Polish connections

Stories in timber and stone - Europe’s Old Towns

For many travellers the handsome squares in the heart of major cities - throughout central Europe but also more widely - capture the experience of being away from home. These squares, often distinguished by cobblestones and half-timbered buildings, are the focus of the tourism circuit. In some cases, these squares are reconstructions of originals destroyed in conflict, so raising interesting questions of authenticity.

Poznan blues

Europe's city squares are being radically reshaped by the arrival of mass tourism. Thus far, Poznan's beautiful central square has resisted the pressure for change. It remains essentially a place for the locals. But change is surely in the offing.

Caught on film - travels through time and space in Łódź

Paul Scraton explores how cities reinvent themselves, taking inspiration from Łódź in Poland where a cutting-edge film industry has documented the city's transition from an industrial to a post-industrial era. Across Europe, media spaces are filling the urban wastelands left when the mills and mines close.