Imperial Castle in Poznan

Let's start with the most eye-catching building - the Imperial Castle. Few people know that this is a castle built for the last Prussian emperor, Wilhelm II. The castle is the last imperial residence in Europe. It was built as an element of the Imperial District in place of the demolished fortifications of the 19th century Poznań Fortress, which was to defend access to Berlin from the east in the event of a war with Russia. The architecture of the buildings built then was to resemble German cities, and the castle, built in the Neo-Romanesque style, was to give the impression that the Germans had ruled the area for a thousand years. All this was not accidental - in fact, the new area was marked diagonally from Ostrów Tumski - associated with the cradle of Polish statehood. The Emperor came to Poznań only three times, once to personally collect the keys to the castle (1910), and the last time in 1915. Shortly thereafter, the empire ended... Today, the castle is mainly the seat of the Zamek Cultural Center, but if you ever manage to take a tour, be sure to walk around its most interesting nooks and crannies and pay attention to the decorations - they reminded us a bit of socialist realist atmosphere. Since we have a castle, we must also have castle gardens - we gladly hid in their shade when the sun warmed up a bit. In the inner courtyard of the castle you will also find the famous "abakans", i.e. sculptures by an artist from Poznań, Magdalena Abakanowicz. #poland #poznan #castle