Frederick I's expedition to Głogów
Frederick I Barbarossa, Holy Roman Emperor
Date Early 1157 – 30 August 1157 Location Głogów,Poznań, Greater Poland Result German victory
Belligerents
Kingdom of Poland Cumania Old Prussians	Holy Roman Empire Duchy of Bohemia
Commanders and leaders
Bolesław IV the Curly	Frederick I Barbarossa Vladislaus II
Strength
Unknown	Unknown

Frederick I's expedition to Głogów took place when EmperorFrederick I Barbarossa launched a campaign into Poland to supportWładysław II the Exile, exiled son ofBolesław III Wrymouth. The conflict centered on the defense ofGłogów. Despite initial resistance, the Polish forces were overwhelmed by the German army's superior numbers. Głogów fell, marking a significant blow to Polish defenses in the west. The conflict ended with humiliating terms for Poland, but it was the last major confrontation between theKingdom of Poland and theHoly Roman Empire in the earlyPiast period.

In 1157, the German Emperor Frederick Barbarossa launched a military campaign against Poland, defending the rights of Władysław, the eldest son of Bolesław III Wrymouth, who had been exiled by his brothers. Before the Germans compelled the Poles to submit, they seized the strategic stronghold ofGłogów.^[1]

Until 1157, the Głogów fortress fulfilled its duty of defending the western border of the Piast state, exemplified by its famousdefense in 1109. However, events in the mid-12th century revealed Poland's political weakness,divided into provinces among Bolesław III Wrymouth's sons.^[2]

As a result of Poland's division into provinces after the death of Duke Bolesław III Wrymouth in 1138, his sons engaged in fratricidal conflict.^[2] The eldest, Władysław, was banished from the country.^[1] Even before the overthrow of the senior, thecastellan of Głogów conspired against his lord, joining the opposition led by DukeBolesław IV the Curly, who seized theSilesian province along with Głogów in 1146.^{[citation needed]}

Władysław, who eventually found refuge at the imperial court, attempted to bring about German intervention in Poland.^[3] He succeeded only in 1157, during the reign of Emperor Frederick I Barbarossa. At the exile's request, the emperor undertook an expedition against the Piast state.^[4][1]

The campaign began on August 4, 1157, as Barbarossa's army departed fromHalle, presumably following traditional German expedition routes throughLusatia.^[3] Despite receiving military aid fromCumans,Prussians, andPomeranians, the Piast forces found themselves outmatched by the superior numbers and quality of the German army.^[3]

As Barbarossa's forces advanced into Poland, the Piast rulers employed delaying tactics, obstructing paths with obstacles and cutting through forests to impede the enemy's progress. Faced with overwhelming opposition, the Piast forces resorted to devastating their own land to hinder the imperial army's advance. Nonetheless, Barbarossa's troops pillagedbishoprics, looted, and committed acts of violence.^[5]

Barbarossa's detailed account of the invasion in his letter toWibald, theabbot ofWürzburg, highlighted the natural and artificial defenses encountered by the German army. Notably, the absence of their preferred beverage, beer, led to discomfort among the German troops, resulting in a dysentery outbreak that claimed more lives than battles with the Polish forces.^[6][5][7]

"Although Poland was very defensible by art and nature, so that our predecessors, kings and emperors, with great difficulty reached the Oder River, we, by the grace of God (...) penetrated through the barriers erected in narrow places [passes], gathering dense tree trunks and piling them up with great ingenuity. And (...) the Oder River, which supposedly forms a rampart around the entire land and, due to its depth, excludes all access, contrary to the expectations of the Poles, we crossed with our entire army."

The imperial forces reached Głogów on August 22, with reinforcements fromCzech-Moravian allies bolstering their ranks.^[8] Despite the fortress's advantageous position on an island surrounded by rivers, the Polish garrison, recognizing the enemy's superiority, opted to abandon Głogów after setting it ablaze. The fall of Głogów signified the breach of the final line of Piast defense in the west, with other fortresses meeting similar fates. Following the conquest, Barbarossa's army continued its advance towardsGreater Poland.^[6]

The unexpected progress of the German-Czech-Moravian forces likely caught the Poles off guard, as they had anticipated a delay in the expedition following unsuccessful diplomatic efforts. Some military historians argue that abandoning Głogów was a strategic necessity due to the inadequacy of Polish fortresses against Barbarossa's army.^{[citation needed]}

The conflict concluded withpeace of Krzyszkowo on humiliating peace terms for Poland.^[9] The treaty stipulated that a part of the disputed Polish lands, claimed by Władysław II, who had been exiled by his younger brothers, be placed under imperial fief. By paying tribute, Boleslaw IV the Curly could continue to rule the illegally seized senior district. In addition he pledged to participate in the following year - 1158 - in the so-called imperial "Milan expedition" and to pay an outstanding tribute of 3,400silver fines. The pledge of peace inKrzyszkowo obligations was to send selected hostages from wealthy Polish families to the German Kingdom, as well asCasimir II the Just, the youngest brother of Bolesław andMieszko III the Old.^[9] However, Boleslaw the Curly retained some autonomy and control over the Silesian province, including Głogów, under the recognition of Barbarossa, and he did not fulfill most of the provisions made during the peace in Krzyszkowo.^[9][6]

Barbarossa's campaign succeeded in devastating parts of Poland, the conflict marked the final major confrontation between Poland and the Holy Roman Empire during the early Piast period, with subsequent decades witnessing a decline in military actions on Poland's western border until the period of conflict over Lebus in 13th century between Poland and theMargraviate of Brandenburg.^{[citation needed]}

While Władysław the Exile did not regain control of the Silesian province with Głogów, Bolesław the Curly retained it, along with other fortresses. Głogów, rebuilt after the war, gradually lost military significance, leading to the development of a new city on the left bank of the Oder River.^[9][10]

• Władysław II the Exile
• Frederick I Barbarossa
• Bolesław IV the Curly
• Testament of Bolesław III Wrymouth

• Norman Davies,God's playground, A History of Poland: The Origins to 1795, Vol 1, 1981ISBN 978-0-231-12817-9
• Magdalena Biniaś-Szkopek: Bolesław IV Kędzierzawy - książę Mazowsza i princeps. Poznań: Wydawnictwo Poznańskie, 2009.ISBN 978-83-7177-603-8
• Grabski Andrzej Feliks,Polska sztuka wojenna w okresie wczesnofeudalnym, Wydawnictwo MON, Warszawa 1959.ISBN 978-83-7889-443-8
• Hendel Zenon,Głogów wczesnośredniowieczny w świetle badań archeologicznych, „Głogowskie Zeszyty naukowe. Studia i materiały z dziejów Głogowa”, t. 3, Głogów-Wrocław 1993.ISBN 978-83-60732-24-3
• Kozaczewski Tadeusz,Głogów średniowieczny do końca XIII w. Osadnictwo i architektura, Państwowa Wyższa Szkoła Zawodowa w Głogowie, Głogów 2006.ISBN 83-922114-1-3
• Miśkiewicz Benon,Szkice z dziejów wojskowości, Wydawnictwo Naukowe PWN, Warszawa 1991.ISBN 978-83-01-10452-8
• Towarzystwo Ziemi Głogowskiej,Dziedzictwo Kulturowe Głogowa,[1]
• Nowakowski Dominik,Siedziby książęce i rycerskie księstwa głogowskiego w średniowieczu, Wydawnictwo Instytutu Archeologii i Etnologii PAN, Wrocław 2008.ISBN 978-83-89499-48-6
• Weiss Ernst,Frederick Barbarossa, Państwowy Instytut Wydawniczy
• Olejnik Karol,Obrona polskiej granicy zachodniej: okres rozbicia dzielnicowego i monarchii stanowej 1138-1385, Instytut Zachodni, Poznań 1970.
• Olejnik Karol,Cedynia, Niemcza, Głogów, Krzyszków, Krajowa Agencja Wydawnicza, Kraków 1988.ISBN 978-83-03-02038-3
• Mariusz Dworatschek, Władysław II Wygnaniec, vol. VIII „Władcy Polski”, Kolekcja Hachette, Warszawa 2009.ISBN 978-83-242-0814-2
• Szymczak Jan,Grody w Polsce Środkowej i Zachodniej w okresie rozbicia dzielnicowego, Uniwersytet Łódzki, Łódź 1980.

• Fryderyk Barbarossa kontra Bolesław Kędzierzawy – niemiecka wyprawa na Polskę w 1157 roku | Portal historyczny Histmag.org - historia dla każdego!
• Fryderyk I Barbarossa (zamki.name)
• Jak Barbarossa Kędzierzawego upokorzył - rp.pl
• Materiały do nauki historii - 1. 05. Wyprawa na Polskę w roku 1157 w liście cesarza Fryderyka Barbarossy (e-historia.com.pl)
• Inwazja cesarza Fryderyka Barbarossy na ziemie polskie i narzucenie hołdu lennego Bolesławowi IV Kędzierzawemu – Muzeum Wojska Polskiego w Warszawie (muzeumwp.pl)

• Conflicts in 1157
• History of Poland during the Piast dynasty
• Military campaigns involving the Holy Roman Empire
• 12th century in Poland
• 1100s in the Holy Roman Empire

• CS1 Polish-language sources (pl)
• All articles with unsourced statements
• Articles with unsourced statements from February 2024