Torun is a city in northern Poland, on the Vistula River, with population over 207,190 as of 2006, making it the second largest city of the Kujawy-Pomerania Province, after Bydgoszcz. The medieval old town of Torun is a birthplace of Nicolaus Copernicus. It was inscribed onto the World Heritage List of UNESCO as World Heritage Site in 1997.
Previously it was a capital of Toru? Voivodeship (1975-98) and Pomeranian Voivodeship (1921-45). Since 1999 Torun has been a seat of the self-government of Kujawy-Pomerania Province and, as such, one of its two capitals (together with Bydgoszcz). The cities and neighbouring poviats form the Bydgoszcz-Toru? bipolar metropolitan area. In September 2004, Bydgoszcz Medical School joined Torun’s Nicolaus Copernicus University as its Collegium Medicum.
One of the capitals of the Kujawsko-Pomorskie Voivodship (since 1999), previously the capital of the Toru? Voivodship (1975-1998) and the Pomeranian Voivodship (1921-1939), the city is located near the Geographic Center of Europe.
Torun’s medieval Old Town or Starowka is on the UNESCO World Heritage List. Torun is a birthplace of world famous astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus. The house where Copernicus was born and the chapel where he was christened are still standing in the city. From Middle Ages town is known for its gingerbreads.
All of the city attractions of Torun are walkable. There is plentiful public transport and taxis are cheap. Public transport include city buses, trams. Listed on the UNESCO list of World Heritage Sites since 1997, Toru? has many monuments of architecture beginning from the Middle Ages, including 200 military structures. The city is famous for having preserved almost intact its medieval spatial layout and many Gothic buildings, all built from brick, including monumental churches, the Town Hall and many burgher houses.
The most interesting monuments are:
- The Cathedral of Ss. John the Evangelist and John the Baptist, an aisled hall church built in the 14th century and extended in the 15th century; outstanding Gothic sculptures and paintings inside (Moses, St. Mary Magdalene, gravestone of Johann von Soest), Renaissance and Baroque epitaphs and altars (amongst them the epitaph of Copernicus from 1580)
- St. Mary’s church, a formerly Franciscan aisled hall built in the 14th century
- St. Jacob’s church, a basilica from the 14th century, with monumental wall paintings and Gothic stalls
- The Old Town Hall, begun in 1274, extended and rebuilt between 1391 and 1399, and extended at the end of the 16th century; one of the most monumental town halls in Central Europe
- City fortifications, begun in the 13th century, extended between the 14th and 15th centuries, mostly demolished in the 19th century, but partially preserved with a few city gates and watchtowers (among them the so-called Leaning Tower) from the Vistula side. See also: Torun Fortress
- A Gothic house from the 15th century, where Copernicus was allegedly born (now a museum)
Ruins of the Teutonic Knights’ castle from the 13th century - The House Under the Star (Polish: Dom Pod Gwiazda), previously Gothic, briefly owned by Filip Callimachus, then rebuilt in the 16th century and in 1697, with a richly decorated stucco facade and wooden spiral stairs
- Torun has the largest number of preserved Gothic houses in Poland, many with Gothic wall paintings or wooden beam ceilings from the 16th to the 18th centuries
An important fact is that Toru?, unlike many other historic cities in Poland, avoided significant destruction during World War II. In particular, the Old Town was left intact, so all its important monuments of architecture are original ones - not rebuilt after destruction.
Major renovation projects have been undertaken in recent years to improve the condition and external presentation of the Old Town. Besides the renovation of various buildings, projects such as the reconstruction of the pavement of the streets and squares (reversing them to their historical appearance), and the introduction of new plants, trees and objects of ’small architecture’, are underway.
The most spectacular, though, is the illumination of the Old Town at night. Numerous buildings and other constructions, including the city walls along the boulevard, are illuminated at night, creating an impressive effect - probably unique among Polish cities with respect to the size of Toru?’s Old Town and the scale of the illumination project itself.
At warm time of the year Torun old town is full of street cafes, restaurants where you can eat or drink in open air enjoying medieval atmosphere. Some cafes locate on the bank of river Vistula, also two on boats on the river. Different dishes - traditional food and fastfood, drinks - beers, soft drinks and ice cream are offered there. If you are football lover there is lots of street cafes with TV, where you can see the game and drink good Polish beer.
The transportation network in the city itself has been a subject of much criticism for years. Although the city proper is not very large, the underdeveloped street and road network is a source of problems. It has to deal not only with a traffic generated by Torun itself, but also with heavy transit and metropolitan traffic. Even the construction of new wide avenues, both by reconstructing existing streets and by construction of others from scratch, has not been enough. The most serious problem, however, is that only a single car traffic bridge crosses the Vistula river inside the city’s boundaries.
The construction of beltways, and thus the reduction of the inflow of vehicles into the city, has helped significantly, but still the existence of only one downtown bridge causes serious transportation difficulties, especially traffic jams. A construction of another bridge, located 4 km east of the existing one, has been prepared in an atmosphere of heated discussions, but due to political, legal and financial issues it is unclear when it will be built.
The mass transit system is composed of 5 tram lines and about 40 bus lines, covering the city and some of the neighbouring communities. Torun is situated at a major road junction, one of the most important in Poland. The A1 highway reaches Torun, and a southern beltway surrounds the city. Besides these, the European route E75 and a number of domestic roads (numbered 10, 15, and 80) run through the city.
With three main railway stations (Torun G?ówny, Torun Miasto and Torun Wschodni), the city is a major rail junction, with two important lines crossing there (Warszawa - Bydgoszcz and Wroc?aw - Olsztyn). Also two other lines stem from Torun, towards Malbork and Sierpc.
The rail connection with Bydgoszcz is run under a name of BiT City, as a “metropolitan rail”, its main purpose being to allow traveling between and within these cities for just one ticket. A joint venture of Torun, Bydgoszcz, Solec Kujawski and the voivodeship, it is considered as important in integrating Bydgoszcz-Torun metropolitan area. A major modernization of BiT City railroute, as well as a purchase of completely new vehicles to serve the line, is planned for 2008 and 2009. Technically, it will allow to travel between Torun-East and Bydgoszcz-Main stations at a speed of 120 km/h in a time of approximately half an hour.
Since September 2008, the “one-ticket” solution has been introduced also as regards a rail connection with W?oc?awek, as a “regional ticket”. The same is planned for connection with Grudziadz. Two bus depots serve to connect the city with other towns and cities in Poland.
As of 2008, a small sport airfield exists in Torun; however, a modernization of the airport is seriously considered with a number of investors interested in it. Independently of this, Bydgoszcz-Szwederowo airport, located about 50 km from Torun city center, serves the whole Bydgoszcz-Torun metropolitan area, with a number of regular flights to European cities.
Torun has two drama theatres (Teatr im. Wilama Horzycy with three stages and Teatr Wiczy), two children’s theatres (Baj Pomorski and Zaczarowany ?wiat), two music theatres (Ma?a Rewia, Studencki Teatr Ta?ca), and numurous other theatre groups. The city hosts, among others, the international theatre festival, “Kontakt”, annually in May
The building called Baj Pomorski has recently been completely reconstructed. It is now one of the most modern cultural facilities in the city, with its front elevation in the shape of a gigant chest of drawers. It is located at the southeast edge of the Old Town. Movies in Torun can be enjoyed in the city’s Cinema City, which has over 2000 seats, and in another five or more public cinemas.
Over ten major museums document the history of Torun and the region. Among others, the “House of Kopernik” and the accompanying museum commemorate Nicolaus Copernicus and his revolutionary work, the university museum reveals the history of the city’s academic past.
Construction of a Center of Contemporary Art (Centrum Sztuki Wspotczesnej - CSW) begun in summer 2006. It will be opened in June 2008 - although it organises open-air exhibitions even now - and be one of the most important cultural facilities of this kind in Poland. Its modern building is to be located in the very center of the city, adjacent to the Old Town. The Torun Symphonic Orchestra (formerly the Torun Chamber Orchestra) deserves mentioning, as it is well-rooted in the Torun cultural landscape.
Torun is equipped with a planetarium (located downtown) and astronomical observatory (located in nearby community of Piwnice). The latter boasts the largest radiotelescope in the Eastern part of Central Europe with 32 m in diameter, second only to the Effelsberg 100 m radio telescope. Torun is well-known for Torun gingerbread, a type of pierniki often made in elaborate moulds.
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