The Battle of Cedynia (also known as the Battle of Zehden) may have been long forgotten outside Poland, but mention of this historic battle still invokes a sense of pride in many Poles today. Fought in 972 between the armies of Mieszko I, the first ruler of Poland, and Odo I, the Margrave of Lusatia, the Battle of Cedynia was one of the earliest conflicts in the history of the Polish state and resulted in a decisive victory over German invaders.
The battle was relegated to a footnote of Polish history for nearly a millennium before the border changes after World War II placed Cedynia back in Polish hands. With its location at the now-westernmost point of Poland, directly across the Oder River from Germany, the alleged (though unconfirmed) site of the historic battle at Czcibor Mountain gained new importance in postwar Polish nation-building, as a symbol of Polish resistance to German invasion and of the enmity between the two countries.
A hilltop monument of the Polish eagle facing west was erected by the Communist government on the 1000-year anniversary of the battle in 1972, and reenactments still occasionally take place in the summer. Today, with the open borders between Germany and Poland, the propagandistic value of Cedynia has faded, and bilingual signs now welcome visitors from both sides of the Oder and beyond.
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