Anniversary of PWK

The Polish National Exhibition, then commonly called PWK, was organised to mark the celebration of the 10th anniversary of regaining independence by Poland. It was meant to present the economic, cultural, scientific and political achievements of the state that re-appeared on the map of Europe.

The exhibition was held under the auspices of the highest state authorities, i.e. President Ignacy Moscicki, and the Honorary Committee was headed by Jozef Pilsudski. The trade fair tradition of Poznan and the efforts of the then mayor of the city, Cyryl Ratajski, contributed to the decision to hold this prestigious event in the capital of Wielkopolska.

The exhibition had been organised for several years and was truly gigantic. The exhibition area covered 65 hectares - by comparison, presently Miedzynarodowe Targi Poznanskie covers a three times smaller area and is the largest exhibition facility in Poland.

The exhibition was presented from 16 May to 30 September in 112 facilities. The scope of the exhibition included Polish industry, trade, agriculture, social services, physical education, health and sports achievements, as well as culture, art and science. There were 1,427 exhibitors and 4.5 million visitors from around the world.

PWK was a huge injection of energy for the entire city. Many of the buildings built for the purposes of PWK have served Poznan to day. These include, among others, MTP hall 3A, Dworzec Zachodni (Western entrance of Poznan Glowny railway station), Collegium Chemicum, Collegium Anatomicum and Polonia Hotel (today - 111th Military Hospital).

Visitors leaving Poznan were fascinated by the city, modern architecture of halls, attractions and most of all - by the interesting exhibition. Never before and never after have the Poles organised such a huge exhibition whose scale today may be compared only to world EXPO exhibitions.

This is the event 2nd General National Exhibition - Competitive Poland 1989-2014 to be held on 2-15 June at MTP fairground refers to. The event will be an opportunity to present the last quarter-century successes of the country in such areas as: Economy, Local Government, Culture, Citizen. The exhibition will present the business leaders who have been successful in Poland and around the world, cultural achievements and the local government potential of Polish communes and towns. The fair will be accompanied by an exhibition (including the recollection of the first PWK) and other cultural events. More information available at www.pewuka.pl.

Preparation for the Polish National Exhibition, the atmosphere of those days and scale of the project are well illustrated in a film entitled "Pewuka - obrazki z wielkiej wystawy" (PWK - Scenes from the Great Exhibition" made on the occasion of 80th anniversary of the event.