Article fromA&B issue02|2023
It's a bit like being from here. My parents grew up near Krotoszyn, in the typical Wielkopolska village of Lutogniew. I used to go here as a child for harvest and vacations. I felt this Greater Poland as normality. Its undisputed heart was Poznań, for the whole family a city - the model of Sèvres. Poznań was the obvious territory of success, the direction of development, a must have - that's why my parents forced me to pass to study at UAM. However, forcing is not a good idea, I wanted to go to Krakow.
Because of this forcing and habituation, early taming, Poznań was never exotic to me. It was normal, but also ordinary. Especially in the 1990s, it seemed to me perhaps the least attractive of Polish metropolises. It lacked the mysteries of Wrocław, the panache reflected in the architecture of Cracow's history with the magic of Jewish Kazimierz, the New York space of the capital, the port character and diversity of the Tricity. Poznan in the 1990s, like everywhere laboriously washing away the grayness and grime of communist Poland, was not overly appealing from my perspective. It lacked the nightlife that was at hand in Krakow, there was nowhere to go in a social sense, it was a world without cool pubs.
Then, in its Poznan style, the city took part in this amazing Polish metropolitan development revolution, about which there is a whole series of "Big Cities". Poznań was doing its Wielkopolska thing: calmly, orderly, in a reasonably organized, pragmatic way. There came the time of implementing the "Poznań City of Know-how" strategy. I expressed myself positively about it in the media and at many congresses. It was a sensible interpretation of the city: embraced, organized, according to the stereotype of decent just.
Imperial Castle - a symbol of Germanization, but also a clue to where the know-how came from
Photo: Radoslaw Maciejewski
This did not change the fact that in my mind Poznań remained the metropolis of last choice. If I had to choose a city to live in - I often talk about it with friends - I would again definitely and firmly choose Krakow. At one time Wroclaw would have been in second place, but thanks to the last decades of change, the Tri-City jumped into second place, ex aequo. Warsaw came in third. Moving to Katowice, Lodz or Poznan was not an option in the past - even though they have always been, in my opinion, great cities to visit. But time passes, the world is changing, and Polish cities are undergoing a revolutionary metamorphosis before our eyes. Today I could already live in Silesia or Lodz. The question was, would I feel comfortable in Poznan? In search of an answer - I set out to rediscover Poznan.
Someone once asked me what I was missing in the image of Poznan, what should be changed in the city's brand, what, from my perspective, Poznan IS NOT, but should be. I said then that Poznań was not sexy for me. Because it wasn't. Compared to other major Polish cities, Poznań has indeed looked a bit like the dullest Polish metropolis in the past.
Seemingly in this city everything is there, cultural institutions as it should be. There is the Poznań International Fair, a window to the world - in many dimensions Poznań's strongest asset. We all know that Poznan is a strong business center. Economically it is a heavyweight player, there are plenty of big companies and investments here. This is, of course, very important - the universal key to the success of any city is, after all, "economy, stupid!".
The Old Town is cozy, has its own style and atmosphere
Photo: Radoslaw Maciejewski
However, before I discover this new-to-me Poznań, which I saw anno domini 2022, I will complain a little more about the Wielkopolska capital. I don't like the way this city is preceded by railroad tracks. I can't stand the Poznań train station, it's probably the worst in Poland. It is difficult to enjoy this city because of the extreme number of construction sites, ditches, fences, digging and digging. This, of course, will pass, but here and now it has some effect on the feel of the city. On top of that, the surroundings are not very thrilling: Krakow has its Tatra Mountains, Wroclaw has the Karkonosze, Gdansk has the Baltic Sea. Here we are surrounded by the snotty Polish plains, which doesn't help Poznan.
