"... and today is the illustrious city, head of the whole Wielkopolska ..."

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There are different submits about rise of the city name. Some chroniclers maintained that city owed this name because on this grounds met King of Poland Boleslaw Chrobry (The Brave) and German Caesar Otton III. Archdiac from Gniezno John (Jan) said that city got the name POZNAN because here Prince Mieszko I received the christianity and here Poles knew the new faith. Other version take the name POZNAN from legend about Lech, Czech and Rus who met themselves and for celebrate this historical meeting they decided found the fortified city between Cybina River and Warta River and call it POZNAN.

Which version is true? We only know that this name has slavonic origin, i.e. from adjective and oridnary name "poznany" (recognized).

The city with an area of 26,131 ha is a major railroad and road junction and a port on the Warta River. POZNAN is conveniently situated. It is only 300 km from Warszawa and Berlin, 465 km from Copenhagen, 885 km from Brussels, 1215 km from Rome and 1395 km from Moscow. Today with its about 600,000 inhabitants (269,585 of men + 308,650 women = 578,235 together, 31.12.1998), including approximately 60,000 university students, it is a major university center midway between Berlin and Warsaw. It is also a major center for European and international trade and industrial conventions and fairs so that the hotel, dining and entertainment facilities excel on a European standard. The chief industries are food processing and the manufacture of metals, engines, freight cars, machine tools, chemicals, and ceramics. The City itself presents a pleasant environment beautified with an abundance of greenery and lakes throughout. It has a picturesque, medieval downtown (Stare Miasto), a 19th-20th century central business section and modern residential areas around the City. In 1956 workers staged large-scale protest demonstrations in Poznan, which led to changes in the Stalin' era.

As POZNAN is a city with a tradition longer than 1,000 years, the environs are a veritable paradise for tourists. Their heritage includes monuments from all historical epochs in Europe. The city has numerous castles, palaces, mansions, old tenement houses, churches, heritage parks. Make sure you do not miss the pearl of northern Europen architecture and POZNAN's most characteristics edifice: the Renaissance Town Hall with its magnificent tower in the Old Market Square. Every June the Market place as well as the wonderful recreational area around artificial Malta Lake, turns into a huge open-air stage for performances of the "Malta" International Theater Festival. POZNAN is worldwide famous for its Henryk Wieniawski International Violin Competitions, boys' and men's choirs (Poznan Nightingales - S.Stuligrosz, Polish Nightingales - J.Kurczewski), the Amadeus Chamber Orchestra (A.Duczmal), the International Jazz Festival "Jazz Fair", the Folk Blues Fair, the Polish Dance Theatre (E.Wycichowska), Europe's only Museum of Musical Instruments, and many, many more.

No matter who you are or where you come from, you can always count on our hospitality and professional, friendly service.

The coat-of-arms has blue background, white city wall with battlements, a gate and three towers. Above the central tower (the tallest) is a red shield with a white eagle and golden stripe on its wings. Two standing figures, Saint Paul with a golden sword and Saint Peter with a golden key, on the other two towers. In the gate, two golden keys and a cross above them. Next to the figures of the Saints, golden stars and half-moons. The coat-of-arms, known from seals since the fourteenth century, was approved in 1936.