Greater Poland

The article analyzes the position of the cities of Greater Poland till the middle of XII century. The author notes the specificity and the complexity in the study of this period. According to the author, the fate of the Archbishop’s Department played the significant role in the development of the Greater Poland cities. The article shows the development of the cities of Greater Poland since their decline in the middle of the XI century till the gradual revival in the XII century.

The article analyzes the process of rivalry between two largest cities in Greater Poland, Gniezno and Poznan in the XIII century. During the Middle Ages both cities were the key centers of development of the Greater Poland region. Until the XIII century, there are some reasons to talk about the leading position of Gniezno. However, as a result of a number of factors that paradoxically contributed to the strengthening of Gniezno, in the XIII century Poznan comes to the fore.