Poznań Palm house

Poznan Palm House - educational botanical exhibition facility located in Wilson Park, Poznań. On the surface of 4600 m² (46 000 m³) in 12 pavilions (some are not available to the public - used for reproduction of plants) are presented about 1100 species of plants and 170 species of aquarium fishes and about 50 species of aquatic plants. Poznan Palm House is the largest in the country and one of the largest in Europe.

Palm House was founded in 1911 in that moment inside of the Botanical Garden (now Wilson Park in Poznan) as a brick building with large glass surfaces and the surface of 534 m². Due to the large increase in the exhibit amount, in 1924 the combined system of greenhouses was added. In 1922 it was the first exhibition aquarium in the country. In 1929, the day before the opening of the General National Exhibition was opened a new expanded building designed by the architect Stephen Cybichowskiego. In the seven pavilions some plant fishes, insects and reptiles were added.

During the World War II in 1941 a bomb dropped by Allies caused that the greenhouse lost part of its glass and during the winter 1941/1942 a lot of exhibits were damaged. During fights in 1945 the Poznań Palm House was destroyed in 90%, but already in the same year started the reconstruction. Some collections were rescued other plants were collected from all over the country. In 1946 almost all the pavilions were opened again.

In 1961, MTP (Poznań International Fair) transferred its greenhouse palm house, through which, when combined with the existing complex object, surface has increased to 2528 meters. Rusting and rotting due to the time structure was closed to the public on 11th of April 1978, but still maintained an extensive collection for scientific purposes.

On June 9, 1983 the cornerstone was laid for a new palm house. In order to protect the existing collections, the   reconstruction was performed step by step. New pavilions from aluminium were built around existing ones, and when all new were equipped completely, the old facilities were demolished. This way they managed to protect plants from the effects of adverse external factors. Poznan Palm House re-opened its doors to the public before 1 October 1992.