The building was built in 1908-1910 in neo-baroque style with neoclassical elements, as part of the so-called Imperial District. It was erected for the needs of The Prussian Settlement Commission set up by the Prussian government on the initiative of Chancellor Otto von Bismarck in 1886 to buy land from Polish hands. After Poland regained its independence, the building was taken over by the Poznań University for the Collegium Medicum. Since 2008 it houses the Faculty of Polish and Classical Philology of the Adam Mickiewicz University.

By the Poles called “Imperial” (to distinguish it from the Poznanian seat of early medieval kings of Poland), was built for the King of Prussia and simultaneously the German Emperor, William II, according to Franz Schwechten’s plans. The construction was stared in 1905. The building was solemnly inaugurated on August 21, 1910, during the Emperor’s visit in Poznan. It is the most important building of the so-called Imperial District. After Poland regained its independence, the castle became the residence of the President of Poland. Some units of the University of Poznań had their seat in the castle. In 1939, after Poznań was occupied by the German, the castle was rebuilt into Adolf Hitler’s residence. The current host and administrator of the building is the Culture Center ZAMEK.