Toruń

Sister cities

• Leiden
• Angers
• Pamplona
• Lutsk
• Novo Mesto
• Göttingen
• Kaliningrad
• Philadelphia
• Kaunas
• Čadca
• Hämeenlinna
• Swindon

History

The first settlement in the vicinity of Toruń is dated by archaeologists to 1100 BC (Lusatian culture). From the 5th century BCE to the 8th century CE, there are few archaeological traces in the vicinity of Toruń. For the Roman period, two settlements and a cemetery have been discovered. In the later period, traces of a river crossing are visible near the village of Stary Toruń. During early medieval times, in the 7th through 13th centuries, it was the location of an old Slavonic settlement, at a ford of the river Vistula, located on the site where the later Teutonic Castle was built. In the 10th century it became part of the emerging Polish state ruled by the Piast dynasty. The settlement was expanded and transformed into a fortified stronghold. This stronghold was destroyed at the turn of the 12th and 13th centuries, most likely as a result of a Prussian raid. At that time, this area formed part of the Chełmno Land, a region within the Duchy of Masovia ruled by Konrad I. He organized campaigns against the Prussians, but their failures prompted him to settle the Teutonic Knights in the area. They arrived in Chełmno Land at the turn of 1227 and 1228, founding a small stronghold called Vogelsang, before later moving to Nieszawa. In spring 1231 the Teutonic Knights along with Mazovian knights crossed the river Vistula near Nieszawa and established a fortress near today's village of Stary Toruń. On 28 December 1233, Teutonic Knights Hermann von Salza and Hermann Balk signed the city charters for Toruń (Thorn) and Chełmno (Kulm). The original document was lost in 1244. The set of rights in general is known as Kulm law. The municipal law was modeled on Silesian precedents, and the original inhabitants of both towns likewise came predominantly from Silesia. In 1236, due…

Most-observed species

• Mallard

  Anas platyrhynchos Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  435
• St Lucie Cherry

  Prunus mahaleb L. · Magnoliopsida
  332
• Common Wood-Pigeon

  Columba palumbus Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  314
• Ashleaf Maple

  Acer negundo L. · Magnoliopsida
  313
• Great Tit

  Parus major Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  313
• Eurasian Jay

  Garrulus glandarius (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  293
• Hooded Crow

  Corvus cornix Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  290
• Rum Cherry

  Prunus serotina Ehrh. · Magnoliopsida
  287