St. Adalbert Hill

A legendary hill associated with the beginnings of Barcin and christianity in Polish lands and with the cult of St. Adalbert. You can see the panorama of Barcin from here.

Legend has it that in 997 the entourage of bishop Adalbert was riding here as he travelled from Gniezno to Gdańsk. The travellers stopped to rest at the mound on the right-hand side of the Noteć, not far from modern-day Barcin. In his missionary work, Adalbert died a martyr’s death. When coming back, the horses that drew the carriage with the saint’s body recognised the hill where the rest had been taken and refused to carry on. They did not move before a cross was placed there. Another legend says that the martyr’s body was bought out from Prussian tribes on this very hill.

In 1933 a figure of the Sacred Heart of Jesus was placed on the hill and stairs with decorative railing were constructed. This monument, an ex-voto in praise of regaining independence, was destroyed in 1939. After World War II, the cross was put here again. In 2012 the renovation of St. Adalbert Hill was completed and the reconstructed figure of the Sacred Heart of Jesus was unveiled.