View source for Bydgoszcz–Toruń metropolitan area

{{Infobox settlement
|name              = Bydgoszcz–Toruń metropolitan area
|native_name       = ''bydgosko-toruński obszar metropolitalny''
|settlement_type   = Metropolitan area
|image_skyline =  {{Photomontage
  |color=#ffffff
  | photo1a = Stary Port, Mostowa, Bydgoszcz.jpg{{!}}Aerial view of the Old Town in Bydgoszcz
  | photo2a = Stare Miasto, Ratusz Staromiejski w Toruniu.jpg{{!}}Szeroka Street in the Old Town of Toruń, a UNESCO World Heritage Site
  | photo2b = Ostromecko Palac Mostowskich 2023.jpg{{!}}Old Palace in Ostromecko
  | photo3a = Kościół św. Mikołaja, zrewitalizowany rynek w Bydgoszczy.jpg{{!}}Aerial view of Fordon, Bydgoszcz
  | photo3b = Nowy dworzec kolejowy w Solcu Kujawskim.png{{!}}Train station in Solec Kujawski
  | photo4a = Osielsko 2024.jpg{{!}}Suburban area of Osielsko
  | photo4b = Ciechocinek, tężnia I (HB1).jpg{{!}}Spa town of Ciechocinek
  | spacing = 2
  | border = 0
  | size = 280
}}
|image_caption     = {{hlist|From top, left to right: Aerial view of the Old Town in [[Bydgoszcz]]|Szeroka Street, [[Toruń]]|The Old Palace in [[Ostromecko]]|Aerial view of [[Fordon, Bydgoszcz|Old Fordon]], Bydgoszcz|The train station in [[Solec Kujawski]]|The suburban area of [[Osielsko]]|The spa town of [[Ciechocinek]]}}
|image_map         = Bydgoszcz–Toruń metropolitan area.png
|mapsize           = 250px
|map_caption       =Bydgoszcz city and Toruń city (red)<br />[[Bydgoszcz County]] and [[Toruń County]] (orange) 
|subdivision_type  = Country
|subdivision_name  = {{flag|Poland}}
|subdivision_type1 = Region
|subdivision_name1 = {{flag|Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship}}
|subdivision_type2 = Largest city
|subdivision_name2 = [[Bydgoszcz]] 
|population_footnotes  =<ref  name="population">{{Cite web|last=GUS|title=Population. Size and structure and vital statistics in Poland by territorial division in 2019. As of 30th June|url=https://stat.gov.pl/en/topics/population/population/population-size-and-structure-and-vital-statistics-in-poland-by-territorial-division-in-2019-as-of-30th-june,3,26.html|access-date=2020-09-11|website=stat.gov.pl|language=en}}</ref>
|population_metro  = 752655
|area_metro_km2    = 2917
|area_metro_sq_mi  = 
|population_total  = 
|population_note   =
|population_as_of  = 
|population_density_metro_km2 = auto
|population_density_metro_sq_mi = 
|demographics_type2 = GDP
|demographics2_footnotes = <ref>{{Cite web|url=https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/nama_10r_3gdp/default/table|title=Gross domestic product (GDP) at current market prices by NUTS 3 regions|website=ec.europa.eu|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=}}</ref>
|demographics2_title1 = Metro
|demographics2_info1 = €11.904 billion (2021)
|timezone          = [[Central European Time|CET]]
|utc_offset        = +1
|timezone_DST = [[Central European Summer Time|CEST]]
|utc_offset_DST = +2
|elevation_footnotes    =
|elevation_max_m        =  
|elevation_max_ft       =
|elevation_min_m        = 
|elevation_min_ft       =
|blank_name_sec1 = Primary airport
|blank_info_sec1 = [[Bydgoszcz Ignacy Jan Paderewski Airport]]
|blank1_name_sec2 = [[Highways in Poland|Highways]]
|blank1_info_sec2 = [[File:A1-PL.svg|32px|link=A1 autostrada (Poland)]] [[File:S5-PL.svg|32px|link=Expressway S5 (Poland)]] [[File:S10-PL.svg|37px|link=Expressway S10 (Poland)]]
|website          = 
}}
{{Moresources|date=August 2025}}

'''Bydgoszcz–Toruń metropolitan area''' (Polish: ''bydgosko-toruński obszar metropolitalny'') is the name of the bi-polar [[metropolitan area]] in the middle of the [[Vistula]] river centered on the cities of [[Bydgoszcz]] and [[Toruń]] in north-central [[Poland]]. The distance between the built-up areas of the cities is about 30&nbsp;km. They are the administrative capitals and economic centers of [[Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship]].

The cities have traditionally been competitors through the centuries.{{Citation needed|date=July 2024}} In September 2004, the Medical Academy in Bydgoszcz joined [[Toruń University]] as Collegium Medicum in Bydgoszcz. This has usually been considered an important step in the integration process. {{clarify|date=August 2025}}

==Population==
The total population of the two biggest cities combined (Bydgoszcz<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://web.archive.org/web/20180111143626/http://www.verwaltungsgeschichte.de:80/pos_bromberg.html|title=Stadt- und Landkreis Bromberg|last=Deutsche Verwaltungsgeschichte|access-date=2013-12-19|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180111143626/http://www.verwaltungsgeschichte.de/pos_bromberg.html|archive-date=2018-01-11}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://sztetl.org.pl/pl/miejscowosci/b/287-bydgoszcz/100-demografia/20523-demografia|title=Bydgoszcz. Demografia|last=Wirtualny Sztetl|access-date=2024-07-21}}</ref> + Toruń<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://sztetl.org.pl/pl/miejscowosci/t/396-torun/100-demografia/22014-demografia|title=Toruń. Demografia|last=Wirtualny Sztetl|access-date=2024-07-21}}</ref>), excluding adjacent communities:
* 1900: 81,839 inhabitants (52,204 + 29,635)
* 1910: 103,923 inhabitants (57,696 + 46,227)<ref name=pan/>
* 1920: 121,354 inhabitants (84,054 + 37,300)
* 1931: 171,808 inhabitants (117,528 + 54,280)<ref name=pan>{{cite book|author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.-->|title=Dokumentacja Geograficzna|volume=3/4|year=1967|language=pl|location=Warszawa|publisher=Instytut Geografii [[Polish Academy of Sciences|Polskiej Akademii Nauk]]|pages=6, 52}}</ref>
* 1939: 224,275 inhabitants (143,075 + 81,200)
* 1946: 202,699 inhabitants (134,614 + 68,085)<ref name=pan/>
* 1950: 243,161 inhabitants (162,524 + 80,637)<ref name=pan/>
* 1955: 294,594 inhabitants (202,044 + 92,550)
* 1960: 336,913 inhabitants (232,007 + 104,906)<ref name=pan/>
* 1995: 590,716 inhabitants (386,056 + 204,660)
* 2020: 545,197 inhabitants (344,091 + 201,106)

==History==
[[File:Bydgoszcz 1657 sztych E Dalhberga.jpg|left|Bydgoszcz in 1657|thumb]][[File:Torun Hartknoch.jpg|Toruń in 1500|left|thumb]]
Historically, Bydgoszcz and Toruń were the most important [[Royal city in Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth|royal cities]] in the area. Both cities hosted sessions of the Polish Parliament, i.e. Bydgoszcz in 1520, and Toruń in 1576 and 1626.<ref>{{cite book|last=Konopczyński|first=Władysław|year=1948|title=Chronologia sejmów polskich 1493–1793|language=pl|location=Kraków|publisher=[[Polish Academy of Arts and Sciences|Polska Akademia Umiejętności]]|pages=135, 142, 148}}</ref> It is also where [[Peace of Thorn (disambiguation)|Peaces of Thorn]] and [[Treaty of Bromberg]] were signed. The two were parts of different administrative units for centuries, with Bydgoszcz starting as Polish and Toruń as Teutonic settlements, then becoming the biggest cities of [[Inowrocław Voivodeship]] and [[Chełmno Voivodeship]] in the [[Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth]], later in Germany of [[Bromberg (region)|Bromberg district]] ([[Province of Posen]]) and [[Marienwerder (region)|Marienwerder district]] ([[West Prussia]]).

This would change only in the year of 1938, when Bydgoszcz was moved from the Poznań to the Pomeranian Voivodeship with Toruń, soon to take the role of the capital of the whole region.<ref>{{cite magazine |last= Klapka|first= Krzysztof|date= 2006|title="Stolica województwa musi być u nas!" - spór Bydgoszczy i Torunia w latach 1936-1950. |url= https://czasopisma.ukw.edu.pl/index.php/kronika-bydgoska/article/view/1963|magazine= Kronika Bydgoska|location= |publisher=|access-date=2024-07-21}}</ref>

The postwar growth of the cities and the new political administrative landscape led to application of the term "Bydgoszcz-Toruń metropolitan area" which first appeared in the 1960s.<ref>{{cite magazine |last= |first= |date= 2014|title=  Delimitacja Bydgosko-Toruńskiego Obszaru Metropolitalnego na tle ujęć historycznych.|url= https://apcz.umk.pl/AUNC_EKON/article/view/AUNC_ECON.2014.004|url-status= |magazine= Acta Universitatis Nicolai Copernici Ekonomia|location= |publisher= |archive-url= |archive-date= |access-date=2024-07-21}}</ref>

==Education==
* [[Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń]]
* [[Casimir the Great University in Bydgoszcz]]
* [[Bydgoszcz University of Science and Technology]]
* [[Nicolaus Copernicus University Ludwik Rydygier Collegium Medicum in Bydgoszcz]]
* [[Feliks Nowowiejski Music Academy]], Bydgoszcz
* [[Jagiellonian College]], Toruń
* [[WSB Merito Universities]]

==Sights==
[[File:Torun rynek staromiejski (2).jpg|thumb|right|Old Town of [[Toruń]], [[UNESCO]] [[World Heritage Site]]]]
The main sights of the agglomeration are the old towns of Bydgoszcz and Toruń, with the latter listed as a [[World Heritage Site]]. The local [[spa town]] is [[Ciechocinek]], and its [[Ciechocinek graduation towers|graduation towers]], saline and spa parks are declared a [[List of Historic Monuments (Poland)|Historic Monument of Poland]].<ref>{{Cite Polish law|title=Rozporządzenie Prezydenta Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej z dnia 22 listopada 2017 r. w sprawie uznania za pomnik historii "Ciechocinek - zespół tężni i warzelni soli wraz z parkami Tężniowym i Zdrojowym"|year=2017|number=2276}}</ref>

The metropolitan area is rich in historic architecture ranging from [[Romanesque architecture in Poland|Romanesque]] and [[Gothic architecture]] to [[Renaissance architecture|Renaissance]], [[Baroque architecture|Baroque]] and [[Art Nouveau]]. There are also several castles and palaces, including [[Dybów Castle|Dybów]], [[Zamek Bierzgłowski]], [[Palaces and park ensemble in Ostromecko|Ostromecko]], [[Żołędowo, Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship|Żołędowo]]. The Dybów Castle was the place where in 1454 King [[Casimir IV Jagiellon]] issued the famous [[Statutes of Nieszawa]], covering a set of privileges for the [[szlachta|Polish nobility]]; an event that is regarded as the birth of the noble democracy in Poland, which lasted until the late-18th-century [[Partitions of Poland]].

Bydgoszcz and Toruń host major museums and art galleries, including the [[Regional Museum, Bydgoszcz|Leon Wyczółkowski Regional Museum]] in Bydgoszcz and [[District Museum in Toruń]]. The more unique museums include:
*[[Copernicus House in Toruń]], museum dedicated to [[Nicolaus Copernicus]]
*European Museum of Money at the former [[Bydgoszcz Mint|Polish Royal Mint in Bydgoszcz]]
*Museum of [[Toruń gingerbread|Toruń Gingerbread]] in Toruń
*Museum of Far Eastern Art in the [[Under the Star Tenement House in Toruń]]
*Andrzej Szwalbe Collection of Historical Pianos at the palace in [[Ostromecko]], one of two largest such collections in Poland
*[[Exploseum]] in Bydgoszcz, operated at the site of a former Nazi German arms factory.

==Sports==
[[Motorcycle speedway]], [[basketball]] and [[volleyball]] enjoy the largest following in the metropolitan area. The [[KS Toruń]] and [[Polonia Bydgoszcz]] clubs are among the most accomplished speedway clubs in the country and contest the [[Pomeranian-Kuyavian Derby]], one of the fiercest speedway rivalries.
[[File:Bdg halaLuczniczka 17 07-2013.jpg|thumb|[[Łuczniczka]] indoor arena in Bydgoszcz, one of the arenas of the [[EuroBasket 2009]], [[EuroBasket Women 2011]] and [[2014 FIVB Volleyball Men's World Championship]]]]
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="font-size:90%"
|-
|+ Professional sports teams
|-
!Club
!Sport
!League
!Trophies
|-
|[[Polonia Bydgoszcz]]
|Speedway
|[[Polish Speedway First League|1 Liga]]
|7 Polish Championships
|-
|[[KS Toruń]]
|Speedway
|[[Ekstraliga (speedway)|Ekstraliga]]
|4 Polish Championships
|-
|[[Twarde Pierniki Toruń]]
|Basketball (men's)
|[[Polish Basketball League]]
|1 Polish Cup ([[2018 Polish Basketball Cup|2018]])
|-
|[[Astoria Bydgoszcz]]
|Basketball (men's)
|[[I Liga (basketball)|I Liga]]
|0
|-
|[[Basket 25 Bydgoszcz]]
|Basketball (women's)
|[[Basket Liga Kobiet]]
|1 Polish Cup (2018)
|-
|[[Katarzynki Toruń]]
|Basketball (women's)
|[[Basket Liga Kobiet]]
|0
|-
|[[TKH Toruń|KS Toruń HSA]]
|[[Ice hockey]]
|[[Polska Hokej Liga]]
|1 Polish Cup (2005)
|-
|[[BKS Visła Bydgoszcz]]
|Volleyball (men's)
|I liga
|0
|-
|[[Anioły Toruń]]
|Volleyball (men's)
|I liga
|0
|-
|[[Pałac Bydgoszcz]]
|Volleyball (women's)
|[[Polish Women's Volleyball League|Tauron Liga]]
|1 Polish Championship (1993)<br>3 Polish Cups (1992, 2001, 2005)
|-
|[[Zawisza Bydgoszcz]]
|[[Association football|Football]] (men's)
|[[III liga]]
|1 [[Polish Cup]] ([[2013–14 Polish Cup|2014]])
|-
|[[Elana Toruń]]
|[[Association football|Football]] (men's)
|[[III liga]]
|0
|-
|[[KKP Bydgoszcz]]
|[[Association football|Football]] (women's)
|I liga
|0
|-
|[[FC Toruń]]
|Futsal (men's)
|[[Ekstraklasa (futsal)|Ekstraklasa]]
|0
|-
|[[Pomorzanin Toruń]]
|[[Field hockey]] (men's)
|Superliga
|3 Polish Championships (1990, 2014, 2023)
|-
|[[Bydgoszcz Archers]]
|[[American football]]
|[[Polish Football League]]
|1 Polish Championship (2021)
|-
|[[Angels Toruń]]
|[[American football]]
|[[Polish Football League]]
|0
|}

==See also==
* [[Metropolitan areas in Poland]]
* [[Bydgoszcz metropolitan area]]
{{coord missing|Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship}}
{{authority control}}
==References==
{{Reflist}}
{{Metropolitan areas in Poland}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bydgoszcz-Torun}}
[[Category:Metropolitan areas of Poland]]
[[Category:Bydgoszcz]]