Millennium celebrations in 1966 – Bydgoszcz

Fact of the Polish figure „Polish national myths – Gniezno Cathedral”

Part of the „The story of the beginning” topic

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The celebration of the millennium of the Polish state is among the best examples of the vitality and importance of cultural memory in the life of society and the functioning of the state. They occurred during the difficult times of the communist dictatorship and were superimposed on many current political problems. The most important was the conflict between Cardinal Stefan Wyszynski and Communist leader Wladyslaw Gomulka over church-government relations. Both sides of the conflict intended to take over the celebration, focusing on the millennium of the state (the party) or the millennium of the baptism of Mieszko I (the Church). On the other hand, a gigantic historical research on the origins of Poland began. A massive process of commemorating this great anniversary also began throughout the country. A number of schools, called thousand-year schools, hundreds of monuments and local ceremonies were established. Artistic circles created arrangements of the oldest Polish cultural divisions, with the chronicle of Gallus Anonymus at the forefront. Among the most important is undoubtedly the Ballad of the Miraculous Birth of Boleslaw the Wrymouth by Ewa Dymarczyk or the Song of the Warriors performed by Czeslaw Niemen. These events culminated in great celebrations in Gniezno and then a military parade in Warsaw, where Mieszko I’s warriors marched side by side with soldiers of the People’s Polish Army. The fact that this parade took place on the communist holiday of July 22 shows the importance of historical memory in the political realities of the time.