Ostrów Tumski, Poznań
Encyclopedia
Ostrów Tumski is an island between two branches of the river Warta in the city of Poznań
in western Poland. Poznań Cathedral and other ecclesiastical buildings occupy the central part of the island. Ostrów Tumski is part of the city's former Nowe Miasto ("New Town") district, although it is actually the oldest part of the city, where the rulers of the early Polish state in the 10th century had one of their palaces.
In the current administrative division of Poznań
, Ostrów Tumski is part of an osiedle
which also includes the neighbourhoods of Śródka
, Zawady and Komandoria, all on the east side of the river.
rivers close to their confluence
. To the south-west were the islands of Chwaliszewo and Grobla; the main stream of the Warta flowed between these. The first known fortified settlement (gród
) on Ostrów Tumski dates from the 8th or 9th century. In the 10th century the settlement on the island became one of the main political centres of the Piast domains, which in turn formed the hub of the early Polish state. Archaeological work carried out in 1999 revealed that the ducal palace stood on the site now occupied by the Church of the Virgin Mary (west of the cathedral). The palace was joined to a chapel
, believed to be the first Christian temple in Poland. It was probably first used by Dobrawa, the wife of Mieszko I, and her Bohemia
n attendants – Mieszko himself was baptised in 966 (see Baptism of Poland
).
With the Polish ruler's adoption of Christianity the state received its first missionary bishop, Jordan, who is believed to have made Poznań his seat. The first cathedral was also built in this period. (For more detail about the history and architecture of this building, see Poznań Cathedral.) It is estimated that in the later 10th century the population of the fortified settlement was about 200.
At the start of the 11th century the settlement was rebuilt (and enlarged) after suffering destruction caused by a flood, one of many which would periodically affect Poznań throughout history. In 1038 the invading Bretislaus I, Duke of Bohemia, sacked and burnt the settlement. It was rebuilt under Casimir I the Restorer, but the country's capital was now moved to Kraków
, and the Greater Poland
settlements of Poznań and Gniezno
lost their primary political importance.
Of particular importance for the development of the island was Jan Lubrański
, bishop of Poznań from 1498 until his death in 1520 (he was also a lawyer and diplomat). In 1518 he founded the Lubrański Academy
, which served as an institution of higher education (but without the right to award degrees) until 1780. Its building was built in 1518–1530 to the west of the cathedral (today the archdiocese museum). Lubrański also built a Psalmodists' House, originally for 12 psalm singers (this building also survives). He also constructed water pipes and paved streets, and in 1504–1512 built defensive walls around the central part of the island. The walls were not as high or imposing as the walls around the left-bank city of Poznań; they were mostly taken down at the start of the 18th century, and the remainder demolished in the 19th century during the building of the Prussian fortifications.
The cathedral, which had been rebuilt in Gothic
style in the 14th and 15th centuries, was seriously damaged by a fire in 1622, after which it was rebuilt in Baroque
style. After another major fire in 1772, rebuilding was carried out in Neoclassical
style.
The Poznań region was taken over by Prussia
in the Second Partition of Poland
of 1793. According to figures compiled in the following year, the population of Ostrów Tumski at that time was 304. In 1800 Ostrów Tumski, as well as other suburbs, were officially incorporated into the city of Poznań (Posen).
In the 19th century the Prussian authorities aimed to make Poznań into a fortress city by surrounding it with defensive fortifications; the Warta and Cybina rivers played an important part in these plans. Weirs were built on either side of Ostrów Tumski, and forts were also built on the island itself. The course of the Cybina was altered to provide increased protection for the fortifications, resulting in its joining the Warta further north than previously. For details of these works, see Festung Posen. Unlike the majority of the fortifications of left-bank Poznań, those on Ostrów Tumski were not demolished at the start of the 20th century, and mostly survived until the 1950s. Still in existence are the remains of Fort Roon on the site of the cogeneration plant in the north of the island, as well those of the wall and western bridgehead of Dom Schleuse ("Cathedral Lock") north-east of the cathedral.
Various fortifications have therefore been built on Ostrów Tumski: those of the 10th-century settlement, those built by Lubrański in the early 16th century, and the 19th-century Prussian fortifications (which also included water defences). The railway across the island was originally a section of the line from Poznań to Bydgoszcz which opened in 1872; it now also carries trains running on the lines to Warsaw
and Wągrowiec
.
, when the Red Army
captured the city from its Nazi German
occupiers. Ostrów Tumski itself fell on 16 February, seven days before the final capitulation of the German forces in the city. The most damage was suffered by the cathedral, which was rebuilt after the war. It was decided to rebuild it in the older Gothic
style, rather than in the Baroque and Neoclassical styles which had characterized the building since its previous rebuildings after 1622 and 1772.
By this time Ostrów Tumski was no longer in fact an island; the Berdychowo Dam blocked the stream of the Warta which had once flowed between Ostrów Tumski and Chwaliszewo (this now served as a flood relief channel), as well as the stream between the Warta and Cybina which had formed the island's south-eastern edge. However work carried out in the 1960s made Ostrów Tumski into a true island, as it remains today – the main stream of the Warta was diverted to flow in the channel east of Chwaliszewo (the previous main stream being filled in), and a second branch of the Warta was created to connect with the Cybina. Also a new main road was built from east to west across the island just south of the cathedral, connecting to the city centre to the west via the Bolesław Chrobry Bridge, and to Śródka
to the east via the Mieszko I Bridge.
On 7 December 2007 the Bishop Jordan Bridge was opened to provide another crossing, for pedestrians only, between Ostrów Tumski and Śródka (in the place where the bridge between those districts had previously existed until 1969). The Poznań tourist trail called the Royal-Imperial Route passes through Ostrów Tumski via this bridge.
Ostrów Tumski today contains the cathedral and associated ecclesiastic buildings in the central part of the island, the residential neighbourhood of Zagórze to the south (including an estate of communal houses dating from the 1920s), and a cogeneration plant and other industrial areas in the north. Apart from the bridges already mentioned, there is also a road bridge connecting to the northern part of the island from the east, and rail bridges carrying Poznań's main eastbound railway line, which passes across the northern part of the island.
Poznan
Poznań is a city on the Warta river in west-central Poland, with a population of 556,022 in June 2009. It is among the oldest cities in Poland, and was one of the most important centres in the early Polish state, whose first rulers were buried at Poznań's cathedral. It is sometimes claimed to be...
in western Poland. Poznań Cathedral and other ecclesiastical buildings occupy the central part of the island. Ostrów Tumski is part of the city's former Nowe Miasto ("New Town") district, although it is actually the oldest part of the city, where the rulers of the early Polish state in the 10th century had one of their palaces.
In the current administrative division of Poznań
Administrative division of Poznań
Since 2011, the Polish city of Poznań has been divided into 42 osiedles or neighbourhoods, each of which has its own elected council with certain decision-making and spending powers. The first uniform elections for these councils were held on 20 March 2011....
, Ostrów Tumski is part of an osiedle
Osiedle
Osiedle is a term used in Poland to denote a designated subdivision of a city or town, or of a dzielnica, with its own council and executive. Like the dzielnica and sołectwo, an osiedle is an auxiliary unit of a gmina. These units are created by decision of the gmina council, and do not have...
which also includes the neighbourhoods of Śródka
Śródka, Poznań
Śródka is a historic neighbourhood of the city of Poznań in western Poland. It lies on the right bank of the Warta river, opposite the island of Ostrów Tumski where the city's cathedral is situated...
, Zawady and Komandoria, all on the east side of the river.
Early history
Ostrów Tumski was formerly one of several adjacent islands formed between branches of the Warta and CybinaCybina
Cybina is a river in Greater Poland, the right affluent of Warta. It starts near village Iwno and after 43 km falls into the right branch of Warta, which is also called Cybina or Kanał Ulgi. Cybina flows through two big lakes: Swarzedzkie Lake and Lake Malta. This last one is a barrier...
rivers close to their confluence
Confluence
Confluence, in geography, describes the meeting of two or more bodies of water.Confluence may also refer to:* Confluence , a property of term rewriting systems...
. To the south-west were the islands of Chwaliszewo and Grobla; the main stream of the Warta flowed between these. The first known fortified settlement (gród
Grod
Grod may refer to:* Caspar Maria Grod, Wilhelm Riphahn's co-worker from 1913 to 1931* Weilern Grod, a village in Brittnau, Switzerland* Grod, 520s–528 ruler after Utigur in Patria Onoguria. He was succeeded by his brother Mugel.-See also:...
) on Ostrów Tumski dates from the 8th or 9th century. In the 10th century the settlement on the island became one of the main political centres of the Piast domains, which in turn formed the hub of the early Polish state. Archaeological work carried out in 1999 revealed that the ducal palace stood on the site now occupied by the Church of the Virgin Mary (west of the cathedral). The palace was joined to a chapel
Chapel
A chapel is a building used by Christians as a place of fellowship and worship. It may be part of a larger structure or complex, such as a church, college, hospital, palace, prison or funeral home, located on board a military or commercial ship, or it may be an entirely free-standing building,...
, believed to be the first Christian temple in Poland. It was probably first used by Dobrawa, the wife of Mieszko I, and her Bohemia
Bohemia
Bohemia is a historical region in central Europe, occupying the western two-thirds of the traditional Czech Lands. It is located in the contemporary Czech Republic with its capital in Prague...
n attendants – Mieszko himself was baptised in 966 (see Baptism of Poland
Baptism of Poland
The Baptism of Poland was the event in 966 that signified the beginning of the Christianization of Poland, commencing with the baptism of Mieszko I, who was the first ruler of the Polish state. The next significant step in Poland's adoption of Christianity was the establishment of various...
).
With the Polish ruler's adoption of Christianity the state received its first missionary bishop, Jordan, who is believed to have made Poznań his seat. The first cathedral was also built in this period. (For more detail about the history and architecture of this building, see Poznań Cathedral.) It is estimated that in the later 10th century the population of the fortified settlement was about 200.
At the start of the 11th century the settlement was rebuilt (and enlarged) after suffering destruction caused by a flood, one of many which would periodically affect Poznań throughout history. In 1038 the invading Bretislaus I, Duke of Bohemia, sacked and burnt the settlement. It was rebuilt under Casimir I the Restorer, but the country's capital was now moved to Kraków
Kraków
Kraków also Krakow, or Cracow , is the second largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in the Lesser Poland region, the city dates back to the 7th century. Kraków has traditionally been one of the leading centres of Polish academic, cultural, and artistic life...
, and the Greater Poland
Greater Poland
Greater Poland or Great Poland, often known by its Polish name Wielkopolska is a historical region of west-central Poland. Its chief city is Poznań.The boundaries of Greater Poland have varied somewhat throughout history...
settlements of Poznań and Gniezno
Gniezno
Gniezno is a city in central-western Poland, some 50 km east of Poznań, inhabited by about 70,000 people. One of the Piasts' chief cities, it was mentioned by 10th century A.D. sources as the capital of Piast Poland however the first capital of Piast realm was most likely Giecz built around...
lost their primary political importance.
After the founding of the left-bank city
With the building of the Royal Castle and the walled city of Poznań on the left bank of the Warta in the second half of the 13th century, Ostrów Tumski became the exclusive domain of the bishops. Sometime before 1335 it obtained separate town rights. A separate settlement on the island to the south of the cathedral became known as Zagórze.Of particular importance for the development of the island was Jan Lubrański
Jan Lubranski
Jan Lubrański was a Polish bishop, politician and diplomat. His coat of arms was Godziemba.Lubrański was bishop of Płock between 1497–1498 and bishop of Poznań since 1498, founder of many churches in his dioceses, initiator of the reconstruction of the Poznań cathedral...
, bishop of Poznań from 1498 until his death in 1520 (he was also a lawyer and diplomat). In 1518 he founded the Lubrański Academy
Lubranski Academy
The Lubrański Academy was a university college that was established in 1518 in Poznań by Bishop Jan Lubrański. It was the first school with university aspirations in Poznań .-History:The Academy's first rector was the Poznań humanist Tomasz Bederman...
, which served as an institution of higher education (but without the right to award degrees) until 1780. Its building was built in 1518–1530 to the west of the cathedral (today the archdiocese museum). Lubrański also built a Psalmodists' House, originally for 12 psalm singers (this building also survives). He also constructed water pipes and paved streets, and in 1504–1512 built defensive walls around the central part of the island. The walls were not as high or imposing as the walls around the left-bank city of Poznań; they were mostly taken down at the start of the 18th century, and the remainder demolished in the 19th century during the building of the Prussian fortifications.
The cathedral, which had been rebuilt in Gothic
Gothic architecture
Gothic architecture is a style of architecture that flourished during the high and late medieval period. It evolved from Romanesque architecture and was succeeded by Renaissance architecture....
style in the 14th and 15th centuries, was seriously damaged by a fire in 1622, after which it was rebuilt in Baroque
Baroque architecture
Baroque architecture is a term used to describe the building style of the Baroque era, begun in late sixteenth century Italy, that took the Roman vocabulary of Renaissance architecture and used it in a new rhetorical and theatrical fashion, often to express the triumph of the Catholic Church and...
style. After another major fire in 1772, rebuilding was carried out in Neoclassical
Neoclassical architecture
Neoclassical architecture was an architectural style produced by the neoclassical movement that began in the mid-18th century, manifested both in its details as a reaction against the Rococo style of naturalistic ornament, and in its architectural formulas as an outgrowth of some classicizing...
style.
The Poznań region was taken over by Prussia
Kingdom of Prussia
The Kingdom of Prussia was a German kingdom from 1701 to 1918. Until the defeat of Germany in World War I, it comprised almost two-thirds of the area of the German Empire...
in the Second Partition of Poland
Second Partition of Poland
The 1793 Second Partition of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth was the second of three partitions that ended the existence of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth by 1795. The second partition occurred in the aftermath of the War in Defense of the Constitution and the Targowica Confederation of 1792...
of 1793. According to figures compiled in the following year, the population of Ostrów Tumski at that time was 304. In 1800 Ostrów Tumski, as well as other suburbs, were officially incorporated into the city of Poznań (Posen).
In the 19th century the Prussian authorities aimed to make Poznań into a fortress city by surrounding it with defensive fortifications; the Warta and Cybina rivers played an important part in these plans. Weirs were built on either side of Ostrów Tumski, and forts were also built on the island itself. The course of the Cybina was altered to provide increased protection for the fortifications, resulting in its joining the Warta further north than previously. For details of these works, see Festung Posen. Unlike the majority of the fortifications of left-bank Poznań, those on Ostrów Tumski were not demolished at the start of the 20th century, and mostly survived until the 1950s. Still in existence are the remains of Fort Roon on the site of the cogeneration plant in the north of the island, as well those of the wall and western bridgehead of Dom Schleuse ("Cathedral Lock") north-east of the cathedral.
Various fortifications have therefore been built on Ostrów Tumski: those of the 10th-century settlement, those built by Lubrański in the early 16th century, and the 19th-century Prussian fortifications (which also included water defences). The railway across the island was originally a section of the line from Poznań to Bydgoszcz which opened in 1872; it now also carries trains running on the lines to Warsaw
Warsaw
Warsaw is the capital and largest city of Poland. It is located on the Vistula River, roughly from the Baltic Sea and from the Carpathian Mountains. Its population in 2010 was estimated at 1,716,855 residents with a greater metropolitan area of 2,631,902 residents, making Warsaw the 10th most...
and Wągrowiec
Wagrowiec
Wągrowiec is a town in northwestern Poland, 50 km from both Poznań and Bydgoszcz. Since the 18th century it has been the a seat of a powiat. It is currently attached to the Greater Poland Voivodeship...
.
Since the Second World War
Ostrów Tumski suffered damage in the Battle of Poznań (1945)Battle of Poznan (1945)
The Battle of Poznań during World War II in 1945 was a massive assault by the Soviet Union's Red Army that had as its objective the elimination of the Nazi German garrison in the stronghold city of Poznań in occupied Poland...
, when the Red Army
Red Army
The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army started out as the Soviet Union's revolutionary communist combat groups during the Russian Civil War of 1918-1922. It grew into the national army of the Soviet Union. By the 1930s the Red Army was among the largest armies in history.The "Red Army" name refers to...
captured the city from its Nazi German
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
occupiers. Ostrów Tumski itself fell on 16 February, seven days before the final capitulation of the German forces in the city. The most damage was suffered by the cathedral, which was rebuilt after the war. It was decided to rebuild it in the older Gothic
Gothic architecture
Gothic architecture is a style of architecture that flourished during the high and late medieval period. It evolved from Romanesque architecture and was succeeded by Renaissance architecture....
style, rather than in the Baroque and Neoclassical styles which had characterized the building since its previous rebuildings after 1622 and 1772.
By this time Ostrów Tumski was no longer in fact an island; the Berdychowo Dam blocked the stream of the Warta which had once flowed between Ostrów Tumski and Chwaliszewo (this now served as a flood relief channel), as well as the stream between the Warta and Cybina which had formed the island's south-eastern edge. However work carried out in the 1960s made Ostrów Tumski into a true island, as it remains today – the main stream of the Warta was diverted to flow in the channel east of Chwaliszewo (the previous main stream being filled in), and a second branch of the Warta was created to connect with the Cybina. Also a new main road was built from east to west across the island just south of the cathedral, connecting to the city centre to the west via the Bolesław Chrobry Bridge, and to Śródka
Śródka, Poznań
Śródka is a historic neighbourhood of the city of Poznań in western Poland. It lies on the right bank of the Warta river, opposite the island of Ostrów Tumski where the city's cathedral is situated...
to the east via the Mieszko I Bridge.
On 7 December 2007 the Bishop Jordan Bridge was opened to provide another crossing, for pedestrians only, between Ostrów Tumski and Śródka (in the place where the bridge between those districts had previously existed until 1969). The Poznań tourist trail called the Royal-Imperial Route passes through Ostrów Tumski via this bridge.
Ostrów Tumski today contains the cathedral and associated ecclesiastic buildings in the central part of the island, the residential neighbourhood of Zagórze to the south (including an estate of communal houses dating from the 1920s), and a cogeneration plant and other industrial areas in the north. Apart from the bridges already mentioned, there is also a road bridge connecting to the northern part of the island from the east, and rail bridges carrying Poznań's main eastbound railway line, which passes across the northern part of the island.
Buildings of interest
Buildings of interest in the historic central part of Ostrów Tumski include:- Poznań Cathedral (see separate article).
- The archbishop's palace, with the adjoining curiaCuriaA curia in early Roman times was a subdivision of the people, i.e. more or less a tribe, and with a metonymy it came to mean also the meeting place where the tribe discussed its affairs...
building and former presbytery. These buildings date from the 14th and 15th centuries, and in their present form from the 19th. - The Church of the Most Holy Virgin Mary, built in the 15th century, a well-preserved Gothic building. Archaeological work carried out since 1999 has uncovered the remains of the original ducal palace and chapel (the oldest known place of Christian worship in Poland) on the site now occupied by the church.
- The Psalmodists' House, originally built by Lubrański in the early 16th century.
- The Lubrański AcademyLubranski AcademyThe Lubrański Academy was a university college that was established in 1518 in Poznań by Bishop Jan Lubrański. It was the first school with university aspirations in Poznań .-History:The Academy's first rector was the Poznań humanist Tomasz Bederman...
building, now used as the archives and museum of the archdiocese. - The seminarySeminaryA seminary, theological college, or divinity school is an institution of secondary or post-secondary education for educating students in theology, generally to prepare them for ordination as clergy or for other ministry...
buildings, dating from the late 19th century (new buildings were added in 2003). These are situated in Zagórze, to the south of the main road crossing the island. The seminary was the scene of a major scandal in 2002, when Poznań's archbishop resigned his post following allegations that he had sexually abused clerics there. Another seminary, with more modern buildings, stands north of the main group of buildings around the cathedral.