In recent years, the hypothesis put forward by Artur Kowalik, concerning the mythical island of Bujan, had a real influence on the development by Wojciech Chudziak and his students of an interpretative model of such sites, according to which they were to be places implementing the idea of „axis mundi". A detailed analysis of several sites, based also on data from written sources, allows us to argue for the view that at least in the 11th and 12th centuries, on some lake islands in the area of North-Western Slavdom, there were places of pagan worship with shrines. A detailed interpretation of some deposits placed in the water at the shores, an analysis of sociotopographic indicators within the islands or information provided by chroniclers, allows us to propose a model of such sanctuaries. Moreover, it can be proven that such places were a kind of anchorage for the rulers.
