Poznań, one of the oldest cities in Poland, is located 270km west of Warsaw, 170km from the German and is the county’s 5th largest city with ca 550,000 inhabitants.
The history of Poznań dates back to the 2nd half of the 900-hundreds when Mieszko I, the 1st known duke of Poland, built one of his castles in Poznań and when also The Archcathedral Basilica of St. Peter and St. Paul (on Ostrów Tumski aka Cathedral Island) was erected. In 1025, Poznań became the capital when the Kingdom of Poland was founded.
Today’s Poznań was founded in 1253 by German colonists and joined the re-established Polish State on November 11, 1918. It is currently the administrative capital of the province called Greater Poland Voivodeship, and is large academic site with about 37,000 students.
Poznań’s city center (including the Old Town) lies on the west side of the main river Warta, and this is where many of the historic buildings and sights are located.
A recommendation is to follow the Royal-Imperial Route, a tourist walk leading through the most important parts of the city, showing its history, culture and identity.
Stary Rynek is by many said to be one of the most beautiful squares in Europe, featuring the Courthouse with the history museum and hosting many big events such as a huge annual Christmas Market.
Another popular venue is Malta, a park with an artificial lake in its centre. On one bank of the lake there are ski and sleigh slopes (Malta Ski), on the opposite bank a big complex of swimming pools (Termy Maltanskie).
Poznań has an extensive public transport system, mostly consisting of trams and urban & suburban buses.
The currency used is Polish Zloty (PLN).