Location

Poznan is a city on the Warta river in west-central Poland, with a population of 551,627 in the end of 2010. It is among the oldest cities in Poland, and was one of the most important centres in the early Polish state, whose first rulers were buried at Poznań's cathedral. It is sometimes claimed to be the first capital of the kingdom of Poland.

Poznan is a centre of Solar System astronomy in Poland. The UAM Astronomical Observatory research areas are dynamics of Small Bodies in the Planetary Systems, Dynamics of comets in Oort Cloud, physical studies of asteroids and dynamics of meteoroids as well. The professional conference Meteoroids 2013 will be organized in Poznan at the same place, just after the IMC. Many professional astronomers coming to "Meteoroids" will be able to attend IMC thanks to this coincidence. Moreover, Poznan is easily accessible city, with good infrastructure, well suited for such international conferences.

The city's full official name is Stołeczne Miasto Poznań ("The Capital City of Poznań"), in reference to its role as a centre of political power in the early Polish state. Poznań is known as Posen in German, and was officially called Haupt- und Residenzstadt Posen ("Capital and Residence City of Poznań") between 20 August 1910 and 28 November 1918. Poznań is now Poland's fifth largest city. It is the historical capital of the Wielkopolska ("Greater Poland") region, and is currently the administrative capital of the province called Greater Poland Voivodeship. Poznań is an important centre of trade, industry, and education, and hosts regular international trade fairs. It was the host city for the United Nations Climate Change Conference in December 2008, a key stage in the creation of a successor to the Kyoto Protocol. Poznań was one of the host cities for the association football tournament UEFA Euro 2012.

Poznań covers an area of 261.3 km2 (100.9 sq mi), and has coordinates in the range 52°17'34''–52°30'27''N, 16°44'08''–17°04'28''E. Its highest point, with an altitude of 157 m (515 ft), is the summit of Góra Moraska (Morasko Hill) within the Morasko meteorite nature reserve in the north of the city. The lowest altitude is 60 m (197 ft), in the Warta valley.