Spycimierz

Spycimierz [spɨˈt͡ɕimjɛʂ] is a village in the administrative district of Gmina Uniejów, within Poddębice County, Łódź Voivodeship, in central Poland. It lies approximately 4 kilometres (2 mi) south-west of Uniejów, 15 km (9 mi) west of Poddębice, and 52 km (32 mi) west of the regional capital Łódź.

Map of Spycimierz, Poland

The village has a population of 380. It is famous for a beautiful celebration of the Corpus Domini feast when the inhabitants create flower carpets along the 2 km long route of the procession.

The name of the village comes from a Slavic given name Spycimir, also spelled Spycimierz. 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 Pomeranian raid in 1108.

In the Middle Ages, a fortified Slavic gord existed in the location of the present village. Spycimierz was located at the junction of two important trails, from Pomerania to Rus, and from Łęczyca to Kalisz. The gord was ring-shaped, with wood and earth fortification, topped by a wooden palisade. Here, Duke Boleslaw Krzywousty imprisoned Archbishop Martin in ca. 1106. Spycimierz was regarded as a ducal property, mentioned in 1136 in a bull of Pope Innocent II.

The gord was the seat of a castellan, and remained one until the early 14th century. The Spicymierz Castellany belonged to the Duchy of Sieradz, and was located along right bank of the Warta river. 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 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.