TORUN

TORUN - the birthplace of Nicholas Copernicus, a prominent trade centre in the Middle Ages - in Poland is called 'Cracow of the North'. Torun is the most Gothic urban complex in Poland, one of the most important tourist centres of unique value in the state, right after Cracow the second richest of original and best preserved historical monuments city in Poland.

TORUN TOURIST ATTRACTION The unique atmosphere of Gothic is the greatest attraction of Torun. It is here where one can find vast Gothic cathedrals, magnificent Gothic Old City Town Hall, ruins of the very first in Poland Teutonic Castle, the Gothic Leaning Tower, many Gothic burghers' houses and preserved city defence walls with Gothic gates and turrets. There are many museums in Torun and everyone visits Nicholas Copernicus Museum - the greatest astronomer's and son's of Torun who moved the Earth and stopped the Sun and the Sky.

HISTORY OF TORUN Among others Torun is known for its long and stormy history. In 1231 founded by the Teutonic Order rapidly became the biggest town in the state. It developed into a resilient trade centre of Hanseatic League within a short period of time. Torun played an important economic and political role in the whole Teutonic State. Nevetherless its people who in majority were of German origin in 1454 started the Polish-Teutonic Thirteen Year War and eventually chose the rule of the Polish kings. Excluded from the leading position by the Baltic city - Gdansk, Torun was able to become a very important centre of culture and science in the age of the Reformation and Renaissance. Then it was Torun where an international important events of religious and political matters took place.In the 17th and 18th centuries the mainly German Protestant population lived here side by side with the mainly Polish Catholic inhabitants. The contacts resulted in many conflicts. In 1724 a row between the Protestant population and Catholic student of Jesuit college occurred. The outcome of the "Torun Tumult" captivated the public and politicians' opinion of half of Europe of that time, from Prussia to England…

ARCHITECTURE OF TORUN

"Torun is so beautiful with its magnificent buildings and their gleaming red slate roofs that there must surely be nothing else to compare with its beauty, situation and splendour" - this is how the Polish medieval historiographer Jan Dlugosz described Torun in his chronicles. These words are not without foundation.The colour of brick predominant in the town was so striking as to prompt the simile 'red like Torun'. The monumental buildings, which have earned for Torun its established place in the inventory of European art, are of special value. The monumental Gothic Old City Town Hall, together with three great churches are to this day the living museum replete with ingenious works of art produced in the workshops of medieval, Renaissance and Baroque Torun. They all represent a high level of art and constitute an important link with the development of the Gothic sacral architecture of northern Europe. As regards the style, the art of Torun belongs to the north-European one. However, in addition to its clear connections with Flanders, it also reveals marked links with Bohemia, Silesia and north-western Germany. Even so the art of Torun has its own individual expression.Gothic architecture constitutes in Torun the richest complex of medieval burgher buildings all over Poland.Beginning with the 16th century Torun found itself in the centre of a new style. This was Netherlands-type Renaissance whose form became universal in northern Europe. As late as in the period of Baroque style (17th century) there appeared in Torun the elements of southern Europe (Italian) style, but they were not to strong to create something extra.

PIERNIKI (GINGERBREAD)

Many things can be said about Torun, about Torun's monuments and famouspeople that were born there, but Torun would never be the same withoutthe famous gingerbread. There is even a legend about that famous polishsweet. It actually tells a story of a very talented young lady called Catherine that, while her father was ill, accidentally created astrangely shaped gingerbread full of honey, spices and the sweetestheart of Catherine (in nonviolent way), that we call now Catherine's gingerbread (Katarzynki). How lovely.

MIKOŁAJ KOPERNIK (NICOLAUS COPERNICUS)

He was the first man to notice, that we aren't the centre of the world in his epochal book De revolutionibus orbium coelestium he stated thatactually it was the Sun, that kept us going round. He is considered tobe the starting point of modern astronomy and the defining epiphany that began the Scientific Revolution. Not only he was brilliant, not only hewas handsome, he was also catholic cleric, jurist, governor, militaryleader, diplomat and economist. And he was born in Torun. TEUTONIC KNIGHTS

Torun owes its origin and first years of development to the Teutonic Knights - German crusading military order. They were just TeutonicKnights who came to the lands by the lower Vistula River and immediatelyafter crossing the River from Kuiavia to the Chelmno Land establishedtheir first fortified town. In 1233 they granted location document to itand named Torun (Thorun). That was their first fortress from where thepagan Prussians conquest and the powerful Teutonic Order state creatingstarted. The relations between this state and Poland determined theimage of central Europe for the next few centuriesSo They came, stayed a little and left, leaving behind some finebuildings, nice market place, a name and as we guess from their name (The Order of the Teutonic Knights of St. Mary's Hospital in Jerusalem) the only true radio Radio Maryja, that is the only radio u can hear inTorun.

made by: Agata Ołubowicz, Klaudia Żerańska