Bydgoszcz

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Bydgoszcz

Bydgoszcz (; German: ; Latin: Bydgostia) is a city in northern Poland, on the Brda and Vistula rivers, with a population of 369,151 (2004). Together with Toruń it has been the capital of the Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodship since 1999, and was previously the capital of the Bydgoszcz Voivodship (1947-1998) and before that, of the Pomeranian Voivodship (1945-1947).

Bydgoszcz is part of the metroplex Bydgoszcz-Toruń with Toruń, only 45 km away, and over 600,000 inhabitants. In September 2004 the Medical Academy in Bydgoszcz joined Toruń University as Collegium Medicum UMK in Bydgoszcz.

History

Originally a fishing settlement called Bydgoszcz ("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. Bydgoszcz was occupied by the Teutonic Knights from 1331-1337, and was recovered by King Casimir III, who granted the city municipal rights on 19 April 1346. The city increasingly saw an influx of ethnic Germans and 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 town 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. During this time, the 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 and capital of Bromberg district. After 1871 the city was part of the German Empire's Province of Posen. After World War I and the Great Poland Uprising, Bydgoszcz returned to Poland in 1919. It shifted in 1938 to Pomerania Voivodship.

From 1939-45 during World War II, Bydgoszcz was occupied by Nazi Germany and annexed to the Reichsgau Wartheland. On September 3 1939, shortly after the war started, the disputed 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 executed and sent to concentration camps. Bydgoszcz (Fordon) 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. According to Nowa encyklopedia powszechna PWN, 37,000 citizens of the city died during the war.^*

In 1945 Bydgoszcz was liberated and returned to Poland.

Economy

Major corporations

Education

Akademia Techniczno-Rolnicza im. Jana i Jędrzeja Śniadeckich
Akademia Muzyczna
Toruń University Collegium Medicum im. Ludwika Rydygiera (Uniwersytet Mikołaja Kopernika w Toruniu, Akademia Medyczna)
Uniwersytet Kazimierza Wielkiego
Ośrodek Akademii Ekonomicznej w Poznaniu
Sekcja Wydziału Teologicznego Uniwersytetu im. A. Mickiewicza w Poznaniu

Sports

Ostromecko Astoria Bydgoszcz - men's basketball team playing in Era Basket Liga: 8th in 2003/2004 season.
GCB Adriana Gazeta Pomorska Bydgoszcz- women's volleyball team playing in Polish Seria A Women's Volleyball League: 2nd place in 2004/2005 season.
Budlex Polonia Bydgoszcz - motorcycle speedway team from the Polish Ekstraliga. 2nd place in the 2005 season.
Zawisza Bydgoszcz
Bydgoszcz will be the host of the 2008 IAAF World Junior Track & Field Championships

Politics

Bydgoszcz constituency

Members of Parliament (Sejm) elected from Bydgoszcz constituency

Paweł Olszewski, PO
Teresa Piotrowska, PO
Maciej Swiatkowski, PO
Grazyna Ciemniak, SLD
Slawomir Jeneralski, SLD
Janusz Zemke, SLD
Witold Hatka, LPR
Tomasz Markowski, PiS
Wojciech Mojzesowicz, PiS
Tomasz Latos, PiS
Andrzej Walkowiak, PiS
Jan Bestry, Samoobrona

Famous people from Bydgoszcz

Hansjochem Autrum, zoologist
Zbigniew Boniek, football player
Jan Kulczyk, businessman
Hugo Hergesell
Eberhard von Mackensen, general
Edmund Michał Piszcz, bishop
Marian Rejewski, cryptologist
Radek Sikorski, Poland's defence minister

Sister Cities

Cherkasy, Ukraine Hartford, United States Kragujevac, Serbia Kremenchuk, Ukraine Mannheim, Germany Ningbo, People's Republic of China Pavlodar, Kazakhstan Patras, Greece Perth, Scotland Reggio Emilia, Italy Tempe, United States Wilhelmshaven, Germany

External links

Cities in Poland | Urban counties of Poland

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