A victorious uprising, but not the only one

"The only victorious uprising in the history of Poland" is a cliche used even by the people of Poznań when talking about the Wielkopolska Uprising. As a matter of principle, Poles have often, in desperate straits, started uprisings: including famous ones in November, January and Warsaw, but they lost them all, and only the people of Poznań won theirs.

But don't let yourself be fooled. The Wielkopolska Uprising from 1918-1919 was victorious, but there were more like this in the history of Poland, for example the 1806 uprising or the Third Śląsk Uprising.

However, the pride in the victorious uprising is huge, and well justified. Everyone here thinks that this piece of Polish history is little known. Certainly not as much as other independence revolts. So the people of Poznań are trying hard to change this and every year they organise battle reenactments, the arrival of Jan Ignacy Paderewski (performed by an actor) and his speech from the balcony of Bazar Hotel on 27th December 1918, which was the direct cause of the uprising. It was Paderewski who, despite suffering from the Spanish flu, shouted from his hotel window, "Long live a free, united and great Poland with its own coast!" The Bazar Hotel is located between Ulica Paderewskiego, Ulica 27 Grudnia (the same date - 27th December) and Aleja Marcinkowskiego.