Bydgoszcz

The name Bydgoszcz, originally Bydgoszcza, derives from Bydgost, a personal name, and the suffix -ja, denoting ownership. The German name Bromberg is an alteration of Braheberg, meaning "hill on the Brahe River" (Polish: Brda). The Latin names for the city are Bidgostia and Civitas Bidgostiensis. In Polish, the city's name has feminine grammatical gender.

In ancient times, there was a development of settlements related to lively trade contacts with the Roman Empire, as Askaukalis a convenient location of today's Bydgoszcz laid on the Amber Road heading northwest to the Baltic coastline avoiding crossing the Vistula river. During the early Slavic period a fishing settlement called Bydgoszcza ("Bydgostia" in Latin) became a stronghold on the Vistula trade routes. The gród of Bydgoszcz was built between 1037 and 1053 during the reign of Casimir I the Restorer. In the 13th century it was the site of a castellany, mentioned in 1238, probably founded in the early 12th century during the reign of Bolesław III Wrymouth. In the 13th century, the church of Saint Giles was built as the first church of Bydgoszcz. The Germans later demolished it in the late 19th century. The first bridge was constructed at the reign of Casimir I of Kuyavia. …

Bydgoszcz has a humid continental climate (Köppen Dfb).

Bydgoszcz is a major cultural centre in the country, especially for music. Traditions of the municipal theatre date back to the 17th century, when the Jesuit college built a theatre. In 1824, a permanent theatre building was erected, and this was rebuilt in 1895 in a monumental form by the Berlin architect Heinrich Seeling. The first music school was established in Bydgoszcz in 1904; it had close links to the very well-known European piano factory of Bruno Sommerfeld. Numerous orchestras and choirs, both German (Gesangverein, Liedertafel) and Polish (St. Wojciech Halka, Moniuszko), have also made the city their home. Since 1974, Bydgoszcz has been home to a very prestigious Academy of Music. …

In the city, there are 38 banks represented through a network of 116 branches (including the headquarters of the Bank Pocztowy SA), whilst 37 insurance companies also have offices in the city. JP Morgan Chase, one of the largest financial institutions in the world, has established a branch in Bydgoszcz. Most industrial complexes are scattered throughout the city. Of note are the 'Zachem' chemical works, covering dozens of square kilometers in the south-east of the city. These remnants of the German explosives factory built in World War II occupy an area which has its own rail lines, internal communication and housing, plus a large forested area. An open-air museum, the Exploseum, is located here as well. Since 2001, Bydgoszcz has been annually subjected to international 'verification' ratings. …

The oldest building in the city is the Cathedral of St Martin and St Nicolas, commonly known as Fara Church. It is a three-aisle late Gothic church, erected between 1466 and 1502, which boasts a late-Gothic painting entitled Madonna with a Rose or the Holy Virgin of Beautiful Love from the 16th century. The colourful 20th-century polychrome is also especially worthy of note. The Church of the Assumption of the Holy Virgin, commonly referred to as "The Church of Poor Clares," is a famous landmark of the city. It is a small, Gothic-Renaissance (including Neo-Renaissance additions), single-aisle church built between 1582 and 1602. The interior is rather austere since the church has been stripped of most of its furnishings. …