Opis najpiękniejszych zabytków Torunia

1440 The Prussian nobility and cities led by Toruń, Elbląg and Gdańsk formed the Prussian Confederation.
1454 the cities of Prussia rose up against the Teutonic Knights: Toruń accepted the sovereignty of the Polish crown in return for recognition of its city priviliges.
1466 The Thirteen Years’ War and uprisings of Prussian cities end with the Second Treaty of Thorn, in which the Teutonic Order ceded sovereiginty over western Prussian to Casmir IV of Poland. With the Reformation the city became mostly Protestant.
1793 The city became part of the Kingdom of Prussia.
1807 The city became a part of the Grand Duchy of Warsaw.
1814 The city returned to the Kingdom of Prussia.
1871 The city became, along with the rest of Prussia, part of the German Empire.
1919 After World War I, under the Treaty of Versailles, the city returned to Polish sovereignty, becoming the capital of the province of Pomeranian Voviodship.
1939 after Germany’s invasion of Westerplatte in Gdańsk, the city was again annexed to Germany as part of the administrative province of Danzig – West Prussia.
1945 the city returns to Poland. After the borders were redrawn under the Potsdam Agreement reached at the end of World War II, Toruń is now located close to the geographic center Poland.

MONUMENTS
- Old Town Hal
It belongs to the most outstanding achievements of achievements of middle – class architecture in Europe. As early as in the 13th century free – standing merchant and farm buildings were constructed on the old – town market measured 109 by 104 meters. Those buildings included: cloth halls, bread stalls, town scales, a low an a market tower 23 meters high. At the end of 14tf century the town was given the privilege by the Grand Master of the Teutonic Knights – Konrad Wallenrod to build the town – hall. In the place of the previousy mentioned buildings , a new town – hall was erected. It was a one – storey high rectangular (43,7 by 52,4 meters), with courtyard in the middle and the tower which had already been built earlier. Andrew, the master builder, gave the tower the present height and incorporated it in the architecture of the rest of town – hall.
At the beginning of the 17th century the town authorities decided to extend the town and Antoni van Obbergrn, a builder from Gdańsk, was sent for. He heightened the town- hall by one storey, englarged the window openings and set up the Renaissance turrets in the corners of the building. The main tower was given a gable roof and corner turrets. The interior of the Town Hall was completely rebuild, decorated and given many magnificent portals.
In 1703, during the siege of town by a Swedish army the town – hall was seriously destroyed by fire, because of the shelling. Its reconstruction lasted several years and its present appearance was mainly the effect of the work carried out in the first half of the 18th century.
After the Second World War, a district museum was set up in the town – hall and it has been situated there since then.

- The Nicolas Copernicus Monument stands in front of the Town Hall.
It was made in 1853 by Federich Abraham Tieck, a sculptor from Berlin on commission of the German Copernicus Society. The monument, cast in bronze, presents Copernicus clothed in professor’s toga and holdin a sphere in his left hand. The Latin inscription on the granite plinth reads.
“Nicholas Copernicus
Toruń citzen
Moved the Earth
And stopped the Sun and the sky”

- The Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary
Formerly belonging to the Franciscans, this church originates from the first half of the 13th century; it probably was a wooden building once. In the second half of the 14th century the church was thoroughly rebuild and a brick, three aisled hall – type shrine was then erected. It was 60 meters long and its aisles were about 27 meters high. The long presbytery was given the same height as the aisle trunk. According to the mendicant friars rule, to which the Franciscan order belonged, the church does not have a huge tower but, instead three little ave – bell towers rising over the presbytery from the eastern side. The interior is decorated with a wealth of religious wall – paintings. Both the oaken stalls and the gallery originate from the Lutheran period (1557 – 1774).
After 1724 the church is in the possession of the Bernardines and it has been serving as a parish church since the 19th century. The side altar, the high altar (1731) and the rood – screen arch originate from the Bernardine period.
Research, scientific work, and preservation, whose aim is to restore the pre – Lutheran state of the building, have been conducted in the church for many years. The medieval monastic buildings, which once stood next to the church, were destroyed in the beginning of the 19th century.

- The Star House
It is one of the most beautiful of Toruń buildings. It was erected in late the 17th century; the side walls of the earlier Gothic bugher houses were preserved. The faade is stuccoed with a with a wealth of plant and flower _ motif ornamentation. At the top there is an eight – pointed star after from which the building get its name. Renovation from 1967 to 1969 restored the interior according to its orginal design. Now the building. Now the building is a museum; the first Polish Museum of the art of the Far East is situated there.

- Holy Ghost Church
This church was build in the 18th century as an Evangelical Protestant church. Since 1945 it has belonged to Jesuits and it is also referred to as academic community church. It was build without a tower in 1756 according to a design by Efrain Schroeger. The preset tower was build between 1897 and 1899; it is 64 meters high. The interior of the church has three naves. The Rococo decoration, the main altar from 1756 and the inlaid doors are among the highest achievements of artistic carpentry in Toruń. In 1989 there was a fire in the church which completely destroyed the beautiful 18th century organ.

- The Raftsman Statue –stands at the west side of the Old Town Square. It was founded by rich Toruń citizens and made by a Berlin sculport, George Wolf in 1914. Cast in bronze, the sculpture stands on a sandstone socle. A fountain – well witch its eight frogs on it also made of sandsone. There is a legend related to the monument, according to which a rafter playing the violin marvelously charmed frogs, which lived in Toruń and led then out of the city walls to the suburbs.

- Copernicus’ House
The birthplace of the great resident of Toruń was built in the 15th century. A conservation project from 1960 to 62 restored the building to its original state. It is a typical Toruń burgher – house, called a granary – house, as in the old days it was used for living and keeping goods. Now the house, in which the great astronomer Nicholas Copernicus was born on the 19yh of February 1473, there is a department of the District Museum.

- Leaning Tower
It is a medieval tower. Its name coments from declination from the vertical ( 1,4m).It was build in the 15th century a stright 15 metre tower, sunk into the quadrilateral foundations of the city wals, with defected wall from the city side. Lack of the inner wall facilitated the retraction of ammunition.
Already in the Middle Ages from under the ground on which the tower had been built, sands were pushed away under its weight. It caused the inlnation of the tower until it leaned on stabler ground. In 18th century the tower ceased to function as fortified building. The floors were levelled then and then and the tower assigned the function of a women’s datention center. In 19th century the tower was rebuild for smithy and gunsmith’s flat. In the second part of the 19th century it was entirely designed for housing. At that time a Gothic hip – roof was replaced witch a pent – roof.
In the 60’s of the 20th century many cultural associations were placed there. Recently it was the seat of “Political Club”.
The Leaning Tower is one of the most characteristic elements of the Old Town inspiring tourist’s imagination.

- St John’s Baptist’s Evangelist’s Church is the oldest Gothic church in the chelminski region. Its origins go back to the time then Toruń got its civic rights in 1233. The construction of the parish church was soonafter the change of the location of the town to the present area (1233 – 1236). First a presbytery was erected and then the trunk of the naves was made.
In the late 13th century, the construction of the three – aisled trunk was erected. The early trunk was lower and narrower. During the 14th and the 15th century, the temple was enlarged, it reached then the lenght of over 56m and its height inside was over 27 m.
In 1406 the church tower, whose design we do not know, collapsed, after which the building of the new one was immediately started. It was completed when it reached the height of 52 m. In the new tower, a tremendous, 7 ton bell was hung, had been cast in 1500 in Toruń. The bell is called “Tuba Dei”, which means “God’s trumpet”, it is considered to be one of the biggest bells in Poland. Its diameter is 2,17 m During the Lutheran period the church was used by non – catholics who whitened the inside paintings. The interior decorations come mainly from the period of Baroque, however, there are also many elements in the altar which have been preserved since the Middle Ages.
In 1935 the church was raised by Pope Pius XI to the dignity of a small basilica. In 1992, on the strength of the decision of Pope Jan Paweł II received the title of the catehedral basilica of diocese of Toruń.

- Teutonic Knights Castle
The castle in Toruń was the first among castles build in the district of Chełmno. Looking for the most appropriate place, the Teutonic Knights chose a step hill on the Vistula to plan their castle, which was build in a horseshoe shape. The excavations conducted here between 1958 and 1966 revealed that there had been a deference castle in this place around the 10th century. After the translocation of the town between 1233 –36, the castle of the Teutonic Knights was begun. Undoubtedly, first was wooden, and then it was made of stone and brick. In the course of the 13th and 14th centuries the buildings of the commander’s castle of Torun were finished. The southern wing, including a chapel, a sanitary tower called “dansker”, and other buildings for servants. After the battle of Grunwald 1410, they started reinforcing it and castle held a larger number of people. In 1420 a fire broke out; the citizens of Toruń did not help the Teutonic knights to put in out. In portended the fact the rule of the men in the white coats with a black cross was coming to an end.
On February 4, 1454 in response to a general uprising, the citizens of Toruń besigned the castle, which was captured after four – days. On the City Council’s recommendation the castle was destroyed by the burgers. Today only pats of the moat, lower parts of the main building and the well – preserved “ dansker” remained.
At present, the castle site is a place of recreation and rest for the townspeople.

- St. James Church originates from the 14th century and used to be a parish church for the former New Toruń. Its construction was started in 1309, as the Gothic inscription on the yellow and green glazed briks running arounf the presbytery informs us. The construction was finished in 1350. This church differs from other Toruń churches in its basilica – type structure (the aisles are lower than the nave). Repelling buttresses which carry the weight of the roof and vault to the buttresses of the aisles were used in the construction of the church. This shrine has a lot of ornaments:
pinnacles, blind windows and glazed brick. The tower is 49 meters high; its “double sided” roof originates from the second half of the 15th century. The interior was whitewashed in the Lutheran period, (1557 – 1667) and the earlier decoration was partly uncowere in the 1930. The furnishings originate mainly from the 18th century. Two Gothic figures of Virgin Mary and several medieval crucifixes which come from the former Dominican church have been preserved. St. James’ Church is one of the greatest Gothic shrines in Poland.

- Evangelical Church
Neo – Romanesque edifice from 1824 stands at the New Town Market Square. The building was constructed according to a design of the architect K. Schinkel as chapel under the innovation of the Holy Trinity. Before WW II served as an Orthodox Church. In the 1950, it was used as a covered market, then as a ware – house, and now, after full – scale repairs and a partial reconstruction of the interior, it serves cultural purposes as the site of the “Tumult” society.