The Greater Poland (Wielkopolska) region`s capital is
Poznan, a historic city which attracts the biggest crowds of tourists (as well as visitors to the international trade fairs). This is where the Piast Route begins, which covers the places that were the political and ecclesiastical centres of Poland under its first royal dynasty a thousand years ago. Other towns worth seeing are Kórnik near Poznań, with a splendid castle and grounds; Gniezno, Poland`s first capital; and Biskupin, with a reconstructed fortified Iron Age village discovered in the early 20th century. And if you seek nature rather than mementoes of the past, you`ll find both lakes and forests here, along with a variety of opportunities for relaxation.
Picturesque and appealing to visitors, Poznań can easily compete with other historic cities in Poland like Cracow, Gdańsk, or Toruń. It has all that contributes to a special atmosphere: a charming Old City, fine architecture, delightful nooks, bustling student hangouts and a profusion of pubs, clubs and cafés offering you all kinds of night entertainment.
Poznań is the region`s biggest city. A thousand years ago it was one of the main centres on the map of the emerging Polish state, as the royal seat and a cathedral town. The oldest part of the city is Ostrów Tumski, an island on the
Warta River. When you go over the bridge linking it with the rest of the city, you seem to be crossing an immaterial border separating this place off from the busy and bustling modern Poznań. The island holds the 13th-15th century Cathedral, built on the site of an Early Romanesque church (late 9th century). It is here that Poland`s first princes, Duke Mieszko I and King Boleslaus I, are buried.
But the heart of
Poznan is its Stary Rynek (the market-place in the Old City). Enclosed by old, mostly 15th-century town houses with restored façades and brightly illuminated at night, it is the city`s showcase. Crowded and busy at almost any time of the day, it has always been a place for commerce. The houses around the market-place are occupied by offices and banks neighbouring on restaurants and cafés that stay open until the wee hours of the morning. The adjoining streets are lined with antique shops, galleries and craft shops.
The most outstanding building in the market-place is the
Town Hall, which aspires to the title of most beautiful secular Renaissance edifice in Central Europe. Erected in the mid-16th century, it replaced an older building from the late 13th century; only the 61-m tower is a later addition (its 17th-century predecessor was 90 m high). At night the Town Hall is brightly illuminated. Every noon, tourists gather outside to see the famous clockwork goats that butt their horns together. The first pair of these metal animals appeared in 1551; the most recent ones were installed in 1993.
Another of Poznan`s big attractions is
Lake Maltanskie - an artificial 65-ha reservoir with a renowned water-sports centre (it has one of Europe`s best regatta tracks and in 1990 it played host to the World Championships in Canoeing). Nearby is the all-year-round Malta-Ski centre, a toboggan run and - inevitably - a bathing place. Just a few steps away is the New Zoo (Poznan is the only city in Poland that boasts two zoos), one of the biggest and prettiest in the country, priding itself on keeping the animals in conditions similar to their natural habitat.
The city is also the place of the Poznań International Fairs held here since 1921. Throughout the year the site (450,000 sq m) hosts dozens of specialist trade fairs, attended by thousands of exhibitors from all the major industries and drawing about half a million visitors. Some of these expositions are ranked among the leading events of this kind in Europe.
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