Poland – Great Poland, Kuyavia, Lubusz (Poznań, Toruń, Bydgoszcz, Zielona Góra) August 21, 2019
RZDZYNA. A NM “small town”,
Rydztba Castle (Zamek Rydzyna). This moated square manor house is now a two-star hotel with conference rooms and a restaurant. I wandered around and saw nothing worth noting. A courtyard is in the center.
The traffic to Poznan was a nightmare of construction, narrow two-lane roads, tons of traffic, especially trucks, small towns, and pedestrians.
POZNAN
Bałtyk tower. In the NM “Modern Architecture Buildings”,
Okrąglak. In the NM “Modern Architecture Buildings”
A 9-story, perfectly round high-rise, it is an office building with a bank located on the ground floor.
Centrum Kultury Zamek. In a completely renovated stone castle, this building has the Art Theatre Arimaiji, the New Theatre and an art exhibit on the lower floor.
Dzialynski Palace.
St. Martin’s Croissant Museum (Rogalowe Museum). In the NM “Bizzariium” series (which I try never to miss), it was closed by the time I arrived in Poznan.
Poznań Collegiate Church (Parish Church). Another Baroque masterpiece: great red/brown marble columns with very ornate white/gilt capitals, angels on every surface, marble/gilt side altars, and massive spiral marble columns in the two main side altars. Ancient carved wood pews. The ceiling may be the highlight, with many paintings surrounded by gilt and stucco.
It sits on a very narrow cobble street in the old part of town.
Poznan Cathedral. Its origins date back to the second half of the 10th century, making it the oldest church in Poland, with three naves and brick walls, as well as arches, columns, and ribs supporting the vaults. The highlight is all the ornate side chapels, featuring painted ceilings, altars, sarcophagi (all the statues are lying on their sides), and the penultimate Golden Chapel, directly behind the apse – all black with gilt accents. The church closed at 7 pm. He rang the bell, and I had to have him unlock the door to let me out (could you imagine spending a night here with no bathroom?).
After an initial fast expressway, the road to Bydogoscz degenerated into the same construction mess as south of Poznan. The entire expressway was being rebuilt.
I slept here at a McDonald’s and caught up on my website.
BYDGOSCZ
Bydgoszcz Cathedral. Wow, everything is painted – red walls, purple columns, blue ceiling and all the ribs and window cases are floral/geometrics. Add the gilt pulpit and altar, and it is a spectacular church inside
Museum of Soap and History of Dirt. Bizzarium:
TORUN (pop 202,000)
In northern-central Poland, on the Vistula River, Toruń is one of the oldest cities in Poland, with the first settlement dating back to the 8th century and later being expanded in 1233 by the Teutonic Knights. Over the centuries, it was the home for people of diverse backgrounds and religions. From 1264 to 1411, Toruń was part of the Hanseatic League. By the 17th century, it had become one of the city’s elite trading points, greatly influencing its architecture, which ranged from Brick Gothic to Mannerism and Baroque. In the early modern age, Toruń was a royal city in Poland and one of the four largest cities in the country at the time. After the partitions of Poland, it was part of Prussia and later the German Empire. After Poland regained independence in 1918, Toruń was reincorporated into Polish territory and, during World War II, was spared from bombing and destruction. This allowed the Old Town to be fully preserved with its iconic central marketplace.
Believed to be one of the most beautiful cities in Europe, Toruń is renowned for the Museum of Gingerbread, whose baking tradition dates back nearly a millennium, and its large Cathedral. Toruń is noted for its very high standard of living and quality of life. In 1997, the medieval part of the city was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site. In 2007, the Old Town in Toruń was added to the list of Seven Wonders of Poland.
Toruń is the birthplace of astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus.
History. Archaeologists date the first settlement in the vicinity of Toruń to 1100 BC (Lusatian culture). During the early medieval period, from the 7th to the 13th centuries, it was the site of an old Slavonic settlement, located at a ford on the Vistula River.
The Gothic Old Town Hall dates back to the 13th century.
In spring 1231, the Teutonic Knights crossed the river Vistula at the height of Nessau and established a fortress. In 1236, due to frequent flooding, it was relocated to the present site of the Old Town. In 1239, Franciscan friars settled in the city, followed by the Dominicans in 1263. In 1264, the adjacent New Town was founded predominantly to house Torun’s growing population of craftsmen and artisans. In 1280, the city joined the mercantile Hanseatic League and thus became an important medieval trade centre.
The First Peace of Thorn, ending the Polish–Lithuanian–Teutonic War, was signed in the city in February 1411, leaving the town in the hands of the Order. The Confederation rose against the Monastic state of the Teutonic Knights in 1454, and its delegation submitted a petition to Polish King Casimir IV Jagiellon asking him to regain power over Prussia as the rightful ruler. These events led to the Thirteen Years’ War. The New and the Old Towns amalgamated in 1454. The citizens of Thorn, enraged by the Order’s ruthless exploitation, conquered the Teutonic castle and dismantled the fortifications brick by brick, except for the Gdanisko tower, which was used until the 18th century for gunpowder storage. During the war, Toruń provided financial support to the Polish Army. The Thirteen Years’ War ended in 1466 with the Second Peace of Thorn, in which the Teutonic Order ceded its control over the city to Poland. The Polish King granted the town great privileges, similar to those of Gdańsk.
Throughout history, the city has been home to notable personalities, scholars, and politicians. In 1473, Nicolaus Copernicus was born, and in 1501, Polish King John I Albert died in Toruń; his heart was buried inside St. John’s Cathedral. In 1506, Toruń became a royal city of Poland. In 1528, the royal mint started operating in Toruń—a city of great wealth and influence.
In 1557, during the Protestant Reformation, the city adopted Protestantism. In 1595, Jesuits arrived to promote the Counter-Reformation, taking control of St. John’s Church. The Protestant city officials tried to limit the influx of Catholics into the city, as Catholics (Jesuits and Dominican friars) already controlled most of the churches, leaving only St. Mary’s to Protestant citizens.
During the Great Northern War (1700–21), the city was besieged by Swedish troops. The restoration of Augustus the Strong as King of Poland was prepared in the town in the Treaty of Thorn (1709) by Russian Tsar Peter the Great. In the second half of the 17th century, tensions between Catholics and Protestants grew, similar to religious wars throughout Europe. In the early 18th century, approximately 50 percent of the population, particularly the gentry and middle class, were German-speaking Protestants, while the other 50 percent were Polish-speaking Roman Catholics. Protestant influence was subsequently pushed back after the Tumult of Thorn of 1724.
After the Second Partition of Poland in 1793, the city was annexed by Prussia. In 1809, Toruń was successfully defended by the Poles against the Austrians. After World War I, Poland declared independence and regained control over the city. In interwar Poland, Toruń was the capital of the Pomeranian Voivodeship.
THE MEDIEVAL TOWN OF TORUN WHS (1997). Toruń boasts numerous architectural monuments dating back to the Middle Ages. 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:
Gothic architecture. Toruń has the most significant number of preserved Gothic houses in Poland, many of which feature Gothic wall paintings or wood-beam ceilings dating from the 16th to the 18th centuries.
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 (among them the epitaph of Copernicus from 1580), as well as the Tuba Dei, the largest medieval church bell in Poland and one of the largest in Europe.
St. Mary’s church, a formerly Franciscan aisled hall built in the 14th century
St. James’s church (often mistakenly called St Jacob’s), a basilica from the 14th century, with monumental wall paintings and Gothic stalls
The Old Town Hall was inaugurated in 1274, then extended and rebuilt between 1391 and 1399, and expanded again at the end of the 16th century. It is considered one of the most monumental town halls in Central Europe (Toruń Regional Museum, or Muzeum Okręgowe, in Polish).
City fortifications, begun in the 13th century, were extended between the 14th and 15th centuries. They were mainly demolished in the 19th century, but partially preserved, with a few city gates and watchtowers (among them the so-called Leaning Tower) remaining from the Vistula side.
A 15th-century Gothic house (now a museum) where Copernicus was reputedly born
Ruins of the 13th-century Teutonic Knights’ castle
The house at the sign of the Star, previously Gothic, was briefly owned by Filip Callimachus before being rebuilt in the 16th century. It was then restored in 1697, featuring a richly decorated stucco façade and wooden spiral stairs.
Toruń, unlike many other historic cities in Poland, escaped substantial destruction in World War II. Exceptionally well-preserved is the Old Town, all of whose critical architectural monuments are originals, not reconstructions.
Major renovation projects have been undertaken in recent years to enhance the condition and appearance of the Old Town. Besides the renovation of various buildings, projects such as the reconstruction of street and square pavements (restoring them to their historical appearance) are also underway. Numerous buildings and other constructions, including the city walls along the boulevard, are illuminated at night, creating an impressive effect – one that is probably unique among Polish cities, given the size of Toruń’s Old Town and the scale of the illumination project itself.
Toruń is also home to the Zoo and Botanical Garden, which were opened in 1965 and 1797, respectively, and are among the city’s most popular tourist attractions.
