A unique garden will be created in Poznań. Work on the adaptation of a former amphitheater into an enclave full of honey-giving plants will start soon. In this way the Citadel park will be enriched with another very picturesque attraction. However, it will lose a unique place, which—after restoration—could once again serve culture.
"The only one of its kind in Poland"—informed Poznań websites several years ago, writing about plans for a new honey garden at the Citadel. „The only one” because it would be integrated into the high, semicircular stands of the summer theater in Citadel Park, which has been closed for years. The idea of adapting the former auditorium and stage of the amphitheater appeared in 2018. It was then submitted to the Poznań Civic Budget by Halina Owsianna from the Stare Winogrady Estate Council (she is also a city councilor).
Citadel park in Poznań—former amphitheater
photo: Jakub Głaz
councilwoman dressed as a bee
The concept, prepared in consultation with the Urban Greenery Board, was lost in a vote of residents. ZZM, however, took matters into its own hands. The adaptation project was made by Karolina Dzięgielewska, and a building permit was successfully obtained. The only thing missing was money. In 2019, Councilwoman Owsianna lobbied for city funding, entering City Council sessions in... disguise as a bee, talking about the role of bees in human life and handing out jars of honey. Later, the garden became quieter. In 2021, the imminent start of work was announced, but not even a shovel was driven in. Now Poznańskie Inwestycje Miejskie, which coordinates and oversees major city construction, says an update of the project documentation is underway, and a tender for a contractor for the work will be held in the last quarter of the year. The garden would be ready next fall.
Honey garden in Citadel park in Poznań, visualization—view from the west
© www.Poznań.pl, Board of Urban Greenery
What does the project look like? Places left by devastated benches are to be transformed into flowerbeds full of flowers attracting bees and other pollinating insects. Two alleys with terraces will also be created, connecting the extreme steps of the former amphitheater in an arc. A water cascade, discreet lighting that will not disturb insects and birds, a major renovation of the brick wall and new landscaping elements are planned. The former stage is to be transformed into a rest area with deck chairs and seating. The earthen embankment forming it will be transformed into freely composed hills. Poznań Municipal Investments specifies that:
the area has been divided into sectors corresponding to the concept of colorful waves, where colors go from the brightest and natural to dark, vivid and energetic. The plants in the sector, in turn, will be arranged in quarters that will allow for more frequent visits by bees with maximum energy savings to be spent on selecting flowers with the greatest nectar and pollen benefits. At the same time, the fragmentation of the plots will allow the terraces to be observed as a mosaic of flowers, similar to a natural meadow.
Honey garden in the Citadel park in Poznań, visualization—development of the existing audience
© www.Poznań.pl, City Greenery Management
inverted theater
The site, which is heavily sunlit and sheltered from the wind, is expected to encourage plant growth and the presence of insects (there are also honey-giving lindens growing nearby, among other things). The new garden will also build on ZZM's earlier efforts to promote bees (beehives were set up in the park several years ago). The whole is also to have didactic functions (boards, educational path). Four years ago, the designer also told "Gazeta Wyborcza" about the project as:
a theatrical concept based on the representation of the work of bees and man as an active participant in this performance.
Thus, the situation will be reversed: pollinators will play their "show" in the former auditorium, and the stage will be transformed into a place to observe their work.
The honey garden in the Citadel park in Poznań, the stage after transformation into a place of rest and observation, visualization
© www.Poznań.pl, City Greenery Board
no benches, no roof
The city's largest, 100-hectare Citadel park thus has a chance to gain a picturesque and useful attraction to replace the defunct amphitheater. The structure has long been out of its original function. It was created in 1968 as part of a park under construction at the time, which took the place of the former Winiary (Citadel) fort that was part of the city's 19th-century fortifications. During the battles for the city in 1945, the Citadel was heavily damaged and the entire hill was allocated for the Park-Monument to the Brotherhood of Arms and Polish-Soviet Friendship (under this name until 1992), which was built between 1963 and 1970. The southern slopes of the former Citadel have been preserved as war and insurgent cemeteries. Martyrdom is also served by an obelisk from 1945 and several other monuments.
Citadel park in Poznań—footbridge leading to the amphitheater
photo: Jakub Głaz
Most of the area, however, has been transformed into a recreational space saturated with diverse greenery. The urban composition of the park is based on a system of several avenues spreading radially from the obelisk, tied together by a peripheral route named Avenue of the Republic in the 1960s.
Citadel park in Poznań—former amphitheater, general view of the audience and stage
photo: Jakub Głaz
The spacious amphitheater, one of the park's many components, was located in the northeastern corner of the establishment. It was partially integrated into the ramparts surrounding the military complex using fragments of former fortress buildings. The entire complex, in a social act, was built by Poznań youth under the leadership of the Union of Socialist Youth. The stage and auditorium of the summer theater filled up regularly in the 1970s during then-frequent performances by military and folk groups. In the next decade, the facility became deserted, and devastation and dismantling of equipment began. The wooden bench seats disappeared, and were restored briefly in 1994, when „Antigone” was staged in the amphitheater as part of the Malta theater festival. Since then, only concrete seat supports have been seen on the stands.
Citadel Park in Poznań—concrete supports for amphitheater benches
photo: Jakub Głaz
In recent years, the facility has been used incidentally for smaller events or promotional activities. The previous decade also saw several attempts to revitalize and revitalize the amphitheater. In 2015, in consultation with the City Hall, designers from Atelier Starzak Strebicki prepared their concept for roofing and modernization (the project can be viewed on the office's website). However, it ended with concepts. The reason was not only scarce finances. The return of events and concerts would disturb the bats that make their home in the nearby shelter. It's also no secret that the restoration of the amphitheater's former function is not to the taste of residents of single-family houses on the streets surrounding Citadel Park. The honey garden is therefore an alternative to the earlier renovation intentions, and at the same time another heavily flowered area of the park.
Flower gardens exist in many places in the Citadel, in the photo: the renovated water garden with the restored sculpture „Seagull” by Jerzy Sobociński
photo: Jakub Głaz
why not flowers and theater?
Transforming the amphitheater into a flower garden promises to be very attractive and is part of the sensible trend of enriching biodiversity in the city. However, the question arises whether it is reasonable to abandon the original function of the facility. An amphitheater of this scale is unique in Poznań, and—after roofing and enriching it with small facilities for artists—could again serve as a place for staging plays and performances of an intimate nature. They would certainly be less disruptive to the park's natural environment than the large-scale events organized more and more frequently in the Citadel's largest glade and publicized in such a way that they can be heard perfectly in several neighboring districts (for example, concerts in the series Men's Playing lasting until one o'clock at night).
Citadel Park in Poznań—a clearing on the site of the former midden of Fort Winiary used, among other things, for large events and concerts
photo: Jakub Głaz
Restoration of the amphitheater, moreover, would not prevent the installation of a honey garden. Adjacent to the stage are vast spaces suitable for an extensive flower garden (the area was planned in the 1970s for an unrealized planetarium and nature education center). The return of the former function would also be part of ongoing efforts over the past two decades to restore the luster and original shape of other parts of the Citadel designed at the same time as the summer theater.
Citadel park in Poznań—rosarium, general view
photo: Jakub Głaz
Among other things, the extensive rosarium and the very attractive water garden have been restored, and the extremely interesting outdoor sculptures are also being restored. About 30 contemporary forms were made by various artists in the late 1960s and early 1970s as part of a biennial sculpture festival that was organized for a short time.
Citadel Park in Poznań—sculptural composition „Unrecognized” by Magdalena Abakanowicz from 2002.
photo: Jakub Głaz
The continuation of these activities was the realization in 2002 of a large outdoor sculptural composition „Unrecognized” by Magdalena Abakanowicz, which—without replacing the previous spatial assumptions—occupied the vacant space in the middle of the park.
