It is now possible to see what Poznań looked like at the turn of the 10th century in the vaults of the Franciscan Monastery on  near Stary Rynek.

 

It is now possible to see what Poznań looked like at the turn of the 10th century in the vaults of the Franciscan Monastery on Wzgórze Przemysła, near Stary Rynek. Another model of the first capital city of Poland has been created by Krzysztof Przybyła, a history enthusiast and model maker from Poznań.

The model represents Poznań from the early times of the Piast Dynasty, which introduced Christianity to Poland and gave Poland its first crowned ruler. The shape and organisation of the town dates back to the first part of the 11th century and the rule of King Bolesław Chrobry (Boleslaus I the Brave) and his son Mieszko II. Such a precise and accurate reconstruction of buildings from a thousand years ago was possible thanks to cooperation between Mr Przybyła and scholars from Poznań throughout the project, from the phase of designing the model until the last tree was placed in the royal forest.

 

At the dawn of its existence, all of Poznań was situated on an island formed by the Warta and Cybina rivers (nowadays, there stands a cathedral). The town had four parts: central where the palace is now located, eastern with the cathedral, northern with a shelter for people and southern with Zagórze.

 

Attention is particularly drawn to the cathedral situated in the central part of the model. This was definitely one of the most magnificent buildings in early Poland. The model perfectly depicts how well protected 11th-century Poznań was. The River Warta formed a natural moat on three sides of the town, whereas the swampy areas of its tributary were periodically flooded. The only access to the town was through wooden bridges that were burnt in the event of danger. Additional protection from invaders were 8-metre high earth embankments reinforced with wooden frameworks. For the military capabilities of that time such an obstacle was almost impossible to overcome.

 

The model depicts not only the medieval buildings in Poznań but also the lives of its inhabitants. The town is teeming with life and each of its residents has a specific task assigned. On the river, there are cargo and fishing boats, a blacksmith is shoeing his horse in the borough and builders, supervised by an elder man with a walking stick, are completing construction works of an embankment. In another part of the model, a white kitten is climbing a wooden structure of a building that is under construction. It took three years for Mr Przybyła, who did all the work himself, to complete the model.

The miniature model of the town of the early Piast Dynasty covers a surface of 27m2. It is made mainly of natural materials, which makes it very detailed and resembles a real town.
An example of this is the cathedral which was built from real stone. Other materials used in its construction include sand, cotton, epoxy resin and wood. To grasp the scale of work carried out, one should think about the miniature reeds in the River Warta. They were made from 40,000 wisps of hair, all individually fixed to the base of the model in the same way in which brushes used to be made in the past.

The model is more than just a collection of model buildings which can be admired in so many cities around the world. It is a unique performance of light, sound and special effects. The show lasts about half an hour and tells the story of the beginnings of the Polish nation. The story is far from banal, on the contrary, it is a journey through time to a period about which we still know less than we would like to know. Additionally helpful in discovering the past is a unique laser show from a machine that projects 16.8 million colours.

The model of Poznań was made to a scale of 1:60, which enabled the presentation of figures of people. The performance is complemented by sound effects.

(text and photos: www.makieta.poznan.pl )