One of
the most magnificent historic cities in Poland, 200
km south of Gdansk, located on the Vistula River bank.
A wealthy Hanseatic port and the birthplace of Nicolaus
Copernicus, in trade Torun competed even with Gdansk.
In spite of its eventful history, the city retained
its original complex of Gothic architecture put on the
UNESCO World Cultural Heritage List. Large fragments
of old defensive walls with gates and Gothic and Renaissance
granaries on the Vistula side are quite well-preserved
and testify the city's extensive trade activity. Only
a ruin is left of a Teutonic Knight's castle which used
to stand nearby and was badly destroyed during the Middle
Ages never to be rebuilt. The majority of historical
buildings stand around the Old Town Square and along
the streets leading out of it. The Old Town Hall was
erected in the middle of the square; today most of the
building is occupied by the Regional Museum with several
exhibitions including a collection of medieval art,
portraits of Polish kings, gallery of Polish painting
and a display of moulds used for production of traditional
Torun ginger-bread. A few steps from the entrance to
the museum stands a statue with the following inscription:
Nicolaus Copernicus, a citizen of Torun, moved the Earth
and stopped the Sun and the Sky.
A short walk will take us to a fine brick Gothic house
where the famous astronomer was born in 1473.
Together with its neighbour, they accomodate the Museum
of Copernicus.
St. Mary's Church and the SS John the Baptist and John
the Evangelist stand in the same Gothic section of the
city. Another fragment of Torun, called the New Town,
was a separate municipality in the medieval times. The
New Town Square is surrounded by a number of fine burgher
houses and the Gothic structure of St. James Church
stands nearby. Its interior is filled with mostly Baroque
furnishings, but Gothic wall paintings have been uncovered
in various places.
Half-day city tour of Torun including: St.John Church
(a Gothic architecture masterpiece), Gothic Town Hall,
which now houses the Regional Museum, Copernicus house,
St.Jacob church in Gothic style, the ruins of Teutonic
Castle, St.Mary’s Church with 14th century Bohemian
school frescoes. |
