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At the beginning of the 20th century an architectural picture of Poznań was entirely changed.

Throughout the 20th century the German authorities kept the military character of Poznań. Apart from being a fortress, the city was also a provincial cultural-administrative centre which did not contribute to its urban development. Not earlier than at the beginning of the 20th century new perspectives appeared as a result of changes in a war technique, degradation of the meaning of fortifications as well as administrative decisions concerning area enlargement. The city's hosts, especially its energetic mayor, Richard Witting, took advantage of an opportunity which appeared to make Poznań an important centre of German culture in the east, and, simultaneously, to create an elegant city full of greenery and light. As a result, Poznań's architectural picture was almost entirely changed. The most important enterprise at the beginning of the 20th century was the development of a fortification belt surrounding the city. That area was intended first of all for building the so called castle district which was to involve park landscapings and the whole complexes of large representative government buildings.