Our guided tour will take you back in time, starting in the most modern section of the city around the conference venue. We will take you through the iconic Stary Browar (Old Brewery) being both a shopping mall and modern art gallery. Its intriguing industrial architecture will give you a chance for taking a few one-of-a-kind photos.
The next stop is the Old Town with its colourful and bustling Market Square. In the very centre of the Square lies the most iconic building in Poznań – the original 16
th C. Renaissance Town Hall. It is here, at noon each day, that crowds of curious tourists gather to watch the most famous clock mechanism in Poland – the goats of Poznań. Naturally, we cannot miss this show on our tour, but apart from that, you will visit a true gem of Baroque – the Jesuit Parish Church. Its modest façade is truly misleading as the inside is overflowing with statues, golden ornamentation, and colossal columns. We will finish off the Old Town on a sweet note – a local specialty Saint Martin Croissant and takeaway coffee to sweeten the walk to the oldest part of Poznań - the Cathedral Island.
Once on the Island, we will dig to the very roots of Poznań and Poland hidden 3 metres below the surface. In the 10th C. this very island was the religious and political centre of the early Poland. It was here, in the oldest cathedral in Poland - that the first Christian duke Mieszko I was buried together with his son Bolesław, who later became the first crowned king. Their distant traces are to be found in the vaults of the cathedral, hidden within the 1000-years-old stone walls. In terms of recorded Polish history, this is as far back as you can go.
9:30 Meetup at Hotel Novotel in the lobby
9:30 - 10:15 - Stary Browar (Old Brewery) and walk to the Old Town
10:15 - 12:00 - Sightseeing the Old Town with the 12 o'clock goat show
12:00 - 13:00 - Walk to the Cathedral Island and exploring cathedral vaults
13:00 - Lunch at Galeria Tumska
Our guided tour will cover the castle interiors with its unique Mauritanian Hall housing an impressive collection of 16th and 17th C. Polish militaria. You will have a chance to see the famous Polish hussar armour with a characteristic feather wing, which has become an icon of Polish cavalry.