The Congress of Gniezno was an amicable meeting between the Polish Duke Bolesław I the Brave and Emperor Otto III, which took place at Gniezno in Poland on 11 March 1000. Scholars disagree over the details of the decisions made at the convention, especially whether the ruler of Poland was pledged the king's crown or not.
The spearhead of the Holy Lance, Imperial Treasury, Vienna
Polish replica of the Holy Lance, Wawel Hill, Kraków
Silver relic coffin of St. Adalbert at Gniezno Cathedral
Portrait of Bolesław with the replica of the Holy Lance, Jan Matejko (1838–1893)
Bolesław I the Brave, less often known as Bolesław the Great, was Duke of Poland from 992 to 1025, and the first King of Poland in 1025. He was also Duke of Bohemia between 1003 and 1004 as Boleslaus IV. A member of the ancient Piast dynasty, Bolesław was a capable monarch and a strong mediator in Central European affairs. He continued to proselytise Western Christianity among his subjects and raised Poland to the rank of a kingdom, thus becoming the first Polish ruler to hold the title of rex, Latin for king.
One of the earliest Polish coins featuring the supposed effigy of Bolesław with the inscription Bolizavs - gnezdvn civitas, c. 992–1000.
Bolesław's replica of the Holy Lance, Wawel Hill, Kraków
Henry II depicted in the Seeon Evangeliary, c. 1014–1024
Coronation of the First King, as imagined by Jan Matejko