Morasko is a part of the Stare Miasto district of

Poznań Poznań ( ) is a city on the Warta, River Warta in west Poland, within the Greater Poland region. The city is an important cultural and business center and one of Poland's most populous regions with many regional customs such as Saint John's ...

, in western

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

. It covers a fairly large but little-urbanised area in the north of the city. To the west and north it borders on the village and municipality of Suchy Las, a developing area of suburban housing. To the east of Morasko are the neighbourhoods of Umultowo and Radojewo, and to the south is the densely built residential area of Piątkowo. For governmental purposes, Morasko is part of the ''

osiedle (Polish plural: ) is a term used in Poland to denote a designated subdivision or neighbourhood of a city or its , or of a town, with its own council and executive. Like the and sołectwo, an is an auxiliary unit (''jednostka pomocnicza'') of ...

'' of Morasko-Radojewo.

History

Morasko is first mentioned in 1388, as belonging to the parish of Chojnica, although there was probably a settlement there as early as the 11th century. A wooden church was built in the village (then known as ''Morawsko'') in 1403, and it functioned as a separate parish for a time, but in 1507 it was reincorporated into Chojnica parish. A mansion was built in Morasko in 1783–1786, in late

Baroque The Baroque ( , , ) is a Western Style (visual arts), style of Baroque architecture, architecture, Baroque music, music, Baroque dance, dance, Baroque painting, painting, Baroque sculpture, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished from ...

style. Between 1857 and 1887 (with the region now under

Prussia Prussia (; ; Old Prussian: ''Prūsija'') was a Germans, German state centred on the North European Plain that originated from the 1525 secularization of the Prussia (region), Prussian part of the State of the Teutonic Order. For centuries, ...

n rule) this was extended, in eclectic style, and a park was laid out around it. At the beginning of the 20th century Morasko was given the

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

name ''Nordheim''. A

Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...

church was built there in 1907, and in 1930–1931 (with the region again part of Poland) a

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

church was built. In 1945 the village of Chojnica ceased to exist, being part of the Biedrusko military area, and Morasko became the Catholic parish seat (the parish also including Radojewo to the east). The former Protestant church became the parish church, the Church of the Beheading of St.

John the Baptist John the Baptist ( – ) was a Jewish preacher active in the area of the Jordan River in the early first century AD. He is also known as Saint John the Forerunner in Eastern Orthodoxy and Oriental Orthodoxy, John the Immerser in some Baptist ...

. The former Catholic church is disused and in disrepair. The west part of the mansion is also in disrepair, while the east part is used as a

convent A convent is an enclosed community of monks, nuns, friars or religious sisters. Alternatively, ''convent'' means the building used by the community. The term is particularly used in the Catholic Church, Lutheran churches, and the Anglican ...

by the Missionary Sisters of Christ the King ''(Siostry Misjonarki Chrystusa Króla)''.

Geography

The village of Morasko and surrounding areas (particularly those of Huby Moraskie to the south) were incorporated into the city of Poznań in 1987. The village now lies near the city's northern boundary. In the south-east of the wider Morasko area is a complex of buildings belonging to

Adam Mickiewicz University Adam is the name given in Genesis 1–5 to the first human. Adam is the first human-being aware of God, and features as such in various belief systems (including Judaism, Christianity, Gnosticism and Islam). According to Christianity, Adam si ...

, used mainly for

natural science Natural science or empirical science is one of the branches of science concerned with the description, understanding and prediction of natural phenomena, based on empirical evidence from observation and experimentation. Mechanisms such as peer ...

teaching. West of Morasko village is the Morasko meteorite nature reserve, a forest area containing a group of depressions believed to be meteorite craters. Also within this reserve is ''Góra Moraska'' (Morasko Hill), whose summit is Poznań's highest point, with an altitude of . An avenue of trees along the road leading from the village to the reserve is designated as a

natural monument A natural monument is a natural or cultural feature of outstanding or unique value because of its inherent rarity, representative of aesthetic qualities, or cultural significance. They can be natural geological and geographical features such as w ...

. A stream called ''Strumień Różany'' or ''Różany Potok'' ("Rose Stream") flows eastwards, south of Huby Moraskie, in the direction of the

Warta The river Warta ( , ; ; ) rises in central Poland and meanders greatly through the Polish Plain in a north-westerly direction to flow into the Oder at Kostrzyn nad Odrą on Poland's border with Germany. About long, it the second-longest riv ...

river. It gives its name to the large housing estate ''Osiedle Różany Potok'', which lies to the east of the university complex.

Gallery

File:Moraskok.jpg, Disused Catholic church. File:Poznan Morasko 115-17.jpg, Convent within the old mansion. File:Moraskoke.jpg, Former Protestant church, now the Catholic parish church.

References

* ''Poznań od A do Z. Leksykon krajoznawczy'', Poznań 1998,
{{coord, 52.482775, 16.899606, format=dms, display=title, type:landmark Neighbourhoods of Poznań