Bydgoszcz description, location, history. Poland map.

Bydgoszcz description, location, history. Poland map.

Bydgoszcz is located in the eastern part of Toruń Valley on the Brda River, close to its confluence with the Vistula River. Being the urban county and the capital of the Kujawsko-Pomorskie Voivodeship (Province), the city comprises the Marshal of the Voivodeship and the Staroste of Bydgoszcz Poviat (administrative unit).

The city was chartered by King Casimir III the Great on April 19, 1346.

The origins of Bydgoszcz date back to the Middle Ages, when the city was a wooden fishing settlement. Due to its location near the Amber Route, the settlement was growing quickly and soon became a fortified town.

In the years 1772-1806 and 1815-1920 Bydgoszcz was annexed by the Kingdom of Prussia. In 1807 the city became part of the Duchy of Warsaw, only to return to Prussian rule in 1815, as part of the autonomous Grand Duchy of Poznań. Built in the years 1773-1774, Bydgoszcz Canal became one of Poland's major inland ports connecting Brda and Noteć rivers. Due to the industrial revolution which began in the 19th century, the city became the major industrial centre in the region. The construction of the railway connecting Piła, Gdańsk, Toruń and Inowrocław made the city the major transportation system. Of all the cities brought under the Prussian rule, Bydgoszcz rapidly became the most German and after 1920 it became the centre of the German minority community.

On September 3, 1939 a highly controversial massacre (known as Bloody Sunday) took place in and around Bydgoszcz. The Polish units of the army were fighting with pro-German sabotage and guerilla units.

In 1973, the town of Fordon became one on the districts of Bydgoszcz. Since January 1, 1999 the city has belonged to Kujawsko-Pomorskie Voivodeship.