2020 | Building Peace through Heritage
Fig . 2 - Wiślica , relics of the Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary with the famous and unique Slab of Orants with Latin sentence : “ Hi conculcari querunt ut in astra levari possint et pariter ve …”
Subsequent facilities related to Casimir the Just ’ s investment activities include the palatial complex within the regia , i . e . the highest point of the urban island , in the form of architectural relics of two ducal residences with rotundas . Two palace buildings with separate chapels clearly indicate the layout of a ducal palace ; such layout seems to be the logical supplement for the extensive operation of the court of Casimir the Just and his wife Helena , Znojmo princess , daughter of Conrad II , Duke of Bohemia , and the niece of the Hungarian queen . Foundation of the famous and unique Slab of Orants and monumental palace architecture may also be an example of the impact of the Moravian court from Znojmo and may confirm the transfer of models of the so-called Carolingian and Ottonian architecture through Moravia . Casimir the Just had personal contact with such architecture as the hostage to secure the peace terms at the court of Emperor Frederick Barbarossa .
Geographic location of Wiślica was of great importance for the defence system of the country . In the Wiślica account , deriving from the period between the second half of the 12 th and before the middle of the 13 th century , yet referring to the times of King Boleslaus the Wrymouth , it is stated that it was urbs famosissima … murorum altidudine circumspecta , which testifies that this settlement , next to Cracow , was a well-developed early-urban centre before the municipal charter was granted to it ( Kiryk 1994 ).
The value of Wiślica as a strategic location was revealed once again during fights to unify the Kingdom at the turn of the 13 th and 14 th century . In 1299 , Władysław I the Elbow-high captured Wiślica whilst fighting for the Cracow capital with Wenceslas II . However , this did not save the Duke from giving way to Wenceslas ’ army . The Bohemian army captured the city and the fortified settlement . It was probably at that time that the Cracow Bishop Muscata , as the deputy of Polish King Wenceslas , fortified the church and sur-
229