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

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 ...

. It lies to the east of the

Warta river The river Warta ( , ; ; ) rises in central Poland and meanders greatly through the Polish Plain in a north-westerly direction to flow into the Oder at Kostrzyn nad Odrą on Poland's border with Germany. About long, it the second-longest rive ...

. 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 The Order of the Brothers of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Mount Carmel (; abbreviated OCarm), known as the Carmelites or sometimes by synecdoche known simply as Carmel, is a mendicant order in the Catholic Church for both men and women. Histo ...

monastery A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of Monasticism, monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in Cenobitic monasticism, communities or alone (hermits). A monastery generally includes a ...

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 (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 ...

. 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 (1952–1989), formerly the Republic of Poland (1947–1952), and also often simply known as Poland, was a country in Central Europe that existed as the predecessor of the modern-day democratic Republic of Poland. ...

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 mode of transport, transport modes. Public transport hubs include train station, railway stations, metro station, rapid transit stations, bus ...

for the city.

References

Neighbourhoods of Poznań {{Poznań-geo-stub