Poznan Audio Tours

Poland's origins run through Poznan. Mieszko I, the first recorded ruler of the Piast dynasty, built his stronghold here on an island in the Warta River called Ostrów Tumski, and his baptism in 966 AD marked the beginning of Christianity in Poland. The Gothic cathedral on the island contains the remains of Mieszko and his successors, making it the oldest church in Poland and one of the most historically loaded buildings in Central Europe. Poznan received its town charter in 1253, fell under Prussian control in 1793, and spent 125 years as the capital of the Grand Duchy of Posen before returning to Poland in 1918.

In the Old Market Square, the Renaissance Town Hall rebuilt between 1550 and 1560 draws people every day at noon to watch two mechanical goats emerge from the clock tower and butt heads exactly twelve times.

The mechanism has been running since 1551 and it remains, without irony, one of the most genuinely enjoyable public clocks in Europe. The square itself is one of the most beautiful in Poland, ringed by colourful merchant houses with loggias and painted facades that survived the wars better than most Polish cities managed.