Leszek the Black's Dream

It is summer of the year of our Lord 1282. Lithuanians and Yotvingians tyrannize the Lublin region. Leszek the Black, Duke of Cracow, hastens to the relief of our town. The road from Cracow is long. When the troops finally reach the Bystrzyca, the enemy is no longer there, having left in face of challenge from the mighty ruler. A tired Leszek falls asleep under an oak tree. In a dream, St. Michael Archangel comes to him. He **hands him a royal sword and says: Leszek, son of Kazimierz, follow the enemy. Leszek and his troops immediately followed the invader. The Duke defeats the Lithuanians and the Yotvingians. As token of gratitude for the victory, Leszek the Black fells the oak tree under which he had his dream, and turns its trunk into an altar base. The altar becomes part of a church funded by the Duke, which then serves Lublin’s burghers for six centuries. Today, the St. Michael parish church is no longer there, but we know exactly where the tree once grew, under which Leszek the Black had a dream. Source: Lublin Municipal Office