Poznań: important places
Goats, Poznań/Fot. Andrzej Monczak / Agencja Gazeta
Some say Poznan people are always turning their noses up at things. In fact, it happens every day at noon in front of the Ratusz (the City Hall) in Poznań. People turn up their noses to see two butting billy goats.
It's not about domination, territory, females or the other things billy goats usually fight about. They're two mechanical goats that fight for fun. The automatons are all that was left after the escape of two goats that were to be roasted and served at a lavish feast given by Master Clockmaker Bartłomiej Wolff from Gubin on the occasion of the completion of a further stage in the restoration of the Ratusz by Giovanni Battista Quadro and the starting of the Ratusz clock in September 1551 AD. The head chef Gąska, who was preparing the feast (some sources say he was called Mikołaj), was horrified to discover that the main roast dish - a leg of venison - had been burned so he ordered a cook called Pietrek to go to the market for some fresh meat. But it was a Sunday and Pietrek couldn't find any butchers open. However, he found a pair of billy goats in a meadow and took them to be roasted but in the bustling kitchen the two billy goats managed to escape and fled to the Ratusz tower. There to the crowd's delight they started butting heads. It soon became clear that the fighting goats were more interesting than the roast. The amused governor, Janusz Latalski, ordered a "joke machine" be added to the Ratusz, featuring battling billy goats.
Maria Kowalewska, who wrote the legend down, also adds that the cook Pietrek, running after the billy goats, got to the tower and spotted a fire in the city. The alarm was raised and the fire put out. And the automatons became an expression of the gratitude of Poznanians to the billy goats that saved the city from burning down.
Today Billygoats are the name given to the awards of numerous Poznan festivals (for example: International Young Audience Film Festival "Ale Kino") or sporting events. There are even Billygoats for journalists and a Billygoat Taxi service - you'll find them waiting in front of the City Council in Plac Kolegiacki. A billygoat is the mascot of Lech Poznań football club and the Billygoats is the name of Poznań's American football team.