To find the sun ...
Quote of the week
To know that we know what we know, and to know that we do not know what we do not know, that is true knowledge.
Nicolaus Copernicus
Hello,
Today we take the sun for granted. But there was a time when the earth was the most important planet in our universe. With Nicolaus Copernicus this changed, even if it took some years before it became a truth. We have visited Torun, the place where the great man was born. Even today, it is like going back in time, since the town seems not to have changed so much since he lived there.
Torun
The city is one of the oldest in Poland with settlements already in the 8th century. It was founded by the Teutonic Knights in 1231, got its city rights in 1232, and became part of the Hanseatic League in 1281. After a peace treaty in 1466 it was stated that the city should belong to Poland. That led to 200 years of prosperity which was broken when the Swedes invaded in the 1650s. Sweden occupied it 1655-58. In 1702 it capitulated to another Swedish king, Charles XII.
In the 17th century it was a leading trading point, which is visible in its architecture which is going from Brick Gothic to Mannerist and Baroque. After the Second Partition of Poland in 1793, the city was annexed by Prussia, even serving as a temporary Polish capital in 1809. It became again a Polish city in 1920 and 1945. It was spared bombing during the Second World War, and therefore the historical centre is well preserved.
As a Swede, I was surprised by reading that it is renowned for its Museum of Gingerbread. I thought the Swedes had a sort of copyright of these Christmas cookies. It turns out to be more of a bread, but, as I understand, with the same spices that we use.
The city’s most notable celebrity is Nikolaus Copernicus (1473-1543). He was a mathematician, astronomer and Catholic canon. He formulated a model of the universe that placed the Sun rather than Earth at its center. He published his findings in De revolutionibus orbium coelestium (On the Revolutions of the Celestial Spheres) just before his death in 1543.
It only stirred a mild controversy. It was not discussed at the Council of Trent (1543-63). It has been widely debated why it was not banned by the Catholic Church until six decades later. At the museum there was a note that the book, or paper, was so difficult to read, that it took time before it was thoroughly understood.
The museum is well worth a visit and there is also an original of his book. The museum is in the house where he was born and lived the first part of his life. The interior is of course different from his time, but it is well preserved and furnished in a way that was common at the time. A table in one of the rooms was decorated as a painted stilleben, so beautiful.
It was wonderful to stroll around the city, have lunch at a beautiful restaurant and buy an ice cream. The weekend also hosted an event by the Hanseatic League cities and one of the squares were full of representatives from the 80, or a little bit less, countries that once made up this League.
Kraków
Kraków has a long history which goes back to the Stone age. I will not take you back that far. One of the most beautiful cities in Europe it is build up around the Wawel Royal Castle, situated on a hill overlooking the Old town. According to a legend the city was founded by the mythical ruler Krakus. He built it above a cave occupied by a dragon, Smok Wawelski. The name of the city dates back to 965 when it was the leading centre of Polish academic, economic, cultural and artistic life.
The Wawel Castle was extended with churches, a cathedral and a basilica. It was sacked and burned by the Mongols in 1241, but rebuilt. New invasions and rulers followed. In 1364 Casimir III the Great founded the University of Kraków, the second oldest in Central Europe after Charles University in Prague, which made the city more important.
The Golden Age of the city came in the 15th and 16th centuries, with an increase in art and architecture, including ancient synagogues in the Jewish quarter. Artist came to live in the city, creating religious art work for churches, a printing press was established. Hans Dürer, a younger brother of Albrecht Dürer, was Sisigsmund’s court painter. Still today the city is renowned for literature and art.
We walked around inside the castle walls where you can choose to visit various buildings. We only went into the National Museum with their historical rooms, filled with paintings and furniture giving you an impression of another time. There are several restaurants and cafés where you can rest your tired feet, eat something and gather more energy for a tour in the old town.
That will be for next week when I will take you to the Princess Czartoryski Museum. A very interesting museum, with surprisingly interesting items. The story of this collection, and its history of survival makes for thrilling reading.
My blog this week
Three posts this week. It is time for the annual challenge of Paris in July, when bloggers with an interest in Paris and everything French share their reads, dinners, food and everything else with a French touch.
Love in a Time of Hate, Art and Passion in the Shadow of War 1929-1939 by Florian Illies
June Wrap-Up (What I read in June and plans for July)