POZNAN or POSEN, capital of the province of Poznan, in Poland, situated in a wide and sandy plain on the Warta, 18om. W. from Warsaw and r5om. E. from Berlin. Pop. (1931) 246,698; in 1921 95% were Poles and 5% Germans. Before the World War, half the population were Germans, who had been encouraged to settle by the Prussian Government, and who returned to Germany after the restoration of Poland. The city is the centre of a network of railways connecting it with Warsaw, Berlin, Breslau and Torun. It is the centre of one of the five ecclesiastical provinces of the Catholic Church in Poland, and the seat of the most ancient Polish bishopric, founded in the loth century. The old town (Stare Miasto) and the new town lie on the left bank of the Warta, with large suburbs on the right bank. There are 15 Roman Catholic churches, of which the cathedral contains many works of art and the tombs of the two first rulers of Poland. The town hall (Ratusz), rebuilt in 1552, is a magnificent building in the Romanesque style. A legacy of Prussian rule is the pre tentious castle built by William II. There is a large library, the Raczynski library, two museums and a university. Industries are mainly connected with agriculture, such as distilling, brewing, sugar milling, agricultural machinery. Recently the manufacture
of locomotives has been established. An annual fair was in augurated in 1922, and there is an active trade, both by river and rail, in corn, cattle, wood, wool and potatoes.
Poznan is one of the oldest cities in Poland and the residence of the first king, Boleslaw the Brave, and of the first Polish bishop. The original settlement was on the right bank of the river, but German settlers in 1250 made the new town on the opposite bank a flourishing commercial centre. A charter in 1394 gave the city staple right for all wares passing from Poland into Germany, and from Germany into Poland. The German element was assimilated, though many foreigners settled there, including a colony of Scots. After the fires of 1536 and 159o, Poznan, formerly Gothic, was rebuilt in Renaissance style. The prosperity of Poznan declined with the economic decline of Poland in the 17th century, but revived in the 19th century, partly as the natural centre of a great agricultural region, partly as a bulwark of the Poles in their struggle against German penetration.