By barge and cart. Who passed through here?

This is the second stop along the audio tour presenting the history of the Cathedral Island. For more information about the tour, please click here.

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Every day many people pass through the Cathedral Lock. Most of them stop for a while and then carry on. In the past, it was much the same – the Lock was a place through which people usually just passed. What did transport look like back then?

In the 19^th century the river played an important role in transport. The bricks you can see around you reached the construction site by water and came from Poznań brickyards. The stamps on the bricks make it possible to determine the place they were made in and in some cases also the date of production. If you walk around the building, you will definitely see some bricks marked with letters “W” or “V”. These are the symbols of the brickyard in Wilda, which today is one of the districts of Poznań. A lowercase letter “H”, visible here and there, was used to mark Hoffmann’s brickyard in Starołęka. Others came from the workshops in the nearby Żabikowo, Promnice, Radojewo and even from the faraway Gorzów Wielkopolski, from which they travelled 185 kilometres up the Warta River.

Now, go to the main entrance. On both sides of it you can see the original, unique gate from the 19^th century. It is made of wood, which was additionally toughened with densely-spaced studs. On each door leaf you can see two firing embrasures. A sentry stationed in the Lock would open and close the gate whenever someone wanted to pass through it.

Now, let’s take a look at the floor. This route was used by many carts. Therefore, it was tiled with strong fieldstone. However, a cart heading towards the river would then enter the bridge with a wooden surface. This route was used mainly by the Prussian army. Other travellers who wanted to enter or leave Poznań would cross the river through the nearby Cybiński Bridge. However, sometimes the bridge needed to be repaired. In 1870 the local newspaper Kurier Poznański wrote:

The bridge over the Cybina River spanning between the cathedral and Ostrówek has been closed for carts to carry out some repairs. The Royal Government allowed for the passage through the Cathedral Lock for the duration of the work…

Soldiers, however, were reluctant to let civilians through and collected fees to do so.

Let’s enter the side room, separated from the hall with a glass door. In the 19^th century the most popular means of transport was a horse. It provided independence during travel, which contributed to the fast circulation of information. At the end of the 19^th century this room, which previously served as a guardhouse, was turned into a stable. Inside the room, on the right, there is a crib and a drinking trough. The trough is made of concrete and varnished. Animals could rest here, waiting for further journey.

Look around you to find the code to the third recording. You’ll hear from me there.