P for Poznań Old Market Square

 

Have you ever been to Poznań?

Another letter in "My Polish Alphabet" is "P" and it stands for Poznań Old Market Square.

 

Poznań is one of the oldest cities in Poland. I have visited it many times, but never cared much for the rest, meaning the more modern part of the city. 

The beginnings of Poznań date back to the 9th century, however, even much earlier settlements were discovered in that area (from 8,000 BC).

The old town was built in 1253, when Poznań was granted city rights. I love the atmosphere of the place. Every day at 12 noon, you can watch the two billy goats on the clock tower butting their heads. 

12 o'clock noon - the show starts

 

The place is totally different from the rest of Poznań (which is just like any other big city - loud and busy). The old market square has a totally different atmosphere. 

 

Apollo fountain

 

There are four fountains on the Market Square. The Apollo fountain (the basin part) is made of sandstone. The statue of Apollo is a bronze figure.

 

Sometimes, while visiting the place, you may have an unexpected encounter. See the reenactment group below, the old pranger column in the background.

 

In medieval ages, the pranger was a place of torture and humiliation - a person was stuck to it and "treated" by an executioner. The original pranger column has been stored in a local museum, the current one, topped with a statue of a torturer, is its modern replacement.

Besides the old city council building and the clock tower, the old town section also has a residential area, with its old houses and a network of streets.

The building at the end of the street, above, is the Basilica of Our Lady of Perpetual Help, Saints Mary Magdalene and Stanislaus of Szczepanów, commonly known as the Poznań Fara. It was built in the 17th century - very pretty and elaborate decorations inside.

If you are a fan of archeology, you can also visit a nearby museum.

If you get tired walking around, you can rest in one of the market square cafes, remember to try the original pastry of Poznań - St. Martin's croissants (rogale marcińskie). The croissants are big and sweet, I could not manage to eat one. 

St Martin's croissants

The tradition of making them dates back to the end of 19th century. About the 11th November, the parish priest of St. Martin's church asked the parish people to do something for the poor. One of the local pastry makers made three baking sheets of the sweet croissants and brought them to the church area. Every year, more and more bakers joined him and the tradition developed. 

 

These days you can buy St. Martin's pastry in Poznań all year round. The most is sold and eaten on 11 November, St Martin's day.

Credits: Photo of croissants: By Rzuwig - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=64033312