Bishop's sanctuary

These are the cloisters of the cathedral of St. John the Baptist in Kamień Pomorski (Poland). Unlike most such structures in Europe, these were not used by a monastic community (Cistercian or other) but rather by local bishops and cannons as a place of rest and meditation. For this purpose there was a garden in a middle of the cloisters. The cathedral was built by the dukes of Pomerania, who were the only Slavic rulers of the Baltic to embrace Christianity from missionaries sent from Poland without being conquered by German, Danish or Polish crusaders. When armies of the second crusade approached their Pomeranian capital (Szczecin) local prince ordered crosses to be displayed on the defenses so that the crusaders would have to withdraw.