Poznan Cathedral and Parish Church

Friday May 19, 2017 Day 9

Poznan is the 5th largest city in Poland with a population of about 500,000 and about 100,000 university students. Post secondary education is free in Poland as long as you pass the exams. If you don’t pass the exams then you can go to one of the many private universities that we have been told are considered inferior.

We met our guide at a monument to commemorate a worker’s protest in 1956, the first mass worker’s protest in the Soviet Bloc. The interesting thing about the monument was that it was built in 1981 when the area was still under communist control.

Since it was about time for another church we headed off to the Poznan Cathedral that was built on the sight of the original chapel built in 966 AD. Down to the crypt to where the ashes of numerous bishops were kept as well as the remains of the original chapel.

Old town Poznam was badly damaged during WWII but has been rebuilt and was busy with hundreds of school groups and tourists. In the middle of the square is the old Town Hall where every day at noon crowds of tourists stare up at the tower waiting for two mechanical goats to come out and bash heads.

More impressive was a baroque church built for the Jesuits in 1651. The town is also famous for its St. Martin’s croissants made with white poppy seeds. Of course we had to try them and soon realized that one croissant would have been enough for both of us with some left over.

Back on the bus for a 5.5 hour drive to Czestochowa, a town of about 250,000 that is famous for its Black Madonna. Most of the drive was through more flat farmland, flat to the horizon. Closer to Czestochowa a few bumps appeared possibly signs that the landscape may be changing.

After a dinner with sour ham soup and beef cheeks (not sure but something like a delicious potroast) we wandered down the main street where there was an Italian food street market. The booths were stacked with sausages, cheeses, sweets, olives and herbs.