Toruń

From Freepedia

Toruń (pronounce: Image:Ltspkr.png ['tɔruɲ], Kashubian: Torń, German: Thorn, see also other names) is a city in northern Poland, on the Vistula river. It has 208,386 inhabitants (2004). One of the capitals of the Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodship (since 1999), previously the capital of the Toruń Voivodship (1975-1998) and the Pomeranian Voivodship (1921-1939), the city is located near the Geographic Center of Europe.

The medieval town of Toruń is on the UNESCO list of World Heritage Sites. The city of Toruń creates a bipolar agglomeration Bydgoszcz-Toruń with the city of Bydgoszcz, located only 30 km away. The 2 cities are gradually integrating. In September 2004 the Medical Academy in Bydgoszcz joined Toruń University as Collegium Medicum UMK in Bydgoszcz.

Toruń
Image:Flaga torunia.png Image:Torun Herb.PNG (Flag) (Coat of Arms)
Motto: Durabo (lat. I will last)
Image:Torun Mapa.PNG
Voivodship	Kuyavian-Pomeranian
Municipal government	Rada Miasta Toruń
Mayor	Michał Zaleski
Area	115,75 km²
Population  - city  - urban  - density	208 386 (2004) Ranked 17th Bydgoszcz-Toruń 577 500 (2004) 1774/km²
Founded City rights	13th century 1233
Latitude Longitude	53°02' N 18°37' E
Area code	+48 56
Car plates	CT
Twin towns	Čadca, Philadelphia, Göttingen, Hameenlinna, Kaliningrad, Leiden, Swindon
Municipal Website

Contents 1 City name 2 History 2.1 Famous people of Toruń 3 Education 4 Economy 4.1 Major corporations 5 Politics 5.1 Toruń constituency 6 External links:

City name

Early documents record the city name as Thorun (1226, 1466), Turon, Turun, Toron, Thoron, and after the 15th century the current Polish name Toruń. The Teutonic Knights usually spelled it Thorun, which became the German Thorn. When it became a royal city subject to the kings of Poland, Latin documents and coins usually spelled it Thorun, Thorunium, civitas Thorunensis or civitas Torunensis.

There are several different etymological explanations for Toruń's name:

• It may be derived from the castle of Toron in the Kingdom of Jerusalem in which the Teutonic Knights served during the Crusades.
• It may come from a Polish word tor which means "track (of the Vistula river)". Toruń would therefore mean "town on the track".
• It may come from the personal name Toron and mean "Toron's town".
• It may have been originally Tarnów, based on the Polish word tarnina, a kind of river plant. This name would have later been Germanized into Thorn, and re-Polonized into Toruń. There are many cities in Poland with a similar derivation.
• It may come from the Germanic god Thor

However, others claim that Toruń does not have any etymological meaning. (reference: Professor Jan Miodek)

History

Toruń was a small settlement in Chełmno Land, a western part of Masovia. In 1266 it was awarded by the duke Conrad of Mazovia as a fief to the Teutonic Knights to be a safeguard against the heathen Prussians.

The Teutonic Order built a castle there (1230-31) near an old Polish village, and the settlement acquired town rights in 1233, relocating from its original site to what is called today "Old Town" in 1236. The city soon became an important medieval trade center. In 1263, Franciscan monks settled in Toruń, and they were followed in 1239 by Dominicans. In 1264 the neighboring Toruń New Town was founded. It was a separate town until 1454, when the old and new cities were amalgamated.

During the 14th century, Toruń joined the mercantile Hanseatic League.

• 1411 end of the Great War with the Peace of Toruń 1411
• 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 privileges.
• 1466 The Thirteen Years' War and uprising of Prussian cities end with the Peace of Toruń 1466, in which the Teutonic Order ceded sovereignty over western Prussia to the Kingdom of Poland.
• With the Reformation the city became mostly Protestant.
• 1793 Partition of Poland, the city annexed by the Kingdom of Prussia.
• 1807 under Napoleon the city became a part of the Duchy of Warsaw.
• 1814 the city returned to the Kingdom of Prussia.
• 1870 French prisoners of war built a chain of forts surrounding the town.
• 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 became part of Poland, becoming the capital of the Pomeranian Voivodship.
• 1925 the Baltic Institute established in Toruń, with the task of documenting Polish heritage in Pomerania
• 1939 Invasion of Poland, the city under Nazi occupation, and part of Danzig-West Prussia.
• 1940 The forts were used as German POW camps known collectively as Stalag XX-A.
• 1945 End of the occupation of Poland.

Famous people of Toruń

• Nicolaus Copernicus, famous Polish astronomer
• Sylwester Kaliski, Polish Army general and engineer
• Maciej Konacki Polish astronomer
• Bogusław Linda, popular actor
• Thomas Soemmering
• Julie Wolfthorn

Education

• Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń was founded in 1945, based on the people of Toruń Scientific Society, Stefan Batory University in Wilno and Jan Kazimierz University in Lvov. It was one of the most respected universities in Poland. UMK
• Wyższe Seminarium Duchowne
• Wyższa Szkoła Oficerska, liquidated September 27, 2002
• Toruńska Szkoła Wyższa
• Wyższa Szkoła Bankowa
• Wyższa Szkoła Kultury Społecznej i Medialnej

Economy

Major corporations

• Krajowa Spółka Cukrowa SA
• Torfarm SA
• Zakład Energetyczny Toruń SA
• Elana SA
• ThyssenKrupp Energostal SA
• CPP-Toruń-Pacific sp. z o.o.
• Toruńskie Zakłady Materiałów Opatrunkowych SA

Politics

Toruń constituency

Members of Parliament (Sejm) elected from Toruń constituency

• Ryszard Chodynicki, SLD-UP
• Bogdan Derwich, SLD-UP
• Lech Kuropatwiński, Samoobrona
• Bogdan Lewandowski, SLD-UP
• Krystian Łuczak, SLD-UP
• Antoni Mężydło, PiS
• Marek Olewiński, SLD-UP
• Sławomir Rybicki, PO
• Anna Sobecka, LPR
• Zbigniew Sosnowski, PSL
• Leszek Sułek, Samoobrona
• Elżbieta Szparaga, SLD-UP
• Jerzy Wenderlich, SLD-UP

External links:

• The official web page of Toruń
• Pictures and tourist information about Torun
• 21st century - participative, radically transparent social groups in Toruń
• independent media centre - email public archive - wiki
• Toruń Linux Users' Group wiki - email public archive
• Solidarity in Toruń Region 1980-1990

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