Mosina has a very interesting medieval spatial layout with short narrow streets leading to the market square. The row of old tenement buildings seen from the Mosiński Canal catches the eye with a characteristic building with a tower, which used to be a water tower. Another interesting building is the old synagogue from 1870 which, at present, is the seat of the Museum Chamber and the City Gallery. There are plans to restore this part of Mosina and provide it with elegant walking areas and meeting places for the inhabitants. Nearby the recently restored City Hall Kościelna Street leads to St. Nicholas’s Church standing on the site of a church from 1839 which was completely destroyed during World War II. The new St. Nicholas’s Church was erected between 1952 and 54. It has an attractive modern interior design which includes a polychromy painted by Ewa Buczyńska and Walenty Gabrysiak, stained-glass windows designed by Edmund Hałas and Jacek Strzelecki’s paintings of the four evangelists from 1998 in the presbytery as well as a sculpture of the Holy Spirit from the same year by Roman Czeski who also made the altar at the foot of the tabernacle. In the recent years an increase has been observed in housing developments in Mosina. The town is attractive to the inhabitants of Poznań who whish to escape from the noise of the big city.
The Dandy from Mosina
There are many accounts and stories explaining the origin of the term “a dandy from Mosina". One of them relates to events described by Jan Chryzostom Pasek who quartered in Mosina with the regiment of Stefan Czarniecki during the heavy winter of 1659/1660. Rumour had it that the cavalrymen became very popular in the whole area. A cavalryman who was a member of the regiment in Mosina became the symbol of sophistication and courteousness. With time the term "a cavalryman from Mosina" evolved into “a dandy from Mosina" and has survived in this form to modern times.
On the basis of Orędownik, 31 January 1937
For several years an image of a dandy from Mosina has been proudly standing at the square near the Gallery and the Museum Chamber. The sculpture, made according to Roman Czeski’s design, was cast in 2006. At present, this charming site at ul. Niezłomnych is the venue of numerous artistic events. And time flows slowly in one of the many cafes and cake shops in the nearby Market Square.
WielkopolskaNational Park
WielkopolskaNational Park is one of the most often visited national parks in Poland (1.2 million tourists per year). Established in 1957, after more than thirty years of efforts of the local community members including Poznań University Professor Adam Wodziczko, it covers an area of 7,584 ha (14,840 ha including the protection zone) with beautiful post-glacial formations and protects numerous unique species of animals and plants. These include 1,100 species of plants, 45 species of mammals, 220 species of birds and 3,000 species of insects. Within the Park there are 18 strict protection sections covering a total area of 260 ha. The way the Park looks now was strongly affected by a continental glacier which spread out in the area three times forming the characteristic moraine upland with the highest summit of Osowa Góra (132 m above sea level). From the top of this there is a beautiful panorama of Mosina and the valley of the River Warta. Other remnants of the continental glacier are the numerous lakes in the Park. One of the most beautiful ones is LakeGóreckie in the middle of which there is a picturesque island and the ruins of a small hunting palace founded by Count Tytus Działyński. LakeKociołek is a geological curiosity: it is a very small lake which is 8 metres deep. This was hollowed out by the rocks and stones which were moved by the whirlpools of water under the surface of the glacier.
The beautiful features of the Park can be best appreciated while walking along one of the five tourist tracks which in total are 85 km long. One of the most interesting routes is the Cyryl Ratajski walking track which leads from Mosina, via Osowa Góra near the so-called “Napoleon’s Well" (a spring from which it is said that Napoleon drank while visiting the area after his victory over Prussia in 1809), near Lake Góreckie and further on to Górka and Lake Dymaczewskie. The latter is the largest lake in WielkopolskaNational Park covering an area of 119.6 ha. Its attractions include a beach, a yacht club and a boat hire facility.
Jeziory
At the beginning of the 20th century this was a forester’s lodge which during World War II was replaced with a magnificent residence for Arthur Greiser, the governor of the WartaLand. At present this is the seat of the management of WielkopolskaNational Park and the NaturalMuseum with an audio and video room for 100 people as well as training rooms for the “ForestSchool" youth programme. The NaturalMuseum displays information about the Park and the numerous varieties of animals and plants which inhabit it. From the courtyard there is a beautiful view of LakeGóreckie.
Lake Góreckie
Lake Góreckie covers an area of 104.1 ha and is the most beautiful tunnel-valley lake in WielkopolskaNational Park. It has two islands: KopczyskoIsland and ZamkowaIsland with the ruins of a small 19th century castle which was built by Tytus Działyński as a wedding present for his sister and which was destroyed by Prussian artillery During the Revolutions of 1848. The ruins can be best seen in winter when they are not concealed by the leaves of trees and shrubs. In the autumn period of bird migrations the lake is visited by thousands of geese, including bean geese and greater white-fronted geese.
Palace in Rogalin
The history of Rogalin and the nearby Rogalinek can be traced back to 700 years ago. Today they are usually associated with the magnificent residence of the Raczyński Family and the rare in Europe multitude of old oaks which are the main attraction for thousands of tourists from Poland and abroad. The Palace in Rogalin dates back to the second half of the 18th century when Kazimierz Raczyński, who later became the crown marshal at the court of King Stanisław August Poniatowski, became the owner of the estate. In 1768-74 he commissioned a palace in late baroque style based on the designs of an unknown designer who probably originated from the court of the elector from Saxony. In the 1780’s the interiors of the palace were modernised in classicist style by the most renowned royal architects of the time, Dominik Merlini and Jan Christian Kamsetzer. Between 1810 and 1845 the owner of Rogalin was Count Edward Raczyński who converted the ballroom into a Neo-Gothic armoury and the palace chapel in the right wing into a library. In 1820 at the eastern end of the palace he raised a chapel-mausoleum resembling the Roman temple of Maison Carrée in Nîmes near Marseilles. In the 1890’s, when Rogalin was in the hands of Edward Aleksander Raczyński and his wife Róża nee Potocka, Zygmunt Hendel, a well-known architect from Krakow, renovated and restored the palace. His works included the design of the Neo-Baroque library on the first floor of the palace. Between 1911 and 1912 Edward Aleksander Raczyński erected an art gallery beside the southern annexe of the palace where he deposited his collection of paintings which he had been building up since the 1880’s. This was a unique example of premises in the partitioned territory of Poland which from the design stage were meant to be open to the public.
During World War II the palace was the seat of Hitler–Jugend Gebietsfuhrerschule and shortly after the end of the war almost all its equipment and furnishings, apart from several family portraits and artistic objects, were stolen or lost. Fortunately, shortly before the outbreak of the war a vast part of the art collection was deposited at the NationalMuseum in Warsaw by Roger Raczyński. In 1949 the RogalinPalace became a branch of the WielkopolskaMuseum which was renamed the NationalMuseum in Poznań in 1950. In 1991, the son of the founder of the Rogalin Gallery, Count Edward
Bernard Raczyński, President of the PolishRepublic in Exile, established the Raczyński Foundation at the NationalMuseum in Poznań to which he handed over the works of art from the palace and the whole residential complex. The RogalinPalace with a French garden from the second half of the 18th century is situated in the picturesque valley of the River Warta. It is surrounded by an English-style landscape park.
Rogalin Landscape Park
RogalinLandscapePark was established in 1997 in order to protect one of the largest stands of old pedunculate oaks in Europe. It covers an area of 12,220 ha. This comprises over 1000 trees some of which are several hundred years old and their fantastic shapes have always inspired artists. The most popular group consists of three oaks named after the three legendary Slavic brothers: Czech, Lech and Rus. The oak Czech is, unfortunately, dead. For many years the trees have been devastated by the cerambyx longicorn, a species of beetle which itself is under strict protection. Another beautiful specimen is the oak Edward which grows in one of the fields on the banks of the River Warta. Other interesting places in the park are old beds of the Warta as well as numerous historical and cultural sites.
Krajkowo Reserve
With an area of 106.5 ha Krajkowo Reserve is one of the largest natural reserves in the Wielkopolska Region stretching from Śrem to Krajkowo in the Municipality of Mosina. It was established to protect the marshland landscape with old river beds and numerous species of rare plants and animals including 80 species of birds, e.g. the grey heron, the cormorant and stork. Another interesting site in the village of Krajkowo is the old chapel with a wooden sculpture of the Sorrowful Christ.
St. Michael the Archangel and St. Mary Helper of the Faithful Church in Rogalinek
The late Baroque church was erected between 1700 and 1712. It is situated on the outskirts of the village. Its interesting features include a shingle roof with a small tower and a very interesting baroque interior with three altars (one of which represents Polish folk culture from the turn of the 17th and 18th century), a gothic sculpture of the Madonna and a painting of the Whipped Christ (which is also an example of Polish folk art from the baroque period).
Old Cemeteries
In the whole area of the Municipality of Mosina there are several interesting remains of old cemeteries of various denominations from the 19th century. As a result of the efforts of the local community many of these have recently been restored and established as monuments. Unfortunately, these sites are scarce. This was caused by the specific character of village cemeteries in which few stone tombs were erected. Many tombs were also destroyed during World War II. The sites which are worth recommending include:
Village cemetery in Sowinki
An old Evangelic graveyard established in the first half of the 19th century. Today we can admire 31 incomplete tombstones the oldest of which dates back to 1864.
Former Evangelic cemetery in Radzewice
Established at the beginning of the 19th century as an Evangelic graveyard this is now a Roman Catholic cemetery. The cemetery, which covers an area of 1.5 ha, is located on an elevation on the banks of the River Warta and is surrounded by a forest. It contains six old detached tombs the oldest of which dates back to 1827. In the 1990’s the cemetery was handed over to the parish of St. Marcellus in Rogalin.