In ancient times, three brothers Lech, Czech and Rus parted, and each went his own way. Lech and his team struggled through the impenetrable wild forest, and finally he reached a clearing in the woods by the lake. In the middle of the clearing there grew an old oak. It seemed as if its branches reached the sky; it was so extensive that the whole team could rest in its shadow.

When the knights pitched their camp by the tree and the fire was lit, they heard the flapping of wings and a large, silver-feather eagle flew up. Only then did they notice a massive nest with the young eaglets inside between the tree branches. Faced with such an obvious sign, Lech decided to establish his town there. He ordered to cut the trees growing nearby and to make of them a palace, cottages for his fellow knights and a bulwark that would protect the inhabitants of the town. The settlement was named Gniezdno (from the Polish name "gniazdo" meaning "a nest") and Lech chose a white eagle as his emblem as a prince.