Poznań
plays an important role as one of Poland's oldest cities, making it
a significant historical center. It was the capital of
Greater Poland, the cradle of the Polish state and was also
Poland's capital in the mid-
10th
century during the early Piast dynasty.
Poznań Cathedral is the oldest church
in the country, containing the tombs of the first Polish rulers,
Duke
Mieszko I and King
Boleslaus the Brave.
Today the city is a vibrant center for trade, industry, and
education. Poznań is Poland's fifth largest city and fourth biggest
industrial center.
It is also the administrative capital of the
Greater Poland
Voivodship
.
From the
2nd partition of Poland in
1793 until 1806, Poznań was
in South Prussia (part of Prussia
). From 1806 to 1815, Poznań was part of the Duchy of Warsaw
. After Napoleon's
defeat, the city once again became part of Prussia, functioning as
the capital of the autonomous Grand Duchy of Poznań
. After
1830, the Grand
Duchy of Poznań became semi-autonomous and by
1846, in the midst of revolutions across the European
continent, its autonomy was revoked.
In 1871, Poznań, along with the whole of Prussia, became
part of the German
Empire
. After Germany's defeat in World War I and as part of the Treaty of Versailles, the Second Polish
Republic
was created. The Allied decision was
influenced in part by the
Great Poland
Uprising that lasted from
1918 to
1919. Despite six years of
Nazi rule during
World
War II, Poznań has remained a part of Poland ever since.
Early times
The first settlements in what is now Poznań can be traced to the
late period of the
Stone Age. Later
various cultures developed here in the
Bronze
Age and
Iron Age.
The first stronghold was built in the 8th-9th century AD on the
Ostrów Tumski - an island in the
forks of
Warta and
Cybina rivers. Subsequently it was surrounded by
various settlements on the islands and on both banks of Warta
River. In 10th century Poznań and Gniezno were the main sites of
Polish dukes, and centres of
the developing Polish state. In
968 the first
Polish bishoprics and the first Polish cathedral were founded here
(first bishop was
Jordan).
First Polish monarchs of the
Piast dynasty
Mieszko I,
Boleslaus I the Brave and
Mieszko II Lambert are buried in the
Poznań cathedral.
Poznań became first seat of bishop Jordan, who after the conversion
of
Mieszko I to Christianity, was the
missionary bishop of Poland (
968 -
982).
The Diocese of Poznań was created in 999, formally in 1000 at the
Congress of Gniezno, under
jurisdiction of archbishopric of Gniezno
, with
emperor Otto and Boleslaw I agreeing to create the independent
diocese, subordinated directly to the pope. Possibly bishop Unger
of Poznań was imprisoned in Magdeburg
and released when he recognized the jurisdiction of
Magdeburg, perhaps Unger was disappointed with not being chosen for
new archbishop of Poland (since he was missionary bishop to the
Poland before 1000, after Jordan's death). After Unger's death
and the religious upheavals the diocese of Poznańwas disputed
between the Gniezno diocese and
the Archbishops of Magdeburg, with Poznań being part of Gniezno
church province. In 1133 Poznań was attached by the pope to
the
archbishop of Magdeburg.
However in 1136 a pope again confirmed that Poznań was suffragan of
Gniezno.
During
the internal fighting and the Bohemian Czech invasion of Bretislaus I in 1038, Poznań and
Gniezno were
destroyed and lost their capital cities status to Kraków
under Casimir I the
Restorer (1039–1058). The two cities and bishoprics were
rebuilt by the king
Boleslaus II
the Generous (1058–1079).
Capital of Great Poland (1138–1295)
Since the feudal fragmentation of Poland began in 1138, Poznań was
the capital of
Greater Poland
division and the main site of the local duke's dynasty started by
Mieszko III the Old. The city
was developing quickly and in 12th century it was surrounded by
trade-and-crafts settlements of St. Gotard, St. Martin, St.
Adalbert on the left bank of the Warta river and Śródka of the
right bank.
In ca. 1230 the dukes founded in Śródka an autonomous municipality
based on
Teutonic law, and in 1253
dukes
Przemysł I and
Boleslaus the Pious founded the
city in St.Gotard settlement, in the present place of Old Market
Square, based on
Magdeburg law. The
first mayor of the local government was Thomas of Guben/Gubin, and
in the following years he brought many German settlers to the
city.
Przemysł II, son of
Przemysł I, built a castle
on the so called "Przemysł hill" and surrounded the city with a
wall. In 1295 Przemysł II was crowned
king of Poland. After Przemysł's death in 1296 there were four
competitors for the Polish throne and the control of Poznań:
Ladislaus of
Kuyavia,
Henry I of Glogow,
Wenceslaus II of Bohemia,
and
Boleslaus of Opole.
Poznań in the Kingdom of Poland (1295–1793)
With the
unification of Poland
Poznań
become the main political, cultural, academic and economic
center. It was the site of the royal Governor
General for Greater Poland, and the
main trading center between Ruthenia and
Lithuania
with western Germany
. In 1519 Lubrański
Academy
was founded (the second institute of higher
education in Poland, after Kraków's Jagiellon University) and in
1573 another school, Jesuits' College (rector: Jakub Wujek).
The 16th century is called "the Golden Age" in the city's history.
The population grew to 20.000 and Poznań was one of the biggest
cities in Poland. This was ended with the Swedish invasion in 1655
which started a series of wars, epidemics and catastrophes. They
led to slow economic decline and significant depopulation
(3,000).
Economic boom started again after 1780 during activities of the
Good Order Council.
In years 1719-1753 Poznań absorbed several waves of rural settlers
from Bamberg
(Bambrzy) invited
by the city authorities. They were also significant groups
of Dutch settlers (
Olędrzy). Both groups have added new
cultural elements to the city.
Poznań in the Kingdom of Prussia (1793–1918)
With the
second partition of Poland in
1793, the city fell to Kingdom of
Prussia and was made the capital of the province of
South Prussia. During the
Napoleonic Wars in 1806 the city was
liberated by the Polish troops under gen.
J.H. Dąbrowski and in years 1806–1815
it was the capital of Poznań department belonging to the Duchy of
Warsaw.
After the
fall of Napoleon in 1815, according to the Vienna peace congress, Poznań fell to
Prussia, and was made the capital of the Grand Duchy
of Posen
(1815–1846). At this time Poznań was the
site of the royal Governor, Duke
Antoni Henryk Radziwiłł.
In 1846 and 1848 two
uprisings in Greater Poland occurred with a focus on Poznań.
After the
failed uprising of
1848, the duchy was renamed the Province of Posen
(Provinz
Posen
, 1846–1918) of the Prussian state, governed by the
royal Over-President. With the unification of Germany by the
Prussian king, the duchy became part of the German Empire
(1871–1918) and the city became an imperial residence city.
In 1910
large neoromanesque imperial castle
was built west of the city center, as well as a
park, the new city theater, and the headquarters for the Settlement Commission.
The population of Poznań was half Polish, half German, and the
proportion of Germans increasing up to the peak of 1848 to 60%.
When industrialisation attracted people from the countryside, the
proportion of Germans gradually decreased (see also
Ostflucht). Polish population organized themselves
around economic, cultural and scientific activities: 1829
Raczyński Library, 1857
Poznań
Society of Friends of Arts and Sciences, 1861 Central Economic
Society, 1875 Polish Theatre.
In addition to its early religious and state roles, Poznań was a
military, commercial, rail-and-water transportation, and postal
center for the region.
Transformation from
Stadt Posen ("Poznań city") to
Festung Posen ("Poznań Stronghold" - Polish:
Twierdza
Poznań) started in
1828 when the citadel
Fort Winiary was built on the hillock north of the old
town (for some time it was a political prison). This gave the
military command supremacy over the local civil government. Several
estates to the north were converted into the "Truppenübungsplatz
Warthelager" ("Warthe barracks and troop practice fields") and
firing ranges were scattered around the surrounding countryside.
Later, other fortifications were built - Poznań became a town
inside a polygonal fortress (works were finished in
1851). In
1876 a modernization of
the
Festung was begun. A ring of 18 forts were built, 9
major, and 9 minor. Poznań had become a major military post,
headquarters for the Fifth Army Corp of the German army. The
polygonal fortifications remained until
1900.
In the early 1900s, zeppelins and biplanes were a common site, as
support for the army.
Considerable commerce floated by on the river
Warta (German: Warthe), which separated the old town
on the western left bank from the channelled island
(
Chwaliszewo), and right bank peninsula with the cathedral
(today, like in Middle Ages, island, called
Ostrów
Tumski).
The railroad was built in 1846-1848 and the first train from
Szczecin
(German: Stettin) arrived on 8 August 1848, and left Poznań
(returning to Szczecin) on 10
August. The first station was located in the western
Jeżyce suburb as dictated by
the military administration of
Festung Posen. A large new
main train station was built closer to the west side of the city in
1879, with regional administrative offices and
maintenance buildings. The tracks were laid north/south, but split
to the east and west north of the town, forming a "T" shape. The
eastern branch had another station and a spur that serviced the
slaughterhouse district north of the Jewish quarter in the
northeastern corner, where the Cybina river flows into the Warta
(exactly to branch of Warta called Cybina or
Eastern Ulga
Channel which separates
Ostrów Tumski from right
bank).
As a regional center, the postal service had its administrative
headquarters here (
Oberpostdirektion) across the street
from the Imperial Residence. Also nearby were the offices of the
Settlement Commission (German:
Ansiedlungskommission). Teachers and clerics were trained
here.
Poznań in the Second Polish Republic (1919–1939)
At the end of
World War I, the
Great Poland
Uprising (1918–1919) promised to restore
Great Poland and its capital as a Polish
nation.
According to the Versailles peace treaty, signed on June 28, 1919,
most of Posen
province was ceded to Poland, and organized into Poznań Voivodship. German
inhabitants of the region and city were given an option to stay or
leave but most of them left to Germany - also because of
discrimination, and those who stayed made some 10% of the city
population.
In
1919 Poznań University
was opened, in 1921 Poznań Trade Fairs, from 1925
Poznań International
Fair (Miedzynarodowe Targi Poznańskie). In the following
years Poznań has become a leading economic, scientific and cultural
centre of Second
Polish Republic.
Poznań in Nazi Germany (1939–1945)
German soldiers in Poznań (1939)
With the outbreak of the
World War II
Poznań was annexed by Germany and briefly reorganized into the
Reichsgau Posen and then as the
Reichsgau Wartheland (Warta
province) for the duration of the war.
The German army, police and administration started a programme of
're-germanisation of Poznań', and some 100,000 of inhabitants were
expelled to central Poland
General
Government. Many people were murdered as well in the notorious
state-sponsored executions, intended to prevent the creation of
insurgencies. Another share of the population was sent to central
Germany as slave workers. Others were conscripted to the German
army.
The Polish and Jewish population was replaced by the
Volksdeutsche resettled from
Baltic States,
Eastern Europe and central Germany. They were
granted the property confiscated from the expelled Poles and
Jews.
Despite (and probably in many cases because of) the rounding up and
execution of local leaders and potential leaders, some remaining
Poles organized themselves into guerilla groups under the
leadership of
Home Army (Armia
Krajowa).
As the Red Army advanced into Poland in January, 1945 Poznań was
declared a '
festung' by Hitler, but without
the extensive defensive works of
genuine fortresses in essence the
city garrison was abandoned and ordered to fight to the last man.
The local Gauleiter,
Arthur Greiser,
quickly fled but not before forbidding the evacuation of any
civilians, an order that was not overturned until January 20, much
too late.
See also:
Battle of
Poznań
The
1st Guards Tank Army
reached Poznań on January 25, their commander,
Mikhail Katukov, pushed straight on and
Poznań was left to the following
8th Guards Army under
Vasily Chuikov, noted for his
experience of city fighting from the "Stalingrad Academy of
street-fighting", which reached the city the following day. The
Soviets gathered their strength, not beginning the ground assault
until February 18, by which time the actual frontline was over
200 km to the west, the attack was preceded with nine days of
artillery bombardment from almost 1,400 heavy guns. Soviet soldiers
quickly penetrated the city's defences and brutal fighting lasted
some days. On the night of February 22, the German commander,
Ernst Gomell, committed suicide and the
following morning the remaining garrison surrendered. The 8th
Guards Army was aided by over 5,000 Polish civilians and a unit of
2nd Polish Army). Over 55% of the
city was destroyed, over 90% of old town, during the
struggle.
Poznań in People's Republic of Poland (1945–1989)
The first years after WWII (
1945-
1948 were the era of enthusiasm for peace and freedom,
rebuilding the city from ruins, and relative political freedom.
With the rigged elections of
1947 Poland was
put under strict control of the communist party and the
Sovietisation of the state and economy.
1950 local government is abolished
Worsening political and economic conditions led to the first Polish
anti-communist protests.
In June 1956 workers from the city's Cegielski locomotive factory,
the largest factory in Poland
[75325] demanded talks with the Prime Minister
Cyrankiewicz
[75326] to protest at low wages, being cheated of
overtime, unfavourable changes in taxation and enormous shortages
of food.The government refused to talk and after a series of
strikes on the 28th of June a protest march of between 15,000
[75327] [75328] and 100,000 workers
[75329] (figures vary) from the Cegielski and Stalin
works
[75330] was fired on by the authorities. The
crowds ransacked the Communist Party Headquarters
[75331] and then attacked the UB secret police
headquarters where they were repulsed by police shooting into the
crowd
[75332]. Figures are of between 53 and 76 people dead
(67 official
[75333]), hundreds injured and 700 arrested.
The riots continued for two days until on the second night the
Government sent in the army. A two hour long procession of tanks,
armored cars, field guns, and lorries full of troops went through
the city and surrounded it
[75334]. The riots ended.
- Read more at : June of
Poznań
This led to the change of Polish government to a milder communist
faction.
1957–1975 City of Poznań is excluded from Poznań Voivodship and
constituted as a separate administrative unit with voivodship
rights.
1975–1998 as a result of local government reorganisation act Poznań
is the capital of the small Poznań Voivodship
1981
Solidarity free trade union
1981 monument of Poznań June 1956 uprising is erected with
participation of
Lech
Wałęsa
1983 first visit of the Pope
John Paul
II
Poznań in Third Polish Republic (after 1989)
to be written yet
1990 first free elections for the local government
1991 reestablishment congress of the Polish Cities Union;
1991 first Polish Economic Exhibition of the Polish Cities
1997 second visit of the pope
John
Paul II
1998 international meeting of the so called
Weimar triangle:
Helmut Kohl, chancellor of Germany,
Jacques Chirac, President of France, and
Aleksander Kwaśniewski,
President of Poland.
Capital of Greater Poland Voivodship since 1999.
First NATO base in Poland located in Poznań.
Polish organizations in Poznań
Bibliography
- K. Malinowski (ed.), X wieków Poznania, Poznań-Warszawa
1956
- Czesław Łuczak, Życie
społeczno-gospodarcze w Poznaniu 1815-1918, Poznań 1965
- Lech Trzeciakowski, W
dziewiętnastowiecznym Poznaniu, Poznań 1987
- A. Skałkowski, Bazar Poznański. Zarys stuletnich dziejów
(1838-1938), Poznań 1938
- Wielkopolski Słownik Biograficzny, 2nd edition, Warszawa-Poznań
1983
See also
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