The early medieval town of Wolin is a key point in the history of Central and Northern Europe. As one of the largest craft and trade centers on the Baltic Sea in the 9th-12th century, it played a great role in the history of the northern European states. This multi-ethnic center became an object of interest for kings, emissaries, as well as Latin, Arabic and Scandinavian historians. The power of the town became the subject of legends about the Viking fortress Jómsborg and the sunken town of Vineta. It was one of the towns that influenced and created the face of Europe.
Polish archaeological research in Wolin began in 1952. Since 1953 they were conducted by the Institute of Archeology and Ethnology Polish Academy of Sciences. For 70 years, a huge number of artefacts and data were collected, which are the first-class sources for European history. The artefacts were presented at numerous exhibitions both in Poland and abroad. Three generations of Polish scientists have published hundreds of works in the course of interdisciplinary research, entering the history of the town on the pages of history textbooks. The jubilee conference aims at summarizing this period, rich in discoveries, and emphasizing the role that early medieval Wolin played in the history of Northern Europe. It will be held as part of the 6th Wolin Medieval Meetings, the tradition of which is to present the history of Wolin in the broader c ontext of research on the Middle Ages . The conference will present achievements to date, current research and future directions of research into the phenomenon of early medieval Wolin. At the same time a reflection on the role of early medieval urbanization in shaping the face of Europe at that time will be undertaken. The planned conference will be a celebration of Polish science, its international promotion and a meeting of leading European scientists studying the early Middle Ages. It will initiate celebrations of the 70th anniversary of the Institute
of Archaeology and Ethnology Polish Academy of Sciences, which falls in the year 2023. Nineteen papers will be presented, showing both the results of research on early medieval Wolin, as well as on other important urban centers of Northern Europe at that time. The papers will be a starting point for a discussion on the conference theme, as well as for a debate with the participation of Polish and foreign scientists. For this reason, the relatively small number of papers is balanced by the participation of numerous researchers from all over Europe (Norway, Denmark, Sweden, Germany, Spain, Ukraine), who will take an active part in the discussion and learn about the achievements of Polish science.
The conference will take place on the site of the planned new Wolin Museum. Due to the great panEuropean significance of the town’s history, Andrzej Kaube Regional Musuem in Wolin together with Institute of Archaeology and Ethnology of the Polish Academy of Sciences, ICOMOS Poland, the Voivodship Office of Monuments Protection and the town authorities are making efforts to enter the town on the UNESCO World Heritage List. The jubilee conference will increase the impact of these efforts. The event will be held under the honorary patronage of the Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Culture and National Heritage, prof. dr hab. Piotr Gliński, Minister of Foreign Affairs, prof. dr hab. Zbigniew Rau, Deputy Minister of Infrastructure Marek Gróbarczyk and West Pomeranian Voivode Zbigniew Bogucki.
The proceedings will be translated simultaneously (Polish-English; English- Polish), recorded on video and using an innovative method called graphic recording. Each paper will be presented graphically, which will allow for an accessible presentation of its results on the Internet, while the original drawing will be deposited in the Andrzej Kaube Regional Museum in Wolin. The presentations will be published in a post-conference volume, which may become a reference for researchers of the early Middle Ages in Europe.
8.00 - 9.00 breakfast at place of accommodation
9.00 - 11.00 registration of conference participants
11.30 - 12.00 registration of conference participants conference opening
12.00 - 12.25 An introduction to early medieval European urbanization / dr hab. prof. IAE PAS Mateusz Bogucki (Institute of Archeology and Ethnology PAS, Warszawa, Poland)
12.25 - 12.50 70 years of archaeological research in Wolin. Course, results, future / dr Wojciech Filipowiak (Institute of Archeology and Ethnology PAS, Wolin, Poland)
12.50 - 13.15 Wolin „opulentissima civitas Slavorum” - European and world heritage... / Marek Konopka (Polish National Council of the International Council on Monuments and Sites ICOMOS-Poland, Warszawa, Poland)
13.15 - 13.40 discussion
13.40 - 14.40 lunch
14.40 - 15.05 Wolin and the early medieval emporia on the Polabian Coast - similarities and differences in the early urban model / dr hab. prof. US Felix Biermann (University of Szczecin, Szczecin, Poland)
15.05 - 15.30 Wolin and early states of the southern coast of the Baltic in the 10th-12th centuries (Poland and Pomerania) / prof. dr hab. Marian Rębkowski (Institute of Archaeology and Ethnology PAS, Szczecin, Poland)
15.30 - 15.55 The Wolin maritime trading post in the period of early medieval urbanization and its cultural potential for contemporary urbanization planning / prof. Sunhild Kleingärtner (Deutsche Bergbau Museum Bochum, Bochum, Germany)
15.55 - 16.20 discussion
16.20 - 16.40 signing a letter of intent to put Wolin on the UNESCO world heritage list and a joint photo of the conference participants
16.40 end of the first day of the conference
19.00 banquet in the Slavs and Vikings’ Center Wolin-Jomsborg-Vineta
8.00 - 9 .00 breakfast at place of accommodation
9.30 - 9.55 The significance of the legend of Jomsborg for the history of Wolin / dr hab. prof. US Jakub Morawiec (University of Silesia in Katowice, Katowice, Poland)
9.55 - 10.20 Wolin and the legend of Wineta / prof. dr hab. Leszek Słupecki (University of Rzeszów, Rzeszów, Poland)
10.20 - 10.45 Viking Age urbanisation in the core of Kyivan Rus (Kyiv - Chernihiv region)/ Natalia Khamaiko (Institute of Archaeology, National Academy of Science of Ukraine, Kyiv, Ukraine)
10.45 - 11.20 discussion
11.20 - 11.40 coffee break
11.40 - 12.05 Viking Age urbanisation and the long distance trade / dr Irene Baug (University of Bergen, Bergen, Norway)
12.05 - 12.30 Between the seas... New research on the development of craft production and trade networks in the Viking Age port of Hedeby / dr Volker Hilberg (Schleswig-Holstein State Museums Foundation Castle Gottorf, Schleswig, Germany)
12.30 - 12.55 Viking town and world heritage Birka. Current research and academic debate (2000-2022) / prof. Sven Kalmring (Centre for Baltic and Scandinavian Archaeology, Schleswig, Germany)
12.55 - 13.20 discussion
13.30 - 14.30 lunch
14.45 - 17.00 debate: The future of Wolin’s past. How to protect, how to research, how to share, how to connect with the development of the modern city / chaired by prof. dr hab. Andrzej Buko
17.00 end of the second day of the conference 19.00 supper at place of accomodation
8.00 - 9.00 breakfast at place of accomodation
9.30 - 9.55 Civitas et contina. The formation of sacral
of the tribal ecumeny in the towns of the Pomeranian-Slavs / prof. Stanisław Rosik (University of Wrocław, Wrocław, Poland)
9.55 - 10.20 Viking Age Ribe and its networks / prof. Søren M. Sindbæk (Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark)
10.20-10.55 Placesnotdescribedbychroniclers.Recentarchaeological investigations in Saaremaa near the eastern coast of the Baltic Sea / dr Marika Mägi (Tallinn University, Tallinn, Estonia)
10.55 - 11.20 discussion
11.20 - 11.40 coffee break
11.40 - 12.05 From town plan to a living urban community. 11th-12th century Bergen, western Norway/ prof. Gitte Hansen (University of Bergen, Bergen, Norway)
12.05 - 12.30 Recent findings on Truso / dr Marek Jagodziński (Historical and Archaeological Museum in Elbląg, Elbląg, Poland)
12.30 - 12.55 Becoming a town. Trondheim from transshipment port to urban center ca. AD 900-1050 / prof. Axel Christophersen (Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway)
12.55 - 13.20 Wolin Museum, its collection and future / Karolina Kokora (Andrzej Kaube Regional Museum in Wolin, Wolin, Poland)
13.30 - 13.55 discussion
14.00 - 15.00lunch
15.20 - 17.00 for those willing: guided tour of Wolin
ORGANIZERS:
Wolin Municipality, Institute of Archeology and Ethnology of the Polish Academy of Sciences, National Museum in Szczecin, Andrzej Kaube Regional Museum in Wolin
HONORARY PATRONAGE:
Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Culture and National Heritage, prof. dr hab. Piotr Gliński,
Deputy Minister of Infrastructure, Secretary of State, Government Plenipotentiary for Water Management and Investment in Maritime and Water Management Marek Gróbarczyk,
Minister of Foreign Affairs, prof. dr hab. Zbigniew Rau
West Pomeranian Governor Zbigniew Bogucki
PATRONAGE: ICOMOS Polska
ORGANIZING COMMITTEE:
prof. dr hab. Marian Rębkowski (IAE PAS, Poland) - chairman
prof. dr hab. Andrzej Buko (IAE PAS, Poland)
prof. Søren M. Sindbæk (Aarhus University, Denmark)
dr hab. prof. IAE PAN Andrzej Janowski (IAE PAS, Poland)
Ewa Grzybowska (Mayor fo Wolin, Poland)
dr Wojciech Filipowiak (IAE PAS, Poland)
Karolina Kokora (director of the Andrzej Kaube Regional Museum in Wolin, Poland)
CONFERENCE SECRETARY:
dr Wojciech Filipowiak
e-mail: w.filipowiak@iaepan.szczecin.pl tel. 513-014-879