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| Poznan Curiosities, Part 2 |
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| Thursday, 31 December 2009 16:39 |
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The first train in Poznan Although the idea to lead the railway line from Frankfurt (Oder) to Poznan dates back to the first half of the 19th century, the first railway line connected Poznan with Stargard Szczeciński, situated about 150 kilometres north-west of the city, in 1848. It was built by the Stargard-Posener Eisenbahn Gesellschaft (Stargard-Poznan Railway Association) from Szczecin, whose majority shareholders were merchants from Szczecin and Berlin. The first station was situated in the then Jeżyce suburbs in the vicinity of today’s zoological gardens. In 1856 the Poznan-Wrocław railway connection was launched, and only in 1870 was the city linked with Frankfurt (Oder). In 1895 the Royal Railway Directorate was established. Chwaliszewo village In the vicinity of the Old Market in Poznan on the walking route between the Old Town and the Cathedral, lies the small estate of Chwaliszewo, which for several centuries was an independent village and later even a town. The grandeur of Chwaliszewo is witnessed by the fact that in the 15th century it became the largest craftsmanship centre on the right bank of the river (in the 14th century there were 13 craft guilds in the area). The town also had its own scaffolds for public executions, and sentences were performed by the Poznan executioner who was paid 12 grosz a year. It is interesting that it was in Chwaliszewo that the first woman suspected of witchcraft was burnt on Polish territory. In 1520 in Chwaliszewo (earlier than in Poznan) the first bookshop was opened selling missals and prayer books. In 1800 Chwaliszewo, populated then by about 1,500 people inhabiting 105 houses, was incorporated into Poznan. In 1809 a new bridge with stone abutments was built. Nowadays the remains of old Chwaliszewo include several large houses (such as Chwaliszewo 70) and the abutments of the old bridge. Telephones in Poznan The first telephone for official use was installed in Poznan in 1880. It was installed at the Town Hall and connected with the fire station on Wroniecka Street. The telephone line was thus about 400 metres long. In 1885 the first manual telephone exchange was installed in Poznan at the building of the Post Office and Telegraph Directorate in Pocztowa Street (today’s 23 Lutego Street). At first it had 27 subscribers connected, and the total length of the telephone network amounted to 32 km. The first telephones did not have numerical dials. Full automation of the Poznan exchanges took place at the end of the 1920s. In order to obtain new clients the Post Office and Telegraph Directorate hired special travelling agents who were paid a commission for every new subscriber. In 1939 the Poznan telephone network had 6,800 subscribers. Since 1950 the number of subscribers has doubled every ten years. The breakthrough in the development of Poznan landline telecommunications came in 1976 when the first electronic telephone exchange was launched in Poland. At the beginning of the 1990s, mobile telephones began appearing in Poznan. Poznan waterworks The first historical references to the operation of waterworks in Poznan dates back to 1282. The then Duke Przemysl II allowed for the installation of a wooden water conduit from the pond at the duke’s castle to the Dominican Monastery at Wroniecka Gate. In the Middle Ages the city was supplied with water by wooden pipes from the Bogdanka and Warta Rivers (only the fountains, reservoirs and moats). In 1502 water from Starołęka was conducted to the vicinity of the Cathedral square via wooden pipes and channels. These devices were destroyed during the Swedish raid in the mid 17th century. In the 18th century the city was supplied from two water sources, but the water was not suitable to drink and was polluted microbiologically. In the mid 19th century the first comprehensive design for the construction of a waterworks grid in the city was developed. It stipulated the intake of water from the Warta River, and its filtration with the use of slow sand filters. The waterworks station was situated at the gas works premises on Grobla Street. The design was approved by the city authorities and the construction was completed in 1867. Since then the waterworks grid has been gradually extended. Establishment of the zoological garden The history of the Poznan Zoological Garden goes back to a... restaurant. The restaurant operated at the then first railway station in Poznan. In 1871 members of one of the war veterans’ associations met there and decided that for the 50th birthday of their chairman, each of them would give him an animal that they would have encountered in the city during the three days preceding the birthday, excluding horses, oxen, cows and dogs. As a result, apart from household animals like goat, sheep, ducks, pigs and rams, he also received a tamed bear and a monkey bought from gypsies. The menagerie was originally kept in the restaurant garden of the association, but – due to the fact that Poznan’s inhabitants quickly expanded it – it was decided to open the Zoological Garden, though at first it did not receive this name. Nowadays, there is no railway station at this site, and the zoological garden is slowly turning into a park with animal runs. |
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