Judith Johnson
  • Blog
  • About me
  • Poetry
  • Miscellanea
  • Travels
  • Projects
  • SWM Extra
  • Pen Portraits
  • Contact/To Buy

First steps in Poland - snapshot of Wroclaw and Poznan

12/5/2012

4 Comments

 
When I was offered a place on a short familiarisation trip to Poland, I jumped at the  chance. I have had visiting Eastern Europe on my wish-list ever since I was at school, and this would be 3 days in a country I'd never set foot in. We would be flying to Wroclaw, then travelling on by train to Poznan. I had two slight connections to these cities. Wroclaw, known for some time as Breslau, was the birthplace of Anita Lasker-Wallfisch, whose book Inherit the Wind includes an account of her time as a member of the women's orchestra in Auschwitz. I heard her speak to a group of Sixth Form girls once. Needless to say, that was a powerfully moving experience.  Poznan (formerly Posen) was the birthplace and home of my grandmother's first cousins, Alfred and Lucy. Their mother Lucy Katharine Wakefield (daughter of my great-grandparents John Howard and Maria Wakefield) was married to Count Hugo Radolinski in July 1863 in London.

Wroclaw

We arrived at Wroclaw's ultra-modern looking airport in the morning and checked into our hotel, situated between the Academy of Fine Arts and the old Prussian fort, currently being excavated. Opposite was the Panorama Raclawicka, a truly prodigious feat of painting by Jan Styka and Wojciech Kossak (and many assistants!) in 1893 and 1894, and depicting the battlefield of Raclawice in 1794. The perspectives and 3-D effects of the painting are quite breathtaking.

We then had a guided tour of the Cathedral Island (gas lamps are lit nightly by a traditionally-dressed lamplighter, taking two hours to light and, later, two hours to put out). 70% of the city was damaged in the Second World War, including the Cathedral, but like so many other parts of mainland Europe, has been lovingly reconstructed since. Walking on further,  and through the old town, the Stare Miasto, with its Town Hall and Main Square, the ghosts of past occupants, whether Austro-Hungarian, Prussian or Nazi, seemed still present.

The old covered market, or Hala Targowa, on Piaskowa, was built in 1908. Its interior arches were reminiscent of the Modernisme-designed workers' co-operative building I'd seen in Cambrils in Spain (see Travel page). We only had time for a look at the ground-floor stalls, ranging from a row of butchers with unfamiliar joints of meat and healthy-looking fresh fruit & veg to honey and tea stalls, but upstairs were enticing glimpses of various tiny shops.

Wroclaw,  like Poznan, is a lively university town, and our whistle-stop tour wasn't going to be able to give us more than a glimpse of this, but there were plenty of busy, lively-looking cafes, restaurants and bars in evidence. We enjoyed various Polish dishes during our visit including zurek(soup with eggs and white sausage, served inside a small round loaf of bread!), pierogi (large ravioli-type filled envelopes), and plenty of red cabbage (our last dinner in Poznan delicious roast duck with cranberry-stuffed apple and Poznan-style steamed yeast dumplings at the Brovaria Restaurant in the Stary Rynek).

We whizzed by various museums and art-galleries, and I definitely plan to go back to get a closer look at the area's culture and history. One fascinating stop, on our last morning, was the stunning Centennial Hall on the outskirts of the city, designed in 1911 by Max Berg and completed in 1913. It was built after an appeal by Frederick of Germany to commemorate the stand against Napoleon, and had the biggest span of roof in concrete of its time. Over the years since, amongst other things it has been a venue for Cold War party conferences, trade shows, opera and rock concerts. Nearby are the old Film School buildings.
 www.wroclaw-life.com
Poznan

The ghosts of the past here include the lost Jewish community. Pre WW2, this was 20% of the total population. Now, we were told, there are only 15 Jews resident in Poznan, and the synagogue, though the exterior is still standing, was turned into a swimming-pool after the Holocaust.  For those who are interested in an account of a Polish Jewish community that didn’t survive the War years, I can recommend Konin by Theo Richmond.

But back to the present. We stayed in the stylishly modern 4* Hotel Andersia.  I got up before breakfast for a solitary swim in the pool on the 2nd floor and met some felt-hatted young men in the lift who were on their way back from a night's merry-making!

On this wet weekend, we had another fairly fast guided walking tour around this city. Being a history-head, I hankered after a couple of interesting looking museums we passed, which I would like to go back and see, including the Museum of the 1918-19 Wielkopolska Uprising, and the Museum of Musical Instruments. There are many more here! We did see the Cathedral (as with Wroclaw, situated on an island), site of the beginning of Christianity, in 966 AD, in Poland, and burial place of its first kings, the Malta Lake, where people from the city go for watersports, walks, picnics etc, and the Old Breweryshopping centre. Our guide explained that the latter has become a meeting place for all age-groups, and the modern art on display is worth seeing. There is a popular jazz club in Poznan, The Blue Note, opened in 1998, where the music is apparently excellent, according to our guide, who was also an afficionado of the local football team Lech Poznan, very well-loved by its loyal fans.

Poznan has introduced a half-price weekend once a year, when hotels, restaurants and attractions offer everything at half-price to encourage tourists to come for a city break and get a taste of the city. Go for it!
www.poznan.pl/mim/public/turystyka/index.html?lang=en
 www.poznan.pl/comeandenjoy/en/

4 Comments
Martin Johnson link
13/5/2012 04:54:46 am

Very interesting - you obviously had an enjoyable trip.

Reply
@Twowheeledtank link
18/11/2012 07:56:07 am

Thanks for this really interesting. I haved visited Wroclaw many times over the years. The first time being 1990 a year after the Berlin Wall fell. It is amazing to see how the town has changed.

Reply
Judith Johnson link
19/11/2012 04:35:59 am

Thanks for your kind comment! I would like to go back to Wroclaw - that visit barely scratched the surface...

Reply
Rick Wilmot
25/3/2017 04:00:22 am

Hello Judith,
Many thanks for your reply. What a great blog! I'm not clever enough to do one. :)

Best wishes
Rick

Reply



Leave a Reply.

    Picture

    Author

    Lifelong bookworm, love writing too. Have been a theatrical agent and reflexologist among other things, attitude to life summed up by Walt Whitman's MIRACLES.

    If you would like to subscribe to my blog, please click on RSS Feed link below:

    RSS Feed

    Categories

    All
    Arts
    Books
    Family Matters
    History
    Miscellaneous
    My Fantastic Five
    Natural World
    People
    Running & Walking
    Travel

    Archives

    November 2021
    February 2021
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    November 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    June 2018
    March 2018
    June 2017
    May 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012
    August 2012
    July 2012
    June 2012
    May 2012
    April 2012
    March 2012
    February 2012
    January 2012
    October 2011
    September 2011
    August 2011
    April 2011
    March 2011
    February 2011
    January 2011
    October 2010
    April 2010
    January 2010
    December 2009
    September 2009
    July 2009
    February 2009
    January 2009

    RSS Feed

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.