On the wall of the Bell Tower facing the Mint Courtyard is a statue of St. Otto, patron saint of the Duchy of Pomerania and the Castle church. The statue comes from the medieval St. Otto Collegiate Church on the Castle hill and was put up on the Tower after the church was demolished in 1575. St. Otto is presented as a whole figure, dressed in a bishop’s robe with a crosier in his hand. The cantilever on which the statue stands is decorated with the Griffin on a shield form – the coats of arms of the House of Griffin and images of a sitting couple. It is believed to be a depiction of Duke Barnim III, the founder of the medieval church of St. Otto, and his wife Agnes.
The statue which is currently on the Bell Tower is a 20th-century, partially reconstructed copy of the original statue from mid-14th century which, due to its gradual destruction, was handed over to the museum’s collection. The copy of the statue was created in artificial stone by German sculptor Franz von Ruedorffer. The model, which served to reconstruct the Saint’s face, was an image of Otto on the tombstone from the Benedictine church in Bamberg.
The original 14th century stone figure of St. Otto is the only extant image of the Saint and the oldest monumental sculpture from the Middle Ages in West Pomerania. Currently, the statue is located in the National Museum of Szczecin.
St. Otto (c. 1060–1139) was a bishop of Bamberg. In 1124, at the invitation of Boleslaw III Wrymouth, King of Poland, he arrived in Gniezno from where he set off on a Christianisation mission to the pagan land of Pomerania. Near Stargard he was welcomed by a Pomeranian Duke Wartislaw I who gave his support to Otto’s mission. In Pyrzyce, Bishop Otto arranged the first mass Baptism of Pomeranians. His two-month long efforts to baptise the citizens of Szczecin were also successful. The pagan temple of Triglav was destroyed and silver-plated heads of the statue were sent to Rome.
Although during his first mission Otto founded eleven churches and baptised thousands of people, a significant part of the Duchy of Pomeranian remained pagan. Hence, in 1128 Otto took up the second missionary expedition which aimed at consolidating the new religion in the Duchy of Pomerania. Both during the mission and after its completion Otto wrote religious and moral instructions combined with severe bans on pagan practices. After concluding the Christianisation mission in Pomerania, Otto returned to Bamberg, where he died at the age of about 80. In 1198 on the fiftieth anniversary of his death, he was canonized. He is called the “Apostle of Pomerania”. Since 2006, St. Otto is the patron saint of Pyrzyce, where a well with a source to commemorate the first baptism on the Pomeranian soil is located
St. Otto (c. 1060–1139) was a bishop of Bamberg. In 1124, at the invitation of Boleslaw III Wrymouth, King of Poland, he arrived in Gniezno from where he set off on a Christianisation mission to the pagan land of Pomerania. Near Stargard he was welcomed by a Pomeranian Duke Wartislaw I who gave his support to Otto’s mission. In Pyrzyce, Bishop Otto arranged the first mass Baptism of Pomeranians. His two-month long efforts to baptise the citizens of Szczecin were also successful. The pagan temple of Triglav was destroyed and silver-plated heads of the statue were sent to Rome.
Although during his first mission Otto founded eleven churches and baptised thousands of people, a significant part of the Duchy of Pomeranian remained pagan. Hence, in 1128 Otto took up the second missionary expedition which aimed at consolidating the new religion in the Duchy of Pomerania. Both during the mission and after its completion Otto wrote religious and moral instructions combined with severe bans on pagan practices. After concluding the Christianisation mission in Pomerania, Otto returned to Bamberg, where he died at the age of about 80. In 1198 on the fiftieth anniversary of his death, he was canonized. He is called the “Apostle of Pomerania”. Since 2006, St. Otto is the patron saint of Pyrzyce, where a well with a source to commemorate the first baptism on the Pomeranian soil is located
