From the moment he decided to found Poznań on the left bank of the Warta, Duke of Wielkopolska Przemysł I envisioned a grand castle overlooking the city from which he would rule. In fact, construction began on Przemysł’s castle in 1249 - four years before the city was even laid out. Set atop what would become known as ‘Przemysł Hill’ (Góra Przemysła), his dream was soon realised. However, it was his son Przemysł II, born four months after the Duke’s own death, who would transform Poznań’s castle from a ducal residence to a royal residence by doing what many before him had failed to accomplish - reuniting Poland’s fragmented dukedoms and becoming the first Polish king in over 200 years.
 

Born in the castle his monument now stands before, Przemysł II (1257-1296) used it as his royal residence, briefly making Poznań the centre of renewed Polish statehood. Crowned in Gniezno Cathedral in 1295, his life had been one of intrigue and tragedy, including the suspicious death of his first wife Ludgarda after ten years of childless marriage. Less than a year into his reign as King of Poland, he himself was assassinated in nearby Rogoźno under murky unsolved circumstances historians still debate, with some suggesting the killing may even have been revenge for Ludgarda’s death. Buried in Poznań Cathedral and leaving behind no male heir, he was the last of the Wielkopolska branch of the Piast dynasty, and his death ushered in another period of political fragmentation and uncertainty.

Seated astride his horse above the Latin phrase ‘Restorer of the Kingdom of Poland,’ Przemysł II’s statue was sculpted by Stanisław Szwechowicz, and was unveiled as recently as May 2026.