THE POLISH NATIONAL EXIBITION IN POZNAƃ 1929 - AN ANNIVERSARY RETROSPECTION

HANNA GRZESZCZUK-BRENDEL, GABRIELA KLAUSE, GRAƻYNA KODYM-KOZACZKO, PIOTR MARCINIAK

The 80th anniversary, observed this year, of the Polish National Exhibition organized to celebrate Poland's re-gaining of independence, has become another impulse to remember the role of this special event in the life of the Republic of Poland before WWII and PoznaƄ as the location of the exhibition and its main organizer. It was a common enterprise illustrating achievements of the reborn country, undergoing economic and cultural integration. In terms of architecture pavilions of the exhibition, commonly referred to as Pewuka, reflected many directions: from traditional forms to the modernistic avant-garde of that time. Traditions of fairs in PoznaƄ date back to the year 1911, i.e. the East Prussian Exhibition, while after 1919 exhibitions were given international rank, to be changed only once in 1929 into a summary of achievements of the new democratic state. Later exhibitions, also those organized after 1945, had the character of international fairs. They all brought clear benefits to the city in the form of new investments and transformation of the urban space. The Polish National Exhibition was completed with an organizational, promotional and financial success and - what is crucial here - to a certain degree initiated works on the realistic urban planning vision of the city.