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Poznań Area Sights

Poland Traditions & Interest

Tim Firkowski

Thursday, 20 August 2015

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Animated Goats on the clock of the old Poznań town hall in RynekI am trying to catch up on my Blog posts because it has been a busy last few days. On Monday we had a nice lazy start to the day, and went to the Rynek in Poznań first, so I could see the animated goats in the Town Hall clock at noon.

The story of the goats in the clock is that that a cook, while preparing a banquet for dignitaries, had burnt a roast deer, and attempted to replace it by stealing two goats from a nearby meadow. The goats escaped and ran up the town hall tower, where they attracted the attention of the townspeople when they began to butt each other (according to some versions, this drew attention to a fire which might otherwise have done significant damage). Because of the entertainment provided, the voivode pardoned both the cook and the goats, and ordered that two mechanical goats be incorporated into the new clock being made for the building.

After the clock animation finished there was a concert being played on the pipe organ in Fara church, so we went to listen to

Pipe Organ in Fara Churcha few tunes and take in the beauty of the church.

I made a point to visit the Archives in Poznań and get a photo for my collection. You only see the front of the building in the photo, but it is much larger than it seems because the building does back much farther.

A short drive brought us to St. Adelberts Church where there is a crypt that holds the bodies of some of the famous people from Poland. One of those people is Jan Henryk Dąbrowski. Jan Henryk Dąbrowski fought with Kosciuszko during the American Revolution again England.

We continued by visiting Citadel Park. We were able to walk around the park, but the military museum was closed. On each side of the stairs walking up there are graves of soldiers. On one side there are Russian soldiers graves and on the other there are German soldier's graves. Although the museum was closed we were able to get a look at some of the older military

Poznań Archivesequipment through the fence.

This was followed by visiting many other historic buildings in the Poznań area, just too many to mention them all. We went for dinner and a local pizza place and then finished with some ice cream at another shop afterwards. I also did manage to get to a store in the local mall and find an atlas of Poland that I had been looking for. The atlas I have is 10 years old and is well worn, and I needed a replacement, but finding the exact one I needed was not easy.

After we finished touring in Pozań we went to Kórnik which means "chicken coop" to see the Kórnik castle. Because it was Monday and late, the Castle was closed to visitors. Some places close only on Monday's. This is a useful traveling tip so you can plan your visits to places ahead of tiem, so you do not discover someplace is closed.

We tried to see nearby Rogalin castle, but due to a bad storm the night before I arrived, there were many trees down and it was dangerous and they closed the castle grounds to visitors until fallen and half fallen trees could be cleaned up. The wind damage in the area was huge, so it will take some time to clean

Crypt in St. Adelberts Church

Military equipment in the Citadel

The "Galeria" (Mall) in Poznań

Thin crust pizza for dinner

Ice cream for desert

Kórnik castleup.

I am now getting way behind on my posts because my family visiting schedule has become more compact. It is difficult to try to visit with everyone I want to, so please forgive me if I fall way behind. I may have to finish many posts after I return if I have time..

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About the author

Tim Firkowski

I have been doing genealogy research since 2002 & have worked full time as a Professional Genealogist since 2008. I specialize in Polish and American-Canadian Genealogy. As a member of APG, I was the 2010/2011 President of the New England Chapter of the Association of Professional Genealogists (NEAPG). I have Certificates of Completion for studies in "Foundations of Forensic Genealogy" and "Advanced Forensic Genealogy Techniques". I have been a volunteer librarian at the local Family History Center, and a genealogy research consultant at “Ask the Expert” Ancestry Road Shows. I have traveled to Poland numerous times & researched in churches and archives. At conferences and special events, you may find me dressed up in my Sherlock Holmes outfit, or my Kujawy (the folk costume from the region in Poland where my ancestors came from).