Toruń

The siege of Thorn was set during the Great Northern War, between Sweden and Saxony from May to October 14, 1703. The Swedish army was commanded by Charles XII of Sweden and the Saxon by General von Kanitz. The siege ended with a victory for Sweden, and the whole garrison surrendered to the Swedes.

National Laboratory of Atomic, Molecular and Optical Physics (KL FAMO) is the national inter-university research center with the headquarters at Institute of Physics of Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń, Poland. Established in 2002, the Laboratory is focused on atomic, molecular, and optical physics (AMO).

Toruń Voivodeship (Polish: województwo toruńskie) was a unit of administrative division and local government in Poland in the years 1975–1998, superseded by the Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship. Its capital city was Toruń.

The New Town Market Square is the central point of the New Town in Toruń, Poland, designed in 1264, when the city was founded.

The Museum of Toruń Gingerbread (Polish: Muzeum Toruńskiego Piernika) is a museum dedicated to Toruń gingerbread. It claims to be the largest gingerbread museum in Europe. Opened in 2015, it is a branch of the District Museum in Toruń and was created with the cooperation with Kopernik, the oldest Polish confectionery company. Kopernik traces it roots to a gingerbread workshop established in 1763 by Johann Weese. The museum is located in the former factory building, built by Weese family in 1885. Earlier, the District Museum's collection of gingerbread-related artifacts was displayed in the cellars of the Copernicus House in Toruń. The museum has 1200 square metres of exhibition space on three floors. Included are a children’s area, interactive displays, videos, communist era interiors recreation, etc. Culinary workshops are offered to the visitors as well. The museum boasts a large collection of wooden gingerbread moulds.

The Pomeranian Voivodeship or Pomorskie Voivodeship (Polish: Województwo Pomorskie) was an administrative unit of interwar Poland (from 1919 to 1939). It ceased to function in September 1939, following the German and Soviet invasion of Poland. Most of the territory of Pomeranian province became part of the current Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship, of which one of two capitals is the same as the interwar voivodeship's Toruń; the second one is Bydgoszcz. The name Pomerania derives from the Slavic po more, meaning "by the sea" or "on the sea".

The siege of Toruń was one of the battles during the Swedish invasion of Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth (Second Northern War / Deluge). It started on 2 July 1658 and ended on 30 December 1658. Swedish garrison capitulated and Toruń returned to Polish hands. In mid- September 1657, after the Siege of Krakow (1657), the Holy Roman Empire army of 15,000, allied to the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, marched northwards. In late September, the Austrians concentrated near Plock. Polish King Jan Kazimierz wanted to use them to capture the fortified city of Toruń, but Austrian preparations for the siege were very slow and not completed before winter. Due to weather conditions, all military activities were postponed until spring 1658, and the Austrians spent the winter in Greater Poland. Polish plans for 1658 were concentrated on gradual recapture of the province of Royal Prussia. First objective was Toruń, a strategically located Vistula river port, with modern fortifications. Due to Dano-Swedish War, most Austrians, under Field Marshal Raimondo Montecuccoli, left Poland and marched to Jutland. On July 2, 1658, Austrian division of 4,000, under General Jean-Louis Raduit de Souches began the siege of Toruń. The Austrians were reinforced by Polish infantry, while the city was defended by a Swedish garrison of 2,400, commanded by General Barthold Hartwig von Bulow. Swedes were supported by German-speaking, Protestant residents of Toruń. In the first weeks, Austrian and Polish commandants limited their activities to blocking the city. On July 26, artillery barrage initiated an assault, which resulted in capture of several Swedish strongpoints. On August 1, Krzysztof Grodzicki arrived with 3,000 infantry. Soon afterwards, Jan Fryderyk Sapieha brought 1,000 soldiers, also the division of Stefan Czarniecki (4,000 cavalry) joined the Polish - Austrian forces. Furthermore, Brandenburg-Prussia division under Boguslaw Radziwill, which had switched alliances, cooperated with Poles. The division of Czarniecki remained near Toruń until early September, when it left Poland, marching towards Denmark. On October 12, Czarniecki and his soldiers reached Hamburg. In September 1658, Polish-Austrian forces were reinforced with a division of Jerzy Lubomirski, and on September 23, Queen Marie Louise Gonzaga arrived to Torun, together with her court. By that time, the Polish army stationed near the city had almost 19,000 soldiers, while Austrian forces numbered 4,600, with 40 cannons. Main assault took place in the night of November 16/17, when Polish-Austrian soldiers captured three bastions, losing 1,000 men. The Swedish garrison finally capitulated on December 30. During the siege, the Swedes lost 1,200 men, while Poles and Austrians lost 1,800 soldiers, including 1,500 Poles.

Toruń County (Polish: powiat toruński) is a unit of territorial administration and local government (powiat) in Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship, north-central Poland. It was created on January 1, 1999, as a result of the Polish local government reforms passed in 1998. Its administrative seat is the city of Toruń, although the city is not part of the county (it constitutes a separate city county). The only town in Toruń County is Chełmża, which lies nineteen kilometers (twelve miles) north of Toruń. The county covers an area of 1,229.71 square kilometres (474.8 sq mi). As of 2019 its total population is 107,641, out of which the population of Chełmża is 14,503 and the rural population is 93,138.

Toruń Castle or Thorn Castle is a 13th- or 14th-century castle of the Teutonic Order located in Toruń (Thorn), Poland. The castle is part of the Medieval Town of Toruń, one of the World Heritage Sites in Poland.

Toruń Regional Museum (Polish: Muzeum Okręgowe w Toruniu), located in the Ratusz hall of Toruń, is one of the oldest and largest museums in Poland. It started in 1594 as the mere Cabinet of Curiosities at the library of the academic Gimnazjum, called Musaeum in Latin. Re-established in sovereign Poland as a city museum in 1920 after the century of military partitions, it was administratively structured as the regional museum in 1965.

The Nicolaus Copernicus Monument in the home town of astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus (1473–1543) was erected in 1853 by a "monument committee" of the city's residents.