Penned in by lakes and forests, Kórnik (pop. 6,500) is your signature provincial town (in fact the name 'Kórnik' is thought to refer to the locals’ skill in raising roosters, or 'kur'), with its principal high street lined with trees and two storey townhouses dating from the 18th and 19th centuries.

On alighting from the bus you’ll be met with the sight of All Saints’ Church and a beautiful brick castle, founded in 1437 and funded by the Górka Family. It was rebuilt in a neo-Gothic style in 1826 after being gutted by fire, and its crypt holds members of the Działyński and Zamoyski families. Other points of interest include ‘the eye of the needle’ - a narrow passage leading to a now defunct Jewish prayer house (find it on the main high street as you go into town, keeping an eye out for the Hebrew inscription on the wall), as well as the neo-Baroque Town Hall, now serving as the seat of local government. Built in 1907 its stand-out feature is the mechanical rooster that appears out of the clock on the strike of noon.