During his visit to Poznan, Director of the EURO 2012 European Football Championships Martin Kallen, stated that he was impressed with the progress in Poznan’s preparations for Euro 2012. The UEFA envoy examined Poznan’s stadium, the Ławica airport and modernisation works on the Poznan roads. According to Keller, the works in Poznan are proceeding in accordance with the schedule, and in some cases are even ahead of it (for example, in construction of the stadium).

Preparations have already been under way for several days – each of Poznan’s colleges have organised their own student events which will be crowned by a three-day music festival.

A couple of years ago, traces of early-Medieval remains of the seat of the then ruler of Poland were found on the Ostrów Tumski island. Archaeologists determined that the excavations dated back to the second half of the 10^th century, which means that Poznan was the first capital city of Poland (in 966 the sovereign of Poland was baptised, thanks to which Poland entered the group of European Christian states). One scientific hypothesis says that it was in Poznan that prince Mieszko, and his whole court, were baptised. Also, traces of a pre-Christian town were found on Ostrów Tumski.

The turning point came in 1253, when a document was issued locating new towns on the other shore of the Warta river, in the place of today’s Old Town. During the following centuries Poznan was one of the biggest towns in Poland.  Renaissance buildings we can still admire in Poznan today include the Town Hall in the Old Market Square, designed by a famous Italian architect, Giovanni Battista di Quadro.

Crisis came in the middle of the 17^th century. First, the city was destroyed during the Polish – Swedish war. In the following decades the number of Poznan inhabitants decreased, due to plague and the so-called First Northern War, which was fought in the borderlands between Poland and Germany. Nearby villages became depopulated, which deprived the city of most of its income. In order to populate and rebuild the villages (currently, the city’s districts), the city authorities decided to bring in settlers from the western border, who had settled in Poland in small groups before. An appeal was issued to German states, mainly Bamberg in southern Franconia.

At the beginning of the 18^th century a couple of waves of farmers from the area of Bamberg came to Poznan. They were called Bambers, after their first dwelling place. In accordance with historians’ estimates there were around 500-600 new settlers. They assimilated very fast with the local people and it is believed that today as many as 25% of the indigenous inhabitants of Poznan have some Bamber blood.

Several dozen years later, in 1793, Poznan, as a result of the partitions of Poland carried out by three neighbouring states, Prussia, Austria and Russia, became a part of the Kingdom of Prussia. Poznan separated from the Kingdom of Prussia during the Napoleonic Wars, however, only for a short period of time. By the end of 1806 the Emperor Napoleon had spent one week in Poznan with his whole court. Poland had not regained its independence until after the end of the First World War in 1918.

There are many monuments in Poznan from the period of the so-called “partitions”, including such important buildings as the Citadel – a Prussian stronghold built in the second half of the 19^th century, as well as the Dzielnica Zamkowa (Castle District) with the Imperial Castle overlooking this part of the city. The Castle was the Poznan residence of the German Emperor Wilhelm II and was built in accordance with a design by Franz Schwechten from 1905-1910. It was the last imperial seat built in Europe. Emperor Wilhelm II visited Poznan only three times. After the First World War, when Poland regained independence, the castle became the seat of the Poznan University as well as the residence of Polish presidents during their stays in Poznan. During the Second World War Albert Speer converted the castle into Hitler’s residence – we can still see an office there, which is a copy of the führer’s Berlin office ,and a balcony on a tower built especially for him.

In 1945 the castle was destroyed, and there were even plans to demolish it. During its reconstruction works, many elements of the building’s décor were not rebuilt, and the tower, destroyed during military action, was lowered. Currently, the “Zamek” Culture Centre, the Animation Theatre, as well as the Museum of the Poznan June 1956 Uprising are based in the castle.