Poznan

Study in Cracow

Poznan roughly translates as "one who is recognised" and if the seemingly endless trade fairs in the city are anything to go by it certainly is. The fairs provide a huge source of civic pride (and money) and though of no real interest to the average visitor, the city – Poland's fifth largest and once a royal seat – has more than enough to offer elsewhere.

Poznan started life as a ninth-century wooden fort on a Warta river island before a growing population forced its migration to the mainland. Under Prussian/German rule from 1793, it returned to Poland in 1919 and the city sparked an intense regional uprising, a spirit revived as the city also witnessed the first mass protest in the Soviet bloc. With so much unrest Poznan has over the years undergone all manner of refits, from aesthetic facelifts to complete rebuilds; not unattractive scars of its history.

HISTORY

Founded by the Slavic Polanians on Ostrów Tumski island in the Warta river, Poznan was a royal seat until 1039 when constant attack by the Holy Roman Empire took its toll. Yet while they moved to Krakow, the monarchs continued to be buried in Poznan for another 250 years (the crypt is in the cathedral). Located midway between Berlin and Warsaw, many were coming to live there, however, and a growing population eventually exceeding the island's capacity. In 1253 the town centre was moved to the left bank of the Warta.

Natural disasters coupled with Swedish, Prussian and Russian invasions led, in 1793, to its annexation by Prussia and Poznan became Posen. The city remained under Prussian and then German rule until 1918 when, following World War One, the Wielkopolska Uprising broke out. The insurrection escalated into civil war though it had ended by the time the Treaty of Versailles awarded Poznan and the rest of the province to Poland.

ECONOMY

Poznan has been an important trade centre since the middle ages and embraced industrialisation during the 19th century. The Cegielski metal works – where workers staged the first mass protest in the Soviet bloc in 1956 – is evidence of that, and is still going strong in a city regarded in Poland as economically second only to Warsaw. Food processing, furniture, automotive and transport and logistical industries are all going strong as, with so many international companies establishing Polish headquarters in Poznan, is the tertiary sector.

THINGS TO SEE

The Old Town contains most of Poznan's tourist attractions, all centred on the beautiful Stary Rynek. Laid out in 1253 the cobblestone square's focal point is the town hall, which houses the Historical Museum of Poznan and the most unusual of clocks. At noon tourists gather to watch as two metal goats appear through a pair of small doors and butt horns 12 times. Legend has it that at the clock's unveiling two goats escaped the kitchens and wound up fighting above the cloaked timepiece. Its maker was duly ordered to capture the moment.

Stary Rynek is also home to museums devoted to musical instruments, archeology, history, the Wielkopolska Uprising and the military, while the nearby National Museum holds an extensive art collection. The cradle of Poznan, Ostrów Tumski, is 1km east of the Old Town and dominated by the 14th-century cathedral though fires in 1622, 1772 and 1945 each brought major facelifts. By contrast, across the road St Mary's Church is possibly the most untouched Gothic building in the city.

Just north of the Old Town is the Prussian citadel and site where, in February 1945, 20,000 German troops held out for a month. It is now a park with two war museums. Originally built for Kaiser Wilheim II, the Kaiserhaus houses the Palace of Culture, and behind it a pair of bound crosses forms a monument in memory of the victims of the 1956 uprising. South of the city in Park Wilsona, the Palm House is an incredible expanse of greenhouses built in 1910 containing 19,000 species of plants

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