- 0.8m
- 77 000
- 751 €
- 1787 h
- Bydgoszcz Ignacy Jan Paderewski Airport / Bydgoszcz: 3,5 km, Toruń: 53 km
Bydgoszcz
An opera evening in Bydgoszcz, breakfast in Toruń. But where to spend the night?
Toruń and Bydgoszcz have been rival cities for decades. However, since 1999 the two cities have shared the duties of a regional capital. Toruń has a renowned university and contemporary art centre, a splendid old town and a breathtaking riverfront view. Bydgoszcz has an opera, an airport, an important film festival and the best medical services in the country. Both deserve closer attention.
Bydgoszcz
Toruń emerged in the Middle Ages as a cosmopolitan trade hub of the Hansa. The affluence and taste of the bourgeoisie have lasting evidence in the architecture of the gothic Town Hall, in St. John’s cathedral and St. Jacob’s church. All of them have been meticulously renovated, which is no wonder since the local university has been producing world class specialists in monument preservation for decades.
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Toruń university is, naturally, named after Mikołaj Kopernik and features a ceramic tile composition commemorating the city’s most famous son on the facade. |
Today Toruń is suspended between the splendour of the past and the challenges of the modern world. The tradition is symbolized by pierniki – gingerbread cakes in various shapes and sizes, manufactured in a local factory named after another pillar of Toruń’s identity – Kopernik. Mikołaj Kopernik – or Nicolaus Copernicus – who challenged the belief that the universe revolves around earth – was born in the city in 1473. Needless to say there is a museum dedicated to the local son and a global hero in his family home. The modern side of Toruń is best represented by the brand new contemporary art centre – CSW Znaki Czasu. Completed in 2008, it is currently programmed by the Serbian-born, Rome-based curator Dobrila Denegri.
CSW holds only a handful of exhibitions a year but each one draws the attention of art critics far beyond Toruń and you are guaranteed to see something fresh every time you visit. In the summer, the institution steps outside the building to organise the CoCart music festival. The art centre will soon rub shoulders with a concert hall designed by the Spanish architect Fernando Menis. Somewhat younger than Toruń, Bydgoszcz rose to prominence in the 19th century, thanks to the industrial revolution, a sizeable garrison and Kanał Bydgoski (the Bydgoszcz Canal) that opened in 1774, providing a missing link between the water routes of Eastern and Western Europe. Even now, if you set out to sail from Belarus to France, the only way would be via Bydgoszcz. For the less ambitious, that is most of us, there is the Bydgoszcz Water Tram that conveniently links a shopping centre in the east with a sports arena in the west, via the old town, from May to October. There is a piece of excellent contemporary architecture, in the form of the riverfront BRE Bank headquarters, completed in 1998 and ageinggracefully, and a green island (Wyspa Młyńska) with a manicured park that is a huge draw for the locals in the warmer part of the year.
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The Centre for Contemporary Art in Toruń was the first of the wave of new museum buildings constructed in Poland thanks to an influx of European funds |
The neighbouring quarters overlooking a canal are now undergoing something of a revival after years of neglect. Waterside cafes and restaurants are becoming a Bydgoszcz specialty. The city is also famous for its musical venues. Even though it was constructed some sixty years ago, Filharmonia Pomorska is still considered to have the best acoustic quality in the country. Recently, the city completed an opera house, finishing a laborious process started in 1974. A concrete carcass of the unfinished building loomed over the city for decades, as a testament to the inefficiency of the communist state and the delusions of grandeur of local apparatchiks. Opened in 2006, the 860-seat Opera Nova is a source of civic pride. It also serves as a convention centre and in December of 2010 it became home to the international festival of cinematography – Camerimage. A much deserved honour for one of the most underestimated cities in Poland.
Krzysztof Bober
Founder of Plateaux Foundation, which promotes contemporary music and audiovisual art in Poland, creator of the Plateaux festival. Lives in Warsaw
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Toruń City Park on Bydgoskie Przedmieście ul. Bydgoska The oldest and largest city park in Toruń, landscaped in the English style, is one of the most interesting of its kind in Poland. Its unique character is additionally emphasised by the unique secessionist architecture of Bydgoskie Przedmieście surrounding the park. Winiarnia Niebo ul. Rynek Staromiejski 1, thu – sun: 12 pm – midnight; fri – sat: 12 pm – 2 am A small, cosy cafe in the grounds of the Town Hall. Unique atmosphere of a Toruń cellar and those sofas, they are simply made for sinking into. You can always drop in for a coffee or mulled wine and relax under the brick vaults. Tantra ul. Ślusarska 5, mon – thu: 3 pm – midnight; fri – sat: 12 pm – 2 am; sun: 12 pm – midnight The little streets off the New Market Square |
offer many hidden gems. One of them is Tantra, an Indian-themed cafe. It’s an unpretentious place with a touch of fantasy. Excellent selection of teas, coffees and unusual cocktails. Pierogarnia Stary Toruń ul. Most Pauliński 2/10, mon – Sun 11 am – midnight The best pierogi in town. The restaurant is located near the Arsenal – on the site of a former bridge. Various types of dumpling dough and stuffing (particularly recommended are fluffy, baked piecuchy dumplings); multi-storey interior, typical for Toruń. Rustic, warm atmosphere. Bydgoszcz Mózg ul. Gdańska 10, mon – sat: from4 pm; sun: from 6 pm The leading venue for independent music in the region. This is the birthplace of Yass, the best jazz bands, instrumentalists and leading artists of the experimental music scene perform here. Brain is also a venue for exhibitions and various other cultural events. |
The club boasts an attractive bar where you can sit and chat, while listening to great music. Wyspa Młyńska / The Mill Island This is a complex of buildings traversed by two meandering rivers: Brda and Młynowka. It has become a true showpiece of the city, thanks to a revitalization project lasting several years. It brings the old and the new together. For a long time, Mill Island was the venue for various cultural initiatives – among others hosting the summer BWA exhibitions. BWA Gallery ul. Gdańska 20, tue – thu: 10 am – 6 pm; fri: 12 pm – 8 pm; sat – sun: 11.30 am – 4.30 pm The most interesting venue on the cultural map of Bydgoszcz, presenting interesting exhibitions and projects exploring completely unknown aspects of contemporary art in the region. |
Janusz Leon Wiśniewski
Writer and scientist, currently based in Frankfurt
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The Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship inspires awe in first-time visitors, but also in those who – like me – call this region home and have lived there for many years. To me its true heart (and I ask the residents of nearby cities of Bydgoszcz and Włocławek to forgive me) is Toruń, an old city with a long history but also young thanks to the thriving academic life of its renowned university. Toruń, which was spared the bombings of World War II, is a gem of Gothic architecture. In 1997, it was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The House of Mikolaj Kopernik, ul. Kopernika 15/17; City Hall, ul. Rynek Staromiejski 1, depend on the season: 10 am – 4/6 pm The narrow streets around the market square are worth a stroll – visitors should head in the direction of the Leaning Tower / Krzywa Wieża, which indeed is leaning (very much so in fact) to one side, and marvel at the gothic houses along Ciasna / Narrow street, which is, indeed, very narrow. St. John’s / Św. Jana Church, |
where Copernicus was baptised, as well as what is believed to be the astronomer’s house are also worth a visit. It is best to finish the walk at the Old Town Square, where the City Hall and Artus Court are located. Kopernik gingerbread shop, ul. Rynek Staromiejski 6, mon – fri: 10 am – 7 pm, sat & sun: 10 am – 6 pm On the ground floor of the aforementioned Artus Court is a shop offering the world-famous Toruń gingerbread cookies made according to a recipe as old as the city itself and as well protected a secret as that of the Coca Cola formula. I simply cannot imagine Toruń without its gingerbread. Manekin Rynek Staromiejski 16, sun – thu: 10 am – 11 pm, sat & sun: 10 am – 12 pm, Also worth a visit is the pancake shop Manekin, which is considered to serve the best pancakes in Poland. |
Róże i Zen ul. Podmurna 18, mon – thu: 11 am – 10 pm, fri – sun: 11 am – 11 pm For an evening meal I head to Roże i Zen restaurant, which offers its visitors wonderful cuisine (not only Polish) and delicious wines in a refined decor in the space of a flat. Piwnice ul. Gagarina 11, for bookings send an e-mail to: przewodnicy@turystyka.torun.pl I sometimes like to leave Toruń for a few hours and head to Piwnice, a small town about 10 km away. Poland’s largest radio telescope is located in Piwnice’s astronomical observatory. The site offers its visitors not only the opportunity to look at the stars from ‘up close’, but also to listen to fascinating lectures about the universe. |
Dobrila Denegri
Historian and independent curator, artistic director of the Centre of Contemporary Art (CoCA) in Toruń. Born in Belgrade
What I like most about Toruń is not only CoCA, as one might suppose – I really like a couple of places that are not on the official, tourist & medieval map of the city, like the Bydgoskie Przedmieście district, with it’s fabulous architectural examples of modernism. It’s got a lovely park, a bit neglected, but that’s one if its charms, making it even more romantic. I really love the Park Miejski in Toruń, with its spectacular views of the river Wisła.
As for places to hang out in Toruń, I would recommend a precapitalist adventure at the Pod Atlantem Resaurant (ul. Ducha Świętego 3) – it made me feel really nostalgic, not trendy at all; a perfect place for a drink if you’re tired of all the obvious tourist destinations.
As for Torun’s clubs, there’s eNeRDe, which could just as well be in Berlin; it’s very underground. For lazy summertime evenings – there’s a nice Na Końcu Świata (ul. Podmurna 4 – 6) club, neighbouring the ruins of the Teutonic castle. I also like the Ethnographic Museum (Wały gen. Sikorskiego 19, depending on the season; tue – fri: 9 – 16/17, sat – sun: 10 – 16/18) – it’s like a piece of a rural fairy tale in the centre of the city, with a couple of cabins, a wind mill and some cottages, in an old park, very quiet and peaceful. As for hotels in Toruń – those with deep pockets will certainly like 1231 Hotel (ul. Przedzamcze 6, reservation: +48 56 619 09 10), situated in an old mill, literally over a real stream. I also recommend the Petit Fleur (ul. Piekary 25, reservation: tel.+ 48 56 621 51 00), super cosy and in the very centre of the Old Town.
Marek Żydowicz
Chairman of the Tumult Foundation, director of the Plus Camerimage Festival, resident of Bydgoszcz
On the trail of culinary explorations.
I recommend three places in Bydgoszcz: the exceptional Maestra (ul. Marszałka Focha 5, daily:12 pm – 9 pm /until the last customer on performance days). At the opera house where the music culture combines with culinary craft; the Oliwka (ul. Jagiellońska 96, daily: 7 am – 11 pm) in Słoneczny Młyn / sunny Mill hotel and Bolero (ul. Grodzka 36, daily: 6:30 am – 10 pm) at the Holiday Inn.
Opera Nova
ul. Marszałka Focha 5
One of the most modern and versatile music theatres in Poland, Opera Nova, which houses the Plus Camerimage Festival, has proven that it aims at a synergy of the arts and that partnership in culture and arts always has its benefits.
