[1] Three famous life descriptions report on the bishops missionary journeys.[1] They tell us that Bishop Otto of Bamberg founded two churches in Szczecin on his first missionary journey in 1124/25 in todays Western Pomerania.
These three texts belong to the genus of the vitae. Nevertheless, they are not saints’ vitae in the narrower sense, but they are already interspersed with hagiographic elements.[2] Therefore we can’t exclude exaggerations to emphasise Otto’s missionary successes.[3] Though, in the case of the two Szczecin churches, archaeology can verify the written record.[4]
Saint Peter and Paul’s Church
[2] In Otto’s time, Szczecin was a Slavic castle town consisting of a core, an outer castle and surrounding unfortified settlements. At the time, the complex had a dominant position in the region and was able to maintain its independence from the Pomeranian duke.[5] This social and political position prompted the author of the Vita Pruefeningensis to describe Szczecin as „tocius provinciae metropolis“.[6]
If the Vita Pruefeningensis can be believed, Otto might have built churches in Szczecin, because he focused his activities on the most important places.[7]
[3] Let’s take a closer look at one of the buildings mentioned in the written sources. Various historical accounts were made. The vita written by Ebo reports that Otto had built a church in honour of St. Peter.[8] However, the author of the Vita Pruefeningensis mentions even two patron saints, St. Peter and St. Paul.[9]
In fact, there is still a church of Saint Peter and Paul in Szczecin to this day. It is a Gothic building from the 15th century.
[4] There are various indications that this church can be regarded as the successor to Otto’s building. The first indication arises from the patrocinia of the church. A continuity of the patron saint can also be seen in other churches founded by Otto in Pomerania right up to the present day.[10]
The second indication results from the location of the church. The vitae describe the location of the church as being outside the walls of Szczecin.[11] Fittingly, today’s Saint Peter and St Paul’s Church is located outside the formerly existing Slavic castle rampart. Otto regularly chose this location when founding churches on his mission in Pomerania.[12]
The reasons for this could be found both in a deliberate new Christian beginning outside the – from Otto’s perspective – “paganised” soil of the city and in the fact that the bishop did not have to demolish any existing buildings in order to erect the church. In this way, he also avoided resentment against his mission as Biermann suggests.[13] However, the choice of location could also have to do with the accessibility of the building for a wider public.[14]
The last point in favour of the 15th century church being a successor building is that the it is situated on a hill.[15] Here too, comparison with other foundations by Otto shows that he built many of his churches in Pomerania on hills.[16] However, final proof through archaeological excavations in the church is still pending.
Saint Adalbert’s Church
[5] Otto of Bamberg’s second foundation in what is now Szczecin and which we know from the vitae, is a church dedicated to St. Adalbert.[17] The localisation of this building proved to be much more difficult for researchers for a long time. This was initially due to the fact that the vitae report the location differently. According to Herbord, it stood on Szczecin’s market square.[18] In contrast, Ebo locates the church on the Triglav hill.[19] The Triglav hill is considered to be today’s Castle Hill.[20]
Based on the location described by Herbord, older research has attempted to locate Saint Adalbert’s Church on Szczecin’s market square as the predecessor of Saint Nicholas’ Church, which burnt down in the early 19th century.[21] However, excavations have since proved that the Slavic rampart ran across that place in Otto’s time. Thus, Otto could not have founded a church on this site.[22]
[6] There are attempts to reconcile the two seemingly contradictory passages in the vitae. Research has emphasised that the meeting places of the Slavs were often located near their temples.[23] When Herbord speaks of the “forum”, he could therefore referring to the square in front of the Triglav temple, and both places would describe the same location, today’s Castle Hill.[24]
[7] Results of an archaeological excavation on Castle Hill have not refuted this interpretation. Moreover, a building structure came to light that was orientated in a west-east direction and appeared to have had a layout with an apse (see fig. 1). The building dates back to the early 12th century according to research.[25]
It was probably a post and beam construction on a stone foundation, which was lined with planks.[26] This finding is interpreted in the literature with the backing of various arguments as archaeological remains of the Saint Adalbert Church mentioned in the vitae. In particular, it is emphasised that it is clearly a church due to the shape of the building.[27]
[8] Unfortunately, the archaeological findings suggest that the found building burnt down just a few decades after Otto’s missionary journey. According to the determination of the period undertaken by the archaeologists this must have happened in the second half of the 12th century.[28] Nevertheless, this observation allows us to assign the probable church building to the early phase of Christianity in Pomerania.
[9] It should be noted that the half-timbered construction with a stone foundation also suggests − without wanting to take up the highly problematic ethnic interpretation of archaeological findings from the first half of the 20th century[29] − influences from outside the local Slavic building culture.[30] In the Slavic cultural sphere of early 12th century one might have expected log buildings or, in the region south of the Baltic coast, wattle and daub structures.[31] Whereas, the half-timbered construction appears to support the account that Otto of Bamberg brought craftsmen with him.[32]
The few photos, drawings and descriptions available to the author make further interpretations regarding the actual appearance of the assumed Saint Adalbert church difficult, though.[33]
Concluding remarks
[10] It was shown to what extent archaeology has already been able to make its contribution to the field of the so-called Otto research. It seems more than likely that the remains of Saint Adalbert’s Church were discovered in the area of today’s castle courtyard. Furthermore, it was shown that Szczecin’s Saint Peter and Paul’s Church seems to be a site where excavations would be promising.
Unfortunately, archaeological research often means the destruction of the structures under excavation. In order to preserve historically valuable relics for future generations with better archaeological methods, today’s researchers are obliged to proceed with a sense of proportion.[34] Nevertheless, in case of the Otto research the potential seems tempting. Especially in the light of a viewing of Otto as a link in the history of two present-day countries with a difficult past. The study of Christianisation is a broad field that still offers many opportunities for new research.

Fig. 1: The probable remains of Saint Adalbert’s Church and the foundations of 14th century Ottenkirche in the area of today’s castle according to M. Dworaczyk[35] and J. Nekanda-Trepka[36] (J. Jakob; License CC BY).
Das Essay ist auf https://amanzblog.hypotheses.org/ mit der CC-Lizenz CC BY erschienen.
[1] The Vita written by Ebo (Vita Ottonis episcopi Bambergensis = 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) 192–270.), the Vita written by Herbord (Dialogus de vita s. Ottonis = 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) 272–493.) and the Vita from Prüfening Abbey (Vita Ottonis ep. Bambergensis = 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) 120–191.).
[2] H. Flachenecker, Bischof Otto von Bamberg – Person und Persönlichkeit, in: F. Biermann – F. Ruchhöft (Hrsg.), Bischof Otto von Bamberg in Pommern. Studien zur Archäologie Europas 30 (Bonn 2017) 23–32, 23; J. Petersohn, Otto von Bamberg und seine Biographen. Grundformen und Entwicklung des Ottobildes im hohen und späten Mittelalter. Zeitschr. Bayer. Landesgesch. 43, 1980, 3–27, 7–8.
[3] F. Biermann, Bischof Otto von Bamberg in Pommern – die Missionsreisen in Pommern und ihre Wirkung im archäologischen Bild, in: F. Biermann – F. Ruchhöft (Hrsg.), Bischof Otto von Bamberg in Pommern. Studien zur Archäologie Europas 30 (Bonn 2017) 97–147, 98–99.
[4] F. Biermann, Die Kirchen des Bischofs Otto von Bamberg in Pommern – ein Beitrag zur Frühgeschichte der Kirche St. Paul in Usedom und zur Lage der missionszeitlichen Sakralbauten im Odermündungsgebiet. In: F. Biermann – M. Schneider – T. Terberger (Hrsg.), Pfarrkirchen in den Städten des Hanseraums. Beiträge eines Kolloquiums vo 10. bis 13. Dezember 2003 in der Hansestadt Stralsund (Rahden 2006) 21–37, 30. (Status before the excavations on the Schlossberg); For the mutual confirmation of the vitae and the archaeological sources, see: F. Biermann, Bischof Otto von Bamberg in Pommern – die Missionsreisen in Pommern und ihre Wirkung im archäologischen Bild, in: F. Biermann – F. Ruchhöft (Hrsg.), Bischof Otto von Bamberg in Pommern. Studien zur Archäologie Europas 30 (Bonn 2017) 97–147, 98–100.
[5] M. Rębkowski, Die Christianisierung Pommerns. Eine archäologische Studie. Universitätsforschungen zur Prähistorischen Archäologie 197 (Bonn 2011) 22–23.
[6] The Vita from Prüfening Abbey II.7 (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) 154).
[7] F. Biermann, Bischof Otto von Bamberg in Pommern – die Missionsreisen in Pommern und ihre Wirkung im archäologischen Bild, in: F. Biermann – F. Ruchhöft (Hrsg.), Bischof Otto von Bamberg in Pommern. Studien zur Archäologie Europas 30 (Bonn 2017) 97–147, 109.
[8] „alia extra civitatis menia in veneratione sancti Petri erant locate”, The Vita written by Ebo III.1 (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) 242).
[9] „Alteram quoque ante portam civitatis eiusdem in honore beatorum apostolorum Petri et Pauli construxit et consecravit ecclesiam.”, The Vita from Prüfening Abbey III.13 (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) 160).
[10] F. Biermann, Die Kirchen des Bischofs Otto von Bamberg in Pommern – ein Beitrag zur Frühgeschichte der Kirche St. Paul in Usedom und zur Lage der missionszeitlichen Sakralbauten im Odermündungsgebiet, in: F. Biermann – M. Schneider – T. Terberger (Hrsg.), Pfarrkirchen in den Städten des Hanseraums. Beiträge eines Kolloquiums vom 10. bis 13. Dezember 2003 in der Hansestadt Stralsund (Rahden 2006) 21–37, 30.
[11] „ecclesiam beatorum apostolorum, quam ante portam civitatis eiusdem ipse construxera”, The Vita from Prüfening Abbey III.7 (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) 178).
[12] F. Biermann, Die Kirchen des Bischofs Otto von Bamberg in Pommern – ein Beitrag zur Frühgeschichte der Kirche St. Paul in Usedom und zur Lage der missionszeitlichen Sakralbauten im Odermündungsgebiet, in: F. Biermann – M. Schneider – T. Terberger (Hrsg.), Pfarrkirchen in den Städten des Hanseraums. Beiträge eines Kolloquiums vo 10. bis 13. Dezember 2003 in der Hansestadt Stralsund (Rahden 2006) 21–37, 30.
[13] ibid., 32.
[14] Referring to Kamień Pomorski: M. Rębkowski, Die Christianisierung Pommerns. Eine archäologische Studie. Universitätsforschungen zur prähistorischen Archäologie 197 (Bonn 2011) 22.
[15] ibid., 23.
[16] F. Biermann, Die Kirchen des Bischofs Otto von Bamberg in Pommern – ein Beitrag zur Frühgeschichte der Kirche St. Paul in Usedom und zur Lage der missionszeitlichen Sakralbauten im Odermündungsgebiet, in: F. Biermann – M. Schneider – T. Terberger (Hrsg.), Pfarrkirchen in den Städten des Hanseraums. Beiträge eines Kolloquiums vom 10. bis 13. Dezember 2003 in der Hansestadt Stralsund (Rahden 2006) 21–37, 32.
[17] The Vita written by Ebo III.1 (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) 242); The Vita from Prüfening Abbey II.13 (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) 160).
[18] „in medio foro Stetinensi“, The Vita written by Herbord II.36 (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) 408).
[19] „in monte Trigelawi“, The Vita written by Ebo III.1 (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) 242).
[20] L. Słupecki, Slavonic pagan sanctuaries (Warsaw 1984) 74.
[21] For example M. Wehrmann, Geschichte der Stadt Stettin (Stettin 1911; Unveränderter Nachdruck Augsburg 1993) 14.
[22] M. Dworaczyk, Die Adalbertkirche in Stettin (Szczecin), in: F. Biermann – F. Ruchhöft (Hrsg.), Bischof Otto von Bamberg in Pommern. Studien zur Archäologie Europas 30 (Bonn 2017) 163–170, 163.
[23] L. Słupecki, Slavonic pagan sanctuaries (Warsaw 1984) 79–80.
[24] M. Dworaczyk, Die Adalbertkirche in Stettin (Szczecin). In: F. Biermann – F. Ruchhöft (Hrsg.), Bischof Otto von Bamberg in Pommern. Studien zur Archäologie Europas 30 (Bonn 2017) 163–170, 169.
[25] ibid., 163–164.
[26] ibid., 163–167.
[27] ibid., 167.
[28] ibid., 163–164.
[29] On the problems with such interpretations in the region of Western Pomerania see: F. Biermann, Wollin – Bilder und Dokumente der Vorkriegsgrabungen in der Sammlung vorgeschichtlicher Altertümer der Universität Greifswald, in: F. Biermann – T. Kersting – A. Klammt (Hg.), Burg Herrschaft und Zentralörtlichkeit im nördlichen westslawischen Raum. Beiträge der Sektion zur slawischen Frühgeschichte der 23. Jahrestagung des Mittel- und Ostdeutschen Verbandes für Altertumsforschung in Halle (Saale), 19.-21. März 2018. Beiträge zur Ur- und Frühgeschichte Mitteleuropas 92 (Langenweissbach 2020) 51–83, 66–71.
[30] M. Dworaczyk, Die Adalbertkirche in Stettin (Szczecin), in: F. Biermann – F. Ruchhöft (Hrsg.), Bischof Otto von Bamberg in Pommern. Studien zur Archäologie Europas 30 (Bonn 2017) 163–170, 167; M. Rębkowski, The mission of Bishop Otto of Bamberg and its consequences, in: S. Rosik (Hrsg.), Europe reaches the Baltic. Poland and Pomerania in the Shaping of European Civilization (10th – 12th Centuries). Scripta Historica Europaea 6 (Wrocław 2020) 383–389, 387.
[31] S. Brather, Archäologie der westlichen Slawen. Siedlung, Wirtschaft und Gesellschaft im früh- und hochmittelalterlichen Ostmitteleuropa. Ergänzungsbände zum Reallexikon der Germanischen Altertumskunde 61 (Berlin 2008), 98–104.
[32] M. Dworaczyk, Die Adalbertkirche in Stettin (Szczecin), in: F. Biermann – F. Ruchhöft (Hrsg.), Bischof Otto von Bamberg in Pommern. Studien zur Archäologie Europas 30 (Bonn 2017) 163–170, 167.
[33] M. Dworaczyk, Die Adalbertkirche in Stettin (Szczecin), in: F. Biermann – F. Ruchhöft (Hrsg.), Bischof Otto von Bamberg in Pommern. Studien zur Archäologie Europas 30 (Bonn 2017) 163–170.
[34] J. Kunow – M. M. Rind, Archäologische Denkmalpflege. Theorie – Praxis – Berufsfelder. Public History – Geschichte in der Praxis 7 (Tübingen 2022) 17.
[35] M. Dworaczyk, Die Adalbertkirche in Stettin (Szczecin), in: F. Biermann – F. Ruchhöft (Hrsg.), Bischof Otto von Bamberg in Pommern. Studien zur Archäologie Europas 30 (Bonn 2017) 163–170, 166 Abb. 3
[36] Encyklopedia Szczecina (2015) 1252–1257 s. v. Zamek Książąt Pomorskich (J. Nekanda-Trepka)