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All Poland Poznań The Fighting Goats of Poznań

The Fighting Goats of Poznań

These mechanical goats first battled it out in the year 1551, all because of an overcooked deer.

Poznań, Poland

Added By
Adam Kincaid
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A pair of retired goats are on display inside the Town Hall museum   AdamTKincaid / Atlas Obscura User
A pair of retired goats are on display inside the Town Hall museum   AdamTKincaid / Atlas Obscura User
The goats prepare for battle   Scotch Mist
Every day at noon they emerge and butt heads 12 times   Christopher John SSF
The goats were dressed up for football during EURO 2012   Drozdi-Pn
The clock is high up on the center turret   tripleigrek
The colorful market square and Town Hall   Dietmar Sittek
Fighting goats in Poznan Old Town   argusfoto / Atlas Obscura User
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About

A midday walk through the colorful market square of Poznań in western Poland means vibrantly painted buildings, bustling cafes, food stalls and vendors—and throngs of locals and tourists jostling for the best spot to watch a 465-year-old fight. It just happens to be between a couple of mechanical goats.

At the heart of the square is Poznań’s Town Hall, topped by three turrets with a clock tower in the middle. As the time inches towards noon the assembled crowd waits for the bell to toll, craning their necks to watch two iron billy goats glide out and face each other. As they have done since the year 1551, the goats butt heads twelve times to strike the midday hour.

It’s a lovely tradition, with an unexpected origin story.

Back in the middle of the 16th century there was a chef in town (some versions call him “Pete”) who was charged with cooking an elaborate feast for the mayor and some visiting dignitaries.  Pete set about preparing some roast deer, but things didn’t go so well. Distracted by the festivities of the big event, his beautiful joint of venison ended up falling off the spit, straight into the fire, burning to a crisp.

Pete needed some new meat, but the butcher had no more venison. In a desperate move to save the meal (and his own neck) he grabbed two grazing goats from a nearby meadow, but they escaped his grasp and darted off towards Town Hall. They ran up the stairs into the tower, catching the attention of the crowd below when they emerged from the turret, locked horns and began to battle it out. The crowd included the mayor and his guests, who were more charmed than they were angry about the meal, so Pete and the goats were pardoned.

A new clock was in the works for the Town Hall, so the mayor ordered that two goats be added to the mechanism, cuckoo clock style. They got to take a long break in the battle, after their tower had been badly damaged in 1675. In 1913 they were restored to the clock, and they’ve been taking noonday center stage ever since. Luckily for the crowds down below it’s always a draw, so they’ll be back again tomorrow to fight another day.

Related Tags

Clocks Goats Mechanical Instruments Time

Know Before You Go

Poznań is in west-central Poland, about 100 miles east of the German border and 185 miles west of Warsaw. The goats emerge to fight every day at noon in front of the entrance to the Town Hall. There is also a live trumpet call just before the hour strikes, a good reminder to stop and look up.

Community Contributors

Added By

AdamTKincaid

Edited By

maciejbrencz, argusfoto

  • maciejbrencz
  • argusfoto

Published

November 2, 2016

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Sources
  • https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pozna%C5%84_Town_Hall#The_goats_and_bugle_call
  • http://regionwielkopolska.pl/en/folk-culture/legends/the-poznan-billy-goat-legend.html
  • http://kocham-poznan.wikia.com/wiki/Pozna%C5%84_Goats
  • http://www.poznan.pl/mim/turystyka/en/town-hall,p,37,51,102.html
The Fighting Goats of Poznań
1 Stary Rynek
Poznań
Poland
52.408587, 16.934034
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