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This article is about the city in Poland. For other uses, see Poznan (disambiguation).
Poznań [ˈpɔznaɲ] ( Poznań's cathedral is the oldest 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 Przemysł I, and King Przemysł II. Poznań was the host city for the United Nations Climate Change Conference that took place in December 2008. The conference was a key event in the creation of a successor to the Kyoto Protocol. Poznań boasts The Royal-Imperial Route — a tourist walk running through the most important parts of the city showing the history, culture and identity of the city.
[edit] EtymologyThe name Poznań probably comes from a personal name Poznan (from the Polish participle poznan(y) — "one who is known/recognized") and would mean "Poznan's town." It is also possible that the name has came directly from the verb poznać, which means "to get to know" or "to recognize". The earliest surviving references to the city are by Thietmar in his chronicles: Episcopus Poznaniensis ("Bishop of Poznań", 970) and Ab Urbe Poznani ("From the City of Poznań", 1005). Earlier spellings included Posna and Posnan, which have also historically been used in English. The full official city name is The Capital City of Poznań (Polish: Stołeczne Miasto Poznań). Poznań is known as Posen in German, and officially was known as Haupt- und Residenzstadt Posen ("Capital and Residence City of Poznań") between 20 August 1910 and 28 November 1918. The Latin names of the city are Posnania and Civitas Posnaniensis. Its Yiddish name is פּױזן, or Poyzn. The Russian version of the name, Познань (Poznan' ), is of feminine gender, in contrast to the Polish name, which is masculine. [edit] History Main article: History of Poznań For centuries before the Christianization of Poland, Poznań was an important cultural and political centre of Polans. Mieszko I, the first historically proved ruler of Polans (rex ambulans - "moving ruler"), built one of his main stable head quarters in Poznań. The Cathedral Basilica of St. Peter and St. Paul is the oldest Polish cathedral, founded in Poznań during the latter half of the 10th century. The son of Mieszka I, Boleslaus the Brave, was crowned king in 1025 and the Kingdom of Poland was formed. Greater Poland became the 'cradle of the Polish state'; both: Mieszko I and Boleslaus I are buried in Poznań. Lubrański Academy, the second Polish university (not a "full" university, in fact, as science students had to go to Kraków) was established in 1519.  Poznań was the capital of the Greater Poland region until it came under the dependency of Prussia in 1793 and its administrative area has been renamed to South Prussia. During the Greater Poland Uprising of 1806, Polish soldiers and civilian volunteers, assisted the efforts of Napoleon by driving out the occupying Prussian forces. The city became a part of the Duchy of Warsaw in 1807 and became a capital of the Poznań Department. In 1814 Napoleon's defeat led to the Congress of Vienna, where the boundaries of Europe were once again redrawn. Greater Poland was returned to Prussia and became the capital of the autonomous Grand Duchy of Posen. From the time of the Revolutions of 1848, Poznań was the capital of the Prussian Province of Posen. It became part of the German Empire during the unification of German states in 1871. Shortly after Imperial Germany's defeat in World War I, the Great Poland Uprising (1918–1919) liberated the city and the most of Greater Poland's land. The uprising lead to the creation of the Second Polish Republic, when Poznań became the capital of Poznań Voivodeship. During World War II, Poland suffered under Nazi occupation and the Polish population was severely repressed. In 1945, the city was declared a Festung (a fortified locale in which German forces were expected to conduct a last-ditch defense) by order of Hitler. As Poznań lies on the direct route from Warsaw to Berlin, the Red Army first besieged and then assaulted the German defenses, culminating in the assault on the Cytadela (citadelle) and resulting in serious damage to the city. Since the war's end, Poznań has been the capital of the surrounding area through administrative district boundary changes in 1957, 1975, and 1999; Poznań currently administrates Greater Poland Voivodeship, one of 16 provinces in Poland. Anti-communist protests in 1956 took a part in liberalising the post-war communist regime. Further information: History of Poland [edit] Historical populationDetailed demographic tables: Historical population of Poznań Historical population summary:
2020 population forecast:
Important information: Many students live in Poznań as it is a city with many universities. Each year around 120,000 young people are in higher education in Poznan. It is estimated that half of this number is from outside the Poznań County. Therefore 60,000 seasonal inhabitants (Academic year starts in October and finishes in July) should be added to population of Poznań. [edit] Geography
[edit] ClimateClimate of Poznań is continental humid with relatively cold winters and fairly hot summers. Expect snow in winter (hopefully on Christmas) with temperatures below 0 °C in the night. In the summer temperatures may often reach 30 °C. The most rainy month is July mainly due to very few short but intense cloud bursts and thunderstorms. Spring and fall are usually beautiful seasons, the former crisp and sunny and full of blooms and the latter alternately sunny and misty, and cool but not cold.
[edit] Administrative division The Poznań metropolitan area, consisting of the autonomous towns of Poznań, Ostrów, Ostrówek, Środka, Chwaliszewo, Łacina, was integrated into one city in 1793–1800. The rapidly growing city annexed the neighboring villages of Grunwald, Łazarz, Górczyn, Jeżyce, Wilda, Winogrady in 1900, Piątkowo and Rataje in later years. Nowadays Poznań is divided into five districts, which are further divided onto several dozen neighborhoods. The districts are: [edit] Economy Poznań has been an important trade centre since the Middle Ages. Starting in the 19th century, local heavy industry began to grow. Several major factories were built, including the Hipolit Cegielski steel mill and railway factory (see H. Cegielski - Poznań S.A.). Nowadays Poznań is one of the major trade centers in Poland. Poznań is regarded to be the second most prosperous city in Poland after Warsaw. The city of Poznan produced PLN 31.8 billion of Poland's GDP in 2006. The city also boasts a GDP (PPP) per capita of PLN 56,081 or 202% of Poland's average. Furthermore, Poznan had very low unemployment rate of 2.3% as of May 2009. For comparison Poland's national unemployment rate was over 10%. Many Western European companies have established their Polish headquarters in Poznań, or in the nearby towns of Tarnowo Podgórne and Swarzędz. Most foreign investors are German and Dutch companies (see Major corporations in Poznań), along with a few others. Investors are mostly from the food processing, furniture, automotive and transport and logistics industries. Foreign companies are primarily attracted by low labour costs, but also by the relatively good road and railway network, good vocational skills of workers and relatively liberal employment laws. The recently built Stary Browar shopping center contains many high-end shops and is considered one of the best in Europe. Other notable shopping centers in the city include Galeria Malta, one of the largest in Central Europe, and the shops at the Hotel Bazar, a historical hotel and commercial center in the Old Town. For a list of major Poznań-based corporations see Major corporations in Poznań [edit] CultureThe annual Malta Theatre Festival is probably the most typical cultural event of the city. It takes place in many city locations usually at the end of June and beginning of July. It hosts mainly modern experimental off-theatre performances held often on squares and other public spaces. This festival formula is open and contains as well cinema, visual, music and dancing events. There are also Henryk Wieniawski Violin Competition (held every 5 years) and Classical Music Concerts by Poznań Philharmony held each month in University Hall. For cinema lovers there are International Young Audience Film Festival "Ale Kino!" in December and "Off Cinema" festival of independent films. You will find many cinemas (the smaller the better) and theatres in Poznań. A few museums are also worth seeing. A very unique place is "Rozbrat" squat. It is not only a home for squatters. It is a place of very independent and open-minded culture. Most common are gigs there, but you can find an anarchistic library, vernissages, exhibitions, annual birthday festival (each October), poetry evenings, graffiti festivals and so on. Poznań is a place where many concerts and gigs are held. Many Polish stars perform here, but from time to time some well known (or at least good) foreign artists come here as well. Many clubs, pubs and coffee houses can be easily found in the city centre - mainly in surroundings of old town. They are kept open till late (especially during weekends) and each tries to have its own style. [edit] Education Main article: Education in Poznań Poznań has a few state-owned universities and a number of smaller, mostly private-run colleges and institutions of higher education. Adam Mickiewicz University (abbreviated UAM in Polish, AMU in English) is one of the most influential and biggest universities in Poland:
[edit] Scientific and regional organizations
[edit] Sports 
[edit] Politics[edit] Municipal politics Since the end of the communist era in 1989, Poznań municipality and suburban area have invested heavily in infrastructure, especially public transport and administration. That results in a massive investment from foreign companies in Poznań as well as in communities west and south of Poznań (namely, Kórnik and Tarnowo Podgórne). One of the most important values of Poznań is the positive attitude of public administration towards investments, and less bureaucracy than elsewhere in Poland. City investments into transportation were mostly into public transport. While the number of cars since 1989 has at least doubled, the policy of improving public transport gave good effects. Limiting car access to the city center, building new tram lines (including Poznański Szybki Tramwaj) and investing in new rolling stock (such as modern Combino trams by Siemens and Solaris low-floor buses) actually increased the level of ridership. This is a notable success, even considering the fact that Polish society only possesses about half of the "old EU"'s purchasing power, hence not everybody can afford to own a car. Future investments into transportation include the construction of a third bypass of Poznań, and the completion of A2 (E30) motorway towards Berlin. New cycle lanes are being built, linking to existing ones, and an attempt is currently being made to develop a Karlsruhe-style light rail system for commuters. All this is made more complicated (and more expensive) by the heavy neglect of transport infrastructure throughout the Communist era. See also: Tramways in Poznań [edit] ConstituencyMembers of Sejm elected in 2005 from Poznań constituency:
Members of European Parliament elected from Poznań constituency:
[edit] Notable residents
See also: Category:People from Poznań
[edit] International relations[edit] Twin towns
[edit] Sister citiesPoznań has 2 sister cities, as designated by Sister Cities International: [edit] Gallery
[edit] Footnotes
[edit] Bibliography
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
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