Starołęka (german: Luisenhain) is a historic neighbourhood, formerly a village, in the New City district of

Poznań Poznań () is a city on the River Warta in west-central Poland, within the Greater Poland region. The city is an important cultural and business centre, and one of Poland's most populous regions with many regional customs such as Saint John ...

. It lies to the east of the

Warta river The river Warta ( , ; german: Warthe ; la, Varta) rises in central Poland and meanders greatly north-west to flow into the Oder, against the German border. About long, it is Poland's second-longest river within its borders after the Vistula, a ...

. It was formed initially as the merger of two villages: Starołęka Mała and Starołęka Wielka (literally ''Little'' and ''Great''). Part of the lands used to belong to the

Carmelite , image = , caption = Coat of arms of the Carmelites , abbreviation = OCarm , formation = Late 12th century , founder = Early hermits of Mount Carmel , founding_location = Mount Car ...

monastery A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in communities or alone (hermits). A monastery generally includes a place reserved for prayer which ...

and was integrated into the old Poznań voivodeship as far back as the 16th Century. In 1905 a lighted bridge was installed and a train station expanded; however the pre-existing smaller local railway station in turn was closed down resulting in (unsuccessful) local protests. In 1905 the local library society was founded, in 1908 the local volunteer fire brigade was formed. The area was under German occupation during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. Throughout its history the area has struggled to be incorporated into the city limits due to poor transportation links with the city centre; the roads were unlighted, unpaved and often muddy and the first tramline arrived as recently as 1955. During the

Polish People's Republic The Polish People's Republic ( pl, Polska Rzeczpospolita Ludowa, PRL) was a country in Central Europe that existed from 1947 to 1989 as the predecessor of the modern Republic of Poland. With a population of approximately 37.9 million nea ...

era it was mostly an industrial neighbourhood. In modern times it is a mostly residential area and an important

transport hub A transport hub is a place where passengers and cargo are exchanged between vehicles and/or between transport modes. Public transport hubs include railway stations, rapid transit stations, bus stops, tram stops, airports and ferry slips. F ...

for the city.

References

Neighbourhoods of Poznań {{Poznań-geo-stub