Bydgoszcz

Bydgoszcz

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Coat of arms
Bydgoszcz is located in Poland
Bydgoszcz
Coordinates:
Country  Poland
Voivodeship Kuyavian-Pomeranian
County city county
Established before 1238
Town rights 1346
Government
 - President (Mayor) Konstanty Dombrowicz (I)
 - City Council Chairperson Dorota Jakuta (PO)
Area
 - City 174.57 km2 (67.4 sq mi)
Elevation 60 m (197 ft)
Population (2009)
 - City 358,029
 - Density 2,050.9/km2 (5,311.9/sq mi)
 - Metro 460,608
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.eu/

Bydgoszcz [ˈbɨdɡɔʂt​͡ʂ] ( listen) (German: Bromberg (Ltspkr.png listen), Latin: Bydgostia) is a city located in northern Poland, on the Brda and Vistula rivers, with a population of 358,029 (June 2009), agglomeration more than 460 000, 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, Berlin, Krakow, Vienna, Copenhagen, Birmingham and 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.[1]

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 in 1331, and incorporated into the monastic state of the Teutonic Knights. The city was relinquished by the Knights in 1343 with their signing of the Treaty of Kalisz along with Dobrzyń and the remainder of Kuyavia.

King Casimir III of Poland, granted Bydgoszcz city rights (charter) on April 19, 1346. The city increasingly saw an influx of Jews after that date. In the 15th-16th centuries Bydgoszcz was a significant site for wheat trading. The Treaty of Bydgoszcz signed between King John II Casimir Vasa of Poland and Elector Frederick William II of Brandenburg-Prussia in the city in 1657, announcing a military alliance between Poland and Prussia against Sweden.

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 as Bromberg and, later, West Prussia. During this time, a canal was built from Bromberg 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, after the defeat of Prussia by Napoleon, and the signing of the Treaty of Tilsit, Bromberg 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, Bromberg was assigned to Poland in 1919. In 1938 it was made part of the Pomeranian Voivodeship.

From 1939-45 during World War II, Bydgoszcz was retaken by Nazi Germany, in the Invasion of Poland and annexed to the Reichsgau Wartheland. On September 3, 1939, shortly after the war started, the Bromberg Bloody Sunday incident occurred in which numerous Germans were killed; the incident was used in Nazi propaganda and reprisals against the Poles followed after Bromberg was occupied by the Wehrmacht on September 9. The city's Jewish citizens were repressed and thousands of people were sent to concentration camps and/or executed. Bromberg was the site of Bromberg-Ost, a female subcamp of Stutthof. The subcamp was staffed by 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.[2]

In 1945 Bromberg was overrun by the Soviet army. After the Yalta Agreement, it was assigned to Poland, which later became a soviet satellite in the Warsaw Pact.

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

Population


Landmarks

Przechodzący przez rzekę (Crossing the River)

Definitely one of the most beautiful buildings, and undoubtedly the oldest building, in the city is the Church of St Martin and Nicolaus, commonly known as Fara Church. It is a three-aisle late Gothic church erected between 1466 and 1502. The church boasts a late-Gothic painting entitled Madonna with a Rose, or the Holy Virgin of Beautiful Love, from the 16th century. The colourful 20th-century polychrome is also worth noticing.

The Church of the Assumption of the Holy Virgin, commonly referred to as "The Church of Poor Clares," is a famous landmark of the city. It is a small, Gothic-Renaissance (including Neo-Renaissance additions), one-aisle church built between 1582–1602. The interior of the temple is rather austere since the church has been stripped of most his furnishings. Not a surprising fact when taking into account that in the 19th century the Prussian authorities dissolved the Order of St Clare and turned the church into a warehouse, among others. Nonetheless, the temple is worth visiting and examining. The original wooden polychrome ceiling from the 17th century draws the attention of every visitor.

Wyspa Młyńska (the Mill Island) is among the most spectacular and atmospheric places in Bydgoszcz. What makes it unique is the location in the very heart of the city centre, just a few steps from the old market square. It had been the 'industrial' centre of Bydgoszcz in the Middle Ages and throughout the next few hundreds years of its existence. It was there that the famous royal mint operated for many years in the 17th century. The buildings which can still be seen on the island come from the 19th century. However, the so-called Biały Spichlerz (the White Granary) remembers the end of the 18th century. But it is the water, footbridges, red-brick edifices of historical tenement houses reflected in rivers, and the greenery, including old chesnut trees, that create the atmosphere of the Island.

“Hotel pod Orłem” (Hotel Adler or Under the Eagle), an icon of the city’s 19th century architecture, was designed by the distinguished Bydgoszcz architect Józef Święcicki, the author of around 60 buildings in the city. The construction of the hotel was completed in 1896. It served as a hotel from the very beginning, originally owned by Emil Bernhardt, a hotel manager educated in Switzerland. Its facade displays forms characteristic of the Neobaroque style in architecture.

Economy

Old granaries on the Brda River.

Major corporations

Education

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:

Buses and trams

Culture

Museums

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

Classical music

Popular music

Theatre

Opera Nova at the bank of the Brda River.

Sports

Sports clubs

Sports facilities

The sport, show and fair arena Łuczniczka.

Sports events

Politics

Bydgoszcz constituency

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

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

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.

People born in Bydgoszcz

Hotel Pod Orłem (Under the Eagle).

International relations

Twin towns

Bydgoszcz Twin Cities sign on the Theatre Square

Bydgoszcz is twinned with:

Friendship relations

Bydgoszcz also maintains friendship relations with these cities:

Gallery

View of the River Brda

Wolności (Freedom) Square

Cathedral of St. Nicholas and Martin (circa 1466), interior

Solny Square with the Bobola Church

Vincent de Paul Basilica, begun in 1924

Bernardine Church, 1552-1557

City House (former Jesuit college)

Church of the Holy Heart of Jesus

See also

External links

References

  1. ↑ City of Bydgoszcz Municipal website
  2. ↑ "Encyklopedia PWN". Encyklopedia.pwn.pl. http://encyklopedia.pwn.pl/10867_1.html. Retrieved 2009-05-05. 
  3. ↑ "Kragujevac City Partners". © 2008 Information service of Kragujevac City. http://www.kragujevac.rs/en/city_partners.htm. Retrieved 2008-10-27. 
  4. ↑ Local Government Association: Twin Town Search
  5. ↑ Twinning Agreement at the Bydgoszcz city official site. The agreement was signed on 22nd June 2007
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
 POL powiat bydgoski COA 2.JPG
Rural gminas
Gmina Białe Błota • Gmina Dąbrowa Chełmińska • Gmina Dobrcz • Gmina Nowa Wieś Wielka • Gmina Osielsko • Gmina Sicienko
Seat
Bydgoszcz (not part of the county)