Spycimierz is a

village A village is a human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand. Although villages are often located in rural areas, the term urban v ...

in the administrative district of Gmina Uniejów, within Poddębice County,

Łódź Voivodeship Łódź Voivodeship ( ) is a Voivodeships of Poland, voivodeship (province) of Poland. The province is named after its capital and largest city, Łódź, pronounced . Łódź Voivodeship is bordered by six other voivodeships: Masovian Voivodeship ...

, in central Poland. It lies approximately south-west of Uniejów, west of

Poddębice Poddębice is a town in central Poland, in Łódź Voivodeship, about 40 km northwest of Łódź. It is the capital of Poddębice County. Population is 7,245 (2020). It is located within the historic Łęczyca Land. History Poddębice wa ...

, and west of the regional capital

Łódź Łódź is a city in central Poland and a former industrial centre. It is the capital of Łódź Voivodeship, and is located south-west of Warsaw. Łódź has a population of 655,279, making it the country's List of cities and towns in Polan ...

. The village is known for celebration of the Corpus Christi feast when the inhabitants create flower carpets along the 2 km long route of the procession. It is part of historic

Sieradz Land Sieradz Land (; Latin: ''Terra Siradiae'') is a historical region in central Poland, a part of Łęczyca-Sieradz Land (). Its traditional capital is Sieradz, while other bigger cities are Piotrków Trybunalski (another historically important ...

History

The name of the village comes from a given name Spycimir, also spelled Spycimierz in Polish. The village was first mentioned as Spicimir in the chronicle of Gallus Anonymus, written in 1112–1116. Gallus wrote that it was attacked in a

Pomerania Pomerania ( ; ; ; ) is a historical region on the southern shore of the Baltic Sea in Central Europe, split between Poland and Germany. The central and eastern part belongs to the West Pomeranian Voivodeship, West Pomeranian, Pomeranian Voivod ...

n raid in 1108. In the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...

, a fortified gord existed in the location of the present village. Spycimierz was located at the junction of two important trails, from

to Rus, and from

Łęczyca Łęczyca (; in full the Royal Town of Łęczyca, ; ; ) is a town of inhabitants in central Poland. Situated in the Łódź Voivodeship, it is the county seat of the Łęczyca County. Łęczyca is a capital of the historical Łęczyca Land. Or ...

Kalisz Kalisz () is a city in central Poland, and the second-largest city in the Greater Poland Voivodeship, with 97,905 residents (December 2021). It is the capital city of the Kalisz Region. Situated on the Prosna river in the southeastern part of Gr ...

. The gord was ring-shaped, with wood and earth fortification, topped by a wooden

palisade A palisade, sometimes called a stakewall or a paling, is typically a row of closely placed, high vertical standing tree trunks or wooden or iron stakes used as a fence for enclosure or as a defensive wall. Palisades can form a stockade. Etymo ...

. Here, Duke

Bolesław III the Wrymouth Bolesław or Boleslav may refer to: People * Bolesław (given name) (also ''Boleslav'' or ''Boleslaus''), including a list of people with this name Geography * Bolesław, Dąbrowa County, Lesser Poland Voivodeship, Poland * Bolesław, Olkusz Coun ...

imprisoned Archbishop Martin in ca. 1106. Spycimierz was regarded as a ducal property, mentioned in 1136 in a bull of

Pope Innocent II Pope Innocent II (; died 24 September 1143), born Gregorio Papareschi, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 14 February 1130 to his death in 1143. His election as Pope was controversial, and the first eight years o ...

. The gord was the seat of a

castellan A castellan, or constable, was the governor of a castle in medieval Europe. Its surrounding territory was referred to as the castellany. The word stems from . A castellan was almost always male, but could occasionally be female, as when, in 1 ...

, and remained one until the early 14th century. The Spicymierz

Castellany A castellan, or constable, was the governor of a castle in medieval Europe. Its surrounding territory was referred to as the castellany. The word stems from . A castellan was almost always male, but could occasionally be female, as when, in 1 ...

belonged to the

Duchy of Sieradz The Duchy of Sieradz (, ), also known as the Duchy of Siradia, was created based on part of the Duchy of Łęczyca in 1263. Duchy of Łęczyca was created around 1231 from Province of Łęczyca, a part of the Seniorate Province by Konrad I of Maso ...

, and was located along right bank of the

Warta river The river Warta ( , ; ; ) rises in central Poland and meanders greatly through the Polish Plain in a north-westerly direction to flow into the Oder at Kostrzyn nad Odrą on Poland's border with Germany. About long, it the second-longest rive ...

. Some time before 1331, in unknown circumstances, the gord became private property of a local nobleman, Pawel Ogonczyk. Spycimierz was burned to the ground in 1331, when a unit of

Teutonic Knights The Teutonic Order is a Catholic religious institution founded as a military society in Acre, Kingdom of Jerusalem. The Order of Brothers of the German House of Saint Mary in Jerusalem was formed to aid Christians on their pilgrimages to t ...

crossed the Warta, and set the gord on fire. A wooden castle was built in the location of the former gord, but Spycimierz lost its importance to the adjacent town of Uniejów. The gord is still visible. It lies on a meadow, near the Warta river

Oxbow lake An oxbow lake is a U-shaped lake or stream pool, pool that forms when a wide meander of a river is meander cutoff, cut off, creating a free-standing body of water. The word "oxbow" can also refer to a U-shaped bend in a river or stream, whether ...

Flower carpets for Corpus Christi procession

Spycimierz is best known for the flower carpets that members of the local parish have been arranging for the Corpus Christi procession for decades. In 2018, the tradition was entered into the National List of Intangible Cultural Heritage. In March 2020 Poland nominated Flower carpets tradition for Corpus Christi processions in Spycimierz and four parishes in southern Poland (Klucz, Olszowa, Zalesie Ślaskie, Zimna Wódka) for inscription on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity maintained by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...

). On 15 November 2021, a UNESCO Evaluation Body issued a document containing the examination of nominations for inscription on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2021. The Evaluation Body recommended that the Flower carpets tradition for Corpus Christi processions be inscribed on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. The final decision on the inscription was taken on 15 December 2021 by the Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage. The history of flower carpets in Spycimierz goes back to a hard to specify period. Although the oldest written account of this custom comes from the parish chronicle dating back to 1957, oral communication is much older. For the oldest message, one should acknowledge the legend of the appearance of this custom along with the return of soldiers from Napoleon to their native village. The composition of the flower carpets has changed and evolved over the years. At first, yellow sand and twigs were used, so the old decoration was modest. Later, flowers began to be used, and the current way of dressing the route took shape after 1945. The colorful carpet of live flowers is laid by parishioners along the Corpus Christi road, which is about 1 kilometre long. A solemn procession passes over it at 5 p.m." Flower carpets " https://spycimierskiebozecialo.pl/en/tradycje-en/the-strength-of-the-community

Gallery

> File:Two kilometer flower carpet for Corpus Christi procession in Spycimierz, Poland - June 2021.jpg, The main square on the day of Corpus Christi, June 2021 File: Flower carpets and gates for Corpus Christi procession in Spycimierz, Poland - June 2021.jpg, Gate and a fragment of a carpet at the entrance to the church, June 2021 File:A fragment of the flower carpet for Corpus Christi procession in Spycimierz, Poland - June 2021.jpg, A fragment of the flower carpet, June 2021 File: Patterns used to arrange flower carpets for Corpus Christi procession in Spycimierz, Poland - June 2021.jpg, Patterns used to arrange flower carpets, June 2021 File: Arranging flower carpets for Corpus Christi procession in Spycimierz, Poland - June 2021.jpg, Parishioners during carpet arranging, June 2021 File:Beautiful flower carpet for Corpus Christi procession in Spycimierz, Poland - June 2021.jpg, A floral carpet and one of two gates at the back, June 2021 File:Flower carpets for Corpus Christi procession in Spycimierz, Poland - June 2021.jpg, Beautiful carpet with live flowers, June 2021

References

{{Gmina Uniejów Populated riverside places in Poland Villages in Poddębice County