LET'S EXPLORE POLAND

Copyright 1997 by the AngloPol Corporation

This series will take us through the cities, towns, villages and countryside of Poland, 
as well as give us insights into the rich history and culture of the nation.

Part 25

MIDWEST--GREAT POLAND

INTRODUCTION

The midwestern part of Poland as a historical and geographical unit is composed of the Great Poland [Wielkopolska] region and the adjoining Lubusz Country [Ziemia Lubuska]. The River Warta winds its way through the central part of the region. On the river is Poznan, the biggest city of Great Poland and the capital of the whole region.

Here, near Gniezno and Poznan, the state of Polanie was founded in the 10th century, thus starting the 1,000 year history of Poland. The traces of that remote epoch can still be seen on the Ostrow Lednicki island near Gniezno, where stone remains of a ducal seat were uncovered. The ruins of old cathedral walls dating from the 10th century were also found in Gniezno and Poznan.

BISKUPIN

Both regions, that of Great Poland and that of Lubusz Country, are crowded with valuable monuments of ecclesiastical and secular architecture, representing all styles.

Numerous palaces, manors and castles, some of them turned into museums, contain rich collections of furniture, pictures, products of artistic handicrafts, porcelain, arms and armor, old medals and coins. In the countryside one can often come across fine examples of timber structures, such as shapely old-style wind-mills, churches and belfries.

Farmers of the region are reputed for their skills in land cultivation. Industry does not lag behind and develops fast, especially around such towns as Poznan, Gorzow Wielkopolski, Zielona Gora, Konin, and Kalisz. Near Konin, there is a gigantic open pit brown-coal mine.

There is a well-developed system of tourist facilities, a network of good roads with rest facilities, gas stations, country inns and little hotels. There are also numerous modern hotels, assuring a high standard of accommodation and other services. Many larger towns of the region also offer good services in their recently built hotels and restaurants.

In season, the majority of holiday centers situated near lakes offer sojourns in comfortable, well equipped cottages. Enthusiasts of horse-riding can mount at will or visit any one of the many stud farms in the region: Sierakow, Czerniejewo, Pasadowo, Racot, Drzonkow, or others.

Restaurants offer both delicacies of Polish cuisine and those of the old Polish tradition.

The Great Poland and Lubusz Country region lies on the plain. However, in places it abounds in post-glacial hills, lakes and forests. Larger forest complexes are situated in the western and northern part of the region, especially near Zagan, Zielona Gora, and Miedzychod (Notecka Forest).

Clusters of lakes are found near Wolsztyn, Swiebodzin, Sierakow, Chodziez, Poznan and Gniezno. Some of the hills reach an altitude of 50-100 meters above sea level; the highest of them is Bukowiec Hill (227 m.) near Lagow in the Lubusz Country region. The southern boundary of the region bordering upon Silesia is lined with the Ostrzeszewskie Hills, the highest of which is Mount Kobyla Gora (282 m.).

Great Poland is the oldest part of the country from an historical point of view, sometimes called the "cradle of the Polish state." The independent Polish state came into existence in the 10th century, during the reign of Prince Mieszko I. However, the unification process, bringing together the Slav tribes inhabiting the area, started in the 8th century.

Polish recorded history began in 966 A.D., when the pagan Slavs were converted to Christianity. This event was important, not only from a religious, but also from the political view-point. The country was governed by the two principal strongholds of Poznan and Gniezno. In 1000 A.D. an archbishopric was founded in Gniezno, and the Gniezno cathedral became a traditional place of coronation for the first kings of Poland.

The region lies at the crossing of important trading routes, leading from the North to the South and from the West to the East. Therefore, trade and crafts played an important role in the region's economic development. The larger towns, such as Gniezno, Poznan and Kalisz, started to obtain municipal status in the 13th century. Poznan soon became the center of the region, and it has preserved that function ever since.

Wars in the 17th-18th centuries hindered the development of the town and the number of its inhabitants dropped considerably. By the end of the 18th century, as a result of the Partitions of the Polish state, the territory fell under Prussian rule and soon the Germanization of the Polish population started. The Poles stood fast against the Germans on both economic and cultural fields, establishing numerous Polish banks and rural organizations. The Polish language was cultivated by a great number of singing groups; Polish Theater and the Poznan Scientific Association were founded in Poznan. There were strikes at schools organized by the youth in protest against the removal of the Polish language from schools.

The larger part of Great Poland returned to the motherland in 1919, as a result of the Great Poland Uprising, which began in Poznan on December 27, 1918. Lubusz Country came under the domination of the ever more powerful German state by the second half of the 13th century, to be returned to Poland only after World War II.

The postwar period witnessed the reconstruction, and later the development, of the whole region. Numerous towns, especially in Lubusz Country, and also in the western part of Great Poland, have undergone considerable changes in recent years.

POZNAN

One of the oldest cities in Poland, Poznan lies on the River Warta and on the crossing of two international highways.

In the 9th century Poznan was a fortified settlement. In the late 10th century, Prince Mieszko I raised the stronghold to the rank of the state's capital. In 1253 Prince Przemysl I granted the city its municipal rights. Now it is the fifth largest city in Poland and one of the largest industrial centers of the country.

The city is proud of the Cegielski Works, which manufacture ship and railway engines, rolling stock and modern machine tools. Other Poznan-produced goods known for their excellent quality including harvesters, rolling bearings, sophisticated machine tools, car tires, batteries, cars for farmers, cosmetics, concentrated food, candies and clothes.

Poznan has ten institutions of higher education with 32,000 students, a branch of the Polish Academy of Sciences, numerous scientific institutes, and schools of different type. There are also modern housing developments, commercial centers, new highways, new hotels, restaurants, sports halls and stadiums, all of them being evidence of the dynamic development of the town.

Every year, since 1925, Poznan receives a great number of businessmen from all continents during the traditional Poznan International Fair. The large exhibition area of is often used for the organization of many international meetings, exhibitions and domestic fairs. In July there is the annual St. John's Fair, a tradition going back to the Middle Ages. The cultural life of the city thrives, thanks to its numerous cultural establishments such as the opera, operetta, philharmonic hall, Polish Theater of Dance, repertory theaters, three famous male-voice choirs, and the Great Poland Song and Dance Ensemble. Every five years the Henryk Wieniawski International Violin Competition is held and prizes are granted to the best composers, violin makers and violinists.

In Poznan there are fifteen museums containing archaeological collections, paintings of European and Polish masters, products of artistic handicrafts, masterpieces of ecclesiastical art, arms and armor from the 10th-20th centuries, as well as an invaluable and unique set of musical instruments from all over the world.

Really worth a visit, among other outstanding monuments, is the oldest part of Poznan, Ostrow Tumski. Here stands the Gothic Cathedral with tombs of the first Polish rulers, Mieszko I and Boleslaus the Brave; it also contains the Golden Chapel which is the mausoleum devoted to them both. Within the Ostrow Tumski area, one also finds the late-Gothic Psaltery where the cathedral choristers lived, the Renaissance building of the former Lubranski Academy, now the home of the Archdiocesan Museum, and the little Gothic Church of Our Lady from 1444.

Poznan's old town is one of the most remarkable architectural complexes in Poland. Particularly captivating is the Renaissance Town Hall, designed by an Italian architect, Giovanni Batista Quadro of Lugano. There are many charming old houses and religious structures, such as the Baroque Parish and Franciscan Churches.

Poznan has many parks, the largest botanical garden in Poland and magnificent monuments of architecture. There are a number of recreation spots in the vicinity of Poznan, most of them comfortably situated amidst forests and lakes: Rusalka, Strzeszynek, Malta and Kierskie. In the south, the city borders upon the Great Poland National Park, the area of which is dotted with lakes and hills.