A short stretch of the pre-valley between the Vistula and lower Noteć constituted a natural border between Kuyavia and Eastern Pomerania in the Middle Ages. For several centuries this border was a zone of contact between culturally and politically distinct areas. Its importance was underscored by the fortified settlements erected along this line, which guarded its stability and played a key role during periods of Polish-Pomeranian fighting. Some of them (sites in Bydgoszcz or nearby Pawlówek) should be attributed to the initiative of the Piasts. Others - such as Wyszogród, located at the mouth of the Brda River to the Vistula, can be attributed to the Pomeranian side.
The aim of the research undertaken is to present the genesis of the strongholds located between the Vistula and Noteć rivers and the role they played in the formation of political, economic and cultural relations in the Pomeranian-Kujawy border zone in the younger phases of the early Middle Ages. The discussion will use
