Originally, during the first decades of the Polish state the region was called "Poland" ("Polska" in Polish; the name comes drom the word "pole" - a field, which means, that the tribe (Polans - in Polish "Polanie") forming the Polish state was an agricultural one. The name was changed to "Wielkopolska" ("Greater Poland") later on, during the reign of Przemysl II at the end of XIIIth century. Nevertheless the region was the craddle of Poland - here the first cities were founded. The first capitals, Gniezno, Poznan, Ostrów Lednicki, arein Wielkopolska as well.
When in 1138 Poland was divided in duchies united by the rule of the senior, Greater Poland became an independent duchy, and few decades later there were two small states with capitals in Poznan and Kalisz - for most of the time Gniezno - the third biggest city in the region at that time belonged to the Kalisz duchy. Greater Poland was also a core of the restoring of the kingdom in 1295 and fro short time became again the capital of Poland, as the king Przemysl II origined from the Greater Poland branch of the Piast dynasty.
In the period between XVth and XVIIth centuries, when many war affected central and eastern Poland, the Greater Poland was an oasis of peace, that helped to grow and expand the cities and all the region. Most of Wielkopolska territories was incorporated into the Prussian state during the second Partition in 1793; the region was a part of Prussian state or German Empire till 1919, when a succesful Wielkopolska Uprising (27.12.1918 - June 1919) let join the reborn Poland. The region was occupied by Nazi Germany from mid-September 1939 till spring 1945. Now most of the historical territories of Wielkopolska belong to Wielkopolska voivodship (province), but some belong to Kujawsko-Pomorskie and West Pomeranian Voivodship
Now the region is known for its high agicultural culture, for being (especially Poznan the business and fair heart of Poland and for many historical sights from both first co-capitals and other places.
The Most Frequently Asked Travel Questions about Greater Poland
Where To Stay & Best Hotels in Greater Poland - updated Apr 2024
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Greater Poland Travel Guide from Wikitravel. Many thanks to all Wikitravel contributors. Text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0, images are available under various licenses, see each image for details.
