Toruń
Toruń is one of Poland‘s most beautiful towns, its Gothic towers, walls and donjons reflect in the wide Vistula river. It has retained much of its medieval atmosphere and in 1997 it was included in UNESCO’s World Heritage List. There are many historical residential houses in Toruń, dating back to the 14th – 18th c. Tall and narrow Gothic houses contrast with the Mannerist and Baroque gables.
In 1233 the Grand Master H. von Salza issued the municipal charter for Toruń. Conveniently located on the Vistula, the city quickly grew in importance as a commercial town. Toruń was a Hanseatic town, had the right to mint its own coinage, and was considered to be one of the richest towns in Poland; it was also a bastion of Protestantism.
Since 1999, Toruń has been a seat of the self-government of the Kujawy-Pomerania Province. In 2009, the city had 206 000 inhabitants.
