Tom`s travels: Poznan, Gniezno, Bydgoszcz & Torun (09-11/06/2018)

After having gone to Hamburg for the wedding of Ania´s best friend, Kerstin, we came back to Poland to finish our thesis and for my graduation in late June. We thought though to take a few days to see a few cities in Poland while we were still in the country. So after taking a regional train, we slept a night in Katowice and the next morning took a train to Poznan. The journey took four hours and after reaching the destination we found a locker to put our bags and then explore the city on foot. We passed in front of the monument of the crosses commemorating the 1956 protests, several massive protests which took place in that period against the communist government ruling the country at that time. Right by the monument stand the imposing Imperial Castle, built in 1910 for the German Emperor William II when the city was under German rule. It was part of a larger project which involved also the city of Strasbourg in France. Being these two cities, recently annexed the Empire had in mind to germanize them and build new buildings to exalt the fact. The castle was thus built in the Neo-Romanesque style as it was felt that architectural style best represented the German Empire as the successor of the Holy Roman Empire. After seeing the building from the outside we continued on and passed the large Plac Wolnosci reaching the National Museum set at its eastern end. The entrance was free on that day and the building houses a large and nice collection. It centered mostly on Polish art from the 16th to 18th centuries, European art from various centuries, Antiquity and middle ages, and a part dedicated to modern art. Right behind the museum, we then passed by the church of St Anthony of Padua, built during the 17th century in the Baroque style. We decided to check the interior as the doors were open and were amazed by the lavish Baroque decorations and fittings, and particularly by the impressive red main altar. Next to the church, on a small hill, stands the Royal Castle, differing from the Imperial one we previously passed, as this one was built during the 13th century and served the kings of Poland. As it was mostly destroyed during WWII, what can be seen now is a 2010 reconstruction, which reminded me more of a Disney building or a Lego construction. From there we finally reached the Stary Rynek or Old Town Market Square. Like in many other Polish cities and towns it was lined with beautiful tenement and burgher colorful houses. As the town suffered heavy damage during WWII most of them had to be rebuilt, but the process was done beautifully and they now shine with their renaissance splendor. At the corners of the square are fountains representing the Roman gods Apollo, Neptune, Mars, and Proserpina. There is also a statue of St John Nepomucene and the punishment post typical of medieval cities. At the center of the square are the Waga Miejska, the weighing house originally built during the 16th century and rebuilt like other structures around, and the Town Hall which we proceeded to visit next. Built when the city received its first charter during the 13th century, it was then rebuilt in its present Mannerist style by the Italian architect Giovanni Battista di Quadro between 1550 and 1560. Above the main entrance is a clock which holds one of the most popular attractions in the city. At noon, in fact, the clock strikes, the bugle play (like the hejnal in Krakow) and two mechanical billy goats butt their heads against each other. We then entered the building and after paying the ticker, explored the small museum hosted inside. The museum presents objects detailing the history of the city, and the rooms have nice decorations particularly the Great Hall which still features the original Renaissance stuccoes. After reaching the top, we had a nice view from the windows of the top floor and then descended back down at street level. We gave another round of the square, admiring the view and walking through the markets stalls, and then headed along one of the streets radiating out of the square and reaching the scenic Lesser Basilica of St Stanislaus at the end of the street. As it was built during the 18th century for the Jesuit order, it already announced beauty and lavishness. This was, in fact, already evident by its beautiful and imposing red facade. Once inside, in fact, the amazement did not end and confirmed its richness and beauty reminding me greatly of the Baroque churches in Rome. Next to the church, and once part of the complex, stands the former Jesuit College now holding a ballet school. It was here that Napoleon resided in 1806, 1807 and 1812 during his campaigns. In front of the college is a small monument with the statues of the two clock goats, which have become a symbol of the city. After exiting the old town and a little walking we then reached the Ostrow Tumski. Like its counterpart in Wroclaw, this cathedral island sits between two branches of the Warta river, and as its name suggests, is where the city cathedral is located. This was the oldest settlement of the city, and after the slow relocation to where now the old town is, this part came to the exclusive use of the Bishop. After crossing the bridge and entering the island we passed by the church of Our Lady in Summo built during the 15th century in the Gothic style, which was unfortunately closed, and then reached the main monument in the area: the Cathedral. Built during the 10th century, it is considered as one of the oldest churches in the country. It was then rebuilt in the Gothic style during the 14th and 15th centuries, and again in the 17th century in the Baroque style. Finally, after the war, the decision to return it to its original Gothic aspect was chosen giving us its present form. It was in this Cathedral that Mieszko I was baptized thus marking the official beginning of the Polish nation. After seeing the rather plain yet historical interior, we then headed out and passed by the church of St Margaret, located in a small pretty square and then through the Brama Poznania, once the eastern entrance gate to the city and now turned into a modern museum containing an exhibition on the history of Ostrow Tumski. After that, we headed back to the city center where we gave one last look at the main square before heading to the train station and catching our train to Gniezno, our next stop.
After reaching the city, as it was rather late already, we decided to head to our accommodation which was right on the Rynek, the town´s main square. After checking in, we had dinner with some stuff we had brought with us and then went to bed feeling quite tired. The next morning, we woke up early and decided to explore our surroundings. Gniezno is in fact supposed to be the cradle of the Polish nation, even before the baptism of Mieszko I in Poznan, in fact, it was here, as the legend goes, that Lech, one of the three brothers, arrived and after seeing an eagle decided to found a settlement and call it Gniezno, or eagle´s nest. The three brothers were, in fact, responsible for founding the three nations of the Russians, Poles, and Czechs. We thus headed to explore the Cathedral, the town´s main monument and one of the most famous in Poland. Built in the 10th century it was then modified a few times, including the interior in the Baroque style during the 17th century; after WWII it was then returned to its original Gothic structure. The Cathedral is famous for containing the perfectly preserved pair of bronze doors dating to the 12th century and detailing the life of St Adalbert, or Wojciech in Polish. It is also known for being the first coronation site of the Kings of Poland, from the country´s first king Boleslaw I the Brave until about three-hundred years later when it was moved to Krakow. We entered the Cathedral and admired it from the inside, even though a mass was taking place but was at its final moments. I particularly like the gilded Baroque baldachin which covers the tomb of St Adalbert. After the tour, we then exited, walked through the town, grabbed our luggage from the accommodation and headed to the train station to take our ride to the next destination: Bydgoszcz.
After reaching the destination, we decided to head towards the city center on foot, as usual. We passed by some nice neighborhoods; the city, in fact, is known for its Art Nouveau, Neoclassicist, Neo-Baroque, Neogothic and modernist architecture. We reached the beginning of what was once the old town and passed by the Poor Clare´s Church, built in the Gothic style, which was unfortunately closed. We crossed the Brda river and admired the nice refurbished old granaries which now hold a museum. Just a bit ahead we then reached the Stary Rynek, we admired the typical squared structure and then crossed it to reach the Cathedral. Dating to the 15th century it presents a brick Gothic style typical of this area, The interior was quite unexpected, as it featured a bright polychrome covering all the walls and ceiling. After seeing the church we headed out and walked over to the Mill island, a large area surrounded by the Brda river, which contains some refurbished mills and granaries which used to fill up the place. It is now used mostly for events and recreation and in fact, the Jarmark Świętojański, or St John´s fair, was taking place as we visited. There were several stalls selling all kinds of stuff and a stage was set up with local people dressed up in traditional clothes and performing traditional dances. After hanging out for a while and enjoying the event, we decided to head to the train station and take a ride to our last destination of the trip: Torun.
One of the most famous cities in Poland due to its large and preserved old town, it was put in the Unesco World Heritage Site List and thus is quite touristy. It is not the typical Polish town, because for most of its history it was first a possession of the Teutonic Order and then part of the Hanseatic League for about two centuries. The city is famous for being the birthplace of the astronomer, Nicolaus Copernicus, and the Torun gingerbread produced here since the middle ages. So after reaching the city and checking in our hostel which looked quite shabby and unsanitary, we headed out to explore the old town. Not far on we reached the Rynek Staromiejski, the old town square, which is one of the main attractions of the city. At its center stands the large town hall, built during the 14th century when the city was administered by the Teutonic Order, so in its most prosperous period. It is a perfect example of brick Gothic with an additional floor built during the 17th century in the Mannerist style. The town hall holds a museum inside which we decided to visit after paying the entry ticket. It detailed the history of the city in the historic halls of the building, starting from the merchant´s hall at the ground floor with gothic arches, containing stained glass windows and objects relating to the medieval merchants´ crafts. On the upper floor were mostly paintings from different centuries both polish and European. After that, we climbed the tower which had an extra price but was well worth it. It is the oldest part of the building, and was first built during the 13th century and then expanded the following century to its present form. It is based on Flemish belfries, as Torun established trade links with that region early on. Once we reached the top, we had a great view of the old town with its typical medieval layout and its many churches scattered around. The weather was not as fine as in the previous days but it was still a great view from there. We then descended back down and headed to visit the Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Built in the 14th century, and belonging to the Franciscan order it does not possess a bell tower. The interior holds some nice baroque altars as well as some medieval paintings. After the visit to the church, we walked on and reached an interesting landmark, the Leaning Tower. So-called because its top is displaced to about 1.5 meters from its bottom making it a fun place to test your balancing skills when leaning against it. Built during the 13th century, it is one of the many towers which dot the walls that nearly completely encircle the old town. We walked along the walls, passed through the Brama Klasztorna, or monastery gate, and then passed by the House of Nicolaus Copernicus, a Gothic tenement house considered to be the birthplace of the astronomer. We then walked out of the walls again and admired the view of the Vistula River which passes here before heading north towards the Baltic Sea. We then walked along the walls and past the Brama Mostowa reaching the eastern end of the old town where the ruins of the Castle stand. Built during the 13th and 14th centuries by the Teutonic Order, it was largely destroyed by a rebellion in 1454 and then later fell into disrepair. From there we headed back towards the main square where we decided to have dinner at a place called Manekin, a nalesnik, or polish crepes, chain which I had previously tried in Warsaw. After dinner, we headed back to the hostel to sleep. The next after an early wake-up and breakfast with polish pastries, we then headed to visit the Cathedral of St John, which was closed the previous day. Built in Gothic brick from the 13th to the 15th century, it is one of the largest churches in Poland and has a nice airy interior. It is also famous for holding the baptismal font in which supposedly the young Copernicus was baptized. We then continued walking, passing by a large street filled with shops which eventually led to the Rynek Nowomiejski, or the new town market. Despite its name, this part of town dates to the enlargement of the city which took place at the end of the 13th century so not so New if considering it from today. On the northeastern side of the square stand the large church of St James, erected during the second half of the 14th century. As we entered we found out it was mostly covered in scaffolding, but it was nonetheless really nice, with a large Gothic vault with some medieval frescoes still remaining on the side walls and columns. A particular thing which stroke me was its unusual basilica type structure, more typical outside of Poland and thus differing greatly from the other Gothic churches of the city. As we exited the structure, the sun had decided to shine again, and thus we decided to spend a while touring aimlessly the new and old town's streets while passing by the main landmarks. For lunch, we decided to eat at a place called Chrupiace Pierogi, which as the name suggests, served the polish dumplings. It was more of a semi-fast food chain, and despite quite good we could´ve chosen better. Finally, it was time to go, so we headed towards the train station where we took our five-hour ride back to Krakow.