Its beginnings go back to the Middle Ages when the powerful Górka family were the owners of Kórnik. It is most likely the Górka family that initiated the building of the castle. Originally built in 1430, the brick fortified creation, surrounded by a moat could be approached over a drawbridge and a portcullis. Some parts of old walls and cellars survived to this day. In the 16th century the castle was rebuilt in the Renaissance style, which gave the castle its outstanding elegance. In the 18th century it underwent most alterations as Teofila Szołdrska Potulicka from the Działyński family had it rebuilt in the style of something much more palatial in feel. Two annexes at the sides of the castle were symmetrically added. At the end of the 19th century Tytus Działyński, the owner of the estate, gave the castle a picturesque fortified character. An additional floor was built and rectangular towers were added to the building from the south side. The time between the November Insurrection of 1830 and the interwar period was not kind to the castle. The lowering of groundwater level, overloading walls and shocks caused by the army marching led to enormous damage. After World War II, in 1947, the extensive restoration works started and allowed this neo-Gothic style castle to gain its splendour. The interior can boast a rich collection of furniture, other equipment as well as relics of past ages. It is the decorative parquet flooring and superb gilded ceilings which catch the eye. The castle rooms served different functions as you can find a dining room, a drawing room, bedrooms, guest rooms, a hunting room with souvenirs of Władysław Zamoyski’s many trips to different parts of the world. Since 1953 the castle with its contents and the library have been a research institute of the Polish Academy of Sciences. 

http://www.kornik.pl/

Castle Kórniku

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The history of the Rogalin Palace harks back to the second half of the 18th century, when Kazimierz Raczynski, later Royal Marshal at the court of Stanislaw August Poniatowski, became the owner of the estate.

A late baroque palace complex was erected for him in the period 1768-1774; it was designed by an unknown architect, most probably from the Warsaw-Saxon circle.

In the 1780s the interior of the palace was modernised in a classicist style; the most outstanding royal architects of the time, Domenico Merlini and Jan Christian Kamsetzer, were the authors of the design. Rogalin's owner in the period 1810-1845, Edward Count Raczynski, converted the ball hall into an armoury with neo-gothic furnishings and placed there a collection of objects of national and historical value. In addition, the palace chapel in the southern wing was converted to a library and an archive.

In 1820, at the eastern end of the foundation axis he erected a chapel - a replica of the Roman temple Maison Carree in Nimes near Marseilles - which served the function of the family mausoleum; the entire complex was extended by a landscape park.

In the 1890s Edward Aleksander Raczynski, the fifth heir of Rogalin, along with his wife Roza nee Countess Potocka, created a neo-baroque library in the palace and had the entire palace overhauled. The renovation work was designed and led by the Cracow-based architect Zygmunt Hendel.

In 1910 Edward Aleksander Raczynski had a building of a gallery of painting erected next to the palace and placed there the collection of Polish and European painting of the period he had been gathering since the 1880s. At that time this was one of the few buildings erected in Poland with the intention of being open to the general public.

During World War II, when the palace was the seat of the Hitlerjugend Gebietsfuhrerschule, and immediately after the war the furnishings of the palace were almost completely dispersed.

Rogalin Palace

The Royal Castle in Poznań (Polish: Zamek Królewski w Poznaniu) dates from 1249 and the reign of Przemysł I. Located in the Polish city of Poznań, it was largely destroyed during the Second World War but has since been partly rebuilt.

Construction of the castle was probably started by Przemysł I in 1249 on hill later called Góra Zamkowa (Castle Mountain, Latin mons castrenis), and now better known as Góra Przemysława (Hill of Przemysł (or Przemysław)). The first building was a habitable tower made of bricks with a well inside, and the rest of the hill was surrounded by a rampart with a palisade. A small ducal residence was incorporated into the system of city walls in the late 13th century.

The son of Przemysł I, Przemysł II, hoping for reunification of Poland under his rule decided to build a larger castle, more proper for a king. In 1295 Przemysł became king of Poland, but he was assassinated a year later. The castle wasn't finished. Work started by Przemysł was continued by a branch of the Piasts from Głogów ruling in Greater Poland, and finished before 1337. The castle served as the residence of prince Casimir, then-governor of Greater Poland.

In 1337, the Royal Castle in Poznań was the largest castle in the Polish Kingdom, modelled after the palatium of Henry I the Bearded in Legnica. The castle consisted of a tower built by Przemysł I and a huge building (63,0 m x 17,5 m) with three levels and a basement. It is uncertain whether the castle's characteristic roof, consisting of four parts, existed at that time.

Basements served as prisons and for storage of wines, and on the ground floor there were charring rooms. Those two condignations were covered by vaults. Two higher floors probably had wooden ceilings. On the edges of first floor were representative chambers, and between them were habitual rooms. The whole second floor was occupied by a chamber for 2000 guests. On the south end of the large building was a defense tower. Since the reign of Władysław I the Elbow-high the castle served as the residence of starosta generalny of Greater Poland. Later only one king, Władysław II Jagiełło, ordered some minor work in castle.

During the fire of Poznań in 1536 the castle also burned. It was rebuilt in the renaissance style by the governor of Greater Poland, Andrzej II Górka. In the next years the oldest part of castle was transformed into a kitchen. The castle was later destroyed during the Swedish invasion, sacked in 1704 by the armies of Russia and Saxony during Great Northern War, and in 1716 during Confederation of Tarnogród (konfederacja tarnogrodzka) by the confederates. The castle was partially renovated in 1721, but it didn't stop the devastation. The last starosta generalny, Kazimierz Raczyński, rebuilt the remains of the medieval buildings into an archive (finished in 1783). In 1804, after The Second partition of Poland, Prussians demolished the southern part of the castle, replacing it by buildings which, together with Raczyński's archive served as the office of the local Regierungsbezirk. Later on the castle was also as a seat of the Court of Appeals and the State Archive (the castle served as an archive until 1939). During the battle for the Poznań Citadel, in February 1945, Przemysł Hill was in line of artillery fire, and the remaining part of the castle was demolished.

In the years 1959–1964 Raczyński's archive and part of Prussian building were rebuilt, and on base of the oldest tower stands a small pavilion called the Royal Kitchen (Kuchnia Królewska). Today the Castle holds a Museum of Utilitary Art (Muzeum Sztuki Użytkowej).

On 22 April 2002, a committee for rebuilding of the castle was founded. Still extant from previous construction are two-meter-wide supports from the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, the inner walls of the basement and the western wall (up to 10 meters high) from the same period, and a slightly newer eastern wall (up to 7 or 8 meters high), now integrated into Raczyński's Building. On the surviving part of the castle are three plaques: the foundation plaque of Kazimierz Raczyński from 1783, one from 1993 marking the five-hundredth anniversary of homage of Grand Master of the Teutonic Order, Johann von Tiefen, and another plaque commemorating the seven-hundredth anniversary of the coronation of Przemysł II.

On 20 December 2010, work began on the total reconstruction of the demolished parts of the castle, and meticulous restoration of the surviving buildings.

 • 1249 – wedding of Salomea, sister of Przemysł I and Conrad II of Głogów
 • 1 July 1250 – on document for Cistercian Monastery in Obra as place of signing is noticed castro posnaniensi
 • 1251 – wedding of Eufemia, the youngest sister of Przemysł I, and Władysław of Opole, duke of Opole and Racibórz
 • 14 October 1257 – Przemysł II was born in the castle
 • 1 September 1288 – Elisabeth Richeza of Poland was born in the castle
 • 1309 – Henry III of Głogów, pretender for Polish crown, stayed in the castle
 • 1329–1331 – castle serves as residence of Władysław I Łokietek
 • 1337 – in the castle the peace treaty between Casimir III of Poland (Kazimierz Wielki) and John I of Bohemia was signed
 • 1341 – wedding of Casimir III of Poland (Kazimierz Wielki) and Adelajda, daughter of Henry, Landgraf of Hesse
 • 1343 – wedding of Bogislaw V, duke of Pomerania and Elizabeth of Silesia, daughter of Casimir III of Poland (Kazimierz Wielki)
 • 1372 and 1373 – visits of Elisabeth of Poland, Queen of Hungary
 • 1381 – visit of Louis I of Hungary
 • 1386 – visit of Jadwiga of Poland and Władysław II Jagiełło
 • 1424 – visit of Eric of Pomerania
 • 1433 – wedding of Bogislaw IV, duke of Pomerania-Stolp (Słupsk) and Mary, daughter of Siemowit IV of Płock, duke of Masovia
 • few visits of Casimir IV Jagiellon
 • 29 May 1493 – homage of Johann von Tiefen to John I of Poland
 • few visits of Sigismund I the Old
 • 1574 – visit of Henry de Valois
 • few visits of Sigismund III Vasa
 • few visits of Władysław IV Vasa
 • 1657–1658 – John II Casimir of Poland stays in Castle for winter with Queen Louis Marie Gonzaga. During this visit in castle took place the war council with Stefan Czarniecki described in Dąbrowski's Mazurka by Józef Wybicki, that started his lawyer career in 1765 on this castle

According to legend, Przemysł Hill was created by dark powers. When Mieszko I was baptized, an angry Devil decided to sink the entire city of Poznań. He pulled out one of the hills near Gniezno, and, with a group of demons, tried to block the flow of the Warta. However, the evil forces started to celebrate their victory too early; their noisy behavior awoke the roosters, which began to crow. The devil and his demons were so scared that they left the hill on the bank of Warta.

Another legend is connected with the mysterious murder of Ludgarda, wife of Przemysł II of Poland, probably strangled by servants in the bath or in her bedroom on 14 December 1283. The Duke was connected with this murder because The Duchess couldn't give him a son. The Foundation of the Female Monastery of Dominicans in Poznań, created near the end of 1238, was said to be Przemysł's reconciliation for this act. However, contemporary chronicles mention only unclear circumstances of Ludgarda's death. The first clear connection of Przemysł and this assassination is mentioned in the Chronicle of Oliwa, which is from the 14th century, and the chronicle of Ernst von Kirchberga, which dates to approximately 1370. Jan Długosz, in his chronicles, writes only about the fact that people were talking about this connection.

It has also been said that ghost of Ludgarda, seen as a White Lady, walked in the chambers and on the walls of the Royal Castle; under the walls was seen the Black Knight, who cried for the Duchess at her funeral.

Royal Castle in Poznan

The Imperial Castle in Poznań, popularly called Zamek (Polish: Zamek Cesarski w Poznaniu, German: Königliches Residenzschloss Posen), is a palace in Poznań, in Poland. It was constructed under the German rule in 1910 by Franz Schwechten for William II, German Emperor, with significant input from William himself. Since its completion, the building has housed government offices of Germany (to 1918 and during the Second World War) and Poland (1918–1939, 1945–present).

The name of this structure is misleading, as the building is a palace rather than a castle. Another difference arises from the adjective imperial (cesarski) preferred by the Poles and royal (königliches) used by the Germans. The German name refers to William II as King of Prussia, in this function he built the palace as his provincial residence, while the Polish name refers to him as Emperor of Germany because the term "royal" is reserved to Poznań's Royal Castle of the Kings of Poland.

The location of the castle was not accidental. After the deconstruction of the polygonal part of the Stronghold Poznań, Poznań was transformed to a residential city (Haupt- und Residenzstadt). On the new lands, Prussian authorities - who acquired the city in the Second Partition of Poland in 1793 - decided to build a new Germanic heart of city, known as the "Imperial District". The projects of the new districts were prepared by Josef Stübben. Monumental buildings of the Imperial Districts surrounding the castle included:
 - Post Office building
 - Building of Settlement Commission (now Collegium Maius)
 - Buildings of the Royal Academy (Königliche Akademie in Posen) (today Aula of the Adam Mickiewicz University, Collegium Minus and the Collegium Iuridicum)
 - City Theatre (today Opera house)
 - Building of the Academy of Music (Akademia Muzyczna w Poznaniu)
 - Evangelical-Augsburg Church of St. Paul (today Roman Catholic Church of the Holiest Savior)
 - Monument of Otto von Bismarck

The castle was built in Neo-Romanesque style, considered by William to be the most "Germanic" and representing the glory of the Holy Roman Empire. The new residence was intended to reflect the control over Greater Poland by the Kingdom of Prussia and the German Empire

The main building located in the southern part of the complex has two wings: the western — the larger one — consisting of apartments, and the eastern with representative rooms. On the ground floor of the western wing were rooms of the Court Marshal, Chamberlain and other members of imperial court. On the first floor were the apartments of the Emperor and his wife. A private chapel in a Byzantine style (project of August Oetken) was located in a tower. Under the chapel, on the western side of the tower was the entrance reserved for the emperor. From the entrance, stairs lead straight to the first floor. The bedrooms of the emperor and the empress were connected by a corridor with four statues of the following rulers: Margrave Gero, Emperor Otto I, Emperor Frederick Barbarossa, and Duke Władysław II the Exile. The second floor was planned to be used by the crown prince (the so-called prince rooms). Most of rooms were connected by a foyer surrounding the inner yard.

The most impressive room of the representative wing was the Throne Room in Byzantine style. The room was lighted by huge windows from three sides, positioned between the columns and the arches. Eight statues of Holy Roman Emperors were placed under the arches. The throne, designed in an oriental style, was situated under the middle arch. Over the windows was a gallery for guests and the orchestra. The entrance to this part of the castle was from Wałowa Street (today Kościuszki Street).

The northern part of the complex, from Berlin Street (now Fredry Street), consisted of service rooms, garage, stable and coach house. Those structures and two wings of the main building surround the roses yard with a fountain, based on the Fountain of the Lions from the Court of the Lions in the Alhambra in Granada, Spain.

Construction began in 1905 (plans were ready in 1904), and five years later, on 21 August 1910, during a visit of the emperor in Poznań (called Posener Kaisertage), the architect presented the keys to the new residence to William. The total cost of the building was five million German marks, and the castle is the youngest in Europe. William's first, and only, burgrave (Schlosshauptmann) in 1906 - 1918 was the Pomeranian noble, Count Bogdan Hutten-Czapski.

After the Greater Poland Uprising (1918–1919), the castle became the property of the Second Polish Republic. According to a decision of the Polish government in 1921, the castle became the residence of the Naczelnik państwa and later the President of Poland. The building was also used by the Ministry of Former Prussian Partition (Ministerstwo byłej Dzielnicy Pruskiej). Some rooms were also used by the University of Poznań, Związek Harcerstwa Polskiego and other organisations.

After the incorporation of Greater Poland into Nazi Germany in 1939, the authorities decided to transform the castle into Adolf Hitler's residence. It was also used by the administrator of the Wartheland, Arthur Greiser. According to this decision, Albert Speer prepared the project of the reconstruction, which completely changed the rooms of the castle. Most of the rooms were changed into the style of the Third Reich. The chapel was changed into the private cabinet of Hitler, with a characteristic balcony with an electric-heated floor. The cabinet was a copy of Hitler's room in the Reich Chancellery; the architectonic details of this room survived World War II and is often used in films. The Throne Room was also transformed into an audience hall. Under the castle, a bunker for 375 people was constructed. The rebuilding was stopped in 1943 due to the Germans' negativity from setbacks on the Eastern Front.

During fighting in 1945, the castle was a temporary camp for German POWs, and was later used as a barracks by the Polish People's Army. During this period, the communist government considered the demolition of the castle as a symbol of the German occupation and bourgeois style. Due to a lack of funds, only some of the German symbols were removed and the upper part of damaged tower was demolished.

During the war, the city hall and the seat of the town authorities was destroyed. The castle was renamed to "New City Hall" (Nowy Ratusz), and later transformed into a centre of culture. On 6 June 1979 the castle was declared a historical monument under protection of law.

Today, the Throne Room is used as a cinema room; other apartments contain art galleries, a puppet theater, pubs, music clubs and restaurants. The courtyard is often a place of concerts and outdoor movie performances during summer. The second floor is still empty and has not been renovated.

The square in front of the building is the main venue for the St. Martin's Day parade and celebrations held in Poznań annually on 11 November.