Dybów Castle

Inner courtyard of the castle

The castle Dybów (Pol .: Zamek Dybów, German: Burg Dybow or ruin Dybow even ruin Dibau ) is located in the Polish town of Torun ( Thorn ) in the left bank of the Vistula , opposite the old town.

Border castle

Entrance gate

It was founded in 1423 by the Lithuanian Grand Duke and Polish King Władysław II Jagiełło on the soil of the Duchy of Kujawia as a border post against the Kulmerland , the southernmost part of the Teutonic Order .

Less than ten years later, however, the Teutonic Order itself came into the possession of the castle, from 1431 to 1435. After the reconquest, it was further expanded by the Polish side and now had four floors.

As the Prussian cities opposed the monastic state from 1456 in an alliance with Poland and the 1466 in the Second Peace of Thorne had to cede the Kulmerland, Pomerellen and central parts of Prussia to the Polish crown, Dybów Castle lost its border location and thus its importance. During the Ten Years' War , the Nieszawa market settlement near the castle was demolished in 1460 under pressure from the Thorner citizens and settled 30 km away as Nowa Nieszawa.

In 1512 the castle came into the possession of the city of Thorn as a pledge.

Invaders and besiegers

In the "Swedish Flood" the castle was burned down by Swedish troops in 1656 . Nevertheless, it was used again by Swedish troops as a guard post in 1703 when they besieged the city. In the 18th century the castle came into the possession of the Dębski family.

During the French retreat in 1813 , a French crew of 40 soldiers withstood a three-month siege by the Russian army until they surrendered in the city along with the French and Saxons.

Present and environment

In 1848 the castle was razed again and has been in ruins ever since. As such, however, it was restored in 1998-2000.

The Bydgoskie Przedmieście, now called Bydgoskie Przedmieście, was built near the castle in the late 18th century. In 1862 the Bydgoszcz - Warsaw line was the first train station in the city, from which today's Toruń Główny Railway Station developed.