Torun (German
Thorn, Latin
Thorunensis), city and one of two capitals (with Bydgoszcz
?) of Kujawsko-Pomorskie
? region in north-central
Poland, on the
Vistula River.
Thorn in
Culmer Land in Old
Prussia was the birthplace of
Nicolaus Copernicus (
1473) and his uncle, bishop of Ermland (Latin
Warmia) Lucas Watzenrode
?.
After
WW I Thorn was given to Poland .
Under Poland a university in Torun was founded in 1945.
History
Thorn in was an important medieval trade centre. The Teutonic Knights built a castle there (1230?-31?), and the settlement acquired town rights in 1233?.
Thorn was a Hanseatic League city. Because of heavy flooding along the Vistula River the city was moved. There is an Altstadt Thorn.
- 1440? the Hanseatic League cities of Elbing, Danzig and Thorn form the Prussian Confederation (Preussischer Bund)
- 1454 the Teutonic rule is overthrown. War of the cities of Prussia against Catholic Teutonic Knights.
- 1466? Thorn is declared a free city
- 1525? Prussia becomes Lutheran Protestant
- 1793 Thorn joined the State of Brandenburg-Prussia
- 1919 Thorn and other parts of the German Empire are seperated at Versailles and became known as Polish Corridor
Population
Name of city
Some attempts at guesses after Polish take-over of city:
Name comes from Polish Tarnów (there are many such cities in Poland, tarnina = kind of river plants), which was later Germanized into Thorn, and re-Polonized into Torun. Name Torun itself doesn't have any etymological meaning. (reference: Professor [Jan Miodek]? said so)
External link: