ABSTRACT
The Knights Templar operated in the Polish lands for less than 90 years and created only a few commanderies, dispersed over this area. This territory was far removed from the centres of religious and cultural life of medieval Europe. Although the Templars did not play a significant role in the religious life of the Polish lands, it is worth tracing their activity in this peripheral area of Europe as well as the fate of the houses of this order after its suppression. In fact, the history of the Templar commanderies in the Polish lands reflects the transformations of the crusade idea in a peripheral area in the period when the crusade movement was dying down.
