Torun

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

• 1990 est.: 200800.
• 1995 est.: 203800.

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:

• a 1570? map of Prussia: http://www.uni-mannheim.de/mateo/desbillons/atlas/seite70.html with city of Thorn .