Poznań inhabitants and books
The invention of the printing press in the 15th century contributed to the popularisation of reading. Soon books found their place on the bookshelves of the inhabitants of Poznań. The first secular library in the city was opened in the City Hall in the first half of the 16th century. Most of the books found in Poznań libraries were published in Latin and German. At first, there were very few books in Polish.
Before the first printing houses, books reached the city thanks to Polish and foreign booksellers. The first company selling books was established in 1477 by Piotr from Lübeck. This merchant built fortune importing liturgical books for the Poznań clergy. Similar activity helped Jerzy Fenig from Leipzig amass fortune, who, for obvious reasons, did not tell his customers that he was a Lutheran.
The biggest bookseller in Renaissance Poznań was the Patruus Family from Poland. Searching for new releases, Jan Patruus visited printing houses in Basil, Venice and Nuremberg. He also sold calendars and school textbooks. At the end of his life he was one of the richest townspeople in Poznań.
The first printing house in Poznań was established relatively late and was connected with the opening of the Jesuit college. The first pressman working for Jesuits was Melchior Nering. After two years, however, an information emerged that he also printed Protestant publications. His company was demolished in retaliation and he left the city. His job was taken over by Jan Wolrab who came from Bautzen in Czechia.
Diatribe (1577) For printing this Protestant religious treaty Melchior Nering lost his job as a Jesuit printer in Poznań, public domain
