City of Poznań
Navigation: History · Events · Regional cousine · Dialect
History
The beginnings of Poznań date back to the 9th century, when on an island among the floodplains of the river Warta a town erected, grown to be one of the capital cities of the new Polish State. In 1253 Poznań has been relocated to the left bank of the Warta and was given city rights, becoming the main city and the capital of the Greater Poland.
In the 15th and 16th century a major development has occured in the city placed on the crossings of the multiple trade paths and being gross craftsmansship's centre.
In the 19th century the city has become the theatre of national liberation movements against the Prussian oppressor, crowned with the victorious Greater Poland Uprising of 1918-1919.
In the final stage of the Second World War, in February 1945 in the conduct of the fights for liberation from the Nazis' occupation the city has been destroyed in 55 per cent. Since 1946 the city has gone through a rapid reconstruction, followed by its major development.
Presently, Poznań is a buoyant academic (9 national universities and a few private ones) and cultural centre (7 theatres, 3 boy and men choirs, Henryk Wieniawski's International Violin Festival, Malta Theatre Festival). Poznań may be proud of the trade city status - there are more than 25 international events in the International Poznań Fairs.
The city is one of the finest places in the country, touristwise speaking. Decisive in this issue one may consider numerous antiquities, the eldest of them dated back to the 10th century, relicful museums, hotel base as well as the picturesque surroundings (i.e. Greater Poland's National Park, castles and palaces).
The beginnings of Poznań date back to the 9th century, when on an island among the floodplains of the river Warta a town erected, grown to be one of the capital cities of the new Polish State. In 1253 Poznań has been relocated to the left bank of the Warta and was given city rights, becoming the main city and the capital of the Greater Poland.
In the 15th and 16th century a major development has occured in the city placed on the crossings of the multiple trade paths and being gross craftsmansship's centre.
In the 19th century the city has become the theatre of national liberation movements against the Prussian oppressor, crowned with the victorious Greater Poland Uprising of 1918-1919.
In the final stage of the Second World War, in February 1945 in the conduct of the fights for liberation from the Nazis' occupation the city has been destroyed in 55 per cent. Since 1946 the city has gone through a rapid reconstruction, followed by its major development.
Presently, Poznań is a buoyant academic (9 national universities and a few private ones) and cultural centre (7 theatres, 3 boy and men choirs, Henryk Wieniawski's International Violin Festival, Malta Theatre Festival). Poznań may be proud of the trade city status - there are more than 25 international events in the International Poznań Fairs.
The city is one of the finest places in the country, touristwise speaking. Decisive in this issue one may consider numerous antiquities, the eldest of them dated back to the 10th century, relicful museums, hotel base as well as the picturesque surroundings (i.e. Greater Poland's National Park, castles and palaces).
Events
Poznań is famous for its fairs. It is widely known all over our country and abroad. Poznań International Fairs were established in 1929 as General National Exhibition. Since then it has been the largest fair centre in Poland. It hosts various fairs and exhibitions annually. Everyone can find something interesting there. Poznań means also numerous cultural events. Theatre festival ‘Malta” or biennale Mediations attract fans of art. Choir and symphonic music festivals are also perfect way to discover culture. The traditional Poznań’s holiday is undoubtedly St. Martin’s Day, November, 11th. The St. Martin’s parade takes place then in Poznań. For those who are interested in history Poznań means primarily venue of two great uprisings: Great Poland uprising of 1919-20 and Poznań June of 1956. Manifold concerts draw to Poznań fans of rock, club or pop music as well.
Regional cuisine
Great Poland cuisine is based primarily on potatoes. They are known here as ‘pyry’, what is also the colloquial name for the inhabitants of Great Poland. Potato dishes were the basis of the diet of inhabitants in Great Poland in 19. century. Today some dishes still seem to be very popular, the examples are: potato noodles – szagówki, ‘pyry z gzikiem’ – potatoes with cottage cheese mixed with cream and onion and ‘plyndze’ – potato pies. ‘Zimne nóżki’ (cold paws), a sort of meat jelly, is a famous snack in Great Poland. Apart from lunch dishes Poznań is famous for the sweet St. Martin croissants, filled with ground almonds and nuts, and yeast rolls calls ‘szneki’.
Great Poland cuisine is based primarily on potatoes. They are known here as ‘pyry’, what is also the colloquial name for the inhabitants of Great Poland. Potato dishes were the basis of the diet of inhabitants in Great Poland in 19. century. Today some dishes still seem to be very popular, the examples are: potato noodles – szagówki, ‘pyry z gzikiem’ – potatoes with cottage cheese mixed with cream and onion and ‘plyndze’ – potato pies. ‘Zimne nóżki’ (cold paws), a sort of meat jelly, is a famous snack in Great Poland. Apart from lunch dishes Poznań is famous for the sweet St. Martin croissants, filled with ground almonds and nuts, and yeast rolls calls ‘szneki’.
Dialect
‘W antrejce na ryczce leżą pyrki w tytce’ (In a hall on a stool are lying potatoes in a bag). This sentence seems to be the most famous example of Poznań dialect. It is a combination of urban dialect and Great Poland dialect of Polish language. It contains also a lot of linguistic loans from German language. Dialect is a characteristic feature of native Poznań inhabitants. The holler ‘tej’ or words such as: pyra (potato), szneka (yeast sweet roll) or bimba (tram) are seemed to be known in the whole Poland.
Bird's eye view of Poznań
