1. KAROL MARCINKOWSKI AVENUE

Modeled after Berlin's Unter den Linden, the Avenue was Poland's first public promenade. It featured a post office building and a stop of postal coaches which served as the main mode of transportation until Poznań was incorporated into the railroad network. Some of its most notable sights today are the Kronthal Fountain which replaced the former main waterworks well funded by Count Edward Raczyński in 1847 and the contemporary monuments of Karol Marcinkowski (one of the authors of the idea of organic work; the monument has been created by Stanisław Radwański), the mythical Golem by David Černy and Stela by Heinz Mack.

2. WOLNOŚCI SQUARE

The Square featured centrally in the 19th-century "New Town" urban development plan which envisioned it surrounded by high profile buildings. It was a venue for key events such as the swearing-in of uprising troops in 1919. Currently the Square is adorned with the Hygieia Well financed by Count Edward Raczyński and a modern fountain. Interestingly, the Square was the site of Poland's first fuel station in the 1920s.

3. THE ARKADIA

The first building to be erected on this site was a theatre (1802) which was initially used to stage both Polish as well as German plays. In time, as Germanization pressures mounted, Polish plays were increasingly censored and eventually banned altogether. In the 19th century, the theatre's stage was graced by the presence of, among others, Wojciech Bogusławski, Helena Modrzejewska, Ferenc Liszt, Niccoló Paganini and Henryk Wieniawski. Due to poor technical condition, the building was demolished in 1877 and replaced with today's structure. During the two decades between World War I and World War II, the building housed Poznań's first studio of the Polish Radio and the popular Arkadia coffee house which lent its name to the whole edifice. Today the building serves as the seat of the City Information Center and Theatre of the Eighth Day (one of Poland's best avant-garde theatres).

4. THE RACZYŃSKI LIBRARY

Funded by Count Edward Raczyński, one of the period's most prominent promoters of art, the Library was opened in 1829 to become Poznań's first public institution of its kind. Its façade was modeled on the eastern face of the Louvre. In keeping with the ambitions of the Raczyński brothers who sought to make Poznań a social and cultural hub, a painting gallery was erected nearby to hold the collection of one of them, Atanazy. The site formerly occupied by the gallery was used to construct a new Library wing.

5. THE BAZAR

The Bazar Hotel was constructed on the initiative of Karol Marcinkowski, who was a famous social activist. During the Partition period, the Bazar was a mainstay of Polish social, cultural, economic and political life and a venue of patriotic events. Examples include the 1880 presentation of the new novel Za chlebem (For Bread) by its author Henryk Sienkiewicz and the 1918 speech by Ignacy Paderewski which sparked the Wielkopolska Uprising. Its ground floor housed stores of Polish merchants (one of which belonged to Hipolit Cegielski, an entrepreneur and social worker who was deeply involved in the work of the Scientific Help Society which funded scholarships for Polish youth).

6. THE NATIONAL MUSEUM- PAINTING AND SCULPTURE GALLERY

The Museum building dates back to 1903 when it was designed to house the Kaiser Friedrich Museum. Once Poland regained independence, the building was turned into the Wielkopolska Museum (since 1950: the National Museum). The National Museum boasts having one of Poland's largest art collections. A big boost for its holdings came with the handover of works gathered by Poznań's two art promoters Atanazy Raczyński (the foreign painting collection) and Seweryn Mielżyński (the Polish painting collection). The Museum's best known painting is The Pourville Beach, the only Claude Monet work held in Poland. Notably, the canvas disappeared under mysterious circumstances in 2000. It was only a decade later, after all hope of ever recovering the work of art was abandoned, that its thief was captured and the painting returned to the Museum.

7. THE UNIVERSITY OF ARTS

The building was originally established to accommodate the Credit Society, Poznań's first modern lending institution established on the initiative of Polish landed gentry. Today, the building houses the University of Arts.

8. THE POZNAŃ SOCIETY OF FRIENDS OF ART AND SCIENCES

Established in 1857, the Society made an invaluable contributio to Polish science during the Partition period. It was headquartered in a 1872-1879 building which was expanded in 1908 toa design by Roger Sławski. The Society managed, among others, the Museum of Polish and Slavic Antiquity, also known as the Mielżyński Museum in honor of Seweryn Mielżyński who donated his private collection to the Museum and funded the construction of the Society's headquarters. Its displays were popular with Poles as well as Germans. The holdings of this former museum have been transferred to the National and Archeological Museums. The building is still occupied by the Society. It features a secluded cozy courtyard adorned with a statute of Adam Mickiewicz, a replica of the poet's first ever monument in Poznań originally located at Saint Martin Church.

9. THE OKRĄGLAK BUILDING

This distinctly cylindrical building is one of the best examples of Polish Modernism. It is also Poznań's first instance of using reinforced-concrete prefabricates in construction. The edifice housed a popular department store for many years.

10. THE POLSKI THEATRE

When the occupying authorities banned Polish plays from the municipal theatre, Poles made an effort to set up their own playhouse. Funds for its establishment were collected among the Polish community in all three partitions, as commemorated on the façade inscription: "The Nation for Itself". Artistic activities were commenced in 1875 with the staging of Zemsta (The Revenge) by Aleksander Fredro. The theatre has seen a number of outstanding actors such as Helena Modrzejewska, Gabriela Zapolska and Stefan Jaracz. The theatre building was once separated from the street by a tenement house which provided the income needed for its operation.

11. THE UNIVERSITY LIBRARY

The former Emperor Wilhelm Library building dates back to 1899- 1902. Its architect, Karl Hinckeldeyn, chose to render it in the Neo-Baroque style. After Poland regained independence, the Library's holdings were moved to newly established Polish library. Today, the building houses the University Library.

12. SAINT MARTIN CHURCH

Saint Martin Parish stood on its present site since as early as the 13th century, which predates Poznań's foundation. This church owes its Gothic shape to an early 16th-century conversion. Its portal holds a relief depicting Saint Martin, the patron saint of the church and of one of Poznań's main streets. Its interior is decorated with contemporary polychromes by Wacław Taranczewski.