Another difference arises from the adjective imperial (cesarski) preferred by the Poles and royal (königliches), i.e. the Prussian Hohenzollern House, used by the Germans.

The German name refers to Wilhelm II as King of Prussia, in this function he had the palace built as his provincial residence, while the Polish name refers to him as German Emperor because the term "royal" is reserved for Polish historical sites, i.e. the Poznań's Royal Castle, home to the early medieval kings of Poland.

This is due to the mixed demographic history of the region, as Wieklopolska, while an integral part of the ancient Polish state, the province had a significant German population prior to the Soviet sponsored expulsions and forced resettlements of Poles, Germans, and Ukrainians from 1945-47 roughly along the Allied endorsed Curzon Line and the Oder-Neisse Line.

On the new lands, Prussian authorities – who annexed the city in the Second Partition of Poland in 1793 – decided to build a new Germanic urban core, known as the "Imperial District".

The new residence was intended to reflect the control over Greater Poland by the Kingdom of Prussia and the German Empire The main building located in the southern part of the complex has two wings: the western – the larger one – consisting of apartments, and the eastern with representative rooms.

Construction began in 1905 (plans were ready in 1904), and five years later, on 21 August 1910, during a visit of the Emperor to Poznań (called Posener Kaisertage), the architect presented the keys to the new residence to Wilhelm.

According to this decision, Albert Speer prepared the project of the reconstruction, which completely changed the rooms of the castle.

During fighting in 1945, the castle was a temporary camp for German POWs, and was later used as a barracks by the Polish People's Army.

During this period, the communist government considered the demolition of the castle as a symbol of the German occupation and bourgeois style.

Due to a lack of funds, only some of the German symbols were removed and the upper part of the damaged tower was demolished.

[5] The square in front of the building is the main venue for the St. Martin's Day parade and celebrations held in Poznań annually on 11 November (see Święty Marcin).