1023, 3358 POLAND (Greater Poland) - Traditional Bamberka costume

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Posted on 06.03.2014, 15.01.2020
Located on the Warta river, Poznań was an important cultural and political centre with centuries before the Christianization of Poland, becoming later the capital of Wielkopolska (Greater Poland), and, for a short time, even the capital of the kingdom. After a long time of prosperity, in the 17th and 18th centuries the city was severely affected by a series of wars, plagues and floods, which practically depopulated it. Following, in area were brought, in several waves, Dutch and Bambergian settlers, exclusively Catholics, as ordered in 1710 August II the Strong, Elector of Saxony, King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania.

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The polonisation of the latter ones, subsequently named Bambrzy, was a voluntary act and happened very quickly. In the late 19th century, the meaning of the word Bamber (singular form) became wider, designating all the people living in those villages, regardless of their ethnic or cultural background. Of course that the settlers had their own folk costume, quite modest, but in the second half of the 19th century this was changed into a rich impressive outfit full of decorative pieces. So it must be emphasized that the folk dress of the descendants of these immigrants it wasn't brought by them from Bamberg, but was developed here. It should be also noted that it is about women's dress, the men adopting quickly the typical clothes of the locals.

3166 POLAND (Greater Poland) - Pleszew Narrow Gauge Railway

Pleszew is a town located about 90 km southeast of Poznań. The 3km narrow gauge line from Pleszew Miasto (town) station to Pleszew Wąsk (narrow gauge) station (adjacent to Pleszew main line station in the village of Kowalew), is the surviving fragment of the 750mm gauge Krotoszyn District Railway, which ran from Krotoszyn to Broniszewice, via Pleszew (50km). This line (formally named the Krotoszynska Kolej Dojazdowa) dates back to 1900.

0941 POLAND (Greater Poland) - Raczyński Palace in Rogalin

Situated on the Warta river, at 19km south of Poznań, Rogalin is primarily known for its 18th-century baroque palace of the Raczyński family, and the adjacent Raczyński Art Gallery, housing a permanent exhibition of Polish and international paintings. The second reason for which the village Rogalin is known is a putatively 1000-year-old oak trees on the banks of the Warta. The last owner of the estate was Count Edward Bernard Raczyński, who in 1979-1986 was President of the Polish Republic in exile. His coffin is deposited in the Raczyński Mausoleum, under the historical chapel in Rogalin. In his testament, he bequeathed the palace in Rogalin and his library to the Polish people. Much of the surrounding area forms a protected area known as Rogalin Landscape Park.

0163 POLAND (Greater Poland) - The cathedral of the first ruler of Poland

My virtual journey through Poland, begun in Krakow and continued with Niedzica Castle (both in Lesser Poland), follows now its course to the north, in Greater Poland (Wielkopolska), and not with any city, but even with Poznań, and not with any building, but even with Archcathedral Basilica of St. Peter and St. Paul, under whose slabs rests Mieszko I, the first historically recorded ruler of the Polans, along with six of his successors to the throne, and where was crowned in 1025 the first Polish king, Mieszko's son, Boleslaus the Brave.