Wilda[ˈvilda] (GermanWilda orWilde) is a southern part of the city ofPoznań in western Poland. It was the smallest of the five governmental districts(dzielnicas) into which the city was divided prior to 1990, and which are retained for certain administrative purposes. For details, seeAdministrative division of Poznań.
The nameWilda more popularly refers to a narrower area – the old neighbourhood (and former village) of Wilda, centred on theRynek Wildecki market. This forms the northern part of the wider district of Wilda discussed in this article, and closely corresponds to theosiedle named Wilda in the newadministrative division of Poznań. The wider district of Wilda also contains two otherosiedles: ZielonyDębiec ("Green Dębiec") andŚwierczewo.
The district of Wilda has an area of 15 square kilometres (5.8 sq mi), which is 5.8% of the total area of Poznań. Its population of 63,800 accounts for 11.1% of the city's total. The population density is 4,253 persons/km2
Wilda is bounded by the districts ofStare Miasto ("Old Town") to the north,Grunwald to the west, andNowe Miasto ("New Town") across theWarta river to the east. It is also bordered by the town ofLuboń to the south.
Poznań's main rail station, Poznań Główny, is located in Wilda's north-west corner, with the centralPKS coach station slightly to the east. Also in the north of Wilda is Poznań's College of Physical Education (AWF), a stadium and a number of sports facilities. South of the station is theZNTK rail vehicle repair and manufacturing plant, and further south still is theCegielski factory.
The old neighbourhood of Wilda lies to the east of theZNTK plant. Its central point is Rynek Wildecki (Wilda Market Place), which contains an open-air market. The formerWilda cinema to the north of this (built 1962) has been closed since 2006, but there is now aMultikino multiplex cinema ("Multikino 51", opened 1998) located at the district's northern edge.
A belt of green land runs along the Warta river on the district's eastern edge. To the south, this includes the Dębina park complex andwater intake facility.
To the west of Dębina is the residential district of Dębiec, and west of this is Świerczewo.
Parts of the district along the left bank of the Warta became part of Poznań at the end of the 18th century, when the city'sPrussian rulers expanded its boundaries beyond the line of the medieval city walls. However the old district of Wilda did not become part of the city until the subsequent expansion of the boundaries in 1900. TheCegielski company (which had previously operated in other parts of Poznań) acquired its present site in the south of Wilda in 1919–1920, following the return to Polish rule.
Dębiec was incorporated into Poznań in the expansion of 1925 (during the time of theSecond Polish Republic), and Świerczewo was added in the expansion of 1940–1942 carried out underNazi occupation.
The railway line running south from the main station (initially along Wilda's western edge) splits into three branches south of the Cegielski plant: one runs west towardsBerlin, one south towardsWrocław, and one south-east towardsKatowice. There are two smaller stations in Wilda: Poznań Dębiec on the southern branch, and Poznań Dębina on the eastern branch.
Trams run through Wilda from the city centre, terminating at Dębiec, which is also served by a number of bus routes.
Junction 10 of theA2 motorway (thePoznań Luboń junction) is situated south-west of the water intake, providing access to Wilda and central Poznań to the north, andLuboń to the south.
52°23′35″N16°55′13″E / 52.39306°N 16.92028°E /52.39306; 16.92028
