The castle was built as a residence for German Emperor Wilhelm II. Indeed, from the end of the 18^th century till 1918, Poznan was part of the Kingdom of Prussia which later on, became an empire. Construction of the castle began in 1905 and took just five years. As early as 1910, the keys to the castle were officially given to the Emperor and three years later, the construction of a mosaic-decorated castle chapel was completed. The design by Franz Schwechten featured various neo-Romanesque forms, bringing to mind the glory era of Charlemagne?s empire. The majority of its fine interiors being also Romanesque in style, the castle became the biggest and the most significant of all buildings constructed at the beginning of the 20^th century on the initiative of the Prussian authorities to enhance the prestige of the City of Poznan.

At that time, a tower with a chapel on the ground floor overlooked the castle, whose western part surrounding the inner courtyard featured the apartments of the Emperor and his family, while the eastern parts ? a throne room. A small garden with separate rosebeds was laid out at the back of the castle, its design based on that of the famous Court of the Lions of the Alhambra. An outbuilding is located in the north-eastern corner of the garden.

Following the end of the First World War, the castle became the property of Poland, while in the interwar era, it served as one of the official residences of the Polish presidents and the main seat of the newly-established Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznan. It was also open to the public.

In 1939, shortly after Poznan was taken over by the Germans, the castle was visited by Albert Speer, Adolf Hitler?s favourite architect. As a result of that, the decision was taken to adjust the imperial apartments to the needs of the leader of the Third Reich, including conversion of the chapel into Hitler?s office. The second storey was adapted for the use of  Speer himself, the Governor of the so-called Reichsgau Wartheland.

Conversion works were undertaken immediately and lasted till 1944, when the then military situation left no doubts as to the fate of the war. The design of the castle?s interiors was almost completely changed and their new decor featured solutions inspired by those adopted in the Berlin New Reich Chancellery designed by Albert Speer.

During Poznan?s struggle for liberation, the castle was seriously damaged, as were other buildings located in the city centre. The damage and, predominantly, the city?s experience of long occupation, gave rise to propositions for demolishing or converting the building, but eventually, the only change made was that of the lowering of the tower by one third of its original height. In the first years after the end of the war, the castle served as a university building, and then became the seat of Poznan?s authorities. Since the 1960s, it has housed a culture centre.

Today, the ?Zamek? Culture Centre houses several dozen cultural institutions and every year, around 700 various events are organised here, including exhibitions, concerts, cinema showings, theatre performances, meetings and educational workshops.