Torun

Torun, the birthplace of Nicolas Copernicus, is a gem. The old town is contained within well preserved red brick city walls. Thankfully World War II mostly passed by and left the mediaeval quarter almost unaffected. We were fortunate to book a hotel within the old town about 2 minutes from the Rynek.

We planned to begin our visit by climbing the old city hall tower but we passed a large

bronze donkey on the way. It is not advertised but this was used as a punishment in times past. Thieves were forced to sit on it all day as a public humiliation. I don’t think it would have been a comfortable ride.

The views from the tower are extensive but, due to the relatively narrow streets, the town is better seen from the ground. We followed a walking tour described in a “short” guide to the old quarter. The book was short but the walk was about 10km.

The old market square holds the ratusz in the centre which confused me. I did not realise that it was a square until lunch time. I thought it was just 4 streets. Surrounding the square are churches and significant buildings, all in very good condition.

Torun is famous for ginger bread. We bought a few boxes to bring back to Australia as presents. I can report that the ginger bread is very good; so very good that none has survived for our friends.

As we walked around we came across another item not well described in the guide books; the gaol. It is fairly flash as gaols go but it still has a goodly amount of razor wire and solid doors suggesting that they want the occupants to stay.

On the rear side of the ratusz is an intriguing statue known as the raftsman’s fountain. According to legend the raftsman saved the city from a frog infestation, much like the pied piper of Hamlin.

One street off the square is the house where Copernicus was born. It is evident that his family was very well to do and hence provided him the ability to study astronomy.

Leaving Old Town we followed the walls along the Visla River. The river here is at least 3 times wider than it is

in Krakow.

Walking along we came to the leaning tower. It is 15 meters tall and, due to the unstable clay ground, now leans 140cm off vertical.

Continuing on along the walls we passed a number of impressive gates. The pick would be the Bridge Gate,

erected in 1432. It led to a bridge across the Visla which has long gone.

Just over the moat between Old Town and New Town are the ruins of a Teutonic Castle dating from the 13^th century. By this time we were quite tired and decided not to venture inside.

 

 

 

No doubt you are wondering about Old and New Town. Much like Warsaw, prosperity caused rapid expansion of Torun. Newly arrived merchants and craftspeople were forced to settle outside the city walls. Over time this became new town.