Editing Toruń (section)

=== 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.