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Polands Poznan: A young city with a charming old town

Polands Poznan: A young city with a charming old town

October 2022 · 6 min read

We are in Poland, a country near and far away at the same time. What adventures are waiting there? Today we are starting our tour on the Krutynia, the most beautiful paddling river in Europe. Today we want to see what the polish people have to offer to eat!

You can read the first part here, second here3 here and 4 here and the 5 here, 6 here and more here and here and here and here

An endless parade of young people passes through downtown Poznan, one of Poland's oldest cities and, with 557,000 inhabitants, the country's fifth-largest city. The trade fair city lies directly between Berlin and Warsaw on the European Route 30, which crosses the continent from the North Sea to Minsk in Belarus.

So smal, so nice
So smal, so nice

It is a very special kind of metropolis, because Poznan is not a university city like so many others. It is a university with a city: 120,000 of its 560,000 inhabitants are students. And tonight, too, they all seem to be out and about, meeting up, drinking beer, eating, and waiting for the city's numerous clubs to open. 

Night time over Poznan
Night time over Poznan

A party city

A party city, a bulding city, also an industrial city and a city of trade, Poznan has always been all of these.  As early as the Middle Ages, important transport routes crossed here on the banks of the Warta River, so that Poznan became a trade center early on. Today, the industrial metropolis is known above all for its trade fair: Since 1921, trade fair visitors have found their way to the capital of the central Polish province of "Wielkopolska", providing international influences.

Don’t lokk at the rest room!
Don't lokk at the rest room!

With a history that stretches back thousands of years - the first traces of settlement date back 12,000 years, making Poznan one of Poland's oldest cities - the eagerly awaited settlement is considered the cradle of Poland: the country's first episcopal see was founded here in 968, and Poznan was also the royal residence until 1039. Another 250 years beyond that, Polish monarchs were buried in the crypt of the cathedral. 

Inside the Basilica of our Lady
Inside the Basilica of our Lady

History on every corner

You can smell the fragrance of this multifaceted history on every corner. Besides the cathedral, built in the 10th century and given its present Gothic form in the 14th century, where straight believers devoutly and movingly sing together, the Old Town is one of the main sights of the city.

Blue sky, colourful houses
Blue sky, colourful houses

Conveniently for visitors, the "Route of Kings and Emperors" connects its greatest attractions. The town hall, one of the most important Renaissance buildings in Central Europe, offers a special spectacle every day at noon: two tinny billy goats strike their horns twelve times above the tower clock.

This young guy sings like an angel
This young guy sings like an angel

Posen, as it is called in German? Or Poznan, as the Poles call it? Well, the Prussian rule lasted, with a short interruption, only 117 years. However, it left its mark on the city, producing numerous new buildings up to 1918: the imperial residence palace now houses a cultural center, and the Royal Prussian Academy is part of the university.

Empty street early in the morning
Empty street early in the morning

Still wounds all around

Prussia's anti-Polish policy resulted in the "Poznan Uprising" immediately after the end of World War I, which caused the province of Greater Poland to be absorbed into the new Polish state. There are still wounds from that time, even if they are no longer visible at first sight.

A busker at the market square
A busker at the market square

The numerous nature reserves in the surrounding wooded hills are not to be overlooked. River valleys and lakes invite to hiking, biking, cross-country skiing and water sports in this sports-loving region. There is even a year-round ski slope on the shores of Lake Malta, once the site of a 2009 World Rowing Championships.

Small streets, bright sun
Small streets, bright sun

The heart of the city, however, is undoubtedly the Old Market Square. Completely destroyed during the Second World War, the houses have been rebuilt in exactly the same style that was seen in the city in the centuries before. Today, one could think that everything has always been like this, because the fact that these are comparatively new buildings is not noticeable at all.

Dark beer, made in Poland
Dark beer, made in Poland

The Old Market Square

Especially not to the many-headed party folk who do not come every evening to study architecture and history. The party-loving young men and women, among whom the high quota of bachelorette parties is particularly striking, are drawn to the numerous cafés, bars and clubs on the Old Market Square, which is then transformed into a large open-air party zone by street musicians, roaming Djs with large boomboxes and spontaneous dancers.

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They are dancing at the floor of an old house
They are dancing at the floor of an old house

The Cathedral Island in the east of the city is also a tourist highlight. This is where Posen's first settlement and the first Polish bishopric were founded in the 10th century.

Poznan by night
Poznan by night

If you want to see a brewery in operation and taste the famous Poznañ beer, you should go to the Lech Brewery, a company that supplies barley juice to all of Poland and half of the foreign countries. The bottles rattle, the labeling machines hum - this is how around seven million hectoliters of beer are produced every year. 

The Prussia of Poland

The locals are as proud of this as they are of their western Polish identity. "The people from the east have a completely different mentality. It's almost like Russia," says one of them, proud of his home region. "The streets here are not as dirty and bad as in Warsaw."

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Old market square
Old market square

Further east, he says, the right attitude toward work is lacking, but it exists here thanks to the "malocher mentality" of Upper Silesians, which in turn is consider a bit too Prussian in eastern Poland.  Posen (Poznan) has a great work discipline, "but somehow people there are not as spontaneous and open as here."

Under construction now: The old market place
Under construction now: The old market place

The old borders between Austrian Galicia and the partition territories of Prussia and Russia once ran very close to Poznan, and despite having a German grandfather, Urban considers himself entirely a Polish patriot. They're all in love with the city and if you visit the town, you will understand why.

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A few more pictures for you:

Basilica of Our Lady of Perpetual Help, Mary Magdalene and St. Stanislaus
Basilica of Our Lady of Perpetual Help, Mary Magdalene and St. Stanislaus
The Saint John of Nepomuk statue
 The Saint John of Nepomuk statue 
The coat of arms of the city
The coat of arms of the city
A nice fountain
A nice fountain
Remember the socialist time: Proletariat beer
Remember the socialist time: Proletariat beer
Empty streets at the edge of the city
Empty streets at the edge of the city
The two goats are the symbol of Poznan
The two goats are the symbol of Poznan
Poznan is a party town
Poznan is a party town
At the Archcathedral Basilica of St.Peter and St.Paul
At the Archcathedral Basilica of St.Peter and St.Paul
The old market, under construction works
The old market, under construction works
The old Poznan priester seminary
The old Poznan priester seminary
A nice park in downtown
A nice park in downtown
The old castle in the middle of the town
The old castle in the middle of the town

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