Tumskie Hill in Płock, Poland

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🔗 foto.poczet.com/mazowieckie.h...
📜 history:
Probably as early as the 9th century, there was a center of pagan worship on the Tumskie Hill in Płock, destroyed after being baptized in 966. In the following years, a stronghold fortified with a wooden and earth rampart was built in this area. At the beginning of the 11th century, Bolesław I the Brave built a brick (pre-Romanesque) palatium with a chapel (in the form of a rotunda). Płock - despite its role as a princely seat in Masovia - did not become the capital of a bishopric in 1000, during the Congress of Gniezno. This happened only in 1075, during the reign of Bolesław II the Generous. The increase in the importance of Płock can be attributed to prince Władysław I Herman, who made it his main and favorite residence. During the division of the districts, the city was initially the capital of the separate Duchy of Masovia, and during the subsequent division of the lands of Masovia it became the capital of the Duchy of Płock. Only in 1495, after the death of prince Janusz II of Płock, King Jan I Olbracht incorporated Płock and the district into the Kingdom of Poland.
The most important monuments on Tumskie Hill include the Cathedral of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary - the necropolis of the Piast rulers (buried, among others, Władysław I Herman, Bolesław III Wrymouth, Bolesław IV Kędzierzawy and the district princes of Masovia). The first brick building was built shortly after 1075, but in the 1120s it was destroyed during one of the Pomeranian invasions. Soon (around 1130), in the place of the demolished cathedral, the then bishop of Płock, Alexander of Malonne, started building a new temple, this time more impressive: a three-nave basilica with a transept and a presbytery ending with an apse. This Romanesque cathedral survived for a relatively long time in its almost original form (partly supplemented with Gothic western towers). In 1531, the temple caught fire and its reconstruction (1531-1535) took place in the Renaissance style. In the years 1787-1789, bishop Michał Poniatowski (brother of king Stanisław II August) rebuilt the western facade of the cathedral in the classicist style. The current appearance of the facility is the result of renovation and reconstruction works carried out in 1901-1906. Classicist elements (including the column portico) were demolished and the cathedral's 16th-century Renaissance character was restored. Right next to the cathedral there is a former castle of the dukes of Masovia. The first brick structure in the then wooden-earth stronghold was a stone residential tower erected in the early 14th century, probably by prince Bolesław II of Płock. In the second half of the 14th century, king Casimir the Great strengthened the castle by building two rings of brick defensive walls. At that time (or even slightly earlier - in the first half of the 14th century) the 'Clock Tower' was built in place of the stone residential tower. The 'Noble Tower' and a 2.5-meter-thick defensive wall connecting both towers were also built. In the following years, the castle served military and residential functions, and from 1538, when king Sigismund I the Old donated the north-western part of the castle for the Benedictine abbey, also religious functions. The current appearance of the complex is the result of a series of destructions (including during the Swedish Deluge and the Third Northern War) and reconstructions. The oldest preserved elements of the castle of the dukes of Masovia are the mentioned 14th-century investments: 'Clock Tower', 'Noble Tower' and the western defensive wall connecting both towers.

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