Childhood

In the same time, Mieszko I, ruler of the Polans after 960 (considered the founding father of the Polish kingdom), who is already ruling most pagan tribes in the greater region, is wed to the daughter of the Bohemian King Boleslaus I in 965. Soon after (966) he is baptized as a Christian. As was the case in those times he promptly adopts Catholicism as the new official religion of his kingdom.

At the end of 980’s Mieszko I’s unification of the Poles and the Czechs is disrupted after a war between the two, with the Polish ruler keeping the control of Lesser Poland & Krakow. In 992, after essentially creating & consequently transforming the Polish country into one of the strongest in central Europe, Mieszko I dies. His oldest son Boleslaw I becomes the sole ruler of his country.

The firstborn son of the founder of the Piast-Dynasty, Boleslaw I (the brave), continued the remarkable policy of his father, consolidating the Polish lands & conquering even more territories through the years. In 1000 Boleslaw Ι, creates the Diocese of Krakοw among others. Several Romanesque churches, a cathedral & a basilica are constructed. A Royal Castle (Wawel) is also built during Boleslaw I’s reign to serve as one of the official residencies of the Polish ruler.

In 1003 the newbuilt Wawel Castle becomes the venue of Boleslaw I’s canning interference in Bohemian affairs. After the entrapment and the imprisonment of the pretender of the Bohemian throne Vladivoj at the castle, Boleslaw Ι invaded Bohemia & ascended on the ducal throne of Prague. In 1025, just before his death and after a series of conflicts with the Holy Roman Empire, Boleslaw I the Brave, finally succeeds in obtaining the papal permission to crown himself as the first king of Poland.