Fifth town in Poland per population, Poznan with his Warta river is located in the western part of the country and a bit as Wroclaw it’s rather clear the German influence.
Hosted in the Moon Hostel in Ulica Dominikanska (half point less in the evaluation due to the receptionist only-Polish speaker during the check out) and with an hipster bunch of friends, the city reveals herself with an elegant soul but not pretentious.
In my second trip I remind I didn’t see the Imperial Castle for same weird reason the first time I was here.
The Castle has also a Museum inside (we arrived too late) and outside lovely Gardens.
The ‘Zamek’ was built by Wilhelm II at the begin of XX Century for elevating the status of the town; every year it hosts around 700 events
During the World War II the town suffered a lot of damages and ruins and the Municipality decided to decreased the Tower’s height by 1/3.
The lazy afternoon was enriched by a wonderful local sweet (dziekuje bardzo Sophie!).
The Saint Martin’s croissant (rogal świętomarciński) has a curious history: one of the local baker prepared 3 different kinds of croissants because the bishop of the church claimed for some gifts for poor people.
His example was rightafter followed by many other bakers creating a tradition still nowadays alive. Only during the 11. of November (Saint Martin’s day) it is calculated as 1.25 milions of croissants were produced and eaten! There is also a fancy Rogalowe Muzeum for the fans of this great product.
But the town offers much more: there is Stary Browar, a modern shopping mall built up inside a XIX century- brewery with his cool green area; in general we found many gracious corners as cafes with veranda and chill-out atmosphere.
The Town Hall is probably the bigwig of Poznan: in 1551 it was installed a clock with a 2 goats mechanism. Every day at 12 from a little door the 2 goats go out and clash themselves 12 times.
Don’t worry if you arrive late: you can always see inside the old tool! Here also a legend: as soon as the clock was created the authoritites decided to celebrate the event. The cook who was preparing the meals burned the meat and he decided to replace it with the 2 goats; but the animals escaped sheltering themselves inside the Town Hall.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3CJ4qIiFlN8
Worthy to see also the Museum of Instruments with a musical ‘map’ for each country and a lot of video/audio helps; shortly, the town has a lot to offer and discover and could be considered a great option for a relaxed weekend.
Personal suggestion: don’t miss a walk from Stare Rynek to the river preferably during the sunset.
When you arrive to the bridge there is a notable landscape with Poznan on the background; further, you can stumble across the Ostrow Tumski, a church placed on the two branches of Warta River.
In polish Poznan means ‘the one who is known/recognizable’ and we assure that his uniqueness it is well deserved!
