Advice visiting Poland to seek Prussian Heritage?

I am seeking advise of visiting Poznan, Poland. I will be flying into Berlin. I was thinking of doing a combo Berlin and Poland vacation. What to see? What to eat? Train travel? Where to stay?

So I never knew I had roots in Poland till I signed up for Ancestry. I always knew German, but I didn't realize they originally came from Poland which at that time was Prussia/ Germany. I am planning a visit to the Posen region of Poland, maybe Poznan, where my ancestors came from. Last names were Jahnke and Cerwonko. The earlier generations lived in Posen then later generations moved to Thuringia, Germany having children in Thuringia living there before immigrating to the US. This happened shortly before the World War and Hitler's rise to power. My family claims they were Germans not Polish.... but Czerwonko is more a Polish last name so maybe the Czerwonko side was polish? Although it says on immigration they spoke German. It was like in 1800's they were in Posen and like around 1880's they moved to Thuringia Germany. Then later moving to the US shortly before the World War. Also I had the Mueller side of the family that came from southern Germany near the black forest.

So I always wanted to visit Europe. I was thinking a combination of Berlin & Poznan would be cheaper then southern Germany.... and everyone goes to Bavaria it seems so I wanted something different. A vacation tracing my Prussian roots in Germany and Poland.

Any suggestions on sites to see and things to do or food to eat?

I was thinking visiting any Prussian landmarks in Poland or Museums?

Any old buildings that would of been around the time my ancestors were in that region?

Explore Prussian heritage in Berlin and Poznań? 😳

If your interest is Kingdom of Prussia/German East territories, then I would say most relevant places in modern Poland are: Gdańsk (Danzig), Wrocław (Breslau), Olsztyn (Allenstein), Toruń (Thorn) and Szczecin (Stettin) - probably in that order. These cities contain a lot of preserved architecture, archives, cemeteries, and urban layouts from the Prussian period (18th-early 20th century).

Poznań has always been the most Polish, in all aspects, of all cities in the Prussian partition and Berlin is, of course, historically one of the core cities of Prussia but these days it is a huge multi-kulti melting pot, so I don't know if it's the best place for you to visit if you're interested specifically in Prussian heritage.


It is possible for a Polish family to bear this name but it is a more eastern Slavic one (most likely Belarussian).

In general, my advice would be to ask @BratwurstBoy - he is the resident Prussian here. :)

Another Prussian!!! 😀

And Google can help you out....so much to do, so much to see....and all in English! :)

shorturl.at/UzgY5

Start with Krakow, where Prussia was born.

If you are hiring a car then a few Prussian places not mentioned that are worth a stop even if it's only for an ice cream and taking in the Prussian architecture

Grudziadz, Kwidzyn, Malbork (and its famous castle), Chelmza, Elblag, Kolobrzeg, Koszalin and Slupsk.

If you have possibilities then also Klaipeda in Lithuania.

In Berlin area there are a few smaller towns that escaped bombing - Kopenick, Furstenwalde and its nearby spa Bad Saarow, Kustrin and the Spreewald towns.

Wroclaw is great but doesn't really have a Prussian vibe

Ok thanks for the input everyone. Since flying into Berlin might try the key sites mentioned in Berlin area and smaller towns around Berlin mentioned. As far as Poland, since I will only have 7 days I probably will only be able go somewhere not too far from Berlin. If not Poznan maybe Szczecin (Stettin) since that has more Prussian history. Someday if I have time for another visit I can visit Poland more.

That was interesting about Czerwonko/ Czerwonke being Belarussian. Memories are coming back to me. Now that it was mentioned I think a family member did mention mostly German, but also did mention Belarussian as well. I am not sure though I will have to ask him again to be sure. Belarussian does ring a bell though.

Have a look at a couple of the Napoleonic era forts that ring Warsaw. They were built and run by Prussians. When they were built, they were outside the city but are now all in the suburbs.There's one or two that have restaurants and bars in and they are usually nice places to go for a walk.

Ok great for advice. I am curious when I visit these Polish cities mentioned how do I convert Euros to the Polish currency Zolty? Or US dollars to Zloty?

I will be flying into Berlin from US and taking a train from Berlin to Poland.

Will credit cards be accepted or debit cards in Poland?

I won't know any Polish language I assume speaking English be fine.

There are six Berlin - Warsaw round trips per day which all stop at Poznań.

The most Prussian monument in Poznań is Keiserschloss Posen (Imperial Castle Posen; Zamek Cesarski Poznań) built for Keiser Wilhelm II between 1905 and 1910.

Szczecin has plenty of Art Nouveaux tenement houses.

Probably more easy in Poland than Germany (noted for luddite tendencies with new tech).

Dont' worry about changing zloties you should be able to use atms (where you can pick English as an interface language).


For people in the hospitality sector (all you're liable to meet) it should be fine. But keep questions simple and don't do that annoying American thing of embedding questions in multiple layers

NOT: Excuse, me, uhhh, do you think you might be able to tell me where the restroom is?

DO: Excuse me, where's the toilet? (in Polish toaleta means restroom another word is used for American 'toilet'... sedes)

Nice observation, Maf.
It's indeed intriguing that a technologically advanced society such as Germany is frequently so hidebound regarding change.

That's how uncertainty avoidance manifests itself in Germany.... it manifests itself in other ways in Poland.

The harsh lessons of German history have taught post-War Germans to be almost exaggeratedly risk averse.

Polish history has simply taught different lessons.

the socio-cultural concept of "uncertainty avoidance" is independent of history and not necessarily caused by history...

It's a general preference to avoid novelty and/or uncertain situations. It's not necessarily about avoiding danger (a known danger is seen as less threatening than something new and unknown).

Within Europe there's a general correlation with Orthodox traditions having the highest levels, Catholic traditions also lead to high levels (though not as high as orthodox) and Protestant traditions lead to the lowest levels (in general, there are some outliers).

Contras that with long and short term orientation (aiming for the future vs glorifying the past). there muslims are known for the shortest term orientation, christians of all stripes a big longer and the confucian cultures being the most future oriented.

Fascinating to be sure!
However, late nationhood, the ignominious loss of two world wars, loss of financial security throughout much of that time, devastating defeat in '45, thereafter a period of dependency on a once hated enemy, namely the US, clearly made the Germans longing for an unchanging, bankable feeling of permanence and stability more than, say the Poles.

I just spent the whole weekend in Berlin and used my card for pretty much everything except buying some vapes

Germany's been using plastic for payments since at least the mid-'90's.

But lagged behind Poland later.... I remember being at a work-meeting (international project) in Berlin and the hotel couldn't process my bank card (which I used for everything in Poland). Luckily another person had a credit card to use as collateral before I checked out (when I had to use cash...).

Contactless payment by card was routine in Poland for years before it caught on in Germany.

Again, plastic's seen as transitory; cash is forever....that is, until or unless it's devalued😄!

Do they use contactless payment by smartphone or smartwatch in Germany?

No idea, but I wouldn't bet on it....

Yes, they do.

And faxes? Do they really still use fax machines?

My secretary receives several faxes a day.

Ah Deutschland, bleib so wie du bist.

...bis in die Ewigkeit! Amen

@cms neuf
yes I have heard they just say toilet in a lot of Europe.

I think this varies where you live in America.

I usually will say, " excuse me, I need to use the toilet can you show me where your John is?" or I might say "excuse me, I need to use the toilet can you show me where your bathroom is?"

I will just stick to just toilet though and keep it simple :)

I also am going figure out how to keep so much change on me to use the John (toilet) in Germany and Poland.... If I didn't have enough change it would be nice if they accepted a credit card, but I thought I read that isn't the case you need exact coins for these?

I have medical issues where I can't just hold it until later. I constantly have to go the bathroom ( toilet). I have an overactive bladder and Irritable Bowl Syndrome that unfortunately medicine doesn't seem to fix. I have to pee at least 8 times a day and I probably take a dump at least 2-3 times in a day. I think in Europe it is going to be like I either I have enough change on me to go to the John or if I don't have enough change on me it is just going in my pants and I will just stink on the train or bus back to the hotel room where I can change and clean up. I will have to pack lots of extra underwear. The joys of middle age.

In Polish, 'toaleta' refers to the room, not the apparatus (which is 'sedes'). Lots of Polish people assume that it works the same in English.

In Poland, finding restrooms can be a challenge, not to speak of the charges...

Tip, away from cities (sometimes inside them) you need to check that TP is already there (or bring your own).

And anywhere you might still might find traditional restroom marking, where a triangle (pointing up or down) is male and a circle is female.

• 
  toilets.webp
  

When in Germany, I simply ask for the "WC", don't even bother w/toilet.

@PrussianTraveller, sent you a private message the other day.

I replied just now to your message.

You know I don't know if the Czerwenke's or sometimes spelled Czerwonke's on the records I found were Belarusians? My relative insisted to me the other day that they are not Belarusian after all, I double checked with him cause I was not sure. My relative insists they were Germans or since as he said Germany was Prussia at that time, Prussians. On the records it shows they were German and spoke German. Their parents says were German and spoke German as well. Says they came from Posen, Germany. Which my relative is saying was Prussia at that time.

That is not to say I don't have Belarusian or slav in me, but I don't see any slavic DNA showing up on DNA test I took when I signed up for Ancestory. Unless I am reading the test wrong. It is showing German DNA from Northern Germany, Eastern Germany/ Central Europe and Southern Germany.

Oh and in the USA in some places we do have the triangle marking male and circle marking female like in Poland for the toilets.