Former Poznań City Walls

In the 14th century Poznań was one of the most heavily fortified towns in Poland: a brick wall about 1.7 km long and up to 11 metres high, reinforced by around 35 towers spaced every 35–45 metres. Only fragments survive, but they make a good short walk – from the reconstructed section by the Wroniecka Gate to the cannon tower tucked into a courtyard on 23 Lutego Street.

History: the wall a Bohemian king could not take

After the town was granted its charter on the left bank of the Warta in 1253, timber-and-earth defences went up first, replaced around 1280 by a brick wall on stone foundations. It was 1–1.2 m thick, with battlements and a wooden walkway for defenders on the inner side. The circuit was almost circular and enclosed about 21 ha. Four gates led into the town: Wroniecka to the north, Wielka and Wodna to the east and Wrocławska to the south. The defences passed their test in 1331, when King John of Bohemia besieged the town and failed to take it.

As artillery changed warfare, a second, outer ring of walls with semicircular cannon towers was added in 1431–1433. In the 17th and 18th centuries the walls lost their military role and were built over with houses; the Prussians began demolishing them in 1797. The work went on until the mid-19th century, and some remains disappeared as late as the early 20th century and during the German occupation.

What to see

• Wroniecka/Stawna – the best starting point: reconstructed parts of the Wroniecka Gate, two towers and a 41.5 m stretch of wall. Archaeologists worked here from 2001, and the tourist path opened in 2008.
• The cannon tower at the corner of Masztalarska and 23 Lutego Streets – a remnant of the outer ring, discovered in 1947 among the ruins of a destroyed tenement.
• The Katarzynki Tower behind Masztalarska Street – the only substantial survivor of the older inner ring.
• The Castle Postern (Furta Zamkowa) and parts of the outer wall on Ludgardy Street, below the Royal Castle.
• The wall on Podgórna Street, dating from 1701–1712, with distinctive keyhole-shaped gun loops.

Underfoot

The line of the vanished walls and gates is marked in the pavement with red paving, for example on Paderewskiego, Wroniecka, Wielka, Wodna and Wrocławska Streets. In August 2013, 17 cast metal plaques were also set into the pavements of the Old Town, describing individual parts of the former fortifications. On Wielka Street the irregular shape of the red paving shows where the Great Gate once stood.

Tripto tip

Start at the corner of Wroniecka and Stawna, walk to the tower on 23 Lutego, then follow the red paving towards the Old Market Square and Przemysł Hill. The Wroniecka section alone takes 15–30 minutes, a full loop of the remains about 1–1.5 hours. Everything is outdoors, free and accessible at any time.