bamberg carried out two missionary journeys in pagan Pomerania. Among other places, he visited the Slavic stronghold and settlement complex, which lies beneath the present-day village of Budzistowo, south of Kołobrzeg. According to written sources, Otto had a St Mary’s Church built and consecrated there.[1]
Introduction
[2] Budzistowo (Kolberg-Altstadt) appears to have a unique connection with the settlement complexes of Bardy-Świelubie and today’s Kołobrzeg. In order to provide a contextual framework for Otto’s activities, we need to take a closer look at the sites of Bardy-Świelubie (Bartin-Zwillipp), Budzistowo (Kolberg-Altstadt), and Kołobrzeg (Kolberg).
[3] It is especially necessary to highlight shifts and the transfer of meaning between these sites. For a German readership, historian Winfried Schich had already emphasised the potential connection between the sites of Kołobrzeg and Świelubie as early as 1998.[2]
Bardy-Świelubie (Bartin-Zwillipp)
[4] The archaeological site of Bardy-Świelubie is situated approximately 15 kilometres southeast of today’s Kołobrzeg, adjacent to the Parsęta River and near the present-day villages that bear the same names (see Fig. 1).

Fig. 1: Bardy, Świelubie, Budzistowo and Kołobrzeg at the Parsęta River
(Map by A. Thomas; License CC BY).
[5] It is the oldest of the three settlements mentioned before. Pottery indicates that the first settlement structures were built before 800 AD.[3]
[6] The complex of Bardy-Świelubie is believed to consist of multiple fortified enclosures with associated surrounding settlements.[4] Archaeologists made a subdivision between a Bardy-complex and Świelubie-complex, due to the spatial organisation of the various structures.
[7] Several burial sites from the periods in question were also located at the site. Others, however, show different time periods.[5]
The following observations seem particularly relevant in conveying an impression of the site’s extent.
[8] Of particular note is a burial mound field consisting of half a dozen mounds, which is located west of the so-called Bardy castle ramparts and dates back to the 8th to 9th centuries. Cremation and inhumation graves were found there.
Another burial mound field, presumably from the relevant period, is situated north of the Bardy castle ramparts.
And yet another one with over 150 burial mounds is located in the south, which is well known as the famous burial mound field of Świelubie. Three burial mounds were excavated there in 1965 and 1967, dating back to the 8th to 9th centuries, as well.[6]
Among the excavated artefacts found in the burial mounds were fibulae from the 9th century.[7]
So-called oval brooches were typically found in Viking Age graves of wealthy Scandinavian women and were worn on the front of their dresses at a collarbone level (compare Fig. 2).[8]
[9] Their examination indicated Scandinavian influence or colonisation. The settlement traces named after the present-day village of Świelubie have been interpreted since as a possible Scandinavian colony. Recent research in the Świelubie outer bailey settlement suggests a contemporaneity with Bardy structures, which makes the coexistence of Slavs and Scandinavians at this site seem plausible.[9]

Fig. 2: Simplified illustration of two Scandinavian oval brooch fibulae
(A. Thomas; License CC BY).
Budzistowo (Kolberg-Altstadt)
[10] Between the late 9th and 10th centuries, the central functions of the settlement complexes at Bardy-Świelubie were relocated downstream, approximately 2.5 kilometres south of Kołobrzeg, beneath today’s Budzistowo. The naturally protected site[10] and later stronghold have been inhabited since the late 8th or early 9th century.[11]
[11] The development of the settlement into an early urban centre and the later diocesan seat began at the end of the 9th century. During this expansion stage, a castle measuring approximately one hectare was surrounded by several outlying settlements. Market, mint and tabernae are mentioned from the 11th century onwards.[12] However, the diocesan seat, which was established around the year 1000 AD, failed to survive.[13]
[12] Winfried Schich claims that when the Piasts, a medieval ruling dynasty in Poland, subjugated Pomerania in the late 10th century, they established the region as their most crucial seat in the Pomeranian hinterland.[14] Furthermore, the site of Budzistowo is regarded as a trade and handicraft production centre from the 10th to the 12th century.[15]
Alongside its role as a supra-regional centre,the brine springs, which are still located at the Parsęta estuary today, also accelerated the settlement’s growth (see Fig. 3).[16]
[13] Thanks to these brine springs, Budzistowo’s stronghold and settlement complex benefited from the salt trade. However, the location and full extension of the harbour and the salt-producing dependent infrastructure downstream are still largely unknown.[17]
Topographical conditions suggest that the harbour was located north of the castle rampart in a bay that no longer exists but was thought to have been accessible by ship in the Middle Ages.[18]

Fig. 3: Salt brine spring in Kołobrzeg, October 2023
(A. Thomas; License CC BY).
[14] As mentioned, during his first missionary journey, Otto von Bamberg came to the settlement that is now located beneath today’s Budzistowo.[19]
The early urban settlement is considered one of the most essential Slavic maritime trading centres on the Baltic coast at the time.[20] The dukes’ ancestral seat was likely located here.[21] The written sources report of a prince whose name is unknown.[22]
Research suggests that Otto had a church dedicated to St Mary built here due to the settlement’s political importance.[23]
[15] The settlement was deserted when its key function as a so-called emporium, along with the harbour, was relocated approximately 2 kilometres away in the mid-13th century − the era in which today’s Kołobrzeg began.[24] Under German rule, the remaining rural settlement was called Kolberg-Altstadt until the name was changed to Budzistowo under Polish rule in 1945.[25]
[16] Otto von Bamberg’s hagiographies include only brief reports on the site of Budzistowo.[26] The results of the archaeological investigations do not yet provide a clear picture of what the settlement was like.[27]
Kołobrzeg (Kolberg)
[17] Given the many open questions regarding the appearance of the site during Otto’s era, it at least seems clear that the stronghold and settlement complex beneath today’s Budzistowo lost its significance due to the relocation of its central functions a few kilometres downstream, as was the case with Bardy-Świelubie before.[28]
[18] As mentioned, the new town of Kołobrzeg was built slightly away from the older centre on the eastern bank of the Parsęta in the 13th century. Building activities, dated by dendrochronology, confirm the written records that indicate an urban development. The settlement was granted the Lübeck Law, a particular form of government resp. town law, in 1255.[29]
[19] German administrators brought typical German town infrastructure across the Oder. The streets were henceforth comprised of a rectangular network, and a characteristic rampart and moat surrounded the town.[30]
[20] Kołobrzeg’s geographical location enabled far-reaching trade. Not only did the town have easy access to trade routes, such as the “Salzweg”, which led towards Greater Poland, but the Parsęta connected it to the agricultural hinterland.[31]
[21] Kołobrzeg traded honey, wax, tar, and resin. Contrary to other harbours in the southern coastal region of the Baltic Sea, it did not export timber.
This was due to the large quantities of timber required at the local brine springs.
Kołobrzeg’s trade goods were harvested from the agricultural waterside and transported through the Parsęta. Besides salt, additional local products such as beer, leather shoes, iron goods, wine, and occasionally livestock were also traded.[32]
[22] The town continued to significantly benefit from trade, notably after it joined the Hanseatic League in 1361.[33]
Conclusion and Outlook
[23] It’s fascinating to note the ever-changing nature of the trade centres we’ve discussed. They have not only evolved in their significance but also shifted in their geographical positions over time.
[24] The predecessor settlement of Kołobrzeg, which lies beneath today’s village of Budzistowo, profited from the salt trade extracted from the brine springs downstream, where modern Kołobrzeg originated. Research has identified the remains of a specific infrastructure near the coastline from that time, which is presumably now hidden under modern city structures.[34]
[25] We can observe the same transfer of meaning that resulted in the creation of today’s Kołobrzeg in the case of Lübeck: Lübeck owes its name and functions to the Slavic settlement complex “Liubice”, also known as “Old Lübeck”. This earlier settlement is also located on a river, the Trave, approximately 4 kilometres downstream of the medieval town and at the mouth of the River Schwartau.
Neither Lübeck nor Kołobrzeg have developed in untouched nature but resulted from a long-term development of settlement sites.[35]
[26] The factors explaining why the trading ports of Budzistowo and Bardy-Świelubie were located further inland, as well as the reasons that led to their relocation, were likely multifaceted. These factors, concerning the economic, political, and social aspects, require a broader comparative approach, not only examining Lübeck, but also many other coastal sites of trade and power.
[27] In conclusion, shifts in meaning are a recurring phenomenon in the archaeology of the southern Baltic coast. Therefore, it is essential always to consider a settlement’s decline or rise in the context of neighbouring archaeological sites.
Das Essay ist auf https://amanzblog.hypotheses.org/ mit der CC-Lizenz CC BY erschienen.
[1] M. Rębkowski, Archäologische Zeugen der ersten Missionsreise Bischof Ottos in Pommern, in: F. Biermann ─ F. Ruchhöft (Eds.), Bischof Otto von Bamberg in Pommern. Historische und archäologische Forschungen zu Mission und Kulturverhältnissen des 12. Jahrhunderts im Südwesten der Ostsee, Studien zur Archäologie Europas 30 (Bonn 2017) 149─162, 154.
[2] W. Schich, Die pommersche Frühstadt im 11. und frühen 12. Jahrhundert am Beispiel von Kolberg (Kołobrzeg), in: J. Jarnut ─ P. Johanek (Eds.), Die Frühgeschichte der europäischen Stadt im 11. Jahrhundert. Städteforschung A 43 (Köln 1998) 273–304, 297.
[3] T. Kempke, Skandinavisch-slawische Kontakte an der südlichen Ostseeküste im 7. und 9. Jahrhundert, in: O. Harck ─ Ch. Lübke (Eds.), Zwischen Reric und Bornhöved. Die Beziehungen zwischen den Dänen und ihren slawischen Nachbarn vom 9. Bis ins 13. Jahrhundert. Beiträge einer internationalen Konferenz Leipzig 4. – 6. Dezember 1997 (Stuttgart 2001) 9–22, 15.
[4] H. Jöns – S. Messal, Neue Forschungen zur Struktur mittelalterlicher Hafenanlagen an der südwestlichen Ostseeküste, in: M. Bogucki – M. Rębkowski (Eds.), Economies, Monetisation and Society in the West Slavic Lands 800–1200 AD. Wolińskie Spotkania Mediewistyczne II (Szczecin 2013) 22─44, 34.
[5] cf. J. Wrzesński, Obraz wzcesnośredniowiecznej spoleczności lednickiej przez pryzmat nekropolii, in: A. Janowskiego (Eds.), Archeologia średniowiecza ziem polskichna początku XXI wieku Grodziska, cmentarzyska i monetyw perspektywie nowych metod badawczych (Wrocław 2021) 87–128, 112.
[6] J. Wrzesński, Obraz wzcesnośredniowiecznej spoleczności lednickiej przez pryzmat nekropolii, in: A. Janowskiego (Eds.), Archeologia średniowiecza ziem polskichna początku XXI wieku Grodziska, cmentarzyska i monetyw perspektywie nowych metod badawczych (Wrocław 2021) 87–128, 111–112.
[7] H. Zoll-Adamikowa, Wczesnośredniowieczne Cmentarzyska Ciałopalne Słowian na Terenie Polski cz. I. Źródła (Wrocław 1975) 233 Abb. 116.
[8] M. Müller-Wille, Grabformen und Bestattungssitten der Wikingerzeit, in: A. Koch (Eds.), Die Wikinger (München 2008) 128–141, 137.
[9] A. B. Kowalska – S. Messal, Die archäologischen Arbeiten in Świelubie 2015–2016, Materiały Zachodniopomorskie 13,2017, 243–252, 248.
[10] L. Leciejewicz ─ M. Rębkowski, Kołobrzeg. Średniowieczne miasto nad Bałtykiem/Eine mittelalterliche Stadt an der Ostsee (Kołobrzeg 2000) 26.
[11] cf. L. Leciejewicz ─ M. Rębkowski, Kołobrzeg. Średniowieczne miasto nad Bałtykiem/Eine mittelalterliche Stadt an der Ostsee (Kołobrzeg 2000) 67.
[12] H. Jöns – S. Messal, Neue Forschungen zur Struktur mittelalterlicher Hafenanlagen an der südwestlichen Ostseeküste, in: M. Bogucki – M. Rębkowski (Eds.), Economies, Monetisation and Society in the West Slavic Lands 800–1200 AD. Wolińskie Spotkania Mediewistyczne II (Szczecin 2013) 25─44, 33.
[13] J. Petersohn, Die Kamminer Bischöfe des Mittelalters. Amtsbiographien und Bistumsstrukturen vom 12. bis 16. Jahrhundert (Schwerin 2015) 14.
[14] W. Schich, Die pommersche Frühstadt im 11. und frühen 12. Jahrhundert am Beispiel von Kolberg (Kołobrzeg), in: J. Jarnut – P. Johanek (Eds.), Die Frühgeschichte der europäischen Stadt im 11. Jahrhundert. Städteforschung A 43 (Köln 1998) 273─304, 277.
[15] cf. M. Rębkowski, Die Christianisierung Pommerns. Eine archäologische Studie. Universitätsforschungen zur prähistorische Archäologie, 197 (Bonn 2001) 28.
[16] cf. R. Benl, Ursprünge und Anfänge der Stadt Kolberg. Baltische Studien. Pommersche Jahrbücher für Landesgeschichte 146 (N.F. 100), 2015, 7─30, 17.
[17] cf. W. Schich, Die pommersche Frühstadt im 11. und frühen 12. Jahrhundert am Beispiel von Kolberg (Kołobrzeg), in: J. Jarnut – P. Johanek (Eds.), Die Frühgeschichte der europäischen Stadt im 11. Jahrhundert. Städteforschung A 43 (Köln 1998) 273─304, 288, Abb. 1.
[18] H. Jöns – S. Messal, Neue Forschungen zur Struktur mittelalterlicher Hafenanlagen an der südwestlichen Ostseeküste, in: M. Bogucki – M. Rębkowski (Eds.), Economies, Monetisation and Society in the West Slavic Lands 800–1200 AD. Wolińskie Spotkania Mediewistyczne II (Szczecin 2013) 25─44, 33.
[19] F. Biermann, Die Geschichte des Bischofs Otto von Bamberg in Pommern – ein Beitrag zur Frühgeschichte der Kirchen St. Paul in Usedom und zur Lage der missionszeitlichen Sakralbauten um Odermündungsgebiet, in: F. Biermann – M. Schneider – T. Terberger (Eds.), Pfarrkirchen in den Städten des Hanseraums. Beiträge eines Kolloquiums vom 10. bis 13. Dezember 2003 in der Hansestadt Stralsund. Archäologie und Geschichte im Ostseeraum, 1 (Rahden/Westf. 2006) 21─38, 29.
[20] cf. W. Schich, Die pommersche Frühstadt im 11. und frühen 12. Jahrhundert am Beispiel von Kolberg (Kołobrzeg), in: J. Jarnut – P. Johanek (Eds.), Die Frühgeschichte der europäischen Stadt im 11. Jahrhundert. Städteforschung A 43 (Köln 1998) 273─304, 273.
[21] M. Rębkowski, Die Christianisierung Pommerns. Eine archäologische Studie. Universitätsforschungen zur prähistorische Archäologie, 197 (Bonn 2001) 27.
[22] B. Zabel, Dzieje Kołobrzeg (Kołobrzeg 2007) 20.
[23] M. Rębkowski, Die Christianisierung Pommerns. Eine archäologische Studie. Universitätsforschungen zur prähistorische Archäologie, 197 (Bonn 2001) 27.
[24] H. Jöns – S. Messal, Neue Forschungen zur Struktur mittelalterlicher Hafenanlagen an der südwestlichen Ostseeküste, in: M. Bogucki – M. Rębkowski (Eds.), Economies, Monetisation and Society in the West Slavic Lands 800–1200 AD. Wolińskie Spotkania Mediewistyczne II (Szczecin 2013) 25─44, 34.
[25] L. Leciejewicz ─ M. Rębkowski, Kołobrzeg. Średniowieczne miasto nad Bałtykiem / Eine mittelalterliche Stadt an der Ostsee (Kołobrzeg 2000) 84.
[26] cf. the Vita written by Herbord II.39 (Ed. L. Weinrich, Heiligenleben zur deutsch-slawischen Geschichte. Adalbert von Prag und Otto von Bamberg. Ausgewählte Quellen zur deutschen Geschichte des Mittelalters. Freiherr-vom-Stein-Gedächtnisausgabe 23 (Darmstadt 2005) 413).
[27] cf. W. Schich, Die pommersche Frühstadt im 11. und frühen 12. Jahrhundert am Beispiel von Kolberg (Kołobrzeg), in: J. Jarnut – P. Johanek (Eds.), Die Frühgeschichte der europäischen Stadt im 11. Jahrhundert. Städteforschung A 43 (Köln 1998) 273─304, 276f.
[28] W. Schich, Die pommersche Frühstadt im 11. und frühen 12. Jahrhundert am Beispiel von Kolberg (Kołobrzeg), in: J. Jarnut – P. Johanek (Eds.), Die Frühgeschichte der europäischen Stadt im 11. Jahrhundert. Städteforschung A 43 (Köln 1998) 273─304, 290.
[29] L. Leciejewicz − M. Rębkowski, Kołobrzeg. Średniowieczne miasto nad Bałtykiem − Eine mittelalterliche Stadt an der Ostsee (Kołobrzeg 2000) 87.
[30] W. Schich, Die pommersche Frühstadt im 11. und frühen 12. Jahrhundert am Beispiel von Kolberg (Kołobrzeg), in: J. Jarnut – P. Johanek (Eds.), Die Frühgeschichte der europäischen Stadt im 11. Jahrhundert. Städteforschung A 43 (Köln 1998) 273─304, 287.
[31] L. Leciejewicz − M. Rębkowski, Kołobrzeg. Średniowieczne miasto nad Bałtykiem/Eine mittelalterliche Stadt an der Ostsee (Kołobrzeg 2000) 96.
[32] L. Leciejewicz − M. Rębkowski, Kołobrzeg. Średniowieczne miasto nad Bałtykiem/Eine mittelalterliche Stadt an der Ostsee (Kołobrzeg 2000) 100.
[33] cf. P. Tepp, Untersuchungen zur Sozial- und Wirtchaftsgeschichte der Hanse- und Salzstadt Kolberg im Spätmittelalter. Strukturwandel und soziale Mobilität (Hamburg 1980) 39.
[34] cf. W. Schich, Die pommersche Frühstadt im 11. und frühen 12. Jahrhundert am Beispiel von Kolberg (Kołobrzeg), in: J. Jarnut – P. Johanek (Eds.), Die Frühgeschichte der europäischen Stadt im 11. Jahrhundert. Städteforschung A 43 (Köln 1998) 273─304, 288, Abb. 1.
[35] G.P. Fehring, Lübeck: Die Entstehung von Stadt und Hafen im Lichte neuer archäologischer Erkenntnisse. Deutsches Schifffahrtsarchiv, 25, 2002, 117─133, 117.