The Old and the New Town in Torun, with its Teutonic Castle, were entered on the UNESCO list of the most important historic sites of world cultural heritage in 1997. 

The Town of Many Nations

The city established in 1233 by the knights of the Teutonic Order has, through eight centuries of rich history, been the home of people from different nations and religions. It has been the capital of the Teutonic State and considered one of the most modern cultural centres in Medieval Europe. In both times of economic prosperity and poverty, Torun belonged to the Polish Crown, Prussia and the Second Reich from the beginning of the 19th century. From 1918 it again became part of Poland. The town, with its original medieval architectonic structures, enriched over the ages with Gothic, Baroque and Secession edifices, is an encyclopaedia of culture. 

The Vistula – a River of Golden Wheat

Over hundreds of years Torun was the centre of the European wheat trade, which was shipped down the River Vistula from fields in the eastern borderlands of Poland to the port of Gdansk. There was no merchant nation in those times which did not at some point send trade representatives to visit Torun. The Vistula raft-men, known as "flisacy", are commemorated with an original monument next to the Town-Hall in the old town – a fountain with the statue of the rafts-men playing a violin for ... the frogs. In the years between 1264 and 1411 Torun belonged to the Hanseatic Union and until the 17th century it was one of the elite trading cities. It was from the trade in wheat that some of the merchant families of Torun achieved their wealth and power like the Esken family, with a section of the District Museum housed in their granary (the Esken House), the Kruger family, the Van der Linden family, the Koyen family, who left a book of genealogy illustrating the coats of arms of the leading families in Torun and the Stroband family, the founded of a school of great worth for the culture of the city. Traces of its mercantile past can be encountered at every step in Torun. The sumptuous decorations on the building facades and numerous granaries recall those past times when golden wheat was floated down the Vistula River ...with the returning river of gold filling the coffers of the merchants of Torun. 

The Town of Copernicus

Nicolas Copernicus, the scientist who led his contemporaries to the boundaries of modern science and the philosophy of the cosmos, was born in Torun on 19th February 1473.

His work is called the "Copernican Revolution", a victory of the mind. In the museum, which can be found in his house on Copernicus Street, the oldest editions of his scientific work and his astronomical equipment with which he studied the cosmos can be seen. In the nearby St John's Cathedral is the font where he was baptised and in the Old Town Market there is a 2.6m high bronze statue of Copernicus on a granite plinth with the Latin inscription "Nicolas Copernicus Thorunensis Terrae Motor, Solis Caelique Stator" (Nicolas Copernicus, born in Torun, moved the earth and stopped the sun and the skies).

The Town of Scientists

The work of Copernicus has been continued by such world-famous figures as Aleksander Wolszczan who is considered as one of the most prominent contemporary astronomers. The Nicolas Copernicus University is attended by more than 40,000 students specialising in the fields of humanities, mathematics and natural sciences. The Torun School of Astronomy and Archive Conservation trains specialists in both fields and is word renowned. In April Torun hosts the Science and Arts Festival, which is organised with the help of the University, at which time the mysteries of science are disclosed and members of the public can participate in observing the skies from the astronomical centre. A planetarium on Franciszkanska Street screens films about the solar system on a dome that is 15 meters in diameter.

The Many Sides of Torun – In the Old Town Market

In the centre of the Old Town Market there stands an 18th century town hall, a historic museum and a concert venue. Along the four sides of the Old Town market square, often filled with the hubbub of international visitors admiring the beauty of their surroundings, the historic mansions of the cities residents and churches stand out in their splendour. In one of the Baroque mansions, named "Under the Stars" and considered one of the prettiest in Torun (situated on the east side) is the home of the oldest Museum of Art of the Far East in Poland. On the southern side, the representative Artus Manor (which incorporates a ballroom and a concert hall), was built in1891 in the Neo-Renaissance style to replace of the Gothic Artus Manor, which was made famous by the signing of the Torun Treatise which took place here in 1466 and ended the thirteen years war between the Teutonic Knights and the Kingdom of Poland. The Neo-Gothic building of the Polish Post Office and the Gothic Franciscan Church are on the western side while the northern side is taken up, in part, by a 17th century mansion which firstly as an inn welcomed guests of the town and is today a renovated hotel. This hotel, which is called "Under the Three Crowns", got its name as it is here that three crowned heads once stayed. Historians believe that Queen Maria, the widow of King Jan III Sobieski, the Russian Tsar Peter the Great with his son Aleksey and the Polish Saxon King, August II the Strong, stayed here.

Magical places

Any tourists walking along the paved streets beneath the facades of narrow mansions topped with soaring roofs travel back in time. From the boulevards on the Vistula River to the Old and New Town, the jewellers, artistic ateliers and historic cellars are filled with the voices of guests, the aroma of delicious food and the sounds of clinking glasses which can be a temptation at every step. In an alley next to the fortified walls of the city stands the Leaning Tower, about 1.5 meters from its true vertical. Its history, shrouded in mystery, includes a spicy affair about which your guide can give you all the details.

Other distinctive places include Ciasna Street with its arches adjoining the mansions towering above the heads of pedestrians, Podmurna Street, running along the entire length of the fortified wall of the Medieval town, the vast Philadelphia Boulevard on the Vistula River with its array of coffee shops on the boats moored next to the piers, the New Town Market and the old town shopping mall on Szeroka Street.

The Unconquerable Fortress

During the time of the Napoleonic wars (1810-12) the French transformed Torun into a fortress. The Old Town was surrounded by 12 brick bastions, which was enough to withstand the siege of the Russian army in 1813. When Torun was ruled by the Prussians, (1892) the fortress was enlarged to the size of a modern, strategic fortification, which was has never conquered. There are several dozen forts, bastions and fortifications, some of which are open to the public, and in one of the barrack buildings next to one of the forts, a youth hostel has been opened.

Museums and Galleries

The Torun District Museum is made up of several departments. In the Old Town Hall, there is an exhibition of interior design, furniture and paintings, the life and work of the famous astronomer is on display in Copernicus House, the Esken House illustrates the history of the city and the region and the Baroque mansion, "Under the Stars" has an exhibition of art and oriental craft. There is an Ethnographic Park (with an area of 2.3 hectares) in the centre of Torun where the cultural heritage of the Kujawy region, the Dobrzyn and Chelmno Lands, Kociewie, Tuchola Forest and Kaszubia can be seen. There are also examples 18th, 19th and 20th century farms, granaries, blacksmiths, windmills and a residential fishing barge. On the eastern outskirts of the town, at the confluence of the Drweca and Vistula rivers a fishermen's cottage can be seen in situ and in nearby Grebocin there is the Museum of Writing and Printing. Close to the Market stands the Travellers' Museum, commemorating the globetrotter and filmmaker – Tony Halik. Many galleries can also be found on a walk around the Old Town which include the "Wozownia", the Children's Gallery, the Muse Gallery and the Photography Gallery. In the Old Town, the Gallery of Zbigniew Lengren can be found in the Town Hall. He was the author of satirical comics about the adventures of Professor Filutek and his dog Fafik. There is a bronze statue of Fafik that stands in one of the corners of the Market and it is said that anyone who pats Fafik will be happy for the rest of the day.

Sweet Catherine's Gingerbread

No one can leave Torun without a packet of gingerbread. These spiced cakes, baked according to recipes dating back to the 15th century, have a unique taste and aroma. The most well known are the ones in the shape of a heart and covered in chocolate, called "Katarzynki" (Catherine's). They are made in memory of a confectionary chef who was in love with a beautiful but cold-hearted woman, whose name was Catherine. He baked for her "the best gingerbread in the world" which the capricious lady had requested. After she tasted it she understood how sweet love could be and the name "Katarzynki" remained.

Antiques and Rare Objects

As you wander around the Old and New Town you will come across many antiquarian bookshops, artistic ateliers and jewellers. Books, old and new lithographs, paintings, silver jewellery incrusted with amber are the most popular mementos bought in the town. It is also worth paying a visit to the galleries with handicrafts and folk art which exhibit and sell the marvellous works of the Torun based group of artists and sculptors "Wozownia".

Selected cultural events

• "Jazz: a Fresh Start" (Jazz Od Nowa) Jazz Festival (II) – The aim to combine traditional standards with new forms of jazz. (Ul Gagarina 37A; Tel. 611 45 93, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it , www.odnowa.umk.pl

• "Klamra" – The Academic Theatre Festival (III). Encounters with contemporary alterative theatre. (Ul Gagarina 37A; Tel. 611 45 93, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it , www.odnowa.umk.pl

• The Torun Science and Arts Festival (IV). Open meetings and presentations of the newest achievements from different fields in science and art. Tel. 611 49 32, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it , www.festiwal.torun.pl/o_festiwalu

• • "Probaltica" International Culture and Arts Festival of the Baltic Countries (V). A presentation of the cultural accomplishments of all the Baltic States. Tel. 648 86 47, www.probaltica.art.pl

• "Kontakt" International Theatre Festival (V) – A review of the theatrical events from Eastern and Central European countries and their confrontation with Western European theatre groups. Tel. 622 55 97, www.teatr.torun.pl

• The Midsummer's Eve Organ Music Festival (V, VI) – Stylish performances of early music played on early, rare Baroque organs in St John's Cathedral. www.organy.diecezja.torun.pl

• International Encounters of Folk Music Groups (VI). A folkloric musical event. Tel. 622 80 91, www.turystyka.torun.pl

• "Song of Songs" International Ecumenical Festival of Christian Music (VI), Tel. 660 15 91. www.songofsongs.pl

• Summer Festival "Torun – Music and Architecture" (VI, VII) Music from the Renaissance to contemporary times presented in historic interiors. Tel. 622 88 05. This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it , www.um.torun.pl/~tok

• International Torun Encounters with Puppet Theatres (XI) Tel. 652 24 24. www.bajpomorski.art.pl

• "Toffi" Torun Film Festival (X). A programme rich in ambitious and non-stereotype independent films. Tel. 611 45 93. This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it , www.odnowa.umk.pl

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