Great Poland or Greater Poland
(Polish:
Wielkopolska [wʲɛlkɔˈpɔlska] (
listen); German: Großpolen; Latin: Polonia Maior) is a historic region of west-central Poland.
Its chief city is Poznań. Administratively, most of the region now forms Greater Poland Voivodeship (Polish: województwo wielkopolskie), though some parts lie in Lubusz, Kuyavian-Pomeranian and Łódź Voivodeships.
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Great Poland was the core of the early medieval Polish state. It is often termed "the cradle of Poland", and at times has simply been called "Poland" (Latin Polonia). The name is first mentioned in the Latin form Polonia Maior in 1257, and in Polish ("w Wielkej Polszcze") in 1449. The region's name may be construed as referring to old Poland, as opposed to the new Poland, Lesser Poland (Polish: Małopolska; Latin: Polonia Minor), a region in southern Poland with its capital at Kraków.
Great Poland comprises much of the area drained by the Warta River and its tributaries, including the Noteć River. There are two major geographic regions: a lake district in the north, characterized by post-glacial lakes and hills, and a rather flat plain in the south.
An area of 75.84 square kilometres (29.28 sq mi) of forest and lakeland south of Poznań is designated the Wielkopolska National Park (Wielkopolski Park Narodowy), established in 1957.
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Greater Poland (in Polish Wielkopolska) is a lake district in west-central Poland in the Voivodship (province) Wielkopolskie Voivodship.
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Originally, during the first decades of the Polish state teh region was called "Poland" ("Polska" in polish; the name comes drom the word "pole" - a field, which means, that the tribe (Polans - in polish "Polanie") forming the Polish state was an agicultural one. The name was transferred into "Wielkopolska" - "Greater Poland" later on, during the reign of Przemysl II at the end of XIIIth century. Nevertheless the region was the craddle of Poland - here the first cities were founded, the first capitals : Gniezno, Poznan, Ostrów Lednicki are as well in Wielkopolska.
When in 1138 Poland was divided in duchies united by the rule of the senior, Greater Poland became on independent duchy, and vfew decades later there were two small states with capitals in Poznan and Kalisz - for most of the time Gniezno - the third biggest city in the region at that time belonged to the Kalisz duchy. Greater Poland was also a core of the restoring of the kingdom in 1295 and fro short time became again the capital of Poland, as the king Przemysl II origined from the Greater Poland branch of the Piast dynasty.
In the period between XVth and XVIIth centuries, when many war affected central and eastern Poland, the Greater Poland was an oasis of peace, that helped to grow and expand the cities and all the region. Most of Wielkopolska territories was incorporated into the Prussian state during the second Partition in 1793; the region was a part of Prussian state or German Empire till 1919, when a succesful Wielkopolska Uprising (27.12.1918 - June 1919) let join the reborn Poland. The region was occupied by Nazi German from mid-September 1939 till spring 1945. Now most of the historical territories of Wielkopolska belong to Wielkopolska voivodship (province), but some : to Kujawsko-Pomorskie and West Pomeranian Voivodship
Now the region is known for its high agicultural culture, for being (especially Poznan the business and fair heart of Poland and for many historical sights from both first co-capitals and other places.
Climate in the Greater Poland is much milder than everage in Poland and much milder than expected by most of the visitors, who join Poland with siberian frosts. In fact : severe frosts (minus 10-15C) last in the region no more than 10-12 days yearly, there hasn't been for a few years a seriously lasting snow cover - it's mostly snow incovnenient from slegde, not to mention skiing. Spring is usually short, quickly turning into pretty warm summer. In June, July and August expect quite high temperatures (reaching even 30-32C) and periods of drought. Autumn can be both rainy and foggy (so suitable for guests from the UK) and sunny and mild (16-18C).
The main (and in terms of passenger traffic) airport in the region is Poznan airport Lawica, situated very close (7 km {4 mi}) from the city centre, offering connections to more than 20 destinations across Europe, including e.g.: London, Frankfurt, Munich, Dublin, Rome, Oslo, Berlin, Stockholm, Malmo, Copenhagen, Barcelona, Edinburgh. If your region is not connected by plane with Poznan, you can try other airports in surrounding Polish regions: to Wroclaw (Breslau), Bydgoszcz or even Warsaw, which has very good train connection with Poznan. Up-to-date flight schedule [1] at Poznan Lawica Airport.
Region has very good connections with most other polish regions as well as some cities abroad. Its main (what doesn't mean, that's the only one) rail junction is Poznan, offering many inter-city and international connections:
Trains are the basic mean of transport in the region. The main i and the most important junction is of course Poznan, but regional centres : Leszno, Ostrow Wielkopolski and Pila offer as well many good connections. The most important line in the region is the one from Warsaw via Konin, Wrzesnia, Poznan toward the western border and further to Berlin. Other lines playing great role in the transport system are :
The network of main lines is supplemented by local ones with several connections daily :
Several trains on the routes from Wolsztyn to Poznan (departures from Wolsztyn appr. 5:30 and appr. 11:30, and from Poznan appr. 9:30 and 15:30) and from Wolsztyn to Leszno (departure from Wolsztyn appr. 6:00, back from Leszno appr. 15:30) are served - as the only ones in Poland - by steam locomotives. (Departures are given "appr." because of frequent timetable changes, which are the result of many track-works, especially in the Poznan juction).
It's essential to mention as well about narrow-gauged railways - some of them are used only for weekend and tourist traffic, but in the region we have the first independent from the nationl carrier (PKP) and private line : 23-km section from Stare Bojanowo (on the Poznan-Wrocław line) via Smigiel to Wielichowo. Every day more than 10 trains run on the route. Timetable : [2] (the carrier's - SKPL's - trains run as well on the other lines in the region : see below). As well narrow-gauged trains run on the following routes :
The pearls of the region are firts co-capitals (plural!!) of Poland from Xth-XIth cent with many monument referring to the beginnings of the Polish State :
Other bigger cities worth spending and least few hours in each are :
Smaller towns with interesting monuments, events and traditions :
In Greater Poland it's worth sometimes to drive out of main roads to see e.g. :
Another thing interesting for history-lovers can be the Greater-Poland part of the Cistersian Route. In the region the main places on the route are : Wągrowiec, Lekno (where the first cistersian monastery on polish territorries was erected), Owinska - all three north-east of Poznań and Przemet, Obra and Wielen in the south-west part of the region, nearby Wolsztyn. Another monastery was placed in Lad - 70 kms east of Poznan, just next to motorway A2.
Another thing interesting for history-lovers can be the Greater-Poland part of the Cistersian Route. In the region the main places on the route are : Wagrowiec, Lekno (where the first cistersian monastery on polish territorries was erected), Owinska - all three north-east of Poznan and Przemet, Obra and Wielen in the south-west part of the region, nearby Wolsztyn. Another monastery was placed in Lad - 70 kms east of Poznan, just next to motorway A2. More info about Cistersian in Greater Poland (in English) : [3]
Greater Poland has a lot to offer for all train-lovers. First : the regions owes the steam-engine depot in Wolsztyn, which is the only one operating in Poland. More : daily there are several regular courses (so not tourist trains) from Wolsztyn to Poznań aln Leszno. More (in English) : [4]
Besides the region offers the biggest number of operating narrow gauge railways :
The railways marked above are owned by SKPL company, which is the first private rail operator in Poland. More informations (Polish only) can be found :[6]. Both SKPL and other operators can organise (on request) special trains for groups.
Another thing to do is active tourism, which is very easy to do in the region. Greater Poland is known very well for its network of cycle trails :
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