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Poznan is a city in west-central Poland with over 578,900 inhabitants (2002). Located by the Warta River, it is one of the oldest cities in Poland, making it an important historical center. Poznan's impressive cathedral is the earliest church in the country, containing the tombs ... more »
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Airports Poznan is a city in west-central Poland with over 578,900 inhabitants (2002). Located by the Warta River, it is one of the oldest cities in Poland, making it an important historical center. Poznan's impressive cathedral is the earliest church 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 Przemysl I and king Przemysl II.
Today the city is a vibrant center for trade, industry, and education. Poznan is Poland's 5th largest city and 4th biggest industrial center. It is also the administrative capital of the Greater Poland Voivodeship.
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 Podgórne and Swarzedz.
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 Poznan. From the time of the Revolutions in the mid 1800s, it was an official Prussian province and became part of the German Empire after the unification of German states in 1871.
Shorty after Germany's defeat in World War I, the Great Poland Uprising (1918-1919) occurred, leading to the creation of the Second Polish Republic, where Poznan became the capital of Poznan Voivodeship. During World War II, Poland suffered under Nazi occupation and the Polish population was severely repressed. Since the war's end, Poznan has become 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. The Poznan riots of 1956 played a significant role in liberalising the post war communist regime.
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Distances are calculated as the crow flies, and are provided as an aid in planning only.
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