Konin is in Wielkopolskie. Konin boasts an interesting old town with three squares and a preserved historic architectural layout. Its most valuable monument is the Milestone – the oldest preserved road sign in Central and Eastern Europe, dating back to Roman times.
Understand
[edit]Its history began as a trading settlement founded in the mid-12th century on the site of today's village of Stare Miasto. It was founded before 1293 in its current location on the left bank of the Warta River. After World War II, rapid development occurred as a result of the mining of lignite deposits, the construction of power plants, and other industrial plants. New, extensive residential districts were built on the right bank of the river. The most valuable monuments: a Romanesque column from the mid-12th century and a Gothic church from the 14th century, as well as two buildings in the Gosławice district – a castle from the early 15th century, now housing a museum, and a Gothic church from the 15th century.
Get in
[edit]By plane
[edit]The nearest international airport is in Poznań (POZ IATA). Other nearby international airports include Bydgoszcz Airport, Szczecin Airport and Gdańsk Airport.
By train
[edit]The city has a 1 railway station (stacja kolejowa) on the important railway line connecting Warsaw with Poznań. It has frequent train connections to both cities.
By car
[edit]From Poznań, Warsaw, or Łódź, you can reach the highway A2. The highway from Warsaw is toll-free, while from Poznań to Konin there is a toll.
Other roads that pass through Konin include the national road Kalisz - Bydgoszcz, from Łódź or the alternative road connecting Warsaw with Poznań (25, 72, 92).
By bus
[edit]There are regular intercity bus connections to Poznań and long-distance buses to other cities in the region. The 2 bus station (dworzec autobusowy) is beside the train station.
Get around
[edit]
See
[edit]- 1 Konin Museum (Muzeum Okręgowe w Koninie), ul. Muzealna 6. The Konin museum is most interesting and well worth a visit if you are in the area. The museum has two distinct sections: the first is dedicated to an excellent example of a straight - tusked elephant found by workers at the local open cut coal mine. The elephant is one of the largest elephant species with a shoulder height of around 4 metres. The earliest record of the elephant in Europe is 800,000 - 700,000 years ago. The second section is a well restored 15th century castle on the shores of Lake Goslawice. You could easily spend half a day looking around the museum.
- 2 Milestone (Słup drogowy). The oldest road sign in Central and Eastern Europe. It stands near St. Bartholomew's Church in Konin's Old Town. The inscription on it states that it was founded by Count Piotr Włostowic in 1151.
- 3 The Church of St. Bartholomew (Kościół św. Bartłomieja). A Gothic, basilica-style church with three naves. It dates from the 14th century. On the south side, it houses two chapels: the Gothic one dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary and the Renaissance one dedicated to Jan Zemełka, a native of Konin. The chapels feature richly inlaid stalls with floral ornaments, birds, and unicorns, as well as a 16th-century Gothic sculpture of the Virgin Mary. A Gothic baptismal font is located in the side porch, dating from 1866. The vaults are reticulated in the chancel and stellar in the naves. The polychrome and stained glass windows were created between 1908 and 1910 by Eligiusz Niewiadomski, who later assassinated the first President of the Republic of Poland, Gabriel Narutowicz. The front door features 15th-century bronze mascarons in the shape of lion heads.
- 4 The Reformed Friars Monastery Complex (Zespół klasztorny oo. Reformatów). Built in 1733, it has a horseshoe-shaped plan with a central cloister. It has two stories, separated by a string course. At the junction of the north and east wings is a rotunda on a plinth (built as a library).
- 5 The town hall (Ratusz). Designed by Andrzej Pelletier, it was built between 1796 and 1803 on the then market square, with a medieval urban layout and the shape of a significantly elongated spindle on the north-south axis. Due to the limited width of the market square and the diverging roadways adjacent to the town hall walls, the unusual arrangement of the side walls "formed" an unusual arrangement, resulting in the trapezoidal shape of this two-story building. The roof is hipped, covered with tiles, and due to its unusual plan, it has unique side slopes – ruled planes in the shape of hyperbolic paraboloids. The town hall boasts an 18th-century clock tower faced with wood (the clock comes from the monastery in Ląd). The pediment features four Doric columns of the grand order and a triangular tympanum with the Konin coat of arms. The interiors are decorated with early 20th-century stained glass windows, and the ceiling of the Town Council Chamber is decorated with a stucco ceiling.
- 6 The Synagogue (Synagoga). Built between 1825 and 1829, is reminiscent of Byzantine architecture. The building was built in a rectangular plan. In 1883, a two-storey extension was added to the north side along its entire length, serving as a women's prayer hall, and a vestibule was added to the west. The city library was located there, but was later moved to Dworcowa Street. The Jewish Talmudic "house of study" ("bes medresz" – "bet ha-midrash"), beside the synagogue and built in 1883, no longer exists. In 2016, the building was demolished.
- 7 The Market Square (Rynek). Until 1786, the town hall stood in its centre. Near the market square stand the Jan Zemełka Tenement House, built in the late 16th century. It was the first secular brick building in the city. It lost its Renaissance features after several renovations. It is two-story, with a gable roof. The vaults are barrel vaults in the hallway and basements, and cross-barrel vaults in the basements and on the ground floor. The Konin County Office building. This building, with distinct Classicist features and covered with a hipped roof, was built in 1828 according to the design of the architect TK Pelletier, the Builder of the Konin District. It was intended to be the seat of the authorities of the vast Konin District. The district comprised the then Konin and Pyzdry counties, from which, in 1866, following the administrative reform of the Russian Partition, the Koło, Turek, and Słupca counties were created for the first time in history. Konin County was significantly reduced in size, and the Pyzdry County disappeared forever. A Classicist tenement house on the corner of Wolności Square and Zofii Urbanowskiej Street, decorated with Ionic pilasters and a tympanum with a wreath and the date 1840. Before World War II, it housed the Hotel Litewski. A Classicist tenement house known as "Grodzka" from the first half of the 19th century on Wolności Square, decorated with Ionic pilasters and a porch with a double-sided staircase, served as a prison in Tsarist times (the legendary Capuchin priest Maksymilian Tarejwa, commander of the January Uprising in the Konin region, was imprisoned there). Before World War II, it housed the Hotel Polski.
- 8 Gosławice Castle (Zamek w Gosławicach). Built between 1420 and 1426 by Poznań Bishop Andrzej Łaskarz of the Godziemba coat of arms, it features a Gothic architecture. This fortified manor house was built without a tower. The original walls, up to the first floor and the outer wall, have survived. After restoration in 1978–1986, it housed the District Museum.
- 9 The Church of St. Andrew the Apostle (Kościół św. Andrzeja Apostoła w Gosławicach) (in Gosławice). A Gothic-Neo-Gothic church that was founded by the owner of Gosławice, Bishop Andrzej Łaskarz of the Godziemba coat of arms. It was built on a Greek cross plan. The palm vault is supported by a central column. Adjacent to the octagonal nave are the chancel, two chapels, and a porch, forming the arms of the cross. Inside the church are three Neo-Gothic altars from the late 19th century and an octagonal stone baptismal font from the early 16th century. Partially ruined in the 17th century, the church was rebuilt between 1755 and 1775. The Neo-Gothic roofs and turret date from the late 19th century. In the late 20th century, the roof was renovated and the turret was rebuilt, making it higher.
Do
[edit]- The International Children's Song and Dance Festival (Międzynarodowy Dziecięcy Festiwal Piosenki i Tańca). It takes place every year in June, with performers from Europe and partner cities participating.