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Pozna? - city emblem Pozna? - Ostrów Tumski Pozna? Fairgrounds Picturesque and appealing to visitors, PoznaÅ„ can easily compete with other historic cities in Poland like Kraków, GdaÅ„sk, or ToruÅ„. It has all that contributes to a special atmosphere: a charming Old City, fine architecture, delightful nooks, bustling student hangouts and a profusion of pubs, clubs and cafés offering you all kinds of night entertainment. Poznan is the region's biggest city. A thousand years ago it was one of the main centres on the map of the emerging Polish state, as the royal seat and a cathedral town. The oldest part of the city is Ostrów Tumski, an island on the Warta River. When you go over the bridge linking it with the rest of the city, you seem to be crossing an immaterial border separating this place off from the busy and bustling modern PoznaÅ„. The island holds the 13th-15th century Cathedral, built on the site of an Early Romanesque church (late 9th century). It is here that Poland's first princes, Duke Mieszko I and King Boleslaus I, are buried. But the heart of Poznan is its Stary Rynek (the market-place in the Old City). Enclosed by old, mostly 15th-century town houses with restored façades and brightly illuminated at night, it is the city's showcase. Crowded and busy at almost any time of the day, it has always been a place for commerce, especially during the PoznaÅ„ Trade Fair in June, when it becomes a venue of an open-air "St. John's Bazaar" (Jarmark ÅšwiÄ™tojaÅ„ski). The houses around the market-place are occupied by offices and banks neighbouring on restaurants and cafés that stay open until the wee hours of the morning. The PoznaÅ„ town hall was built by Giovanni Battista Quadro (1550-1560). The adjoining streets are lined with antique shops, galleries and craft shops. The city is also the place of the PoznaÅ„ International Fairs held here since 1921. Throughout the year the site (450,000 sq m) hosts dozens of specialist trade fairs, attended by thousands of exhibitors from all the major industries and drawing about half a million visitors. Some of these expositions are ranked among the leading events of this kind in Europe.