Bydgoszcz & Toruń

Literature

Bydgoszcz and Toruń, cities just 50km apart, are divided by a conflict reaching back to the Middle Ages. Toruń was founded by Hermann von Salza, Grand Master of the Teutonic Knights, the order that would go on to rule the city for the next 221 years. Bydgoszcz, meanwhile, was vested with town rights by King Casimir III the Great, and played a major role in the Polish crown’s great war against the Teutonic Order. This division is still echoed today, when Bydgoszcz residents teasingly call Torunians ‘Teutonic’ and, in return, are referred to as ‘typhus’ because of the pestilence that decimated their city in the 17th century.

BYDGOSZCZ TORUń

Here and away

 Bydgoszcz

Airport – 4km  Warsaw – 225km

Toruń – 46 km

Berlin – 315km  Bydgoszcz

Airport – 44km  Warsaw – 185km

Bydgoszcz – 46 km

Berlin – 360km

Overview

�� 1346  359 k  176 km2  3678 PLN  36 k �� 1233  203 k  116 km2  3876 PLN  27 k

Culture & Nature

�� 6  3  31 �� 5  8  4

Food & Stay

 2361  327  36  2670  189  56

Bydgoszcz is a phenomenally musical city. Opera Nova (LEFT), located on the banks of the Brda River, is one of the most modern and comprehensive musical theatres in Poland. The city’s atmospheric music district features the Ignacy Jan Paderewski Pomeranian Philharmonic. Its concert hall is known for its excellent acoustics. Distinguished musicians from around the world have played there, including Rafał Blechacz, graduate of the Bydgoszcz Music Academy and winner of the 15th International Frederick Chopin Piano Competition in 2005 •

AbOVE: A view of Toruń’s Medieval Town – the oldest part of the historic city (which also includes the ‘New Town’ and the Teutonic Knights’ castle). From the very beginning, Toruń was a commercial city and a major centre for international trade. During the Middle Ages, Toruń was one of Central Europe’s largest centres of arts. Today, the city’s numerous preserved historic buildings and artefacts are a testament to its former status •

Bydgoszcz

Bydgoszcz flows along

The city of Bydgoszcz, lying on the Brda River and the Bydgoszcz Canal, is naturally linked to water. The string of 19th century buildings along the Młynówka branch across from Wyspa Młyńska (Mill Island, LEFT) represents the heart of the city.

The granaries (AbOVE) built along the river in the late 18th century by the merchant Samuel Gottlieb Engelmann offer a characteristic view depicted in the city’s logo. One of the attractions here are water tram tours which let tourists admire the city from the river •

The city’s musical side

Sławomir Janicki – founder of the famed Bydgoszcz music club Mózg, connected with the alternative rock and jazz scene.

Bydgoszcz hosts several major festivals, particularly those showcasing contemporary music: the Fonomo Music & Film Festival and the Mózg International Festival of Contemporary Music and Visual Arts. The Bydgoszcz Music Festival, launched in 1963, is one of the oldest in Poland. The unique Musica Antiqua Europae Orientalis Festival of Central & Eastern European Early Music, founded in 1966, attracts leading performers from around Europe. The highlight of the spring is the Bydgoszcz Opera Festival (AbOVE), held in the modern Opera Nova building. Every three years the city’s musical profile gets a boost from the International Paderewski Piano Competition •

Inne Sytuacje (Other Situations) International Theatre Festival (AbOVE) seeks out new performing arts phenomena. But the best-known festival in Bydgoszcz is the Camerimage International Film Festival, devoted to the work and art of cinematographers •

Touch Toruń gothic

The Gothic walls of Toruń’s landmarks, including the UNESCO World Heritage Site Old Town complex (AbOVE), invite visitors to take a trip back in time.

It’s not hard to find traces of the distant past, particularly the history connected with famed astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus (bELOW LEFT), whose discovery turned the universe inside-out. The path from the late-Gothic house where Copernicus was born (RIGhT) to the modern Planetarium links Medieval thought with contemporary popular science •

AbOVE: A work presented at the Bella Skyway Festival, one of the numerous European-scope cultural events in Toruń. The festival has been held since 2009, and was initially launched as part of the city’s efforts to become a 2016 European Capital of Culture •

Exploring the city

Magdalena Wichrowska, lecturer and author of Toruń, City of Women

While away the hours at the Znaki Czasu Centre of Contemporary Art (LEFT). Apart from the interesting exhibitions, Toruń’s modern art centre is a pleasant and welcoming space where you could spend almost the entire day. The cinema there offers a wellcurated selection of artistic and independent films. Browse the well-stocked art bookstore or the user-friendly Sömmerrings’ Reading Room, then stop by the Parter Café for a tasty snack and gather your strength to explore the city further. The panoramic view of the Old Town from the art centre terrace is a must-see!•

The ‘Mill of Knowledge’ centre has opened at Richter’s Mills, with a 50-foot-long Foucault’s Pendulum (RIGhT). And the Toruń Centre for Astronomy operated by Nicolaus Copernicus University in the nearby village of Piwnice, features Poland’s largest radio telescope.

Fans of sweets and baked goods will surely not skip the Gingerbread Museum (AbOVE and OPPOSITE PAGE), a new interactive centre devoted to nothing but the history of Toruń’s most famous snack •

Toruń – the cosmic and the everyday

Robert

Czekański, Toruń entrepreneur and board game fanatic

Toruń gingerbreads have been famous since the bakers’ guild began baking them late in the 14th century. Toruń, as a member of the Hanseatic League, had relatively easy access to spices which are a necessary ingredient for making gingerbread dough. Top quality local honey and imported flour were also on hand. For a long time Toruń competed with Nuremberg, Germany for gingerbread bragging rights. Eventually, the two cities’ guilds came to an agreement in 1556 and exchanged rrecipes. To this day, however, Toruń's gingerbread is known for using much more black pepper than its German counterpart. There are two kinds of Toruń gingerbreads:

• the cake-like sweet, spicy

and soft variety which is a perfect treat at any time; and • the hard ornamental kind, (bELOW) made using carefully carved wooden (or wax) moulds. The latter come in a variety of shapes and are usually kept as souvenirs or exchanged as gifts. Of course, the heart-shaped ones are given as tokens of love.