Poznan city guide

Province: Wielkopolska (Greater Poland)
Population: 557,000
Area: 265km²
Altitude: 92m above sea level
Motto: Poznan: Eastern energy, Western style

Poznan roughly translates as "one who is recognised" and if the seemingly endless trade fairs in the city are anything to go by it certainly is. The fairs provide a huge source of civic pride (and money) and though of no real interest to the average visitor, the city – Poland's fifth largest and once a royal seat – has more than enough to offer elsewhere.

Poznan started life as a ninth-century wooden fort on a Warta river island before a growing population forced its migration to the mainland. Under Prussian/German rule from 1793, it returned to Poland in 1919 and the city sparked an intense regional uprising, a spirit revived as the city also witnessed the first mass protest in the Soviet bloc. With so much unrest Poznan has over the years undergone all manner of refits, from aesthetic facelifts to complete rebuilds; not unattractive scars of its history.

HISTORY
Founded by the Slavic Polanians on Ostrów Tumski island in the Warta river, Poznan was a royal seat until 1039 when constant attack by the Holy Roman Empire took its toll. Yet while they moved to Krakow, the monarchs continued to be buried in Poznan for another 250 years (the crypt is in the cathedral). Located midway between Berlin and Warsaw, many were coming to live there, however, and a growing population eventually exceeding the island's capacity. In 1253 the town centre was moved to the left bank of the Warta.

Natural disasters coupled with Swedish, Prussian and Russian invasions led, in 1793, to its annexation by Prussia and Poznan became Posen. The city remained under Prussian and then German rule until 1918 when, following World War One, the Wielkopolska Uprising broke out. The insurrection escalated into civil war though it had ended by the time the Treaty of Versailles awarded Poznan and the rest of the province to Poland.

Economy
Poznan has been an important trade centre since the middle ages and embraced industrialisation during the 19th century. The Cegielski metal works – where workers staged the first mass protest in the Soviet bloc in 1956 – is evidence of that, and is still going strong in a city regarded in Poland as economically second only to Warsaw. Food processing, furniture, automotive and transport and logistical industries are all going strong as, with so many international companies establishing Polish headquarters in Poznan, is the tertiary sector.

NOTABLE NAMES
• Krzysztof Komeda, composer and jazz pianist (1931-1969) – wrote scores for Rosemary's Baby among others; his 1966 album Astigmatic is regarded as a jazz classic.

• Zygmunt Bauman, sociologist (b1925) – best known for his work on the links between modernity and the Holocaust, and postmodern consumerism.

• Małgorzata Dydek, basketball player (1974-2011) – 2.18m tall Polish international centre who holds Women's NBA record for all-time blocks.

THINGS TO SEE
The Old Town contains most of Poznan's tourist attractions, all centred on the beautiful Stary Rynek. Laid out in 1253 the cobblestone square's focal point is the town hall, which houses the Historical Museum of Poznan and the most unusual of clocks. At noon tourists gather to watch as two metal goats appear through a pair of small doors and butt horns 12 times. Legend has it that at the clock's unveiling two goats escaped the kitchens and wound up fighting above the cloaked timepiece. Its maker was duly ordered to capture the moment.

Stary Rynek is also home to museums devoted to musical instruments, archeology, history, the Wielkopolska Uprising and the military, while the nearby National Museum holds an extensive art collection. The cradle of Poznan, Ostrów Tumski, is 1km east of the Old Town and dominated by the 14th-century cathedral though fires in 1622, 1772 and 1945 each brought major facelifts. By contrast, across the road St Mary's Church is possibly the most untouched Gothic building in the city.

Just north of the Old Town is the Prussian citadel and site where, in February 1945, 20,000 German troops held out for a month. It is now a park with two war museums. Originally built for Kaiser Wilheim II, the Kaiserhaus houses the Palace of Culture, and behind it a pair of bound crosses forms a monument in memory of the victims of the 1956 uprising. South of the city in Park Wilsona, the Palm House is an incredible expanse of greenhouses built in 1910 containing 19,000 species of plants.

Fan zone: Plac Wolnosci (Freedom Square)
Poznan's 30,000-capacity fan zone, located close to the bus and train stations, will centre on one enormous 120m² screen and will open for the duration of the tournament from 12.00 to 01.00 local time on matchdays, 16.00 to 00.00 on non-matchdays. It is free to enter and will broadcast all 31 matches live, though at other times there will be plenty of entertainment such as football skill tests, five-a-side pitches, live concerts and DJ sets, as well as offer a full range of food and beverages.

TRANSPORT
To and from
Poznań-Ławica airport is 7km west of the city and has daily flights to Warsaw as well as regular links to Copenhagen, Dublin, Stockholm, Barcelona, Germany and England. Poznań Główny railway station in the heart of the city offers the best domestic service with about 20 daily services to Warsaw (3-4 hours). Frequent trains run to Wroclaw (2.5 hours), Gdansk (4 hours) and Kyiv (18 hours) and there are also direct services to Berlin, Cologne and Moscow.

Distances to other UEFA EURO 2012 venues
Wroclaw – 175km
Gdansk – 305km
Warsaw – 320km
Lviv – 700km
Kyiv – 1,140km
Kharkiv – 1,570km
Donetsk – 1,785km

In and around
The city is serviced by trams and buses, usually painted green and yellow. Tickets are available from kiosks, shops and MPK outlets, typically displaying the MPK logo and are available for 24 hours and one week, while for single journeys there is a choice: a time or distance ticket. With the exception of rush hour and roadworks, it is generally better value for money to go for the time option. MPK also hire out bicycles. There is also the Poznan Fast Tram (Poznański Szybki Tramwaj), which currently runs north from the city centre though another line is under construction.

FOOTBALL
In a region where so many sporting tastes are catered for, from gridiron to speedway, handball to rowing, football has provided the main attraction for 100 years.

In KKS Lech Poznań the city is home to one of the nation's true heavyweights, the winners of five Polish Cups and six titles. Founded by members of a Catholic youth association in 1922, they reached the top flight in 1948 and their famed ABC strikeforce of Teodor Anioła, Edmund Białas and Henryk Czapczyk ensured they quickly settled.

Silverware continued to elude Lech, losing the Polish Cup in 1980, but they prevailed two years later and quickly added back-to-back league honours – they have not looked back. Their most recent success came in 2010, four years after merging with Amica Wronki, inspired by 18 goals from Robert Lewandowski prior to his move to Borussia Dortmund.

It earned a return to UEFA competition and they took the UEFA Europa League by storm. Artjoms Rudņevs struck four goals as Lech twice held Juventus, and they traded 3-1 home wins with Manchester City FC. The English side went away with more than three points, however: they gained a new goal celebration. On scoring, Lech's famous fans turn their backs on the pitch and bounce up and down with their arms locked. So now do City's, a craze known as "doing the Poznan".

Lech were not Poznan's first national champions. That honour goes to second division side KS Warta Poznań, winner of titles in 1929 and 1947 and five-time runners-up, though the Zieloni (Greens) have not graced the top flight since 1995. Established in 1912, Warta are the city's third oldest club behind the now defunct KS Posnania (1907) and KW 04 Poznań (1904).

A third Poznan outfit have savoured top-flight football. TS Olimpia Poznań finished fifth in the Ekstraklasa in 1990 and reached the Polish Cup semi-finals a year later before sliding back down the divisions.

Footballing alumni
The city has provided a steady stream of international players. Anioła (Angel) earned his nickname The Devil for terrorising back lines during the 1950s and his 196 league appearances for Lech brought 138 goals; 137 more than left-back Hieronim Barczak mustered in 367 games two decades on. Another defender, Bartosz Bosacki, scored both Poland's goals at the 2006 FIFA World Cup in a team that also included Maciej Żurawski, and ex-Olimpia playmaker Mirosław Szymkowiak won the last of his 33 caps that year. DSC Arminia Bielefeld favourite Artur Wichniarek also donned the white and red though ex-RSC Anderlecht striker Tomasz Radzinski took a different path, moving to Canada and playing 46 times for the Canucks.

Did you know?
From 1933 to 1994 Lech had close links to Polish State Railways (PKP), gaining the nickname Kolejorz, local slang for the Railwaymen.

OTHER SPORTS
Poznan hosted group games at EuroBasket 2009, won by Spain, and the 2009 World Rowing Championships on Lake Malta, also the stage for the 2010 ICF Canoe Sprint World Championship. The city's volleyball and basketball teams are in the top flight of Poland's women's championships. Poznan's Hubert Wagner guided a Poland team including hometown boy Włodzimierz Sadalski to Olympic volleyball gold in 1976. Szymon Ziółkowski won the hammer throw at the 2000 Olympics and the three IAAF World Championships since have brought a medal of each colour.