Station: [13] Group of sculptures - baptism of the prince

This group of sculptures shows a Bishop in liturgical vestments and a prince coming out of a meeting house after the baptism of the prince. The Bishop may be Gerold. His predecessor, Bishop Vicelin, had reoccupied the Bishop’s seat again after 80 years and had a wooden meeting house was erected on the Slavic market square. Bishop Gerold then succeeded in christianizing the Slavs completely in the area of Starigard. The settlement on the ring fort had, however, already been destroyed and the powerless prince lived outside of Starigard. Gerold visited Starigard in 1156, destroyed the sanctuary of Prove on the Wienberg and founded St. Johannis Church, the oldest brick church in north Europe. This was built as a Bishop’s church, but the bishop’s see was relocated to Lübeck in 1160, a town emerging as an important trade center.

Now please turn to the niche to the right of the group of sculptures.

The end of Slavic independence was already underway since the district of Wagria became a part of the Holstein county in 1139. Between 1143 and 1156, Wagria was populated by German settlers who settled around the forts of the Slavs.

In 1149 the Slav settlement of the ring fort ended. Oldenburg was transforming and the focus of settlement was now in the area to the west of today’s market square. It appears that Slavs and migrant German settlers lived peacefully together, until the Slavs were finally integrated wholly into the German population. The Slavs were mentioned for the last time in 1170.

Oldenburg received its town charter from the Duke of Holstein in 1233

Your tour of this part of the exhibition ends here.

The 2nd Exhibition is to be found in the right hand barn. The entrance is also on the rear face side.