For over 100 years the Citadel was one of the biggest forts in this part of Europe.

 

Today, it is one of the biggest municipal parks on our continent. In an area of over 100ha there are numerous paths and some beautiful tree-covered terrain. History and art are also a part of this place.

The Citadel is located on a hill to the north-west of the Old Town. A huge fortification was built between 1829 and 1839 and Poznań was then to have been turned into the biggest Prussian fortress in the area. The Citadel was built in the new prussian-style, surrounded by an embankment and a dry moat. All buildings constructed near the fort had brick walls 2.5m thick.

 

There were no battles around the Citadel in the 19th century, however, some Polish insurgents were imprisoned there. The Citadel was first used in accordance with its military purpose in 1945, when it became the main point of resistance against German troops. The fighting went on for a month and ended on the 23rd of February 1945. The capturing of the Citadel by the Red Army cost a dozen or so Russian, Polish and German soldiers’ lives.

 

 

After the war, the almost completely bombed-out fortifications were pulled down and only single reinforcements left. Currently, the Poznań Army Museum is housed in one of the corridors inside the fortification and memorials of the fort’s history are gathered in the old ammunition shelter, including  authentic armour, cannons, planes and tanks, as well as assault guns from both sides.

 

There are also some military cemeteries on the southern slopes of the Citadel. Over 6,000 Red Army soldiers lie at rest in the biggest one. Whereas the eastern slopes are home to a Cemetery for British Soldiers who died during the two World Wars.

 

 

Today though, the Citadel is above all the most willingly visited by the residents of Poznań city park, and is filled with pedestrians, cyclists, roller-bladers and people sledging in winter; there are even sun-bathers who spread their blankets over the vast lawns in summer. The park is very well taken care of, with a couple of especially chosen and planted trees and bushes of all species occurring in Poland. For six years now one of the greatest attractions of the Citadel has been a group of sculptures of the best contemporary Polish sculptor, Magdalena Abakanowicz. The “Nierozpoznani” (“the Unrecognised”) consists of a hundred cast iron, headless strutting figures. Covered in red rust, the sculptures beautifully harmonise with the surrounding greenery.

 

Photographs: A. Grabowska