Ancient Medieval Polish City Discovered

The search for the forgotten Polish city of Stolzenberg was inspired by a piece of turn-of-the-century German writing. Researchers from the Relicta Foundation found mention of the deserted city in a 1909 text highlighting historical towns, indicating that the lost settlement was just outside present-day Slawoborze.

An exploration group had picked up more than 400 metal artifacts in that region in 2020 and 2021, everything from belt fittings to medieval coins, including a 13th century denarius from Pomeranian Duke Barnim II, and this gave the Relicta Foundation reason to probe further. They brought in drones equipped with LiDAR and began drilling geological wells over six feet deep to search the northwestern Polish forests for remnants of the city.

The team found a clue in the terrain, a horseshoe-shaped ditch that had been part of a rampart near a moat. Soon, the team identified a second moat not far away. These pieces of terrestrial evidence allowed the team to determine where certain architectural features of the city may have been, or may indeed still be beneath the ground.

Piotr Wroniecki, archaeologist with the foundation, told the Polish Press Agency:

"In an area of approximately six hectares, surrounded by a rampart and moat, we recorded over 1,500 anomalies, or unusual terrain features, suggesting the presence of structures hidden underground, such as ancient buildings. Drilling confirmed the presence of such layers, exceeding two meters in depth. Some of them form a regular layout typical of towns founded under German law. In the central part, a probable market square is visible, surrounded by burgher plots, only some of which have been built on, and the course of the main street leading to the city gate."

Radiocarbon dating of the site set it back to the late 13th or early 14th century, but the city did not remain populated for terribly long. Stolzenberg was known to be abandoned by the 19th century, with the historical record calling it a "dead" town.

Archaeologists believe the site was likely founded as a border town, possibly by members of nobility known as the Brandenburg margraves, military commanders charged with guarding the borders of the Holy Roman Empire. This conclusion is far from a certainty, however; others have speculated that the city could have been created by the bishops of Kamie, a Roman Catholic diocese in the Duchy of Pomerania from the 12th to 16th centuries.

"We cannot say what its population was or why the town was abandoned," Marcin Krzepkowski of the Relicta Foundation, told the PPA. "Usually, more than one factor determines the decline of a town. Sometimes natural causes such as flooding or changes in transport routes reduce a town’s activity, leading to the collapse of trade and crafts and the impoverishment of its residents. Sometimes these are military events, wars, or invasions."

The foundation, co-financed by the Polish Ministry of Culture and National Heritage, plans to continue studying the site, using non-invasive surveys to pinpoint where the city was located as it hopes to find reasons for its abandonment. Historical documents from 1291 mention both a church and cemetery in the area, and the team hopes that finding that site could provide further insight into the abandonment of Stolzenberg.