The Jagiełło Bridge: Czerwińsk Encounters with History and Medieval Culture

There is an event in Czerwińsk by the Vistula river that has taken place since 2018. It is called “The Jagiełło Bridge: Czerwińsk Encounters with History and Medieval Culture”. During two weekends in June, the Vistula river community known mainly for its Roman basilica and the Salesian monastery, returns to medieval times.
The celebration harks back to the historical event which was the Vistula river crossing undertaken by the troops of king Ladislaus Jagiełło on the way to the Grunwald battlefield in 1410. In preparation for the crossing, a clandestine construction was built upstream and floated down the Vistula to be put together near Czerwińsk on June 30, 1410. Crossing the river by the great army took three days, after which the construction was taken apart and floated down to Płock. The original idea to build such a structure and the implementation of the crossing is considered to be one of the great military and strategic accomplishments of the time.

As the name of the celebration suggests, one of the main features of the event is the reconstruction of a fragment of the bridge traditionally built on boats. However, all the festivities are much more elaborate. In 2019, for example, they included a medieval parade on the streets of Czerwińsk, an archery tournament, a knight competition, demonstrations of medieval banners, demonstrations and workshops of old dances, workshops on old tales for kids, carpentry, paper production using old techniques, calligraphy, as well as instruction on pottery making and alchemy, village games, sailing on traditional boats and demonstrations of dances with fire.

A major attraction for connoisseurs was a medieval play presented by theatre “Trójkąt”. On Sunday, the participants of the celebration could also attend a Latin mass at the Czerwińsk basilica.

The backdrop for all these events was Czerwińsk by the Vistula, a barely discovered Mazovian pearl, beautifully located on the river escarpment, boasting a magnificent collegiate church and a monastery with traditional gardens and buildings. The river Vistula, which is the Queen of Polish Rivers, added natural splendor.

Location: Czerwińsk by the Vistula river
Date: June
Organizer: Association “Our Czerwińsk by the Vistula river”
Contact: Association “Our Czerwińsk by the Vistula river”
ph. 502 008 087, email: naszczerwinsk@gmail.com