Torun History

This is an abbreviated history (and is used with permission) from the 2025 Torun City Guide.

There has been human occupation in the area that is now known as Toruń since at least 9000BC, between the Palaeolithic (old stone age) and Neolithic (new stone age) periods. Finds have been found from both these periods in the city, including flints, blades and animal bones.

Archaeological finds from the Bronze Age (approximately 3000BC – 1000BC) have been located in the Toruń area, including daggers and axes. Bronze jewellery has also been found, with historians believing that this is the period when herding started to become more commonplace and trading with other communities started to develop.

During the Iron Age, it’s known that the first defensive structures started to be constructed in the area and developments were made to the transport infra-structure such as bridges and the development of causeways. This was also the period in which the Pomeranian culture began, an early fore-runner of what became Poland and which saw its own religious traditions develop. Between the eighth and twelfth centuries, there was a small settlement here which was located on the Amber Trail.

There were two settlements during the medieval period, known as the Old Town and the New Town. Records date back to the 1220s, when the Teutonic Knights founded the stronghold. The Knights had been founded in 1192 and their main purpose was protecting Christians on pilgrimages to the Holy Land and providing services for those travellers. In 1231, the Knights constructed their first castle in the area, which was initially made from wood, and which was upgraded to stone in the 1240s.

Herman von Salza, the fourth Great Master of the Teutonic Order, announced in December 1233 that a civic privilege, which became known as chelminski, would be granted to Chelmno and Toruń. There have been numerous spellings of the city’s name, including Thorn, Thorun, Thoron, Tarnow and Thorum. By the 1260s, two different towns had been established, with the Old Town being the primary area of trade and the New Town being more of a crafts area.

Toruń joined the Hanseatic League in 1280, a trading organisation across the north of Europe, which also has some defensive elements to protect member cities. This was mainly led by German traders who worked in the city, with Elbląg, Toruń, Tallinn, Riga, and Tartu all joining in a similar manner and at a similar time.

FOURTEENTH AND FIFTEENTH CENTURIES

There were conflicts between the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth and the Teutonic Order, especially as the Knights of the order felt an allegiance to the Pope. This led to a conflict between Poland and the Knights, which culminated in what later became known as the First Peace of Toruń in February 1411. It had been forced by the Battle of Grunwald, where the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth had been victorious over the Knights, although few non-financial concessions were demanded from their victory.

Initially, the local population in Toruń were sympathetic to the Teutonic knights, primarily as they relied on the castle for some of their wealth. Many even fought against the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth at the Battle of Grunwald, as they didn’t want the situation locally to change. As time progressed, the knights refused to give the local population any power or influence over their affairs, and resentment started to grow.

The uneasiness between the knights and the locals continued to escalate, culminating in 1454 with an attack on the castle. It was an easy victory for the local residents as the castle wasn’t strongly defended, with the small garrison of Knights being allowed to leave the city. The locals didn’t want the Knights, or anyone else, to take over control of Toruń again, so they systematically destroyed the castle buildings. The removal of the Knights from the city marked the beginning of what later became known as the Thirteen Years’ War. The two separate settlements of the Old Town and the New Town formally merged in 1454.

The Second Peace of Toruń occurred in 1466, which was an end to the Thirteen Years’ War, which had begun when the Knights left Toruń. In that year, Toruń and cities such as Gdansk and Malbork were returned to Poland and they were given new privileges and liberties. Toruń was also one of the cities represented in the country’s Sejm, or Parliament, along with cities such as Kraków, Lublin, Lwów, Poznań, Wilno and Gdańsk.

NICOLAUS COPERNICUS

Nicolaus Copernicus was born in Toruń on 19 February 1473 and he went on to become known as a scientist and astronomer. His skills were extensive in several areas and he gained a reputation as being a polymath, making numerous advances in maths and economics.

Copernicus was born to a wealthy merchant family and he was educated at St. John’s School in the city. It’s unclear which property in the city that he grew up in, as the family owned two tenement houses, but one remains and is today a museum known as the House of Nicolaus Copernicus. This Gothic property retains many of its interior features and it has exhibits on his life and works. He went on from Toruń to study canon law at Krakow University between 1491 and 1495 and then he studied in Italy from 1496 until 1503 at the Universities of Bologna and Padua.

Copernicus returned frequently to Toruń during his life, although he spent much of his time between 1510 and his death in 1543 at the town of Frombork, where he was the canon of the Chapter of Varmia. It was during this time that Copernicus spent time studying and understanding astronomy, publishing important works of his own in the 1530s. His pronouncement that the sun, and not the earth, was the centre of the universe was revolutionary at the time. There is a large monument in the city’s main square to commemorate his life.

SIXTEENTH AND SEVENTEENTH CENTURIES

King John 1 Albert (Jan I Olbracht), who was the King of Poland between 1492 and 1501, died in the city in June 1501 and his heart was buried inside one of the pillars in Toruń Cathedral (also known as St. John’s Cathedral). The rest of his body was then taken to Wawel Cathedral in Kraków to be buried, where his remains still lie. In 1506, Toruń became a Royal city, which gave it more respect and led to a period of economic growth.

The city became Protestant in 1557, unlike most other settlements in Poland, who continued with their Roman Catholic faith to at least some degree. Jesuits moved back into the city in the late sixteenth century as part of the Counter-Reformation, with the authorities in Toruń initially trying to restrict the numbers. Although there was general religious tolerance, there was an element of uneasiness at times between the denominations.

EIGHTEENTH CENTURY

By the mid seventeenth-century, the city had become important nationally, with a population size that was similar to that of Warsaw. However, this pace of growth started to slow at the beginning of the eighteenth century and Toruń fell behind some other cities in Poland in size.

The city of Toruń was visited by Swedish troops during the Great Northern War, who set up outside the walls in 1702. In 1703, work started on stronger fortifications for the city, but it was besieged by Swedish forces and much was lost (including nearly all of the city archives) during September and October 1703. Dybowski Castle, a fortification on the southern bank of the Vistula River, was also attacked and was badly damaged.

What became known as the Tumult of Toruń took place in July 1724, which started when a minor argument between a Jesuit and Protestant worshipper escalated into a battle between the two denominations. The city’s Jesuit college was attacked and badly damaged, with the altar at the Church of the Virgin Mary being vandalised.

The Jesuits decided to progress their argument in the courts, with the first trial taking place in Warsaw on 11 August 1724. The case took some time to conclude, but the final decision was that the Lutherans had to pay for the damage to the Jesuit college, and to help the Catholic community feel engaged, they were to hold 50% of the seats on the local council. Additionally, Johann Gottfried Roesner, who was the city’s Mayor, and nine Lutheran officials were all sentenced to death.

Toruń, and also the city of Gdańsk, was annexed by Prussia in 1793 in what became known as the Second Partition of Poland. This meant that the city was no longer part of Poland and it joined the South Prussian province of the Prussian Kingdom, which was ultimately run from Berlin.

NINETEENTH CENTURY

Troops from the French Napoleonic army entered the city of Toruń on 6 December 1806, with some locals being welcoming as they didn’t like Prussian rule. The city found itself raided by Napoleonic troops, with some residents being forcibly removed from their properties so that they could be used by the French military. There was also an accidental explosion of gunpowder on 7 August 1807, which caused substantial damage to tens of properties, including heavy damage to the city gates and sections of the walls.

In 1807, Napoleon established the Duchy of Warsaw, with Toruń being an administrative centre. Fearing an attack from Russia, the city’s defences and fortifications were strengthened during 1810 and 1811. Emperor Napoleon came to inspect Toruń on 2 June 1812 and he remained in the city, which had by now become a field hospital for injured troops, for four days. In April 1813, the Russians attacked the city by besieging it, with the residents and troops inside Toruń suffering from starvation and typhoid. After a few days of attack from the other side of the Vistula River, the city surrendered on 14 April.

Following the Congress of Vienna, a decision was made and Toruń was to become part of the Prussian Empire once again. Prussians took over from Russian troops on 21 September 1815 to begin a new chapter in the city’s history. Although Poland wasn’t independent, there were promises made by the Prussian King that the residents could continue to speak Polish, national customs would be respected and no disadvantage would be suffered by Poles wanting to join public service.

The city’s first railway connection opened in 1863, being an important stop on the line between Warsaw and Bydgoszcz. A railway line over the Vistula River opened in 1873 and Toruń soon became an important hub for rail transportation, which aided the city’s finances. The mid and late nineteenth century was a period of Prussification, with attempts made to limit any signs of Polish national identity. Although it was a time of some economic growth, the city didn’t have the political strength that it had previously enjoyed.

FIRST WORLD WAR AND THE INTER-WAR PERIOD

During the early part of the First World War, the city of Toruń and the surrounding area became part of the battleground between the Germans and the Russians. Maurice Paléologue, a French diplomat, said that Grand Duke Nicholas, who was an army general leading the Russian forces, had written “The Grand Duke is determined to advance with full speed on Berlin and Vienna, more especially Berlin, passing between the fortresses of Thorn, Posen and Breslau” (Toruń, Poznan and Wrocław). The war didn’t go as the Russians planned, with the Germans pushing forwards and the eastern front was fought within Russia.

Following the end of the First World War, the city became part of Poland as part of the requirements of the Treaty of Versailles. In January 1920, the head of the new province of Pomerania came to the city, beginning another new chapter in the city’s history. This 100-year anniversary was celebrated in 2020, with re-enactment groups recreating on foot and on horseback the taking back of the city keys. Until 1939, Toruń remained the capital of the Pomeranian Voivodeship and there was finally a period of stability. During this time, Toruń became an important military city and had some of the highest number of soldiers posted there in the country of Poland.

SECOND WORLD WAR

German troops walked into Toruń on 7 September 1939 and incorporated it into the new district of Reich Danzig Western Prussia. Franz Jacob was given the role of mayor in chief, a position which he held until the end of the German occupation. Jacob was held responsible for mass executions in the city, although he wasn’t subject to a trial at Nuremberg, dying in the German city of Ingolstadt in 1965.

The regional governor, or gauleiter, of the area was Albert Forster, who was later hanged in Warsaw for war crimes. In October 1939, Forster said in a speech in Toruń that “your land is beautiful and fertile, but it lacks men. However, fellow countrymen of yours from every district of the Reich and the Germans from abroad will join you and together with you will open up this fertile land. In a few years, not a word of Polish will be spoken here in Thorn”.

Life was torrid in the city for Poles, with food being deliberately restricted and there was a requirement for Poles to always raise their hats to Germans when walking by. Several churches were closed, the priests sent to transit camps and the religious buildings used for military purposes. The Copernicus Municipal Library had much of its book collection either destroyed or sent to Germany, with educational opportunities reduced for non-Germans.

Between 1940 and 1943, there was a transit camp located just to the north of the city centre, known at the time as Umsiedlungslager Thorn, or now known as Szmalcówka. The numbers are unknown, but it’s thought that around 10,000 to 20,000 people went through the camp, where individuals could be sent to concentration camps or to work camps either locally or in other parts of Poland. The camp was liquidated and closed down in July 1943, when the remaining victims were sent to Potulice resettlement camp. There was also the Stalag XX-A camp, which was a prisoner of war camp located across fifteen different forts around the city.

There were numerous Polish resistance groups which were operating in Toruń, seeking to undermine German rule in the city. These included the Grunwald group and the Battalion of Death for Freedom, which produced fake documentation and pre-warned individuals who were about to be arrested. There was also the Polish Home Army, a national resistance movement, and the Polish Army of Uprising, a military organisation which operated in Toruń.

Before the Second World War, the city had a relatively small Jewish community, around 350 people in 1925, despite it having had a larger population during the Prussian period of governance during the nineteenth century. The remaining Jewish community suffered during the conflict, with many sent to concentration camps and the 1847 synagogue at ul. Szczytna 12 was destroyed by the Nazis in 1939. There is nothing left today of the synagogue, but there is a plaque located on the building which is now on the site.

On 1 February 1945, Soviet troops entered the city to liberate Toruń, marking the end of German occupation. The city was fortunate to have been spared the damage and destruction which befell so many other cities across Poland and Germany, such as Gdansk, Grudziadz and Malbork. In total there was damage to 263 buildings in the city, although some of this was caused by the Soviet troops after they had entered Toruń.

POST-WAR

Toruń took some time to recover economically after the end of the Second World War, as the Germans had taken most of the industrial machinery from the city. It also saw some changes in the population demographic, with a large number of people moving into the city from the area around Vilnius which was no longer part of Poland. The post-war population of Toruń soon exceeded its pre-war population, with 92,000 people in 1955, although this had increased to 150,000 people by 1975.

There had been plans in the 1930s to establish a university in Toruń, although these proposals got delayed by the Second World War. Almost immediately after the end of the conflict, the ideas were reconsidered and what became the Nicolaus Copernicus University was founded. This has been an important part of the local economy since its formation and today it has over 30,000 students, with a new Center for Veterinary Medicine opening in 2022.

In 1956, there were early protests against communist rule, with many disappointed that the pre-war independence had now been taken away from the country. Although there was a crackdown following the protests and many arrests of those involved, it still had a significant effect on how the city was governed. The population increases meant that more housing was required, with work starting on several residential developments in the city and on its outskirts.

The late 1970s and early 1980s were difficult times for much of Poland, with severe shortages of goods in the shops. Freezing weather made it difficult for goods to be transported in 1978 and 1979, but serious infra-structure issues caused a large proportion of shops in Toruń to be without many of their goods in 1982.

The Polish government, fearing insurrection, gave power to the army so that from 13 December 1981 until 22 July 1983 the country was under martial law. The army struggled to deal with the enormity of the decision and there were substantial restrictions on individual freedoms. Many from the Toruń area were forcibly sent to detention centres run by the military as a punishment and to deter others.

In the early 1980s, the Solidarity movement grew in strength and membership, forming a threat to the Government. The trade union was founded in Gdansk in 1980 and the strike which took place at the city’s shipyards caused a wave of similar protests across Poland. A group was established in Toruń and there was a demonstration in April 1981 against the national leadership of the country.

The communist grip on the country started to diminish during the late 1980s and formally ended in December 1989 when the name of the country changed back to the Polish Republic. The Warsaw Pact, a military agreement between various East European countries, collapsed a few months later and the path to the free market started.

Poland joined the European Union in 2004 and there has been a steady and continued economic growth over the last two decades both nationally and in the Toruń area. Toruń has become less dependent on heavy industry during the 1990s and has repositioned itself as a tourist destination and there is a growing service industry.

There has been an investment in the city’s infra-structure over the last decade, with a new road bridge being constructed and in 2021, work will begin on the extension of the Piłsudski Bridge. New shopping centres and public buildings have also been built, with more hotels opening and several more are planned. Projects such as the Grand Bulvar apartment building, the Toruń Fortress Museum, the Grunwald Cinema Music Theatre and the redevelopment of Placu Rapackiego are also all underway.

When the city was added to the list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites in 1997, the organisation noted that:

“All the elements that sustain the Outstanding Universal Value of the Medieval Town of Toruń are located within the boundaries of the property. The property’s medieval urban layout encircled by a ring of defences remains intact, including two market squares, Town Hall, townhouses, churches, and the Teutonic Castle. This layout and Toruń’s compact, cohesive architectural fabric are substantially of medieval origin. The historic panoramas of the town are unaltered, shaped by the monumental silhouettes of the Gothic churches and Town Hall that dominate the skyline, rising above multiple varieties of townhouses with diverse façades and various geometries of ceramic-tiled roofs.”

As with cities around the world, the Coronavirus caused enormous damage to the economy of Toruń in 2020. Investment is though continuing in the city’s infra-strucure, with an announcement in 2020 that the railway line between Toruń and Chełmża was being upgraded and rebuilt, at a cost of 140 million zloty.