Bydgoszcz

Bydgoszcz
Skyline of Bydgoszcz
Flag of Bydgoszcz
Flag		 Coat of arms of Bydgoszcz
Coat of arms
Bydgoszcz (Poland)
Bydgoszcz
Bydgoszcz
Coordinates:
Country Flag of Poland.svg Poland
Voivodeship Kuyavian-Pomeranian
County city county
Established before 1238
Town rights 1346/1349
Government
 - President (Mayor) Konstanty Dombrowicz
Area
 - City 175 km² (67.6 sq mi)
Elevation 60 m (197 ft)
Population (2006)
 - City 364,953
 - Density 2,085.4/km² (5,401.3/sq mi)
 - Metro 460,499
Time zone CET (UTC+1)
 - Summer (DST) CEST (UTC+2)
Postal code 85-001 to 85-915
Area code(s) +48 52
Car plates CB
Website: http://www.bydgoszcz.pl/

Bydgoszcz [ˈbɨdgɔʂt​͡ʂ] (Ltspkr.png listen) (German: Bromberg (Ltspkr.png listen), Latin: Bydgostia) is a city in northern Poland, on the Brda and Vistula rivers, with a population of 369,151 (2004), agglomeration more than 400 000, which makes it the 8th biggest city in Poland. It has been the co-capital with Toruń of the Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship since 1999, and was previously the capital of the Bydgoszcz Voivodeship (1947-1998) and before that, of the Pomeranian Voivodeship (1945-1947). Since 1999 it is also the seat of Bydgoszcz County.

Bydgoszcz is part of the metroplex Bydgoszcz-Toruń with Toruń, only 45 km away, and over 850,000 inhabitants. Bydgoszcz is the seat of Casimir the Great University, University of Technology and Life Sciences and a conservatory as well as a Collegium Medicum of Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń. Bydgoszcz has a famous Concert Hall (Filharmonia Pomorska), opera house Opera Nova, From the Bydgoszcz Ignacy Jan Paderewski Airport there are flights to Warsaw, London, Dublin, Liverpool, Berlin, Katowice, Vienna, Copenhagen, Birmingham and Düsseldorf-Weeze as well charter flights to Antalya, Crete and Tunis. Thanks to its location between Vistula and Odra water system on the Bydgoszcz channel, the city is an important link in a water system connected via Noteć, Warta, Odra, Elbe with the Rhine and Rotterdam.

Contents

History

Originally a fishing settlement called Bydgozcya ("Bydgostia" in Latin), the city became a stronghold for the Vistula trade routes. In the 13th century it was the site of a castellany, first mentioned in 1238. The city was occupied by the Teutonic Knights from 1331–1337, and later by King Casimir III of Poland, who granted the city municipal rights on 19 April 1346. The city increasingly saw an influx of Jews after that date.

In the 15th-16th centuries Bydgoszcz was a significant site for corn trading. The Treaty of Bydgoszcz was signed in the city in 1657.

Bydgoszcz followed the history of Greater Poland until 1772, when it was annexed by the Kingdom of Prussia in the First Partition of Poland and incorporated into the Netze District and, later, West Prussia. During this time, a canal was built from Bydgoszcz to Nakło which connected the north-flowing Vistula River via the Brda to the west-flowing Noteć, which in turn flowed to the Oder via the Warta.

In 1807 Bydgoszcz became part of the Duchy of Warsaw. In 1815 it returned to Prussian rule as part of the autonomous Grand Duchy of Poznań (the Province of Posen after 1848) and the capital of the Bromberg region. After 1871 the city was part of the German Empire. After World War I and the Great Poland Uprising, Bydgoszcz was annexed to Poland in 1919. It shifted in 1938 to the Pomeranian Voivodeship.

From 1939-45 during World War II, Bydgoszcz was overrun by Nazi Germany and annexed to the Reichsgau Wartheland. On September 3 1939, shortly after the war started, the Bromberg Bloody Sunday incident occurred in which numerous Poles and Germans were killed; the incident was used by Nazi propaganda for retaliation against Poles after Bydgoszcz was occupied by the Wehrmacht on September 9. The city's Jewish citizens were repressed, as thousands of people were sent to concentration camps and/or executed. Bydgoszcz was the site of Bromberg-Ost, a female subcamp of Stutthof. The subcamp staffed several female SS guards (Aufseherin) and was commanded by the Oberaufseherin Johanna Wisotzki and a male commandant. A deportation camp was situated in Smukała village, now part of Bydgoszcz. According to Nowa encyklopedia powszechna PWN, 37,000 citizens of the city died during the war.[1]

In 1945 Bydgoszcz was liberated and annexed again to Poland.

In 1981 Solidarity's activists were violently suppressed in Bydgoszcz.

River Brda at night

Economy

Major corporations

Education

Bydgoszcz

Transport

Bydgoszcz Ignacy Jan Paderewski Airport

Airports

Railways

Bydgoszcz is one of the biggest railroad junctions in Poland, with two important lines crossing there - the east-west connection from Toruń to Pila and the north-south line from Inowrocław to Gdańsk (see: Polish Coal Trunk-Line). There are also secondary-importance lines stemming from the city, to Szubin and to Chełmża.

Among rail stations located in the city, there are:

Bus stations

Culture

Museums

It occupies several buildings: - Main building (Gdańska 4 St.) - The White Granary (Mennica St.)

Classical music

Popular music

Alternative music festival "Low Fi" http://www.lowfi-festival.com

Theatre

Opera Nova

Sports

Sports clubs

Sports facilities

Łuczniczka.

Sports events

Politics

Bydgoszcz constituency

River Brda.

Members of Polish Sejm 2007-2011 elected from Bydgoszcz constituency:

Members of Polish Senate 2007-2011 elected from Bydgoszcz constituency:

People

Hotel "Pod Orłem".

Legends

It is also said that Pan Twardowski spent some time in the city of Bydgoszcz, where, in his memory, a figure was recently mounted in a window of a tenement, overseeing the Old Town. At 1:13 p.m. and 9:13 p.m. the window opens and Pan Twardowski appears, to the accompaniment of weird music and devilish laughter. He takes a bow, waves his hand, and then disappears. This little show gathers crowds of amused spectators.

Twin Towns - Sister Cities

Bydgoszcz Twin Cities sign on the Theatre Square

Bydgoszcz is twinned with:

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Kragujevac City Partners". © 2008 Information service of Kragujevac City. Retrieved on 2008-10-27.

External links

Flag of Poland Principal cities of Poland
Administrative divisions of Poland since 1999
Counties of Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship
City counties
Bydgoszcz (governor's seat) • Toruń (assembly seat) • Grudziądz • Włocławek
 Coat of arms of Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship
Land counties
Aleksandrów • Brodnica • Bydgoszcz • Chełmno • Golub-Dobrzyń • Grudziądz • Inowrocław • Lipno • Mogilno • Nakło • Radziejów • Rypin • Sępólno • Świecie • Toruń • Tuchola • Wąbrzeźno • Włocławek • Żnin
Bydgoszcz County

Urban-rural gminas: Gmina Koronowo • Gmina Solec Kujawski

Rural gminas: Gmina Białe Błota • Gmina Dąbrowa Chełmińska • Gmina Dobrcz • Gmina Nowa Wieś Wielka • Gmina Osielsko • Gmina Sicienko

Seat (not part of the county): Bydgoszcz

 POL powiat bydgoski COA.svg