Poznań: the butting goats on the Renaissance town hall

The Town Hall of Poznań, a Renaissance masterpiece, hosts every day at noon the spectacle of two mechanical goats clashing from their tower.

Steps away, the Cathedral of Poznań, on the island of Ostrów Tumski, houses the tombs of Poland's first rulers, making it the nation's symbolic birthplace.

Walking through the Old Market Square, you pass among colorfully painted Baroque and Renaissance houses, among the best-preserved in western Poland.

Toward evening, the Jeżyce district animates restaurants and venues frequented by the city's student population.

According to local legend, the two mechanical goats on the Poznań town hall escaped from a kitchen during a medieval feast and butted each other publicly on the tower—an event the clock recreates daily for centuries.

The Cathedral on Ostrów Tumski island holds the tombs of Mieszko I and Boleslaw the Brave, Poland's first two rulers, making Poznań the symbolic birthplace of the Polish state in the tenth century.