# Slavic settlement reaches the Baltic (600)

URL: https://poland-history.com/timeline/600-slavic-settlement-reaches-the-baltic
Location: Pomerania and Greater Poland

By the seventh century Slavic groups occupied most of the lands between the Oder and the Vistula, including the Baltic coast. Within the broader Slavic Tribes period: Slavic tribes settled the region from the sixth century, building fortified gords and tribal territories. Legends of Lech, Krakus and Piast preserve memories of this age, which ended with the rise of the Polans around Gniezno. At this point in the timeline (c. 600), the governing authority was Slavic tribal rulers (Tribal chieftains). Early West Slavic tribes such as the Polans, Vistulans, Masovians, Silesians, Lendians and Pomeranians were led by local chiefs and elders before the Piast state united most of them. Slavic settlement reaches the Baltic mattered because movements of peoples reshaped the population, languages and cultures of the lands that became Poland. The event is placed here so readers can follow it alongside changes in government, warfare, society, religion and culture across Polish history.

## Why it matters
Slavic settlement reaches the Baltic mattered because movements of peoples reshaped the population, languages and cultures of the lands that became Poland.

Ruler at the time: [Lech](https://poland-history.com/rulers/lech)

## Sources
- [Wikipedia — Early Slavs](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Early_Slavs)
- [Encyclopaedia Britannica topic lookup — Slavic settlement reaches the Baltic](https://www.britannica.com/search?query=Slavic+settlement+reaches+the+Baltic)
- [Wikipedia — Polish tribes (period overview)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polish_tribes)