The Imperial Castle in Poznań, popularly called ''Zamek'', "the Castle" (, ), is a

palace A palace is a large residence, often serving as a royal residence or the home for a head of state or another high-ranking dignitary, such as a bishop or archbishop. The word is derived from the Latin name palātium, for Palatine Hill in Rome whi ...

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

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

. It was built under German rule in 1910 by Franz Schwechten for

Wilhelm II, German Emperor Wilhelm II (Friedrich Wilhelm Viktor Albert; 27 January 18594 June 1941) was the last German Emperor and King of Prussia from 1888 until his abdication in 1918, which marked the end of the German Empire as well as the Hohenzollern dynasty ...

, with substantial suggestions from the Emperor. Since its completion, the building has housed government offices of Germany (to 1918, and during World War II) and of Poland (1918–1939, 1945–present).

Naming

The name of this structure can be misleading, as the building is a

rather than a

castle A castle is a type of fortification, fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by Military order (monastic society), military orders. Scholars usually consider a ''castle'' to be the private ...

. Another difference arises from the adjective ''imperial'' (''cesarski'') preferred by the Poles and ''royal'' (''königliches''), i.e. the Prussian Hohenzollern House, used by the Germans. The German name refers to Wilhelm II as King of

Prussia Prussia (; ; Old Prussian: ''Prūsija'') was a Germans, German state centred on the North European Plain that originated from the 1525 secularization of the Prussia (region), Prussian part of the State of the Teutonic Order. For centuries, ...

, in this function he had the palace built as his provincial residence, while the Polish name refers to him as

German Emperor The German Emperor (, ) was the official title of the head of state and Hereditary monarchy, hereditary ruler of the German Empire. A specifically chosen term, it was introduced with the 1 January 1871 constitution and lasted until the abdicati ...

because the term "royal" is reserved for Polish historical sites, i.e. the Poznań's Royal Castle, home to the early medieval kings of Poland. This is due to the mixed demographic history of the region, as Wielkopolska, while an integral part of the ancient Polish state, the province had a significant German population prior to the Soviet sponsored expulsions and forced resettlements of Poles, Germans, and Ukrainians from 1945-47 roughly along the Allied endorsed Curzon Line and the Oder-Neisse Line.

Location

The location of the castle was not accidental. After the deconstruction of the polygonal part of the Stronghold Poznań, Poznań was transformed to a residential city (''Haupt- und Residenzstadt''). On the new lands, Prussian authorities – who annexed the city in the

Second Partition of Poland The 1793 Second Partition of Poland was the second of partitions of Poland, three partitions (or partial annexations) that ended the existence of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth by 1795. The second partition (politics), partition occurred i ...

in 1793 – decided to build a new Germanic urban core, known as the "Imperial District". The projects for the new district were prepared by Josef Stübben. Monumental buildings of the Imperial Districts surrounding the castle included: *Post Office building *headquarters of the Prussian Settlement Commission (now Collegium Maius) *Royal Academy (''Königliche Akademie in Posen'') (today Aula of the Adam Mickiewicz University, Collegium Minus and the Collegium Iuridicum) * City Theatre (today the opera house) *Academy of Music (Akademia Muzyczna w Poznaniu) *Evangelical-Augsburg Church of St. Paul (today Roman Catholic Church of the Holiest Savior) *Monument to

Otto von Bismarck Otto, Prince of Bismarck, Count of Bismarck-Schönhausen, Duke of Lauenburg (; born ''Otto Eduard Leopold von Bismarck''; 1 April 1815 – 30 July 1898) was a German statesman and diplomat who oversaw the unification of Germany and served as ...

Architecture

The castle was built in Neo-Romanesque style, considered by Wilhelm to be the most "Germanic" and representing the glory of the

Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire, also known as the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation after 1512, was a polity in Central and Western Europe, usually headed by the Holy Roman Emperor. It developed in the Early Middle Ages, and lasted for a millennium ...

. The new residence was intended to reflect the control over

Greater Poland Greater Poland, often known by its Polish name Wielkopolska (; ), is a Polish Polish historical regions, historical region of west-central Poland. Its chief and largest city is Poznań followed by Kalisz, the oldest city in Poland. The bound ...

by the

Kingdom of Prussia The Kingdom of Prussia (, ) was a German state that existed from 1701 to 1918.Marriott, J. A. R., and Charles Grant Robertson. ''The Evolution of Prussia, the Making of an Empire''. Rev. ed. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1946. It played a signif ...

and the

German Empire The German Empire (),; ; World Book, Inc. ''The World Book dictionary, Volume 1''. World Book, Inc., 2003. p. 572. States that Deutsches Reich translates as "German Realm" and was a former official name of Germany. also referred to as Imperia ...

. The main building located in the southern part of the complex has two wings: the western – the larger one – consisting of apartments, and the eastern with representative rooms. On the ground floor of the western wing were rooms of the Court Marshal, Chamberlain and other members of imperial court. On the first floor were the apartments of the Emperor and his wife. A private chapel in a Byzantine style (decorated by August Oetken) was located in a tower. Under the chapel, on the western side of the tower was the entrance reserved for the Emperor. From the entrance, stairs lead straight to the first floor. The bedrooms of the emperor and the empress were connected by a corridor with four statues of the following rulers: Margrave

Gero Gero I ( 900 – 20 May 965), sometimes called the Great (),Thompson, 486. Also se was a nobleman from East Francia who ruled an initially modest march centred on Merseburg in the south of the present German state of Saxony-Anhalt, which he ...

, Emperor

Otto I Otto I (23 November 912 – 7 May 973), known as Otto the Great ( ) or Otto of Saxony ( ), was East Francia, East Frankish (Kingdom of Germany, German) king from 936 and Holy Roman Emperor from 962 until his death in 973. He was the eldest son o ...

, Emperor

Frederick Barbarossa Frederick Barbarossa (December 1122 – 10 June 1190), also known as Frederick I (; ), was the Holy Roman Emperor from 1155 until his death in 1190. He was elected King of Germany in Frankfurt on 4 March 1152 and crowned in Aachen on 9 March 115 ...

, and Duke Władysław II the Exile. The second floor was planned to be used by the

Crown Prince A crown prince or hereditary prince is the heir apparent to the throne in a royal or imperial monarchy. The female form of the title, crown princess, is held by a woman who is heir apparent or is married to the heir apparent. ''Crown prince ...

(the so-called ''prince rooms''). Most of rooms were connected by a

foyer A lobby is a room in a building used for entry from the outside. Sometimes referred to as a foyer, entryway, reception area or entrance hall, it is often a large room or complex of rooms (in a theatre, opera house, concert hall, showroom, cine ...

surrounding the inner yard. The most impressive room of the representative wing was the Throne Room in Byzantine style. The room was lighted by huge windows from three sides, positioned between the columns and the arches. Eight statues of

Holy Roman Emperor The Holy Roman Emperor, originally and officially the Emperor of the Romans (disambiguation), Emperor of the Romans (; ) during the Middle Ages, and also known as the Roman-German Emperor since the early modern period (; ), was the ruler and h ...

s were placed under the arches. The

throne A throne is the seat of state of a potentate or dignitary, especially the seat occupied by a sovereign (or viceroy A viceroy () is an official who reigns over a polity in the name of and as the representative of the monarch of the territory ...

, designed in an oriental style, was situated under the middle arch. Over the windows was a gallery for guests and the orchestra. The entrance to this part of the castle was from Wałowa Street (today Kościuszki Street). The north part of the complex, facing Berlin Street (now Fredry Street), comprised service rooms, a garage, a stable, and a coach house. These structures and two wings of the main building surround a rose garden that includes a fountain modeled on the Fountain of the Lions in the Court of the Lions in the

Alhambra The Alhambra (, ; ) is a palace and fortress complex located in Granada, Spain. It is one of the most famous monuments of Islamic architecture and one of the best-preserved palaces of the historic Muslim world, Islamic world. Additionally, the ...

, in

Granada Granada ( ; ) is the capital city of the province of Granada, in the autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia, Spain. Granada is located at the foot of the Sierra Nevada (Spain), Sierra Nevada mountains, at the confluence ...

, Spain. Image:Castillo Imperial, Poznan, Polonia, 2014-09-18, DD 47.jpg, Imperial Castle Image:Fontanna Lwow Zamek Poznan.jpg, Fountain with lions Image:2008 Kaiserschloss Posen 04.JPG, Western, representative wing, whose entrance was built during World War II Image:CKZamek Schody 135-13.jpg, ''Kaiserliche'' Stairs in Castle Image:CK Zamek Poznań Tron RB1.JPG, Emperor's throne Image:Polish cryptologists breaking Enigma ciphers monument 01.JPG, Monument to Polish cryptologists who first broke Germany's Enigma ciphers Image:CK Zamek Poznań Abakany RB1.JPG, ''Abakans'', sculptures by

Magdalena Abakanowicz Magdalena Abakanowicz (; 20 June 1930 – 20 April 2017) was a Polish sculpture, sculptor and fiber artist. Known for her use of textiles as a sculptural medium and for outdoor installations, Abakanowicz has been considered among the most influen ...

in Poznań Castle's rose garden

History

Construction began in 1905 (plans were ready in 1904), and five years later, on 21 August 1910, during a visit of the Emperor to

(called ''Posener Kaisertage''), the architect presented the keys to the new residence to Wilhelm. The total cost of the building was five million German marks, and the castle is the youngest in Europe. Wilhelm's first, and only, burgrave (''Schlosshauptmann'') in 1906–1918 was Polish nobleman, Count Bogdan Hutten-Czapski. After the Greater Poland Uprising (1918–1919) and the restoration of independent Poland, the castle became the property of the

Second Polish Republic The Second Polish Republic, at the time officially known as the Republic of Poland, was a country in Central and Eastern Europe that existed between 7 October 1918 and 6 October 1939. The state was established in the final stage of World War I ...

. According to a decision of the Polish government in 1921, the castle became the residence of the Chief of State and later the

President of Poland The president of Poland ( ), officially the president of the Republic of Poland (), is the head of state of Poland. His or her prerogatives and duties are determined in the Constitution of Poland. The president jointly exercises the executive ...

. The building was also used by the Ministry of Former Prussian Partition (''Ministerstwo byłej Dzielnicy Pruskiej''). Some rooms were also used by the University of Poznań, Związek Harcerstwa Polskiego, and other organizations. After the

invasion of Poland The invasion of Poland, also known as the September Campaign, Polish Campaign, and Polish Defensive War of 1939 (1 September – 6 October 1939), was a joint attack on the Second Polish Republic, Republic of Poland by Nazi Germany, the Slovak R ...

and annexation of Greater Poland by

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German Reich, German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a Totalit ...

in 1939 at the start of

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, the German occupiers decided to transform the castle into

Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (20 April 1889 – 30 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was the dictator of Nazi Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his suicide in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the lea ...

's residence. It was also used by the

Gauleiter A ''Gauleiter'' () was a regional leader of the Nazi Party (NSDAP) who served as the head of a ''Administrative divisions of Nazi Germany, Gau'' or ''Reichsgau''. ''Gauleiter'' was the third-highest Ranks and insignia of the Nazi Party, rank in ...

of the

Wartheland The Reichsgau Wartheland (initially Reichsgau Posen, also Warthegau) was a Nazi Germany, Nazi German ''Reichsgau'' formed from parts of Second Polish Republic, Polish territory Polish areas annexed by Nazi Germany, annexed in 1939 during World War ...

, Arthur Greiser. According to this decision,

Albert Speer Berthold Konrad Hermann Albert Speer (; ; 19 March 1905 – 1 September 1981) was a German architect who served as Reich Ministry of Armaments and War Production, Minister of Armaments and War Production in Nazi Germany during most of W ...

prepared the project of the reconstruction, which completely changed the rooms of the castle. Most of the rooms were changed into the style of the Third Reich. The chapel was changed into the private cabinet of Hitler, with a characteristic balcony with an electric-heated floor. The cabinet was a copy of Hitler's room in the

Reich Chancellery The Reich Chancellery () was the traditional name of the office of the Chancellor of Germany (then called ''Reichskanzler'') in the period of the German Reich from 1878 to 1945. The Chancellery's seat, selected and prepared since 1875, was the fo ...

; the architectonic details of this room survived World War II and are often used in films. The Throne Room was also transformed into an audience hall. Under the castle, a bunker for 375 people was constructed. The rebuilding was stopped in 1943 due to setbacks on the Eastern Front. During fighting in 1945, the castle was a temporary camp for German POWs, and was later used as a barracks by the Polish People's Army. During this period, the

communist government A communist state, also known as a Marxist–Leninist state, is a one-party state in which the totality of the power belongs to a party adhering to some form of Marxism–Leninism, a branch of the communist ideology. Marxism–Leninism was ...

considered the demolition of the castle as a symbol of the German occupation and bourgeois style. Due to a lack of funds, only some of the German symbols were removed and the upper part of the damaged tower was demolished. During the war, the city hall and the seat of the town authorities were destroyed. The castle was renamed "New City Hall" (''Nowy Ratusz'') and later transformed into a center of culture. On 6 June 1979, the castle was declared a historical monument under the protection of the law. Centrum Kultury Zamek

Today, the Throne Room is used as a cinema room; other apartments contain art galleries, a puppet theater, pubs, music clubs, and restaurants. A courtyard is often a place of concerts and outdoor movie performances during summer. The second floor is still empty and has not been renovated. The castle is the seat of the honorary consulates of the

Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

Guatemala Guatemala, officially the Republic of Guatemala, is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the north and west by Mexico, to the northeast by Belize, to the east by Honduras, and to the southeast by El Salvador. It is hydrologically b ...

, and

Slovakia Slovakia, officially the Slovak Republic, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the west, and the Czech Republic to the northwest. Slovakia's m ...

. The square in front of the building is the main venue for the St. Martin's Day parade and celebrations held in Poznań annually on 11 November (see '' Święty Marcin'').

References

Centre of Culture "Zamek
* Jerzy Topolski, Lech Trzeciakowski (red) ''Dzieje Poznania, tom II cz. 1 1793-1918'', Warszawa-Poznań 1994, Państwowe Wydawnictwo Naukowe *Jerzy Topolski, Lech Trzeciakowski (red) ''Dzieje Poznania, tom II cz. 2 1918-1945'', Warszawa-Poznań 1998, Państwowe Wydawnictwo Naukowe *Franciszek Jaśkowiak, Włodzimierz Łęcki, ''Poznań i okolice. Przewodnik'', Warszawa 1983, Sport i Turystyka *Zbigniew Szymanowski, Marta Tomczyszyn, ''Poznań'', Bielsko-Biała 1999, Pascal

External links