The former amphitheatre at Poznań’s Citadel will be transformed into a garden. Poznańskie Inwestycje Miejskie has announced a tender to select a contractor for the work. The project will utilise the site, which has been abandoned and neglected for many years. The former stage will be replaced by a terraced composition of honey plants, creating a new form of green space within the historic fort.
Fort Winiary in Poznań
Today’s Citadel occupies the area of the former Fort Winiary, the central element of the Prussian fortress from the first half of the 19th century. The defensive system, known as the Poznań Fortress, shaped the city’s landscape for decades. During the fighting for Poznań in 1945, the fort became the scene of heavy clashes between German troops and the Red Army. The destruction was enormous, and the post-war reality posed the question of the future of the vast area to the authorities. In the 1960s, the transformation of the ruins of the fortifications into a public park began. A team of architects and urban planners led by Czesław Rodziewicz worked on the project. Landscape and park designers, including Jan Węcławski and Zbigniew Bednarowicz, also participated in the project. Instead of levelling the area, they decided to use the post-war destruction and the old elements of the fort, which gave the landscape a distinctive shape.
The former amphitheatre in the landscape of the Citadel
One of the elements of the new park was an amphitheatre built in the 1960s. Its shape corresponded to the natural depression in the terrain, created after the demolition of the former fortifications. Earth terraces were formed into a semicircular auditorium, and at their foot a stage was built for outdoor events. Thanks to this use of the existing terrain, the amount of work required was relatively small. The facility quickly began to attract audiences. The amphitheatre could accommodate several thousand people and for a long time was one of the most important summer stages in Poznań. It hosted pop music concerts, cabaret performances, film screenings and city festivals. During the summer season, the place was bustling with life, and student events and outdoor parties attracted crowds of spectators.
The former amphitheatre and its fate
The stage at the Citadel gained its greatest popularity in the 1970s and 1980s. During the warm months, concerts, stage shows and summer cinema were organised here. The park was filled with audiences who came to see performances by artists, festivals and events related to student celebrations. The amphitheatre functioned as one of the city’s main outdoor spaces. After 1989, its importance began to decline. The way mass events were organised changed, new venues of this type appeared, and the infrastructure of the old stage was not modernised. Over time, there were fewer and fewer events, and the place gradually became deserted. Destroyed benches and overgrown terraces were a reminder of the former activity that was now a thing of the past.
A terraced garden for people and bees
Now, the site of the former amphitheatre is to be given a completely new purpose. Before the plants can be planted, the remains of the old infrastructure will have to be demolished and the ground modelled. Ultimately, 10 plant terraces will be created there, two of which will have walking paths. The entire composition has been divided into 14 sectors with a colourful gradation of flowers, from light tones at the entrance to intense shades in the lower part of the garden. The project includes over 80 species of perennials, including delphiniums, foxgloves, asters, sage, lavender, echinacea and geraniums. In total, there will be over 11,000 plants. The composition will be complemented by shrubs, including spiraea, weigela, barberry and dogwood, which will maintain the composition during the winter. The garden will also feature trees, lawns, a water cascade and small architectural features with educational boards and benches. The work will be carried out with respect for the historic relics of the fort, including the walls of Ravelin IV, which will undergo conservation.
Source: Poznańskie Inwestycje Miejskie(Poznań Municipal Investments)
See also:Ecology|Metamorphosis|Greenery|Renovation|Flower meadows|Poznań
The amphitheatre at the Citadel in its heyday and today. Photo: NAC and Stary Poznań Then and Now
The former amphitheatre today and in the future. Photo: Stanisław Krawczyk, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons and PIM
