Polabian Slavs

In this episode, we explore the Polabian Slavs, the West Slavic tribes who lived along the Elbe River in what is now eastern Germany and built distinctive societies on a contested medieval frontier. We examine their fortified gords, their pagan religious world centered on deities such as Radegast and Svantevit, and the constant pressure they faced from neighboring powers including the Franks, Danes, and the Holy Roman Empire. The episode follows their long struggle against conquest and forced conversion, culminating in campaigns like the Wendish Crusade that accelerated their subjugation and assimilation through Germanization. By tracing both their disappearance and their enduring legacy in Slavic place names and the survival of the Sorbs of Lusatia, we reveal how the Polabian Slavs left a lasting mark on the cultural map of Central Europe.