Some highlights of Poznań’s millennium-long journey from Dark Ages settlement to 21st-century city commercial awakening.
10th century
In 968 the first Polish cathedral is erected here. In 992 Mieszko I, the first ruler of Poland, is buried in Poznań Cathedral.
12th century
Poznań begins to develop. At the end of the century, members of the Knights of Malta settle at St. Nicholas’ Church and found the earliest hospital in Poznań.
13th century
In 1253, Przemysł, Prince of Wielkopolska, bestows Magdeburg Law rights to the town of Poznań. A regular street system is laid out around a central marketplace and a castle is added to the fortifications.
14th century
Poznań goes through its greatest period of expansion and is soon a major centre of European trade.
16th century
A golden age in the city’s development, though in 1536 a fire devastates the Jewish quarter, the Market Place, the Town Hall and the Castle.
17th century
Prosperity falls after the devastatingly expensive Swedish Wars of 1655-1657 and a series of fires and floods. Swedes occupy Poznań in 1655, Brandenburgians in 1656.
18th century
Poznań runs out of luck. During the Northern War, Russian and Saxon troops besiege the city in 1704. In 1710 a plague largely depopulates the town and its suburbs. In 1725 a hurricane destroys the towers of the Town Hall and the Cathedral. And in 1736, the worst flood in the town’s history wipes out almost a third of the town’s houses.
19th century
Napoleon has his headquarters here for two weeks in 1806. As the Prussians convert Poznań into a military stronghold, the local Poles resist the Germanisation process and form their own cultural and economic organisations.
20th century
The Wielkopolska Uprising of December 1918 starts in Poznań and wins freedom for the region. In 1918-1919, Poznań is the base of the National People’s Council and the administrative centre for lands formerly under Prussian rule. From 1939-1945, the local Jewish community is wiped out, much of the town’s population is killed or displaced and about half of the city’s buildings are destroyed. On January 23, 1945, Russian troops reach Poznań. With 5,000 mobilised locals, they drive out the Germans after a month. The Warsaw Pact is created in 1955.
1956
June 28 - 120,000 protestors in Poznań demand “bread, truth and freedom”, and 76 are killed in street fighting with the army. A political thaw begins that year under Władysław Gomułka.
1970
Gdańsk shipyard workers strike in December to protest poor living standards and rising prices. The police and army intevene, killing 44 strikers. Unrest forces Gomułka out of government.
1978
Cardinal Karol Wojtyła is elected Pope and takes the name John Paul II.
1980
The fledgeling Solidarność trade union, led by shipyard electrician Lech Wałęsa, calls a general strike.
1981
December 13 - The Prime Minister, General Wojciech Jaruzelski, declares martial law.
1983
Pope John Paul II makes his first visit to Poznań. Martial law is lifted and Wałęsa wins the Nobel Peace Prize.
1985-88
Poland’s economic crisis deepens and popular frustration grows.
1989
Solidarność is legalised and the government agrees to meet 21 demands for improved living and working conditions. Partly free elections are held. When Solidarność sweeps the elections the communist regime collapses. Nonetheless, the parliament elects General Jaruzelski president. August - The first post-communist prime minister, Tadeusz Mazowiecki, forms a coalition government.
1990
January 1 - Price and monetary restrictions are abandoned in an attempt to find a natural economic equilibrium. Inflation leaps, at one point reaching 79% per year. December 9 - Lech Wałęsa becomes the first popularly elected president of post-communist Poland.
1995
November 19 - Former communist Aleksander Kwaśniewski defeats Lech Wałęsa in presidential elections.
2001
September 23 - Populist parties enjoy unprecedented success in parliamentary elections and Solidarność, a major force in 1989, disappears from the political scene.
2004
Poland enters the European Union on May 1, 2004 sparking a mass exodus of young Poles seeking their fortune.
2005
April 2 Following a long battle with illness Pope John Paul II passes away. His funeral in the Vatican is attended by amillion Poles.
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