Construction on Poznań’s fearsome castle began in 1905, with the keys officially handed over to Kaiser Wilhelm II in 1910. Designed by Franz Schwechten the building was built following neo-Roman aesthetic with living quarters for the Kaiser located in the west wing, and the throne room in the east. The small park and rose garden in the back was inspired by the Lion’s Courtyard in the Alhambra. Between the wars it became the seat of Poznań University though Poznań’s incorporation into the Third Reich saw sweeping changes. Albert Speer, Hitler’s pet architect set to work transforming the castle, with a view of turning the tower chapel into the Fuhrer’s office, and the second floor into the residence of Arthur Greiser (Nazi governor of the Warthegau district). By 1944 renovation work had finished, with all the original interiors completely remodelled. The castle was badly damaged during the Soviet liberation and there was even a post-war campaign to have the structure bulldozed. In the end the drastic measures stopped with reducing the principal tower to a third of its original height. Used by the university in the two years following the war, and then as the seat of local government, the castle building has operated as a cultural centre since 1962.