The little town where Copernicus lived

Torun’s Old Town, a World Heritage Site, is steeped in a world of knights and armour. Located on a little ford by the Vistula near Gdansk, it tells the story of an Old Gothic Town that has survived many a war, including World War II.

The fortress, the gates to the city, the medieval walls, the town hall and the Gothic churches, the Baroque granaries, the ancient houses – all take you to a world of legends.

Torun‘s tryst with medieval times harks back to the era of the Teutonic Knights, who were actually men of a religious order from Jerusalem. Invited by the Polish princes to fight against the pagan Prussians, these men of militia decided to build a castle on the banks of the Vistula and make Torun, with its river port, their home.

Constant wars between the Polish and the knights continued until the people of Torun eventually rebelled against the knights and laid siege to their castle. It lies in ruins here, but Torun’s medieval monuments have stood the test of time, even World War II, which left the town unscathed.

A chocolate brick tower looks askance at me from an angle. While it was attributed to a technical fault, a legend tells me that a love story between a knight and a nun went awry and the knight built the structure out of redemption, only to find it leaning. Local people say that you can clear your mind of guilt by standing below it for just ten seconds.

The town renowned for its legendary gingerbread revolves around one man who literally lives today in the city – Nicolas Copernicus Thorunensis. Statues and shops, universities and restaurants are all named after this man who observed that it was the earth that rotated around the static sun.

The 15th century astronomer lives in Torun. His two-storeyed house takes you into his world. We climb a wooden staircase and enter the house, which is a veritable treasure house and museum.

The church where Copernicus was baptised and the house where he was raised are living symbols of his life in the city. Even the company that sells gingerbread bears his name. And Torun is proud of its son man who showed the world the ways of the universe.