Philadelphia Boulevard

Philadelphia Boulevard from the Józef Piłsudski Road Bridge

The Philadelphia Boulevard in Toruń is a quay on the right bank of the Vistula in Poland Toruń .

location

The boulevard is located on the right bank of the city between the old town complex and the Vistula river.

The 2 km long quay begins at the AZS marina ( Przystań AZS in Polish ; AZS is the Polish Academic Sports Association) and ends at the Ernest Malinowski railway bridge.

history

Quayside in 1684

From the founding of the city until the 1960s, the quay at the height of the old town complex served as a port and trading center. During Toruń's membership in the Hanseatic League, seagoing ships arrived here, and the city itself was then one of the largest Hanseatic port centers on the riverbank.

During the Prussian era, the authorities at that time planned to close the port and replace it with a boulevard after the construction of the wooden port in the western part of the city in 1909.

In the interwar period, in 1935, 3900 ships and 2618 berlinkas (smaller merchant ships) arrived at the port. 3872 ships and 2590 berlinkas were handled from the port. They mainly transported sugar, flour, barley and oats. It is noteworthy that in addition to Polish ships, ships and Berlinkas flying the flags of the Free City of Gdansk , Germany and Sweden also docked at the port.

Philadelphiaboulevard, today's view

At that time, the city's architect at the time, Ignacy Tłoczek, also planned the construction of the boulevard on the bank of the Vistula. He planned it on the section from the city park in the Bydgoszcz suburb (Polish: Bydgoskie Przedmieście ) to the area around today's E. Zawacka road bridge. The outbreak of World War II destroyed these plans.

In the 1960s, the port was disbanded due to the decreasing popularity of shipping in Poland . Harbor cranes were removed and the railroad tracks dismantled.

The construction of the quay in its current form began at the end of the 1960s and ended in 1973 on the occasion of the Copernicus Year (the 500th birthday of Nicolaus Copernicus ). The boulevard was named Philadelphiaboulevard in 1973 in honor of Toruń's American twin city (one of the city squares in Philadelphia is called the Torun Triangle). In 2005, the first phase of the renovation of the boulevard began on an almost 360-meter stretch between the historic Limnigraphen and Wola Zamkowa Street. The steps were renovated and the paving made of hexagonal concrete slabs was replaced by concrete dowels and granite cubes. The second phase of the renovation included repairing the fortifications between the Józef Piłsudski road bridge and the Limnigraph. This stage was completed in 2007, while the third stage ended in 2009 on the 645-meter-long section between Wola Zamkowa and the Ernest Malinowski railway bridge. All renovations and modernizations concerned the quay.

In 2013, the section of the quay between the Józef Piłsudski road bridge and the AZS marina was renovated, and a year later its upper part was installed. A beach, a playground, bike paths, sports fields and a modern marina were built. In 2015, an urban and architectural concept was drawn up for the development of the boulevard from the Józef Piłsudski road bridge to the Ernest Malinowski railway bridge. Simple architectural forms are to be built on the extension of the old town complex, e.g. E.g .: stairs with viewing platforms and gastronomic pavilions. In addition, the concept envisages restricting traffic on Bulwar Filadelfijski Street so that pedestrians and cyclists have priority. The boulevard is lavishly planted: with bushes, flower beds and trees. Construction work is scheduled to begin after 2020.

Culture

Various open-air cultural and historical events are held on the boulevard, including the Toruń Days and the Vistula Festival.

Infrastructure

Jetty for the ship "Wanda"

The boats "Katarzynka" and "Wanda" sail in the tourist season. They have their own jetties .
The AZS marina serves the rowing department of the Academic Sports Association (AZS) of the Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń , students of the sports championship school and sailing enthusiasts from Toruń.

tourism

The boulevard is one of the most visited places in Toruń. According to city visitors, in 2013 it was one of the greatest attractions of Toruń after the Old Town Hall, the Copernicus House , St. John's Cathedral and the planetarium.

Interesting facts

In 1969, scenes from the Polish cult film “Rejs” by director Marek Piwowski were shot here.
On May 3, 1982, an anti-communist manifestation took place on the boulevard.