Architecture and culture
Poznań’s surrounding areas were the site of many battles, both in the times of Władysław Łokietek (the battle of Palędzie with the teutonic Knights), and during Wielkopolskie Uprising in 1918-1919. Historical figures, such as Napoleon Bonaparte, went through and stayed in the city. It was there that great houses built their abodes - in Kórnik, Górka and later their successors, Działyński families. The traces of this heritage can be seen in many mansions and palaces. Many famous Poles were born in Poznań’s neighbouring towns - the Nobel Prize winning poet Wisława Szymborska is one of many examples. Everyone can find something for themselves here - from medieval settlements, to wooden churches, numerous museums, to lavish palaces.
Castle in Kórnik
This castle was built in the 15th century. It houses a museum and the Kórnik Library, whose collections cover around 400 thousand books, including over 30 thousand old prints and 14 thousand manuscripts. The castle chambers, reportedly haunted by the ghost of the White Lady, house rich museum collections.
The museum gathers exhibits from all continents - sculptures, ceremonial masks, tam-tams or human head trophies. An important part of the museum is the Garden of Cultures and Tolerance, where sculptures, but also surprising artefacts can be seen - the latter include a pyramid, exactly 23 times smaller than the Great Pyramid of Giza, or a to-scale replica of Christopher Columbus’ Santa Maria ship.
National Museum of Agriculture and Food Industry in Szreniawa
The museum presents pieces concerning the history of Polish countryside, agriculture and the agricultural-food industry from all over Poland. The museum also organizes multiple events and show-and-tells - traditional bread-baking, butter churning, candle-making, autumn field work, operating an old timey firetruck, as well as bygone rural wedding and holiday customs.
Prof. R. Kostenecki Heritage Park and Beekeeping Museum in Swarzędz
This open-air museum is a collection of bee hives unique on a European scale, which illustrates in its outdoor exhibition the history of apiculture and beekeeping in Poland. There is also an exhibition on productive insects in Poland and in the world. The museum is located in a 4.5 hectare park created in the second half of the 19th century, which also houses a stylish hunting lodge.
Natural-Hunting Museum in Uzarzewo
The Museum includes historic palace - it houses the exhibition of forestry and hunting history since most ancient times: weaponry, hunting accessories and trophiesand park complex, and the stable/carriage houses the natural environment of Wielkopolska is presented as well as the fauna inhabiting it, with a special emphasis on wild game. In 2004, a new exposition has been commissioned - Adam Smorawiński’s hunting trophies.
Museum of Greater Poland Uprising in Lusowo
The museum collections include exhibits connected with the insurgents of the Greater Poland. An equally important part of the exhibition are the memorabilia related to General Dowbor Muśnicki and his family. The last part of the exhibition is related to the battles fought by soldiers of Greater Poland outside of Wielkopolska between 1919 and 1920, among others the Polish-Soviet war.
Biedrusko Palac
Neo-Renaissance building erected between 1877-80 by Ludwik Huhn for Albrecht Otton von Treskow. Multi-storeyed, with a square tower and columnar porches, covered with a flat roof. Richly decorated interiors. In the park there is an amphitheater, a lovers’ gazebo, ponds and a fountain. The palace hosted William II and Ferdinand Foch. Today, this beautifully restored building houses a hotel and a restaurant.
Golęczewo historic buildings
A railway station, school (former communal house), bathhouse and 38 houses and farmhouses currently hold separate entries in the Registration of Monuments. The Germans wanted to turn Golęczewo into a model village settlement, and so they purchased it in 1901 and immediately enter the realization of the project by architect Paul Fischer. The high rooftop houses were erected in Prussian colours - white with red and black detailing.
more
The trail of wooden churches around Puszcza Zielonka
The trail is up to 140 km long. Twelve charming wooden churches await the visitors in Długa Goślina, Kicin, Kiszkowo, Łagiewniki Kościelne, Raczkowo, Jabłkowo, Rejowiec, Skoki, Sławno, Uzarzewo, Węglewo and Wierzenica. The oldest of them (in Węglewo and Wierzenica) have been built in the Middle Ages; the history of the rest of them goes back to the 17th century.
St Michael Archangel and Our Lady Supporter of the Faithful in Rogalinek
A late-Baroque wooden church, built between 1700 and 1712, located at the edge of the village. Its roof is shingled and crested with a tower. This little church is richly adorned. Its most interesting monument is its altar with a late-Gothic sculpture of Lady Madonna and the side altar, an example of 17th/18th century folk art, with a painting of “Christ Scourged” in the same style.
Church of St. Nicholas the Bishop in Skoki
This petite, picturesque temple was built in the 1730’s, in the place of a former church. What distinguishes it is its brick-filled, timber framing - a form of post-beam construction. The interiors are in the richly adorned rococo style. The church itself is part of the Trail of Wooden Churches around Puszcza Zielonka.
Luboń Industrial Architecture Trail
Mysteries big and small, solved and still awaiting answers, are a vital part of the over 100 years of history of the Luboń factories. The adventure begins at a time when the Polish had to fight for their own country, and ends at the time of the ownership transformations related to the groundbreaking political changes taking place in Poland in the 1990’s.
more
Puszczykowo Train Station
Although the train station in Puszczykowo, Poznań’s most famous summer resort, exists since 1897, the first station facility was erected in 1904. Its final look, with the characteristic clock tower, was completed in 1910, and has remained unchanged ever since. It has been a listed historic building since 1983, and today it also houses a restaurant.
more
The water tower in Śrem
The water tower is the most recognizable building on Śrem’s skyline. It was built in 1909 and it goes up nearly 48 meters. It was designed to resemble Gothic wall towers. Inside, there is a tank with 240 cubic meters capacity, which holds the construction of the roof. In the night scenery the tower is a particularly impressive sight, as it is beautifully lit. It is believed that where the tower now stands, up until the 17th century, there was the St. Nicholas Church - the first temple in the city.
more