The riverside triangle - the former Bermuda triangle: Bydgoszcz, Grudziądz, Toruń

Mateusz Zmyślony

10 of August '23

Grudziądz granaries - so big that it is difficult to take a photograph reflecting their scale

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Article fromA&B issue05|2023

For the purpose of this chapter of our story about the development of Polish cities, I decided to combine three elements that are separate in practice: Probably the most beautiful Gothic historic city preserved in its original form on the territory of today's Poland - Toruń; the most visually monumental in the country - in the sense of its historical panorama - Grudziądz; and the most surprising competitor in this juxtaposition, frontally located on the banks of the Brda River, the Bydgoszcz Canal and the Vistula River - Bydgoszcz.

the magnificent arches of torun's "gdansk" - This was the name of a medieval Teutonic toilet - in honor of the city hated by the Order

Thirty years ago, when our history began - a time of frantic development of Polish cities - this triangle was like a Bermuda triangle to me. Grudziądz was a gray thing - I never stopped in it, there was no reason, I didn't even know about the granaries. Bydgoszcz was some nightmarish block of flats with unspecified but menacing rubble in the center. Torun did have its famous old town, Copernicus and gingerbread houses, but there was also an absurd train station on the wrong side of the river and all the rest post-communistly awful, like everywhere else in Poland at the time. I was relieved to escape to Cracow, to civilization, which already had bustling cafes and high-class nightlife. I wonder what happened to it during those thirty years?

Grudziądz panorama adorning the wall of Alfa shopping mall

Grudziądz, Torun, Bydgoszcz. These three cities arise from water, thanks to it, they grew from it. Torun, Bydgoszcz, Grudziądz. In that order, thousands of ships passed through them annually for hundreds of years - transporting, according to my estimates, the largest tonnage export in Europe (between the 13th and 17th centuries). The Vistula and Brda rivers connect them symbolically into a certain whole - for they do not constitute a single metropolis, they are separated by an hour's drive in each case, too far away to form a single agglomeration complex. However, they do constitute a set of sorts, at least as neighboring arch-tourist attractions - in my opinion - the most interesting idea in Poland today for a long weekend - such a city break, cultural, ideal for the motorized tourist.

Toruń's Jordanki Cultural and Convention Center - brick and brick motifs on the facade and interior refer to the Gothic Old Town, design: Fernando Menis

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Torun - one of the once economically most important - next to Krakow and Gdansk - Vistula River cities. A powerful merchant center, misidentified by many as a historically Polish city. This, by the way, is something that captivates me about the narrative of Toruń to this day - I was made aware of it by my recent visit to the city. Located on the right side of the Vistula River, for most of its most important history, Toruń was a city that thought and spoke mainly German. The Prussian city of Thorn was inhabited for centuries by burghers who spoke that very language. It was they who owned the vast majority of the urban space, although this situation changed a lot in subsequent centuries. The number of Poles in Torun increased, when the German part of the community converted to Lutheranism, Poles were already the majority here.

Gmerkov Avenue - the most important memory of the city's power era

The city as we know it (in terms of medieval buildings) was founded by the Teutonic Knights, and until the Thirteen Years' War it lay within the borders of the monastic state. Then until the partitions it was part of the Polish state. In the Middle Ages it was a commercial powerhouse, reaching its developmental peak around the 16th century. Later, like most cities in this part of the world, it endured historical turmoil hard.

The Center for Contemporary Art "Signs of the Times" - is the first of its kind to open in Poland after 1939, designed by Edward Lach (Studio EL) and R2 office

The Prussianness and Germanness of this city do not mean that Torun was not strongly connected to Poland - like Gdansk, it lived from trade with Poland and built its power on its relations with her, often denying the needs of a German-speaking sphere of influence. That's why there is no Teutonic castle in it today, just as in Elblag it was demolished by pro-Polish burghers. It is worth noting at this point that in cities founded under the Magdeburg law (that is, in the vast majority of Polish cities from the times of the Piasts and Jagiellons) - very many burghers just spoke German. At the same time - there was a strong Polish community in the city for centuries, which can cause a lot of trouble when trying to understand Toruń's genius loci.

The same signs, the same jokes, the same vibe as twenty years ago - hmm, it's a bit creepy in places

In the time of the Hanseatic League, there were not very strong patriotic motivations - what mattered was business, and that business was better done with the King of Poland than with the Teutonic Grand Master. So to sum up this thread - let's not treat Toruń as a motherland of Polishness, because this misleads the soul set on actually getting to know the place. Gothic Torun was created by German merchants, whose names can be found on the Avenue of Gmerkas (Żeglarska Street), which has a high cognitive value, especially when combined with admiring the title gmerkas - medieval logos of family merchant corporations. The family of Nicolaus Copernicus, who is widely known to have been born here, was also involved in trade. Nicolaus' dad, Nicolaus senior, traded in copper, and perhaps this is where his name, or nickname - "Coppernick" - originated.

The same signs, the same jokes, the same vibe as twenty years ago - hmm, it's a little creepy in places

But let's leave history behind and drop into the present day. Fortunately for today's Toruń, the former has handled its Gothic architecture exceedingly kindly. As a result, today we can admire a city of exceptional beauty. The old city is not all - in the last twenty years it has been joined by many new investments, of which the Cultural and Congress Center Jordanki (design.: Fernando Menis) with a modern body, and the Center for Contemporary Art "Signs of the Times" (competition design: Studio EL, executive design: R2) presenting usually high-quality exhibitions commenting on modern culture. Bridges, highways, public facilities, sports facilities have arrived, infrastructure has been expanded.

The same signs, the same jokes, the same vibe as twenty years ago - hmm, it's a bit creepy in places

Seemingly everything OK, but something about the traversed space, especially in the historic center of the city, bothered me. It took me a couple of hours to track down this uneasiness. But I finally came up with it. Well, while other Polish cities have changed beyond recognition over the last twenty years, Torun (in its strict historic center) has not changed... at all. Yes, that's it! The same signboards, the same sculptures in the Gothic walls, old Toruń gingerbread, Copernicus hanging everywhere (during my visit - to add to this impression - his 550th birthday fell - so Santa Claus was attacking literally from all sides).

Thegenius loci of Toruń is not only the walls, but also the dynamism, openness and atmosphere created by the people, especially the young ones

Because Torun is a specific city in the historical-social-political sense. To my eye, this city rallies too much on this Gothic old town. Its seductive potential seems to paralyze other fields of activity. The obviousness of Toruń's appeal somehow enslaves it - the result is an inbred urban environment, focused on itself, not the outside world. I know I'm generalizing and I'm probably picking on myself, but I feel like I'm breathing dust in Toruń, excessively living in the past. Even though, after all, I usually like the past a lot.

TheUniversity Bridge over the Brda River - these bends and strains foreshadow Bydgoszcz's energy, which surprised me

I talked to many residents of Toruń about it. They made no secret of their frustration, talking about a city where everything is decided by an all-powerful and eternal authority, a specific local, for years unchanging balance of power deciding everything important. Collaborating with right-wing politics, getting along with the "Father Sender" - "This translates into investments," said one of my interviewees. "Unfortunately, on the climate of the city, too". - I replied. This Toronto arrangement managing the city is somewhat effective, but thinking with the mentality of the sixty plus age group. For, although it's so beautiful here, the university functions, and the city seemingly has everything it needs, talented young people often don't plan to stay here after graduation. They need something more - a modern lightness, an airy atmosphere. It was for this reason that I felt my Torun restlessness - I missed the energy of Gdansk here, the sense of humor of Bielsko-Biała, the cosmopolitan atmosphere of Cracow, the creativity of Wroclaw, the spaciousness of Lodz, the warm magic of Lublin, some such youthfulness. It was a strange premonition-feeling, but I felt it clearly. Wishing Toruń some kind of new opening, putting the city in the hands of young wolves, I felt that I did not want to spend another night here. A beautiful city, but I left it with some strange relief, fortunately not to end my journey, but actually just to begin it. Because I continued on to the also long-lost Bydgoszcz.

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