Poznan (German Posen), city in western Poland, capital of Poznan Province, a port on the Warta River. The city is a major railroad junction and an important industrial and commercial center, hosting a major international trade fair each year. The chief industries are food processing and the manufacture of metals, engines, freight cars, machine tools, chemicals, and ceramics. Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznan (founded in 1919), a technical university, a Gothic cathedral, a 16th-century city hall, and many historic churches and museums are in the city. Poznan is one of the most ancient cities of Poland; in 968 it became the first Roman Catholic bishopric in Poland. The city passed to Prussia in 1793, became part of the Grand Duchy of Warsaw in 1807, came under Prussian rule again in 1815, and reverted to Poland in 1919. In 1956 workers staged large-scale protest demonstrations here, which led to changes in the leadership of the Polish Communist Party. Population (1997 estimate) 580,000.
