Poznan is a city in west-central Poland with over 567,882 inhabitants. Located on the Warta River, it is one of the oldest cities in Poland, making it an important historical centre and a vibrant centre of trade, industry, and education. Poznan is Poland’s fifth largest city and fourth biggest industrial centre. It is also the administrative capital of the Greater Poland Voivodeship.
Poznan’s cathedral is the oldest in the country, containing the tombs of the first Polish rulers: Duke Mieszko I, King Boleslaus the Brave, King Mieszko II, Duke Casimir I the Restorer, Duke Przemys? I, and King Przemysl II.Poznan is the host city for the United Nations Climate Change Conference, taking place in December 2008. The conference is a key event in the creation of a successor to the Kyoto Protocol.
Poznan is a town steeped in history, as it was the first capital (with Gniezno) of Poland and seen by many as the birthplace of the Polish nation. Today it is a diverse and vibrant town, with much to divert the traveller.
It has a stunningly rejuvenated central square, thriving night-life, fascinating museums and many attractions in the surrounding area. For train buffs, Poznan is the home of Europe’s last surviving steam-hauled passenger service. With a strategic position on the Berlin – Moscow train line, Poznan will be for many their first experience of Poland.
Poznan has been an important center of trade since the Middle Ages. Starting in the 19th century, local heavy industry began to grow. Several major factories were built, including the steel mill and railway factory of Hipolit Cegielski.
Today Poznan is one of the major centers of trade with Germany. Many Western European companies started their Polish branches in Poznan, or in the nearby localities of Tarnowo Podgorne and Swarzedz. It is the site of annual Poznan International Fair.
Most foreign investors are German and Dutch companies (see “Major corporations” above), with a few others. Investors are mostly from the food processing, furniture, automotive and transport & logistics industries. Foreign companies are primarily attracted by low labour costs, but also by the relatively good road and railway network, good vocational skills of workers and relatively liberal employment laws. As compared with Germany, there are far fewer restrictions, e.g. on shop opening hours.
The annual Malta Theater festival is probably the most characteristic cultural event of the city. There are also Henryk Wieniawski Violin Competition (held every 5 years), and Classical Music Festival (annual).
Mieszko I, the first known duke of the Polans, built one of his castles in Poznan. The Cathedral Basilica of St. Peter and St. Paul is the oldest Polish cathedral, founded in Poznan during the latter half of the 10th century. The city would become the capital of Greater Poland. Mieszko I’s son, Boleslaus the Brave, was crowned king in 1025 and the Kingdom of Poland was formed. Greater Poland became the ‘cradle of the Polish state’, and both Mieszko I and Boleslaus I are buried in Poznan. Lubranski Academy, the second Polish university (not a “full” university, in fact, as science students had to go to Kraków) was established in 1519.
Poznan was the capital of the Greater Poland area when it came under the control of Prussia in 1793 and had its administrative area renamed to South Prussia. During the Greater Poland Uprising of 1806, local Polish resistance fighters rebelled, thereby assisting the efforts of Napoleon while simultaneously driving out the occupying Prussian forces. The city became part of the Duchy of Warsaw in 1807 and was capital of the Poznan Department.
Napoleon’s defeat led to the Congress of Vienna, where the boundaries of Europe were redrawn by the victors. Greater Poland was returned to Prussia and became the capital of the autonomous Grand Duchy of Posen. From the time of the Revolutions of 1848, Poznan was the capital of the Prussian Province of Posen. It became part of the German Empire during the unification of German states in 1871.
Shortly after Imperial Germany’s defeat in World War I, the Great Poland Uprising (1918-1919) occurred, leading to the creation of the Second Polish Republic, in which Poznan became the capital of Poznan Voivodeship.
During World War II, Poland suffered under Nazi occupation and the Polish population was severely repressed. In 1945, the city was declared a Festung (a fortified locale in which German forces were expected to conduct a last-ditch defense) by order of Hitler.
As Poznan lay on the direct route from Warsaw to Berlin, the Red Army first besieged and then assaulted the German defenses, culminating in the assault on the Cytadela (citadelle) and resulting in serious damage to the city. Since the war’s end, Poznan has been the capital of the surrounding area through administrative district boundary changes in 1957, 1975, and 1999; Poznan currently administrates Greater Poland Voivodeship, one of 16 provinces in the country. Anti-communist protests in 1956 played a significant role in liberalising the post-war communist regime.
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