Editing Toruń (section)

== History ==
{{Further|History of Toruń}}

=== Middle Ages ===
The first settlement in the vicinity of Toruń is dated by [[archaeologists]] to 1100 BC ([[Lusatian culture]]).<ref>[http://www.dziejba.org/strony/english/summary.htm Hypothetical reconstruction of a Lusatian culture settlement, built using bronze age tools: Wola Radziszowska, Poland], part of a study by scientists from the [[Jagiellonian University]]'s Institute of Archaeology.</ref> During early medieval times, in the 7th through 13th centuries, it was the location of an old [[Slavic peoples|Slavonic]] settlement,<ref name="PWN">Encyklopedia Powszechna PWN Warsaw 1976</ref> at a ford of the river [[Vistula]]. In the 10th century it became part of the emerging Polish state ruled by the [[Piast dynasty]].
[[File:Torun Ratusz Staromiejski 2010 03 04 7189.JPG|thumb|left|The Gothic Old Town Hall (''Ratusz Staromiejski'') dates back to the 13th century]]

In spring 1231 the [[Teutonic Knights]] crossed the river Vistula near the town of [[Nieszawa]] and established a fortress. On 28 December 1233, Teutonic Knights [[Hermann von Salza]] and [[Hermann Balk]]<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20111019152838/http://torun.pl/portal/index.php?strona=zw_krzy "Krzyżacy - założyciele Torunia" (Teutonic Knights&nbsp;— the founders of Thorn).] (Internet Archive) Urząd Miasta Torunia. "The foundation charter for Thorn was signed on 28 December 1233 by the Grand Master of the Teutonic Order Hermann von Salza and the National Master for Prussia and the Slavonic Lands Hermann Balka. In that way Thorn was founded by the Teutonic Order and managed by the Knights until 1454." Retrieved 16 June 2013.</ref> signed the [[city charter]]s for Toruń (''Thorn'') and [[Chełmno]] (''Kulm''). The original document was lost in 1244. The set of rights in general is known as [[Kulm law]]. In 1236, due to frequent flooding,<ref>[https://archive.org/details/historischcompa00tpgoog/page/n186 <!-- pg=167 quote=28 December 1233 Salza. --> Max Töppen ''Historisch-comparative Geographie von Preussen: Nach den Quellen, namentlich auch archivalischen''], J. Perthes, 1858;  [https://archive.org/details/historischcompa00tpgoog PDF]</ref> it was relocated to the present site of the Old Town. In 1239 [[Franciscan]] friars settled in the city, followed in 1263 by [[Dominican Order|Dominicans]]. In 1264 the adjacent New Town was founded, predominantly to house Torun's growing population of craftsmen and artisans, who predominantly came from German-speaking lands.<ref>{{cite book|title=God's Playground A History of Poland Volume 1: The Origins to 1795|author=Norman Davies|publisher=Oxford University Press|year=2005|pages=65}}</ref>
In 1280, the city (or as it was then, both cities) joined the mercantile [[Hanseatic League]], and thus became an important [[medieval]] trade centre.

In the 14th century, papal verdicts ordered the restoration of the area to Poland; however, the Teutonic Knights did not comply and continued to occupy the region.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://encyklopedia.pwn.pl/haslo/wojny-polsko-krzyzackie;3997560.html|title=wojny polsko-krzyżackie|website=Encyklopedia PWN|access-date=23 January 2024|language=pl}}</ref> The city was recaptured by Poland in 1410 during the [[Polish–Lithuanian–Teutonic War]]. During the war, the city council maintained contact and cooperated with Polish King [[Władysław II Jagiełło]];<ref>{{cite book|last=Kętrzyński|first=Wojciech|author-link=Wojciech Kętrzyński|year=1882|title=O ludności polskiej w Prusiech niegdyś krzyżackich|language=pl|location=Lwów|publisher=[[Ossolineum|Zakład Narodowy im. Ossolińskich]]|page=604}}</ref> however, after the [[Peace of Thorn (1411)|First Peace of Thorn]] was signed in the city in February 1411, the city fell back to the Teutonic Order. In 1411, the city left the [[Hanseatic League]]. In the 1420s, Polish King [[Władysław II Jagiełło]] built the [[Dybów Castle]], located in present-day left-bank Toruń, which he visited numerous times.<ref name=lgk>{{cite journal|last=Grzeszkiewicz-Kotlewska|first=Lidia|year=2002|title=Zamek Władysława Jagiełły w Dybowie w świetle badań archeologicznych w latach 1998-2001|journal=Rocznik Toruński|publisher=Wydawnictwo Naukowe [[Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń|Uniwersytetu Mikołaja Kopernika]]|language=pl|volume=29|page=19}}</ref> During the next big [[Polish–Teutonic War (1431–1435)|Polish–Teutonic War]], Dybów Castle was occupied by the Teutonic Knights from 1431 to 1435.<ref name=lgk/> The city refused to pay taxes to the Teutonic Knights, not wanting to finance their war against Poland.<ref>Kętrzyński, p. 605</ref>

In 1440, the gentry of Toruń co-founded the [[Prussian Confederation]] to further oppose the Knights' policies. From 1452, talks between Polish King [[Casimir IV Jagiellon]] and the burghers of the Confederation were held at Dybów Castle.<ref name=lgk/> 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 the region as its rightful ruler. An act of incorporation was signed in [[Kraków]] 6 March 1454, recognizing the region (including Toruń), as part<ref>F. Kiryk, J. Ryś, Wielka Historia polski, t. II, 1320–1506, Kraków 1997, pp. 160–161.</ref> of the [[Crown of the Kingdom of Poland|Polish Kingdom]].

[[File:2nd peace of torun.jpg|thumb|left|''Second Peace of Toruń'', 19th-century painting by Toruń-born painter Marian Jaroczyński, exhibited in the local [[District Museum in Toruń|District Museum]]]]
These events led to the [[Thirteen Years' War (1454–66)|Thirteen Years' War]]. The citizens of the city, 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 to store gunpowder.<ref name="torun.pl">{{cite web |title=Ruiny Zamku Krzyżackiego |trans-title=Remnants of the Teutonic Castle |publisher=Urząd Miasta Torunia |year=2017 |work=Toruńskie Serwisy Miejskie |url=http://www.torun.pl/pl/turystyka/zabytki/zamki/ruiny-zamku-krzyzackiego |access-date=12 March 2017}}</ref><ref name="torun.pl2">{{cite web |title=Krzyżacy - założyciele Torunia |trans-title=Teutonic Knights – the founders of town |work=Gotyk na dotyk |author=Urząd Miasta Torunia |year=2012 |url=http://www.torun.pl/portal/index.php?strona=zw_krzy |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120119144339/http://www.torun.pl/portal/index.php?strona=zw_krzy |archive-date=19 January 2012 |via=Internet Archive}}</ref> The local mayor pledged allegiance to the Polish king during the incorporation in March 1454 in Kraków,<ref>{{Cite book|last=Górski|first=Karol|title=Związek Pruski i poddanie się Prus Polsce: zbiór tekstów źródłowych|year=1949|publisher=Instytut Zachodni|location=[[Poznań]]|language=pl|pages=71–72}}</ref> and then in May 1454, an official ceremony was held in Toruń, in which the nobility, knights, landowners, mayors, and local officials from [[Chełmno Land]], including Toruń, again solemnly swore allegiance to the Polish king and the Kingdom of Poland.<ref>Górski, p. 76-77</ref> Since 1454, the city has been authorized by King Casimir IV to mint Polish coins.<ref>Górski, p. 63</ref> During the war, Casimir IV often stayed at the Dybów Castle<ref>Grzeszkiewicz-Kotlewska, p. 19-20</ref> and Toruń financially supported the Polish Army. The New Town and Old Town amalgamated in 1454.

The Thirteen Years' War ended in 1466, with the [[Second Peace of Thorn (1466)|Second Peace of Thorn]], in which the [[Teutonic Order]] renounced any claims to the city and recognised it as part of Poland.<ref>Górski, p. 88</ref> The Polish king granted the town great privileges, similar to those of [[Gdańsk]]. Also in 1454 at [[Dybów Castle]], the King issued the famous [[Statutes of Nieszawa]], covering a set of privileges for the [[szlachta|Polish nobility]]; an event that is regarded as the birth of the noble democracy in Poland, which lasted until the country's [[Partitions of Poland|demise]] in 1795.

=== Early modern period ===
[[File:Torun kamienice ul Kopernika 15 i 17.jpg|thumb|left|upright|[[Copernicus]]' House, currently a museum]]
In 1473, [[Nicolaus Copernicus]] was born, and in 1501 Polish king [[John I Albert]] died in Toruń; his heart was buried in [[Toruń Cathedral|St. John's Cathedral]]. In 1500, the [[Tuba Dei]], the largest [[church bell]] in Poland at the time, was installed at Toruń Cathedral, and a bridge across the Vistula was built, the country's longest wooden bridge at the time. In 1506, Toruń became a [[royal city]] of Poland. In 1528, the [[royal mint]] started operating in Toruń. In 1568, a gymnasium was founded, which after 1594 became one of the leading schools of northern Poland for centuries to come.<ref name=LO>{{cite web|url=https://www.1lo.torun.pl/1lo/o-nas/historia-szkoly/|title=Historia szkoły|website=I Liceum Ogólnokształcące im. Mikołaja Kopernika w Toruniu|access-date=4 October 2019|language=pl}}</ref> Also in 1594, Toruń's first museum (''Musaeum'') was established at the school, beginning the city's museal traditions. A city of great wealth and influence, it enjoyed voting rights during the [[Royal elections in Poland|royal election]] period.<ref>Polska Encyklopedia Szlachecka, t. I, Warsaw 1935, p. 42.</ref> [[Sejm of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth|Sejms of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth]] were held in Toruń in 1576 and 1626.<ref>Władysław Konopczyński, [http://www.wbc.poznan.pl/dlibra/docmetadata?id=2048&dirids=1 ''Chronologia sejmów polskich 1493–1793''].</ref>

[[File:Torun Merian 1641.jpg|thumb|right|Toruń in 1641]]
In 1557, during the [[Protestant Reformation]], the city adopted [[Protestantism]]. Under Mayor [[Henryk Stroband]] (1586–1609), the city became centralized. Administrative power passed into the hands of the city council. In 1595, [[Jesuits]] arrived to promote the [[Counter-Reformation]], taking control of St John's Church. Protestant city officials tried to limit the influx of [[Catholic]]s into the city, as Catholics (Jesuits and [[Dominican Order|Dominican]] friars) already controlled most of the churches, leaving only St Mary's for Protestant citizens. In 1645, at a time when religious conflicts occurred in many other European countries and the disastrous [[Thirty Years' War]] was fought west of Poland, in Toruń, on the initiative of King [[Władysław IV Vasa]], a three-month congress of European Catholics, [[Lutheran]]s, and [[Calvinist]]s was held, known as ''Colloquium Charitativum;'' an important event in the history of interreligious dialogue.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.turystyka.torun.pl/art/231/colloquium-charitativum.html|title=Colloquium Charitativum|website=Toruński Serwis Turystyczny|access-date=4 October 2019|language=pl}}</ref>

During the [[Great Northern War]] (1700–21), the city was besieged by Swedish troops. The restoration of [[Augustus II the Strong]] as King of Poland was prepared in the city in the [[Treaty of Thorn (1709)]] by the Russian tsar [[Peter I of Russia|Peter the Great]]. In the second half of the 17th century, tensions between Catholics and Protestants grew. In the early 18th century about 50 percent of the populace, especially the gentry and middle class, were German-speaking Protestants, while the other 50 percent were Polish-speaking [[Roman Catholic]]s.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XsRuj9KMnpIC&pg=PA223 |title=Daniel Ernst Jablonski; Religion, Wissenschaft und Politik um 1700|first1=Joachim|last1=Bahlcke|page=227|year=2008 |publisher=Otto Harrassowitz Verlag |language=de|isbn=978-3-447-05793-6}}</ref> Protestant influence was subsequently pushed back after the [[Tumult of Thorn]] of 1724.

=== Late modern period (from 1793) ===

[[File:Torun Mostowa 14 (palac Fengerow) fasada.jpg|thumb|Birthplace and house of Polish economist and writer [[Fryderyk Skarbek]], residence of his godson [[Fryderyk Chopin]] in 1825]]
After the [[Second Partition of Poland]] in 1793, the city was annexed by [[Kingdom of Prussia|Prussia]]. It was briefly regained by Poles as part of the [[Duchy of Warsaw]] in 1807–1815, even serving as the temporary capital in April and May 1809.<ref name=inh>{{cite web|url=https://nowahistoria.interia.pl/drogi-do-wolnosci/news-torun-stolica-polski-przez-trzy-tygodnie,nId,2946535|title=Toruń stolicą Polski? Przez trzy tygodnie|website=Interia Nowa Historia|access-date=4 October 2019|language=pl}}</ref> During these years the city began to attract a growing [[Jewish]] community.<ref name="sztetl.org.pl">{{cite web | url=https://sztetl.org.pl/en/towns/t/396-torun/99-history/138164-history-of-community | title=History &#124; Virtual Shtetl }}</ref> In 1809, Toruń was successfully defended by the Poles against the Austrians. After being re-annexed by Prussia in 1815, Toruń was subjected to [[Germanisation of Poles during the Partitions|Germanisation]] and became a strong center of [[Resistance movements in partitioned Poland (1795–1918)|Polish resistance]] against such policies. The city's first synagogue was inaugurated in 1847.<ref name="sztetl.org.pl"/> New Polish institutions were established, such as Towarzystwo Naukowe w Toruniu (''Toruń Scientific Society''), a major Polish institution in the [[Prussian Partition]] of Poland, founded in 1875. After [[World War I]], Poland declared independence and regained control over the city. In [[Second Polish Republic|interwar Poland]], Toruń was the capital of the [[Pomeranian Voivodeship (1919–1939)|Pomeranian Voivodeship]].

=== World War II ===
[[File:Internment camp at Fort VII Toruń.JPG|thumb|left|Arrested Poles and German guards at the gate of Fort VII in 1939]]
During [[World War II]], Germany [[Occupation of Poland (1939–1945)|occupied]] the city from 7 September 1939 to 1 February 1945. ''[[Einsatzkommando]] 16'' entered the city to commit various [[Nazi crimes against the Polish nation|crimes against Poles]].<ref>{{cite book|last=Wardzyńska|first=Maria|year=2009|title=Był rok 1939. Operacja niemieckiej policji bezpieczeństwa w Polsce. Intelligenzaktion|language=pl|location=Warsaw|publisher=[[Institute of National Remembrance|IPN]]|page=61}}</ref> Under German occupation, local people were subjected to arrests, [[Expulsion of Poles by Nazi Germany|expulsions]], [[Forced labour under German rule during World War II|slave labor]], deportations to [[Nazi concentration camps|concentration camps]] and executions, especially the Polish elites as part of the ''[[Intelligenzaktion]]''.

A group of Polish railwaymen and policemen from Toruń were murdered by the German [[gendarmerie]] and ''[[Wehrmacht]]'' in [[Gąbin]] on 19–21 September 1939.<ref>Wardzyńska, p. 97</ref> Local Poles, including activists, teachers and priests, arrested in Toruń and [[Toruń County]] beginning in September 1939, were initially held in the pre-war prison, and after it became overcrowded in October 1939, the Germans imprisoned Poles in Fort VII of the [[Toruń Fortress]].<ref name=mw>Wardzyńska, p. 161</ref> On 17–19 October 1939 alone, the German police and the ''[[Selbstschutz]]'' arrested 1,200 Poles in Toruń and Toruń County.<ref name=mw/> In early November 1939, the Germans carried out further mass arrests of Polish teachers, farmers and priests in Toruń and the county, who were then imprisoned in Fort VII.<ref name=mw/> Imprisoned Poles were then either deported to [[Nazi concentration camps|concentration camps]] or murdered onsite.<ref name=mw/>

[[File:Barbarka massacre.jpg|thumb|1939 [[Barbarka massacre]]]]
Large [[Barbarka massacre|massacres]] of over 1,100 Poles from the city and region, including teachers, school principals, local officials, restaurateurs, shop owners, merchants, farmers, railwaymen, policemen, craftsmen, students, priests, workers, doctors, were carried out in the present-day district of [[Barbarka, Toruń|Barbarka]].<ref>Wardzyńska, p. 161-163</ref> Six mass graves were discovered after the war, in five of which the bodies of the victims were burned, as the Germans had tried to cover up the crime.<ref>Wardzyńska, p. 162</ref> Local teachers were also among Polish teachers murdered in the [[Sachsenhausen concentration camp|Sachsenhausen-Oranienburg]], [[Mauthausen concentration camp|Mauthausen]] and [[Dachau concentration camp|Dachau]] concentration camps.<ref>Wardzyńska, p. 180-181</ref> Nonetheless, the [[Polish resistance movement in World War II|Polish resistance movement]] was active in the city, and Toruń was the seat of one of the six main commands of the [[Union of Armed Struggle]] in occupied Poland (alongside [[Warsaw]], [[Kraków]], [[Poznań]], [[Białystok]] and [[Lwów]]).<ref>{{cite magazine|last=Grabowski|first=Waldemar|year=2011|title=Armia Krajowa|magazine=Biuletyn Instytutu Pamięci Narodowej|language=pl|publisher=IPN|issue=8-9 (129-130)|page=116|issn=1641-9561}}</ref>

During the occupation, Germany established and operated [[Stalag XX-A]] [[German prisoner-of-war camps in World War II|prisoner-of-war camp]] in the city, with multiple forced labour subcamps in the region, in which Polish, British, [[French prisoners of war in World War II|French]], Australian and [[German atrocities committed against Soviet prisoners of war|Soviet]] POWs were held. From 1940 to 1943, in the northern part of the city the German transit camp {{Interlanguage link|Umsiedlungslager Thorn|pl|Niemiecki obóz przesiedleńczy w Toruniu}} for Poles expelled from Toruń and the surrounding area, became infamous for inhuman sanitary conditions.<ref name=SM>{{cite web| url = http://www.polska1918-89.pl/pdf/pieklo-w-fabryce-smalcu,2046.pdf| title = Tomasz Ceran "Piekło w fabryce smalcu"}}</ref> Over 12,000 Poles passed through the camp, and around 1,000 died there, including about 400 children.<ref name=SM/> From 1941 to 1945, a German [[Forced labour under German rule during World War II|forced labour]] camp was located in the city.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bundesarchiv.de/zwangsarbeit/haftstaetten/index.php?action=2.2&tab=7&id=100000856|title=Arbeitserziehungslager Thorn|website=Bundesarchiv.de|access-date=21 November 2020|language=de}}</ref> In the spring of 1942, the Germans murdered 30 Polish scouts aged 13–16 in Fort VII.<ref>{{cite book|last=Kostkiewicz|first=Janina|editor-last=Kostkiewicz|editor-first=Janina|year=2020|title=Zbrodnia bez kary... Eksterminacja i cierpienie polskich dzieci pod okupacją niemiecką (1939–1945)|language=pl|location=Kraków|publisher=[[Jagiellonian University|Uniwersytet Jagielloński]], [[Biblioteka Jagiellońska]]|page=56|chapter=Niemiecka polityka eksterminacji i germanizacji polskich dzieci w czasie II wojny światowej}}</ref>

While the city's population suffered many atrocities, as described, there were no battles or bombings that damaged its buildings. Thus, the city avoided damage during both World Wars, and retained its historic architecture, ranging from [[Gothic architecture|Gothic]] through [[Renaissance architecture|Renaissance]] and [[Baroque architecture|Baroque]] to 19th and 20th century styles.