Anna Hartz
Medieval Sword Found in Warsaw River Stuns Experts
Rivers are full of secrets. They carry silt, stones, and sometimes objects long forgotten by history.
Occasionally, a flood or a fisherman brings one of these relics back into the light.
That is exactly what happened in Warsaw this summer, when a routine day by the water turned into an extraordinary discovery.
On July 2nd, Andrzej Korpikiewicz was fishing in the Vistula River near Tarchomin. Instead of pulling up a fish, he found something far more valuable.
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Lying in the riverbed was a medieval sword. It was preserved almost along its full length. The weapon had a spherical pommel and a cross engraved on the shaft, according to WP.
Korpikiewicz brought the find to the Warsaw Conservator of Monuments, fulfilling the legal requirement for such discoveries.
The sword was transferred to the Metal Conservation Workshop at the State Archaeological Museum.
Officials shared the news on Facebook, noting how rare it is to recover such an item from the capital’s waters.
The story quickly made headlines beyond Poland. American outlets such as Fox News, the New York Post, and People magazine covered the find.
The English-language Jerusalem Post also reported on it, as did several Russian and Ukrainian media outlets.
From Another Location?
Anna Magdalena Łań from the Warsaw Office of the Conservator of Monuments told Fox News that the sword likely dates back to the 13th or 14th century.
That is the period when Warsaw was first founded. She called the discovery in the city “truly unique.”
The weapon measures about 79 centimeters. Warsaw’s monument conservator, Michał Krasucki, said the river’s shifting currents probably carried the sword from another location.
The Vistula is known for changing its course and reshaping its bottom. The sword’s exact origins are still unknown.
According to The Jerusalem Post, the artifact will remain in controlled laboratory conditions for at least a year.
This process will allow experts to stabilize and preserve it. If all goes well, the sword could eventually go on public display.
For now, it remains in the hands of specialists. But for one fisherman, the day he pulled a piece of history from the river will be hard to forget.
