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Poznan is one of Poland’s great and historically significant cities. This means that many sights and activities await; museums, churches, shopping and other city activities and also special places such as the many preserved parts of the fortifications that made the former Festung Posen.
Poznan’s Old Town around the market square, Stary Rynek, is a lovely and cozy place for a walk. Here are beautifully decorated houses in line with the city’s old town hall as the central and probably most famous building. Stary Rynek itself is quite a large square with several monuments and more.
Throughout the centuries, Poznan has been a residence town on several occasions, and over time this status has influenced the city and its history. As a residential town, castles have been built, and in central Poznan you can see both the city’s royal palace and the imperial palace, which was constructed for the German emperor’s stay in Poznan.
There are many magnificent churches as well in Poznan, and the city’s cathedral on the Cathedral Island is the most important to visit. The church has lead a significant part of Poznan’s development, and close to it you can visit the cathedral museum, where fine religious art is exhibited.
Stary Rynek is the name of Poznan’s famous central square that forms the center of the city today. The square was established in 1253 as a square for buying and selling goods, and it is surpassed in size in Poland only by the market places in Krakow and Wrocław.
It was the town’s founder, Thomas Guben, who laid out the square. He had twenty hectares available for the new town, and he set aside a tenth for a square, which is the size that Stary Rynek still has. The sides of the square measured around 140 meters each, and 16 plots were divided along each side.
Over the centuries, Stary Rynek was Poznan’s economic and political heart. The town hall was located here, and the city’s trade was conducted here. This situation was interrupted for a number of years by the Second World War, when the square and its buildings were largely razed to the ground.
A major reconstruction work had to be started after the end of the war. In the restoration, it was chosen to reconstruct the houses surrounding the square mainly in baroque and classicism. However, some houses have been reconstructed in an earlier Gothic style, and thus the houses around Stary Rynek reflect the architectural development of the times.
In addition to the many buildings in the center of the square, there are a number of buildings worth seeing along the sides of Stary Rynek. With number 50, you can see a late Gothic building that bears a marking of the water level in 1736, the largest known flood in the city’s history.
At number 48 is another Gothic house. Behind this, remains of a brick merchant’s house from the 13th century have been found; this is estimated to have belonged to Thomas Guben, who founded the town.
Two other townhouses are also worth seeing. These are the mansions Pałac Działyńskich (Stary Rynek 78) on the west side of the square and Pałac Mielżyńskich (Stary Rynek 91) to the north. Pałac Działyńskich was built in baroque style 1773-1776 and stands today beautifully with a later facade in classicism; the mansion offers fine decoration in its interior. Pałac Mielżyńskich is also a reconstructed 18th-century mansion; it was originally built 1795-1798.
In addition to buildings, you can also experience a number of statues and fountains at Stary Rynek. If you start from the northeast and thus in front of the city’s town hall, you can see a fountain of the Roman goddess Proserpina. In about the same place, you can see a statue on an eight-sided pillar. It was erected in 1535 and is the so-called Pranger/Pręgierz, who was an executioner or punisher. The statue stands with a sword as a symbol of the punishment, which could include severed fingers or ears. The statue that can be seen today is a copy of the original. It was erected in 1925, and the original can be found today in a museum in the city.
If you go clockwise, there is another beautiful fountain to the southeast. It represents the god Apollo. To the south stands a statue of the Bohemian saint Jan Nepomuk, who lived in the 14th century; the statue was erected in 1724. To the south-west there is a fountain representing the god Neptune, while a corresponding one with the god Mars stands to the north-west. To the north, when you go a little in between the town hall and the weighing house, you will find the fountain Bamberka, which shows a Bamberg woman. Bambergers are Poles who descend from the area around Bamberg in German Franconia.
The Old Town Hall in Poznan is one of Poznan’s best-known landmarks. It stands in the center of the city on the old market square, Stary Rynek. The building’s history goes back to 1253, when Thomas of Guben obtained the right to and founded the current old town in Poznan. The first town hall was a one-story building that was first documented in writing in 1310.
The current town hall building is the result of a rebuilding and extension of the 13th-century town hall. The construction was completed 1550-1560 with its towers, spire and elegant loggia by Italian Giovanni di Quadro. It happened after a fire ravaged the former town hall in 1536. Throughout the 1600s and 1800s, the town hall also had to be partially rebuilt; The tower was destroyed several times by lightning and stormy weather.
On the facade of the town hall, one can see the city’s major sights; the fighting mechanical goats that emerge over the town hall clock every day at noon. The clock and goats were originally installed in 1551, but they perished in 1675. The goats returned in 1913 and have entertained the townspeople and visitors ever since.
During World War II, the town hall was destroyed, and it had to be reconstructed until 1954. Incidentally, it was here at the town hall that Heinrich Himmler gave his speeches in Poznan in 1943 during the war.
The exterior of the town hall is worth seeing with more details in the decoration. On the facade with the loggia you can see five pairs of statues, which symbolize different things. The statues are respectively Paciencia with a lamp and Prudencia with a mirror, Caritas with two children and Justicia with scales and sword, Fides with a cup and sword, and Spes with a censer and sun, Fortitudo with a broken column and Temperancia pouring water from a vase as well as Lucrecia and Cleapairi from the ancient world.
On the facade of the loggia you can also see a series of medallions showing figures from antiquity. Above the loggia are a series of figures; these are regents of the Jagiellonian dynasty, founded by Władysław II Jagiełło, who ruled in the period 1386-1572.
Inside, the old town hall is designed as Poznan’s city history museum. Thereby you can experience both the building and various parts of the city’s exciting history on a visit here.
The town hall’s cellars were originally established in the 1300s and 1300s. The ground floor was decorated in Gothic style, but the main part was over time redecorated in the Renaissance. On the upper floors there are fine decorations, which are not least impressive in the Great Hall/Salą Wielką and the King’s Hall/Sala Królewska.
The Great Hall is from the Renaissance, and here you can see fine ceilings from this period. The hall was historically used for larger and important meetings, such as between the city’s judges. The paintings in the hall show David and Goliath, Hercules and Samson with more and symbols of e.g. Poland, Lithuania, the Habsburgs and Poznan. The Royal Hall was the place where Poznan’s city council met, and it got its name from the portraits of kings that adorned the walls.
The Imperial Palace is one of Poznan’s best-known historical residences. It was built in neo-Romanesque style according to the design of the architect Franz Heinrich Schwechten in the years 1905-1910 as the city residence of the German Emperor Wilhelm II. Construction in the 1900s made this castle the last imperial residence building in Europe so far.
The purpose of the castle was partly to build a residence for the emperor in Poznan and partly to manifest the German imperial power and thus dominance over the region of Wielkopolska. The site was to consist both of the castle itself and of a planned surrounding quarter that could be a kind of German city center. The current Niepodległości and Królowej Jadwigi streets were laid out as a promenade following other European models, and there were to be parks around it. In this connection, Mickiewicz Park was established as a public city park.
Emperor Wilhelm II managed to visit Poznan three times, whereby the castle managed to be used before the German imperial power was replaced by a republic after the end of the First World War. According to a tradition, the castle’s completion was also supposed to be a sign of the imminent arrival of a Polish state, which was the case.
With Polish independence after World War I, the Imperial Palace was set up as part of the University of Poznan, and the palace was also used by the Polish presidents during visits to the city. During the Second World War, the castle was once again fitted out as a residence for Germany’s leader; this time by Albert Speer to Adolf Hitler. Among other things, Speer furnished a copy of Hitler’s office in Berlin in the former Imperial Palace, which was partially destroyed at the end of the war. After the Second World War, a reconstruction was initiated and the castle was redecorated; today as a cultural center and museum.
The castle consists of two wings; the western and the eastern. The wing to the west is the largest, and here are the residence apartments themselves, while the smaller wing to the east contains the representative rooms and halls of the complex. Most impressive was the decoration of the throne room, which was in a Byzantine-inspired style. Large windows provided light from three sides, and statues of eight German-Roman emperors were placed here. After being fitted out as a cultural centre, the throne room became a cinema.
Towards the street ul. Św. In Marcin, you can also visit the Museum of the 1956 Uprising/Muzeum Powstania Poznańskiego – Czerwiec 1956. It is a museum that depicts the events that took place based on worker dissatisfaction at the Cegielski locomotive factory in 1956. It led to an uprising and fights between workers and the police, where 67 people lost their lives.
This impressive church is a parish church, which at the same time stands as one of Poland’s most beautiful sacral buildings from the Baroque period. It was mainly built 1651-1701 with completion in the middle of the 18th century. Many of the contemporary well-known architects worked on the church.
Inside the elegantly decorated building you will find a three-aisled church room with a transept and galleries. Colossal artificial marble columns and arches stand between the individual naves. The whole church is worth seeing, but you should pay particular attention to the chapels, the altars and the generally fine painting; e.g. in church attics. The outer facade is also worth seeing with its baroque style and double towers.
The church is also known by several different names. Bazylika kolegiacka Matki Boskiej Nieustającej Pomocy i św. Marii Magdaleny w Poznaniu is the official name, while Poznan Kolegiata/Kolegiata Poznańska and Poznan Fara/Fara Poznańska are the commonly used names for the place.
Cathedral Island is an island located between two branches of the Warta River immediately east of Poznan’s Old Town. Today, the island is part of the New City/Nowe Miasto, which in its own way is a misnomer, as the Cathedral Island is the oldest part of Poznan.
The first known settlement on the island of Warta was established in the 7th or 8th century. In the 9th century, the island became an important political center for the early Polish state, and it was here that the church had the city’s cathedral built as the country’s religious center.
In the 13th century, the dukes of Poznan established a residence castle on the west bank of the Warta, and this was the starting point for Ostrów Tumski to be dominated by the church, which continued to have its seat here. In the 14th century, the small town of Zagórze developed on the island, and it obtained its own market town rights.
The early buildings on the island were continuously supplemented over the centuries with new constructions and facilities. This happened not least under Bishop Jan Lubrański, who was in office from 1498 to 1520, and during the 19th century under Prussian rule. Poznan had come under Prussia in 1793, and the island officially became part of Poznan in 1800; and during the following century, Poznan was developed as a fortress city, which was also the case for Ostrów Tumski. Militarily, Poznan was fought during World War II, with Soviet troops liberating the city from German occupation in February 1945.
Today, Domkirkeøen is an exciting place for a walk in the city. You can see quite a few interesting buildings with Poznan Cathedral as the most important attraction. In addition to it, there are other religious buildings such as churches and monasteries, residences, administration and educational facilities on the island. There are also quiet residential streets with a cozy atmosphere here just a few minutes’ walk from the center of Poznan.
Poznan Cathedral is one of the city’s best-known buildings, and it stands as Poland’s oldest cathedral and one of the oldest church buildings in the country. This makes it a large building with a significant religious and cultural value that you can experience.
The history of the cathedral started with its foundation in the second half of the 900s. At that time, the establishment took place within the fortress walls that surrounded the city, which was located on the present day Ostrów Tumski.
Poland is considered Christianized in the year 966, when King Mieszko I was baptized, and this baptism is believed to have taken place in Poznan. Two years later, Bishop Jordan came to Poznan, which thereby gained the status of a bishop’s seat with a cathedral.
The cathedral was dedicated to Saint Peter, which came from St. Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican. This dedication was possible as a symbol that it was the first cathedral in the country. This first one was built in pre-Romanesque style with a length of 48 meters. There are building remains of it in the crypt of the current church. The first cathedral stood until the 1030s, when it was destroyed during Bretislav I’s Bohemian ravages in the area. After this it was rebuilt; this time in the Romanesque style of the time.
The Romanesque church stood until the 1300s and 1400s, when a major remodeling and extension took place. The architectural style now became Gothic, and the church was expanded with a number of chapels around the church space. In both the 17th and 18th centuries, the cathedral was destroyed to such an extent that it had to be reconstructed and redecorated, which happened first in Baroque and then Classicism. In 1821, Pope Pius VII elevated the cathedral’s ecclesiastical status, and on that occasion it was also dedicated to Saint Paul.
The most recent destruction occurred during World War II, when fighting in 1945 set the church on fire. After the end of the war, it was decided to reconstruct the church in Gothic style, and it was reopened in 1956.
In addition to being a beautiful and impressive church building with fine chapels and a high-ceilinged and vaulted interior, there are a number of tombs in the cathedral. Among others Mieszko I, Boleslav I, Mieszko II and Kasimir I are buried here. Mieszko, as the earliest regent, was laid to rest here, and this happened in 992.
This church was built from 1768 after the authorities gave permission for Protestants to build brick churches. Due to financial difficulties, the completion of the interior of the church dragged on, and it was not completed until the beginning of the 1800s. In 1945, the church passed to the Catholic Church.
The church has been the subject of unrest on several occasions. It happened, for example, in 1918 during the Polish uprising. The church tower here acted as a German machine-gun emplacement, but the position was overpowered without loss to the Polish resistance fighters.
The Main Guard is an elegant building in Poznan’s Old Market Square. It was built in 1785-1787 with the financial support of Governor Kazimierz Raczyński. Its function was to house the city guard, and later the building became the seat of Poznan’s police.
The main guard is adorned by a colonnade, which is the dominant architectural feature. Above it you can see a sculpture with Poland’s coat of arms in the middle. On each side is a horn blower and a coat of arms; they originate from the Nałęcz Raczyński family and the city of Poznan, respectively.
Today, the building is set up as a museum for the region of Wielkopolska’s rebellion, the Polish Uprising, in the years 1918-1919 against German rule. The goal of the uprising was to ensure that the Prussian province of Posen, which was old Polish territory with a majority of Poles, should become part of the new and independent Poland, which, including Wielkopolska, became a reality at the Treaty of Versailles in 1919.
Poznan is one of Poland’s former royal residence cities, and thus you can see a royal castle in the city. It was Duke Przemysł I who in 1249 began the construction of what over the years became the Royal Palace of Poznan. He built on the castle mound, and the first construction was a habitable castle tower with fortifications around it; later in the 13th century, an actual ducal residence was built into the complex, which was also built together with the city walls.
Przemysł I’s son became regent with the name Przemysł II, and he expanded the castle and was also proclaimed king in 1295. The castle was not yet completed at this time, and although Przemysł II was murdered in 1296, his successor completed the construction in the years until 1330s.
Upon completion, the castle in Poznan was the largest of its kind in the Kingdom of Poland. It consisted of Przemysł I’s castle tower and a castle measuring 63×17.5 meters in ground plan. In the castle, there was a prison and wine cellars underground, while the other floors were both for living and for representative purposes. There were a total of four floors, and the top floor was arranged as a large hall with room for 2,000 people.
For a few centuries, the castle functioned as one of Poland’s major meeting places, and there were, among other things, many state visits and weddings here. This time lasted until 1536, when Poznan was hit by a great fire that also destroyed the castle; however, it was rebuilt in the Renaissance period by the governor Andrzej II Górka.
However, the castle was again destroyed several times in the following centuries. It happened during a Swedish invasion, during battles with Russia, by the Germans building a new administration building on the site and finally by battles in February 1945, which reduced the castle to rubble. In the years 1959-1964, parts of the castle were rebuilt, and the rest of the reconstruction was initiated in 2010 with completion in 2013. Today, you can see the castle in its splendor and appearance from before the many destructions; among the complex’s parts is the large castle tower.
The Poznan National Museum is mainly an art museum belonging to the Polish National Museum, and it is one of the largest museums of its kind in Poland. The museum is famous for its fine art collection by Polish and foreign artists, and in addition there are other effects such as the institution’s numismatic collection.
The museum was founded in 1857 as a museum of Polish and Slavic antiquities. In 1904, the museum’s new main building, which today forms the southern part of the museum complex, was built, and later it was expanded to the north in modern architecture. There are also departments with contemporary art and applied art.
The works in the exhibition are themed, and there are several exciting things to look at. You can see effects from antiquity, from the Middle Ages and from several more recent periods. You can experience a fine collection of Polish art and the works of many well-known international artists; these include productions by Jan Matejko, Claude Monet, Diego Velázquez, Angelo Bronzino and Jacob Ruysdael.
This church belongs among Poznan’s absolutely must-sees. It was built by Franciscans who, as an order, had come to the city in the first half of the 17th century. They initially built a wooden church in 1646 on the site where the Poznan All Saints Church/Kościół Wszystkich Świętych stands today; it is at the address Grobla 1.
In 1668, the friars were allowed to settle within the city walls of Poznan, and the construction of the current Franciscan church was started in 1674. During the construction, the church was heavily damaged during the siege of the city, which took place in 1704. However, the construction continued, and the church stood completed in 1757, while the adjoining monastery was completed at the end of the 18th century.
The monastery closed in 1832, and on that occasion the Prussian authorities gave places to the German Catholic congregation. Two of the monastery’s wings were demolished in the years around 1900, and the church itself suffered some damage during the Second World War battles. The Franciscans had by this time returned to the church, which they had taken over again in 1921.
Porta Posnania is an interactive experience and depiction of the history of Cathedral Island in Poznan. The history goes back over 1,000 years and has left its mark on Poznan’s development. Geographically, Porta Posnania is located on the Warta and Cybina rivers, making the site one of the oldest places to be settled and developed.
Porta Posnania is the story of an essential part of Poznan, and it is not a museum. It is a distinguished view of the site’s effects, which are constituted by Cathedral Island itself and the buildings on it; not least the city’s beautiful cathedral.
Stary Browar is a cultural and shopping center that opened in 2003 in a former brewery building. There was the Hugger brewery, which was located here from 1844, when the brewmaster Ambrosius Hugger from Württemberg established the place.
The current brewery buildings were built in their original appearance in 1876, and they were used as a brewery until 1980. The framework of the current center has been elegantly maintained during the remodeling in 2003.
The Polish Theater is a cultural institution that was established after many years of efforts in the region of Wielkopolska during Prussian rule in the 1800s.
The theater was built 1873-1875 according to the design of the architect Stanisław Hebanowski. The plot of land was donated by Count Potocki, and before the theater was built it was part of the count’s garden.
The inauguration of the theater took place on September 25, 1875. It was an important event, because the theater played an important role in preserving and manifesting Polish culture in the area. The theater’s repertoire made it very popular, and it seemed like a kind of people’s theater.
The building survived the destruction of the Second World War, and it reopened in 1945 as a stage. The venue continues to be home to an ongoing program of theater performances.
Collegium Maius is one of the grand edifices the Prussians erected in the neighborhood around the Imperial Palace, and with that location the houses had to have large and magnificent lines; thus also the Collegium Maius.
The building was constructed in neo-baroque style in the years 1908-1910 as the seat of the German colonization commission, which was founded in 1886 on the initiative of Otto von Bismarck. The commission’s job was to buy land from Poles and transfer it to German settlers.
With the liberation of Greater Poland after World War I, the area was once again Polish, and a medical college was established in the large commission building. The site remains part of the University of Poznan and has been since the 1920s; however, with the exception of a few years during the German occupation during World War II, when the presidium of the police had its seat here.
The Germans also built the building with statues on the facade. They depicted, among other things, a Cistercian monk, a knight from the Teutonic Order and farmers from Westphalia and Swabia. The figures were a symbol of German civilization to the east.
This is a museum of religious art and religious objects. The museum was founded in the 1890s, and its collections consist of art from several stylistic periods and locations. Among other things, there are a number of sculptures and paintings from the Gothic period of the 1300s and 1500s and a collection of recent paintings by Polish and international artists. Other effects are silverware, clothing and porcelain.
The museum’s most valuable object is Saint Peter’s sword. The sword reportedly came to Poznan in the year 968, and according to tradition, it was this sword that the disciple Peter used during Jesus’ arrest in the Garden of Gethsemane.
The museum is housed in the building that formerly housed the Lubrański Academy/Akademia Lubrańskiego. The Academy was founded in 1518 by Bishop Jan Lubrański, who wanted a place of higher education in Poznan. The academy was not to be considered a university, but was made up of several university faculties. The current building is the result of renovations in the 1600s and 1800s.
Jezioro Maltańskie is a large artificial lake that, together with the surrounding park, forms a large recreational area in the south-east of Poznan. The lake is a good few kilometers long and has a maximum depth of five metres.
Around the lake there are a number of activity options that you can try. You can walk around to the various entertainment options on both sides of the lake or simply enjoy nature; for example, there are actual forest areas.
A popular activity is the narrow gauge miniature railway Maltanka, Kolejka Parkowa Maltanka. The track measures 3,850 meters in length and first ran in 1956 as one of the children’s railways that were built in many places in Eastern Europe at the time. Both steam trains and diesel-drawn trains are run.
You can also take a dip in hot water in the Termy Maltańskie thermal baths (ul. Termalna 1), visit the city’s new zoo, Nowe Zoo w Poznaniu (ul. Krańcowa 81), and do many other things in the green surroundings.
Rogalin is the name of a small village south of Poznan, and it is famous for its beautiful castle of the same name. Rogalin Castle is a beautiful building in the 18th century Polish Baroque. It was listed as one of the residences of the Raczyński family.
Today, an art museum has been set up in the castle, and here you can experience a number of fine works by Polish and international artists; e.g. Joan of Arc by Polish Jan Matejko and works by French Claude Monet. Around the castle there is a lovely landscaped park, which, among other things, offers large old oak trees; Dęby Rogalińskie.
The so-called Poznan Fortress is an impressive defensive structure consisting of 18 forts and other fortress parts, located in a ring around the city of Poznan; there are also central facilities such as the citadel in the middle of the great ring. The work was established during the Prussian era as Festung Posen, and it made Poznan one of Europe’s most strongly fortified cities.
The history of the fortress started in the years after 1815, when the Congress of Vienna had resulted in Poznan and Greater Poland being part of Prussia. General Karl Wilhelm Georg von Grolman presented the idea of fortifying Poznan partly against possible Polish uprisings and partly against an invasion from, for example, Russia, which could continue to the west and to Berlin after Poznan. The result was that the fortress expert Johann Leopold von Brese-Winiary was put in charge of the construction of Festung Posen.
In the center of the entire fortress, Fort Winiary was built as a citadel, and at some distance around the city and the citadel, a number of forts were built. Fort 1 was called Röder, Fort 2 Stülpnage, Fort 3 Gröber, Fort 3A Prittwitz, Fort 4 Hake, Fort 5 Waldersee I, Fort 6 Tietzen, Fort 7 Colomb, Fort 8 Grolman, Fort 9 Brünneck and Fort 9A Witzleben.
In the Battle of Poznan, which took place at the beginning of 1945 between Germany and Russia, many of Poznan’s forts were fought hard, and Festung Posen came into active combat. Part of the facilities were destroyed, but you can still experience a good part of the exciting 19th-century work on a tour around Poznan.
In the village of Kórnik you can visit the castle Zamek w Kórniku, whose history dates back to the 14th century. In recent times, the castle was rebuilt in neo-Gothic style. The architect Karl Friedrich Schinkel was responsible for this on behalf of Tytus Działyński.
The castle’s last owner, Count Władysław Zamoyski, was childless, and shortly before his death in 1924, he bequeathed the castle with its arboretum, library and art collection to the Polish state, and today the castle has the status of a national monument in Poland.
Kórnik Arboretum/Arboretum w Kórniku is one of Europe’s largest arboretums. The site was established in the first half of the 19th century and is famous for its rich collection of azaleas, magnolias and thousands of other trees, shrubs and plants.
Kórnik Library/Biblioteka Kórnicka is one of Poland’s well-known libraries. It was founded by Tytus Działyński in 1828 and contains several thousand old books and manuscripts. Since 1953, the site has been part of the National Library of Poland.
The place Biskupin Archaeological Area is like an open-air archaeological museum, where you can experience a reconstructed fortification from the Polish area of the Iron Age.
Overall, the building and the area’s archaeological finds give a distinguished understanding of past cultures. Concretely, the finds at the site originate from the Lausitz culture, which existed in the Late Bronze Age and Early Iron Age in the area that today forms Poland, including parts of the neighboring countries.
The site was discovered in 1933, and excavations began the following year, and the area gained great importance for the national Polish cultural understanding of the early development in the area. During World War II, the Germans continued the excavations under the SS’ Ahnenerbe program and renamed the site Urstädt. When the Germans left the site, they flooded it, which preserved the old timber so that the Polish excavation could be resumed after the end of the war.
On the site today you can experience the reconstructed fortress and also an archaeological museum, which shows effects and depicts the finds and the culture that lay behind them.
Gniezno is a city of significant importance for Poland and the Polish people, as it was here that the Piast dynasty formed the first independent Poland, which they ruled from 935 to 1370. Thus, Gniezno was Poland’s first capital, and thus it is naturally historic important, although many other cities had taken over the political and economic control of the country since then.
Culturally, Gniezno continues to be of great importance, as the Primate of the Polish Catholic Church has his seat here. The city is thus the ecclesiastical capital of Poland.
Historically, it was in Gniezno that Duke Bolesław I met with the Holy Roman Emperor Otto III. It happened at the Congress of Gniezno on March 11, 1000. At that time, coronations of the Polish regents also took place in the city; it happened in Gniezno’s cathedral from the 9th century.
Today, Gniezno is a pleasant and worth-seeing town, where the cathedral with the official name Bazylika Archikatedralna Wniebowwięcia Najświętszej Marii Panny i św. Wojciecha (Wzgórze Lecha) is the most famous sight.
The cathedral, in its Romanesque architecture, was completed in 1064. However, there had already been a temple here from the 8th century, and it had achieved an increasingly high status in the church, not least with the coronations and the burial of Saint Adalbert in the church in the year 999. Archbishop’s seat in Gniezno was formed and the cathedral stood directly under the Pope.
In 1175, the well-known bronze doors, which can still be seen, were inserted into the church. The doors are decorated with reliefs with scenes from the life and deeds of Saint Adalbert. In 1331, knights from the Teutonic Order destroyed the church, which was subsequently rebuilt in Gothic style. Later alterations were also made; in the years 1641-1652, the interior was partially changed, and after a collapse of the church’s towers in 1760, they were rebuilt in the version that can be seen today.
Inside the beautiful church building you can experience a mainly Gothic church room with a vaulted roof. There are several chapels worth seeing here, and you can also see the church’s reliquary with Saint Adalbert.
ul. Dębiecka 1, Luboń
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ul. Maltańska 1
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ul. Św. Marcin 24
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ul. Bukowska 156
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ul. Stanisława Matyi 2
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ul. Drużbickiego 2
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ul. Półwiejska 42
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Around Stary Rynek, ul. Półwiejska, Święty Marcin
Kolejka Parkowa Maltanka
ul. Komandoria
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Termy Maltańskie
ul. Termalna 1
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Nowe Zoo w Poznaniu
ul. Krańcowa 81
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Stare Zoo
ul. Zwierzyniecka 19
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Rogalowe Muzeum Poznania
Stary Rynek 41/2
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Jezioro Maltańskie, ul. Komandoria
Poznan’s history started on the Cathedral Island / Ostrów Tumski, located centrally between the rivers Warta and Cybina. The settlement was an entrenchment of the strategically located location, and for centuries it constituted the cultural and political center of Poland, then constituted by the geographical area of the Polan tribe.
The establishment of the Polish state is believed to have taken place in the year 966, when Mieszko I, as leader of the Polan tribe, was baptized and thereby Christianized the country. Baptism is believed to have taken place in precisely Poznan.
With the baptism of Mieszko Ice, the construction of a cathedral was started in Poznan. It was Poland’s first, which highlights Poznan’s role in and significance for the country’s history. It was also for this that Bishop Jordan was sent as the first missionary in the form of just a bishop.
Poznan was not Polish capital. As such, there was not formally a capital in the country, but practically Gniezno east of Poznan acted as such. With a congress in Gniezno in the year 1000, this city was chosen as the region’s archbishopric rather than Poznan, which still had its own bishops.
The Poznan Cathedral also retained its importance, which was emphasized by the fact that the first Polish regents were buried here; Mieszko I, Boleslav I, Mieszko II and Kasimir I. Later, the dukes of Przemysł I and Przemysł II were also buried in the cathedral.
The Polish kingdom was not many decades old until internal tensions arose. It happened between Gentiles and Christians, and their struggles made the kingdom weaker. This weakness took advantage of the Bohemian Duke of Bretislav in 1038 in the form of a voyage against Poznan and Gniezno, both of which were attacked, looted and destroyed.
The following year, Kasimir I came to the throne and he started the rebuilding of the country. With Poznan and Gniezno as destroyed cities, Kasimir I moved the capital and the residence to Krakow, which was relatively untouched and therefore well-functioning in relation to, for example, Poznan. As a result, Poznan’s importance to the country had been reduced.
With the death of King Bolesław III in 1138, Poland was divided into a series of duchies, where the sons of the deceased king were inducted as rulers. For Poznan, Mieszko III became the country’s leader.
This period of division of the former kingdom lasted until 1320, and during this period there were partly changing regents and changing division of the duchies; for example, Poznan and Gniezno sometimes belonged under the same rule, and sometimes they were divided.
In 1249, Duke Przemysł began the construction of what became the Royal Palace of Poznan over the years. Four years later, Thomas Guben obtained permission to establish a new city between the castle and the river Warta. The town was given the township rights with Magdeburg as a model, and Thomas of Guben invited many German settlers to it. His city became what is today the old town of Poznan, and around it a city wall was established.
Under Duke Przemysł II, crowned king in 1295, Poznan became the center of a kingdom. This was because Przemysł II was crowned king of Poland, with which his duchy residence became royal residence. However, this status lasted only briefly, with the new king being murdered the year after he had ascended the throne.
In 1314, Poznan became subject to Władysław I, and he came to make a difference for Poland. In 1320 he was crowned king of a reunited country, and the period of Polish and Polish-Lithuanian unity, respectively, came to 1793.
Under the new Poland, Poznan became the regional administrative seat, and due to its strategic location on the trade routes from, among others, Lithuania to Western Europe, it flourished. Furthermore, King Władysław Jagiełło granted Poznan some trading rights, which also strengthened the positive development.
The 1300-1400s continued to be a time when the entire urban area, which today constitutes Poznan, was divided into several separate cities, each with their own trade and rights. Ostrów Tumski and the area on the right bank of the Warta belonged to the bishop, and they obtained market town rights in 1335. Most of the left bank constituted Poznan; examples of other allocations of trade rights were Śródkas in 1425 and Chwaliszewos in 1444.
Over the centuries, Poznan developed positively, but there were also major setbacks and accidents that hit the city along the way. Thus, in the 1300-1500s, Poznan was hit and ravaged by six major fires, and regular floods and epidemics also occurred.
On the positive side, growth in the important trade, which not least made Poznan the marketplace for leather and furs from Russia and Lithuania, spoke. The population also grew, and in 1519 the Lubrański Academy was founded. From the beginning, the Academy was one of the leading educational institutions in Poland.
The city is believed to have had around 20,000 inhabitants in the mid-1500s. Of them, there were up to 2,400 Germans who, unlike many Poles, were Protestants. In the latter half of the century, a reformation was underway, but the majority of the Roman Catholic dominated, and the Catholic Church’s counter-reformation was expressed through a new Jesuit college in the city in 1571.
From the latter half of the 1600s, the Polish state and also Poznan were increasingly threatened and also invaded. The Swedish army occupied Poznan in 1655 and burned parts of the city’s suburbs as they retreated. In 1656, the armies of Brandenburg took over, but they too gave up; after a month-long siege in 1657, they surrendered, but left a ruined city.
Poznan’s hardship was not over with the 18th century. From 1703 to 1709 Swedish armies again occupied the city, and Poznan became a Provence force in Sweden’s military and political campaigns in the Polish. In 1709, Saxon troops arrived, and later Russian forces came to the area: the Russians did not, however, invade Poznan, but remained outside the city walls.
In 1711 a large part of the city burned down, and with the many sieges and occupations it was quite a ruined city going into the 1720s. By 1728, about 30% of the town’s houses were thus dilapidated, and a great flood in 1736 left many of the suburbs deserted. All of these episodes prompted the city government to invite Frankish settlers from Bamberg to Poznan to settle and rebuild the city’s suburbs and uplands.
From 1758 to 1775 Poznan was almost constantly occupied or involved in contemporary wars. This was not least due to the city’s strategically important location, and it was, among other things, Russian and Prussian forces that occupied the city.
In 1793, the so-called second Polish division happened, and it hit Poznan geographically hard. The new Poland was significantly reduced in size, and western Poland including Poznan was subject to Prussia. Just two years later, the disaster for Poland became complete as the country ceased to exist. Instead, the Polish territory was divided between Prussia, Russia and Austria.
In 1793, Poznan became subject to Prussia. The following year, it was estimated that around 15,000 people lived in the urban area, 70% of whom were Poles, 20% were Jews and 10% were Germans. In the early years of the Prussian era, Poznan had the status of Prussian provincial capital.
The first Prussian years were a time of extensive construction. Suburbs became part of the city, and the ancient walls and fortifications of the Middle Ages were demolished to make way for urban development. New streets and squares were laid out, such as Königsplatz and Wilhelmsplatz, which can still be seen in Poznan’s street scene.
The first Prussian era ended in connection with the Napoleonic wars at the beginning of the 19th century. Napoleon’s successful campaign against Prussia enabled Polish generals Jan Henryk Dąbrowski and Józef Wybicki to establish an army of French aid and then occupy Poznan and the Prussian province around the city. The generals were able to occupy Poznan on November 3, 1806, and the city became important in the continuing military Polish struggle. Napoleon himself came to the city and stayed in the Jesuit College from November 27 to December 12 of the same year.
Between 1807 and 1815, Poznan became the subdivision of the Duchy of Warsaw as a regional administrative seat. However, from February 12, 1813 to 1815, Russian forces had occupied the city following Napoleon’s retreat and defeat in Russia.
After the Napoleonic Wars, a conference was held on parts of Europe’s future. For Poznan, the Vienna Congress meant that the city was once again subject to Prussia; this time nominally as the Grand Duchy of Posen.
Poznan became the German Posen, and in the city the royal governor had a seat as a representative of Prussia. The period led to a Germanization, although there was some autonomy and respect for Polish history and culture in the city.
It was during this time that the last parts of the old walls and gates were torn down and replaced by the Poznan / Festung Posen fortress, which was built from 1828 as a citadel and a ring of forts around the city center; these forts came into being in the latter half of the century.
The 19th century was generally a century of great development in economy, industry, culture and education. Both Polish and German initiatives saw the light of day; Among other things, the Polish Raczyński Library and a training grant for poor Poles were established.
The 19th century was also the century when railways were built in great style in Europe, and in the 1830s the first plans for a railroad from Poznan to Frankfurt an der Oder with further connection to Berlin were made. The first runway from the city was opened in 1848, and it linked the city north to Stargard. Other installations were also completed; the first gas lamps in Poznan were lit in 1858, and the first modern water supply was inaugurated in 1866.
In the late 1840s, Polish uprisings against Prussian rule came. Both in 1846 and in 1848 they were demolished and the German rule continued. In 1871 Poznan and the region became part of the German Empire.
Horse-drawn trams roamed the streets of Poznan from the year 1880; it was drawn on a line from the city’s central square to the railway station. The first electric cars ran from 1898, while taxis began operating in 1904.
The decades around 1900 also provided space for new large-scale buildings. In the German empire, the emperor was naturally head of state, and in Poznan an imperial palace was planned and built as a residence. In the new city plan around the palace, a number of large buildings were built to match the major lines of the imperial palace, turning it into a brand new imperial district close to Poznan’s old shopping center.
The buildings were not used long before the German era, before World War I broke out and ravaged Europe from 1914 to 1918. After the end of the war and Germany’s defeat, a new Polish independence was on the drawing board, but it was uncertain whether Poznan and the Greater Poland should be part of the new country.
The politician and spokesman for Polish independence, Ignacy Paderewski, spoke in Poznan on December 27, 1918, leading to the Polish uprising of 1918-1919. The uprising ended with Poznan becoming part of the Second Polish Republic.
With the reality of independent Poland, Poznan’s Polish status was a factor that brought about new development in the city. Polish institutions were established, and administratively the city was expanded to accommodate more suburbs.
The Polish Republic was developing, but international politics and economic conditions were contagious. Political developments in Germany were of particular importance, with the country attacking Poland in 1939 as the start of World War II.
Poznan was incorporated in Germany and Poznan was part of the German Reichsgau Posen administrative area, which was later changed to Reichsgau Wartheland. The area manager had the title of gauleiter, and the post contested Arthur Geiser from January 1940 to January 1945.
World War II was tough for Poznan and its people. About 100,000 residents were relocated to the General Government to the east, and others died or were sent into forced labor.
The Soviet army eventually won the war, and in January 1945, the forces moved west into Poland and approached Poznan. The city was declared the fortress Festung Posen and it was to be defended to the last man. However, an evacuation of the city’s civilian population began on January 20, and five days later the Red Army reached the city. In February, Poznan was bombed and on February 18 the Soviet land attack started. Five days later, the city’s German garrison surrendered.
The battles of the war in and around Poznan had shattered more than half of the city, and up to 90% had been destroyed for the old town. The German population had fled or had to leave Poznan after the war, and by 1946 the city’s 268,000 large population was largely Polish.
Poland was in the Soviet zone of interest after World War II, thereby becoming part of the Eastern Bloc in the decades after 1945. A colossal reconstruction work was initiated and Poznan rose from the ruins.
In 1956, unrest arose in Poznan. It happened among the workers at the locomotive factory Cegielski, which was one of the country’s largest factories. The workers objected to certain working and living conditions, and it came to fighting between workers and the police. 67 people perished in the days of the fighting, and June 1956 became an early symbol of the resistance in Poland to the communist regime.
From the 1960s, thousands of new apartments were built in new suburbs, and the city’s infrastructure was strengthened with new roads and a redirection of the river Wartas running through the city. It gave way to new urban development.
After the fall of communism, a continued and increased development from the 1990s occurred. New modern trams began to run, and highways were constructed by the city if the townspeople underwent a new restoration. It benefited the growing number of visitors who came to Poznan’s large exhibition halls. Major events have also been conducted in the city; eg the UN Climate Conference in 2008 and matches during the European Football Championship in 2012.
Poznan, Poland
Overview of Poznan
Poznan is one of Poland’s great and historically significant cities. This means that many sights and activities await; museums, churches, shopping and other city activities and also special places such as the many preserved parts of the fortifications that made the former Festung Posen.
Poznan’s Old Town around the market square, Stary Rynek, is a lovely and cozy place for a walk. Here are beautifully decorated houses in line with the city’s old town hall as the central and probably most famous building. Stary Rynek itself is quite a large square with several monuments and more.
Throughout the centuries, Poznan has been a residence town on several occasions, and over time this status has influenced the city and its history. As a residential town, castles have been built, and in central Poznan you can see both the city’s royal palace and the imperial palace, which was constructed for the German emperor’s stay in Poznan.
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This church was built from 1768 after the authorities gave permission for Protestants to build brick churches. Due to financial difficulties, the completion of the interior of the church dragged on, and it was not completed until the beginning of the 1800s. In 1945, the church passed to the Catholic Church.
The church has been the subject of unrest on several occasions. It happened, for example, in 1918 during the Polish uprising. The church tower here acted as a German machine-gun emplacement, but the position was overpowered without loss to the Polish resistance fighters.
The Main Guard is an elegant building in Poznan’s Old Market Square. It was built in 1785-1787 with the financial support of Governor Kazimierz Raczyński. Its function was to house the city guard, and later the building became the seat of Poznan’s police.
The main guard is adorned by a colonnade, which is the dominant architectural feature. Above it you can see a sculpture with Poland’s coat of arms in the middle. On each side is a horn blower and a coat of arms; they originate from the Nałęcz Raczyński family and the city of Poznan, respectively.
Today, the building is set up as a museum for the region of Wielkopolska’s rebellion, the Polish Uprising, in the years 1918-1919 against German rule. The goal of the uprising was to ensure that the Prussian province of Posen, which was old Polish territory with a majority of Poles, should become part of the new and independent Poland, which, including Wielkopolska, became a reality at the Treaty of Versailles in 1919.
Poznan is one of Poland’s former royal residence cities, and thus you can see a royal castle in the city. It was Duke Przemysł I who in 1249 began the construction of what over the years became the Royal Palace of Poznan. He built on the castle mound, and the first construction was a habitable castle tower with fortifications around it; later in the 13th century, an actual ducal residence was built into the complex, which was also built together with the city walls.
Przemysł I’s son became regent with the name Przemysł II, and he expanded the castle and was also proclaimed king in 1295. The castle was not yet completed at this time, and although Przemysł II was murdered in 1296, his successor completed the construction in the years until 1330s.
Upon completion, the castle in Poznan was the largest of its kind in the Kingdom of Poland. It consisted of Przemysł I’s castle tower and a castle measuring 63×17.5 meters in ground plan. In the castle, there was a prison and wine cellars underground, while the other floors were both for living and for representative purposes. There were a total of four floors, and the top floor was arranged as a large hall with room for 2,000 people.
For a few centuries, the castle functioned as one of Poland’s major meeting places, and there were, among other things, many state visits and weddings here. This time lasted until 1536, when Poznan was hit by a great fire that also destroyed the castle; however, it was rebuilt in the Renaissance period by the governor Andrzej II Górka.
However, the castle was again destroyed several times in the following centuries. It happened during a Swedish invasion, during battles with Russia, by the Germans building a new administration building on the site and finally by battles in February 1945, which reduced the castle to rubble. In the years 1959-1964, parts of the castle were rebuilt, and the rest of the reconstruction was initiated in 2010 with completion in 2013. Today, you can see the castle in its splendor and appearance from before the many destructions; among the complex’s parts is the large castle tower.
The Poznan National Museum is mainly an art museum belonging to the Polish National Museum, and it is one of the largest museums of its kind in Poland. The museum is famous for its fine art collection by Polish and foreign artists, and in addition there are other effects such as the institution’s numismatic collection.
The museum was founded in 1857 as a museum of Polish and Slavic antiquities. In 1904, the museum’s new main building, which today forms the southern part of the museum complex, was built, and later it was expanded to the north in modern architecture. There are also departments with contemporary art and applied art.
The works in the exhibition are themed, and there are several exciting things to look at. You can see effects from antiquity, from the Middle Ages and from several more recent periods. You can experience a fine collection of Polish art and the works of many well-known international artists; these include productions by Jan Matejko, Claude Monet, Diego Velázquez, Angelo Bronzino and Jacob Ruysdael.
This church belongs among Poznan’s absolutely must-sees. It was built by Franciscans who, as an order, had come to the city in the first half of the 17th century. They initially built a wooden church in 1646 on the site where the Poznan All Saints Church/Kościół Wszystkich Świętych stands today; it is at the address Grobla 1.
In 1668, the friars were allowed to settle within the city walls of Poznan, and the construction of the current Franciscan church was started in 1674. During the construction, the church was heavily damaged during the siege of the city, which took place in 1704. However, the construction continued, and the church stood completed in 1757, while the adjoining monastery was completed at the end of the 18th century.
The monastery closed in 1832, and on that occasion the Prussian authorities gave places to the German Catholic congregation. Two of the monastery’s wings were demolished in the years around 1900, and the church itself suffered some damage during the Second World War battles. The Franciscans had by this time returned to the church, which they had taken over again in 1921.
Porta Posnania is an interactive experience and depiction of the history of Cathedral Island in Poznan. The history goes back over 1,000 years and has left its mark on Poznan’s development. Geographically, Porta Posnania is located on the Warta and Cybina rivers, making the site one of the oldest places to be settled and developed.
Porta Posnania is the story of an essential part of Poznan, and it is not a museum. It is a distinguished view of the site’s effects, which are constituted by Cathedral Island itself and the buildings on it; not least the city’s beautiful cathedral.
Stary Browar is a cultural and shopping center that opened in 2003 in a former brewery building. There was the Hugger brewery, which was located here from 1844, when the brewmaster Ambrosius Hugger from Württemberg established the place.
The current brewery buildings were built in their original appearance in 1876, and they were used as a brewery until 1980. The framework of the current center has been elegantly maintained during the remodeling in 2003.
The Polish Theater is a cultural institution that was established after many years of efforts in the region of Wielkopolska during Prussian rule in the 1800s.
The theater was built 1873-1875 according to the design of the architect Stanisław Hebanowski. The plot of land was donated by Count Potocki, and before the theater was built it was part of the count’s garden.
The inauguration of the theater took place on September 25, 1875. It was an important event, because the theater played an important role in preserving and manifesting Polish culture in the area. The theater’s repertoire made it very popular, and it seemed like a kind of people’s theater.
The building survived the destruction of the Second World War, and it reopened in 1945 as a stage. The venue continues to be home to an ongoing program of theater performances.
Collegium Maius is one of the grand edifices the Prussians erected in the neighborhood around the Imperial Palace, and with that location the houses had to have large and magnificent lines; thus also the Collegium Maius.
The building was constructed in neo-baroque style in the years 1908-1910 as the seat of the German colonization commission, which was founded in 1886 on the initiative of Otto von Bismarck. The commission’s job was to buy land from Poles and transfer it to German settlers.
With the liberation of Greater Poland after World War I, the area was once again Polish, and a medical college was established in the large commission building. The site remains part of the University of Poznan and has been since the 1920s; however, with the exception of a few years during the German occupation during World War II, when the presidium of the police had its seat here.
The Germans also built the building with statues on the facade. They depicted, among other things, a Cistercian monk, a knight from the Teutonic Order and farmers from Westphalia and Swabia. The figures were a symbol of German civilization to the east.
This is a museum of religious art and religious objects. The museum was founded in the 1890s, and its collections consist of art from several stylistic periods and locations. Among other things, there are a number of sculptures and paintings from the Gothic period of the 1300s and 1500s and a collection of recent paintings by Polish and international artists. Other effects are silverware, clothing and porcelain.
The museum’s most valuable object is Saint Peter’s sword. The sword reportedly came to Poznan in the year 968, and according to tradition, it was this sword that the disciple Peter used during Jesus’ arrest in the Garden of Gethsemane.
The museum is housed in the building that formerly housed the Lubrański Academy/Akademia Lubrańskiego. The Academy was founded in 1518 by Bishop Jan Lubrański, who wanted a place of higher education in Poznan. The academy was not to be considered a university, but was made up of several university faculties. The current building is the result of renovations in the 1600s and 1800s.
Jezioro Maltańskie is a large artificial lake that, together with the surrounding park, forms a large recreational area in the south-east of Poznan. The lake is a good few kilometers long and has a maximum depth of five metres.
Around the lake there are a number of activity options that you can try. You can walk around to the various entertainment options on both sides of the lake or simply enjoy nature; for example, there are actual forest areas.
A popular activity is the narrow gauge miniature railway Maltanka, Kolejka Parkowa Maltanka. The track measures 3,850 meters in length and first ran in 1956 as one of the children’s railways that were built in many places in Eastern Europe at the time. Both steam trains and diesel-drawn trains are run.
You can also take a dip in hot water in the Termy Maltańskie thermal baths (ul. Termalna 1), visit the city’s new zoo, Nowe Zoo w Poznaniu (ul. Krańcowa 81), and do many other things in the green surroundings.
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