Bydgoszcz

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Bydgoszcz
Skyline of Bydgoszcz
Flag of Bydgoszcz
Flag		 Coat of arms of Bydgoszcz
Coat of arms
Bydgoszcz (Poland)
Bydgoszcz
Bydgoszcz
Coordinates: 53°7′N 18°0′E / 53.117, 18
Country Flag of Poland Poland
Voivodeship Kuyavian-Pomeranian
County city county
Established before 1238
Town rights 1346/1349
Government
 - President (Mayor) Konstanty Dombrowicz
Area
 - City 175 km² (67.6 sq mi)
Elevation 60 m (197 ft)
Population (2006)
 - City 364,953
 - Density 2,085.4/km² (5,401.3/sq mi)
 - Metro 460,499
Time zone CET (UTC+1)
 - Summer (DST) CEST (UTC+2)
Postal code 85-001 to 85-915
Area code(s) +48 52
Car plates CB
Website: http://www.bydgoszcz.pl/

Bydgoszcz [ˈbɨdgɔʂt​͡ʂ] (Image:Ltspkr.png listen) (German: Bromberg (Image:Ltspkr.png listen), Lithuanian: Bydgoščius, Latin: Bydgostia) is a city in northern Poland, on the Brda and Vistula rivers, with a population of 369,151 (2004), agglomeration more than 400 000, which makes it the 8th biggest city in Poland. It has been the capital of the Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship since 1999, and was previously the capital of the Bydgoszcz Voivodeship (1947-1998) and before that, of the Pomeranian Voivodeship (1945-1947). Since 1999 it is also the seat of Bydgoszcz County.

Bydgoszcz is part of the metroplex Bydgoszcz-Toruń with Toruń, only 45 km away, and over 850,000 inhabitants. Bydgoszcz is the seat of Casimir the Great University, University of Technology and Life Sciences and a conservatory as well as a Collegium Medicum. Bydgoszcz has a famous Concert Hall (Filharmonia Pomorska), opera house Opera Nova, From the Bydgoszcz Ignacy Jan Paderewski Airport there are flights to Warsaw, London, Dublin, Liverpool, Berlin,Katowice,Vienna, Copenhagen and Düsseldorf-Weeze (from 30th March 2008) as well charter flights to Antalya, Crete and Tunis. Thank to its location between Vistula and Odra water system on the Bydgoszcz channel the city is an important link in a water system connected via Noteć, Warta, Odra, Elbe with the Rhine and Rotterdam.

Contents

[edit] History

Originally a fishing settlement called Bydgozcya[citation needed] ("Bydgostia" in Latin), the city became a stronghold for the Vistula trade routes. In the 13th century it was the site of a castellany, first mentioned in 1238. The city was occupied by the Teutonic Knights from 1331-1337, and later by King Casimir III of Poland, who granted the city municipal rights on 19 April 1346. The city increasingly saw an influx of Jews after that date.

In the 15th-16th centuries Bydgoszcz was a significant site for corn trading. The Treaty of Bydgoszcz was signed in the city in 1657.

Bydgoszcz followed the history of Greater Poland until 1772, when it was annexed by the Kingdom of Prussia in the First Partition of Poland and incorporated into the Netze District and, later, West Prussia. During this time, a canal was built from Bydgoszcz to Nakło which connected the north-flowing Vistula River via the Brda to the west-flowing Noteć, which in turn flowed to the Oder via the Warta.

In 1807 Bydgoszcz became part of the Duchy of Warsaw. In 1815 it returned to Prussian rule as part of the autonomous Grand Duchy of Poznań (the [[Province of Posen after 1848) and the capital of the Bromberg region. After 1871 the city was part of the German Empire. After World War I and the Great Poland Uprising, Bydgoszcz was annexed to Poland in 1919. It shifted in 1938 to the Pomeranian Voivodeship.

From 1939-45 during World War II, Bydgoszcz was overrun by Nazi Germany and annexed to the Reichsgau Wartheland. On September 3 1939, shortly after the war started, the Bromberg Bloody Sunday incident occurred in which numerous Poles and Germans were killed; the incident was used by Nazi propaganda for retaliation against Poles after Bydgoszcz was occupied by the Wehrmacht on September 9. The city's Jewish citizens were repressed, as thousands of people were sent to concentration camps and/or executed. Bydgoszcz was the site of Bromberg-Ost, a female subcamp of Stutthof. The subcamp staffed several female SS guards (Aufseherin) and was commanded by the Oberaufseherin Johanna Wisotzki and a male commandant. A deportation camp was situated in Smukała village, now part of Bydgoszcz. According to Nowa encyklopedia powszechna PWN, 37,000 citizens of the city died during the war.[1]

In 1945 Bydgoszcz was liberated and annexed again to Poland.

In 1981 Solidarity's activists were violently suppressed in Bydgoszcz.

River Brda at night
River Brda at night

[edit] Economy

[edit] Major corporations

[edit] Education

Bydgoszcz
Bydgoszcz

[edit] Transport

Bydgoszcz
Bydgoszcz

[edit] Airports

[edit] Railway stations

  • Bydgoszcz Główna - main railway station
  • Bydgoszcz Leśna
  • Bydgoszcz Wschód
  • Bydgoszcz Zachód
  • Bydgoszcz Łęgnowo
  • Bydgoszcz Bielawy
  • Bydgoszcz Osowa Góra

[edit] Bus stations

  • PKS Bydgoszcz - operates inter-city and international bus routes

[edit] Culture

[edit] Museums

  • Muzeum Okręgowe im. Leona Wyczółkowskiego (Leon Wyczółkowski District Museum) is a municipally-owned museum. Apart from a large collection of Leon Wyczółkowski's works, it houses permanent as well as temporary exhibitions of art.

It occupies several buildings: - Main building (Gdańska 4 St.) - The White Granary (Mennica St.)

[edit] Classical music

  • Filharmonia Pomorska im. Ignacego Paderewskiego (Ignacy Paderewski's Concert Hall) - thanks to superbly designed acoustic qualities of the main concert hall, it is one of the best classical music concert halls in Europe.

[edit] Popular music

  • Concerts of popular music in Bydgoszcz are usually held in Filharmonia Pomorska, Łuczniczka, Zawisza and Polonia stadiums as well as open plains of Myslecinek's Rozopole on the outskirts of the city.

Alternative music festival "Low Fi" http://www.lowfi-festival.com

[edit] Theatre

Opera Nova
Opera Nova
  • Teatr Polski im. Hieronima Konieczki (Hieronim Konieczka's Polish Theatre) - despite its name, theatre offers a wide variety of shows both of national and foreign origin. It also regularly plays hosts to a large number of touring shows. Once a year, in autumn, "Festiwal Prapremier" is organized: the most renowned Polish theatres stage their latest premieres.
  • Opera Nova (The Nova Opera)

[edit] Sports

[edit] Sports clubs

[edit] Sports facilities

Łuczniczka.
Łuczniczka.

[edit] Sports events

[edit] Politics

[edit] Bydgoszcz constituency

River Brda.
River Brda.

Members of Polish Sejm 2007-2011 elected from Bydgoszcz constituency:

Members of Polish Senate 2007-2011 elected from Bydgoszcz constituency:

[edit] People

Hotel "Pod Orłem".
Hotel "Pod Orłem".

[edit] Legends

It is also said that Pan Twardowski spent some time in the city of Bydgoszcz, where, in his memory, a figure was recently mounted in a window of a tenement, overseeing the Old Town. At 1:13 p.m. and 9:13 p.m. the window opens and Pan Twardowski appears, to the accompaniment of weird music and devilish laughter. He takes a bow, waves his hand, and then disappears. This little show gathers crowds of amused spectators.

[edit] Sister cities

Bydgoszcz Twin Cities sign on the Theatre Square
Bydgoszcz Twin Cities sign on the Theatre Square

[edit] See also

[edit] References

[edit] External links

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v • d • e
Principal cities of Poland Flag of Poland

Warsaw • Kraków • Łódź • Wrocław • Poznań • Gdańsk • Szczecin • Bydgoszcz • Lublin • Katowice • Białystok • Gdynia •
Częstochowa • Radom • Sosnowiec • Kielce • Toruń • Olsztyn • Rzeszów • Opole • Gorzów Wielkopolski • Zielona Góra

 Poland administrative divisions since 1999
v • d • e
Counties of Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship

City counties: Bydgoszcz (governor's seat) • Toruń (assembly seat) • Grudziądz • Włocławek

Land counties: Aleksandrów • Brodnica • Bydgoszcz • Chełmno • Golub-Dobrzyń • Grudziądz • Inowrocław • Lipno • Mogilno • Nakło • Radziejów • Rypin • Sępólno • Świecie • Toruń • Tuchola • Wąbrzeźno • Włocławek • Żnin
v • d • e
Bydgoszcz County

Urban-rural gminas: Gmina Koronowo • Gmina Solec Kujawski

Rural gminas: Gmina Białe Błota • Gmina Dąbrowa Chełmińska • Gmina Dobrcz • Gmina Nowa Wieś Wielka • Gmina Osielsko • Gmina Sicienko

Seat (not part of the county): Bydgoszcz

Coordinates: 53°13′N, 18°00′E