Philadelphia Boulevard
Philadelphia Boulevard is a perfect place for strolls – it runs along the Vistula River embankment, offering beautiful views of the city – especially the historic defensive walls – and the bridges spanning the Vistula.
Weather permitting, you can sit here, relax, and even sunbathe. In summer, the Boulevard is a starting point for tourist cruises along the river aboard the Wanda ship, and Katarzynka II boat, which sails across the river, as well as raftsmen sailing traditional Vistula boats.
Barges moored along the embankment house outdoor cafés.
The area between the Vistula River and the city walls has played a significant role in Toruń's history. A large river port was built in the Middle Ages on the western part of today's embankment, and expanded in subsequent eras. In modern times, a tall port crane was erected on the Vistula River, and in the 19th century, a railway siding was built on the Vistula embankment. A ferry operated at the Carriage Gate, now called the Bridge Gate, until the 15th century. It was replaced by a permanent bridge over the Vistula built in 1500, which was only removed in the second half of the 19th century. The port area was bustling with life and the rhythm of work by the people of the Vistula – raftsmen, sandmen, skippers, and porters. Until the Swedish invasion (the Deluge), the chants and prayers of the Benedictine nuns from the Monastery of the Holy Spirit, founded in the early 14th century near the Monastery Gate, could also be heard here. The monastery buildings, demolished in 1656, are currently being excavated by archaeologists.
The port infrastructure and dense development of the Toruń waterfront were almost entirely demolished in the 1970s, when cargo and passenger traffic on the Vistula ceased. Since then, Philadelphia Boulevard has served as a meeting place and a place for walks, set against the backdrop of the picturesque Vistula River and the stunning panorama of Toruń's Old Town.
Philadelphia Boulevard is also a significant location in the history of Polish cinema – it was here, among other places, that the cult Polish comedy "Rejs," directed by Marek Piwowski, was filmed.
1. Road bridge
Opened in 1934, it was built from components of a 25-year-old Vistula River crossing in Opalenie near Kwidzyn. Its structure was destroyed in 1939 and 1945. The bridge is named after Józef Piłsudski.
2. Racławickie Barracks
Built between 1819 and 1822 as barracks for the Prussian fortress of Toruń, it housed the Vistula Flotilla command from 1920 to 1925, and the first Polish Naval Officers' School from 1925 to 1938.
3. Monastery of the Holy Spirit
The site of the medieval Benedictine monastery and the Church of the Holy Spirit, whose crypts were used to bury Teutonic Knights from Toruń Castle. The church and monastery were demolished by the Swedes in 1656.
4. The Monastery Gate
The oldest of Toruń's preserved gates, it led from the city towards the former Benedictine monastery and the Toruń river port.
5. Former river port
The anchor commemorating the Naval Officers' School stands at the most important point of Toruń's former river port. This area once housed a ship pier and a port crane.
6. Katarzynka boat
The Mazowsze ship lifeboat, used in Toruń from 1969 to 2000 as a popular pleasure boat on the Vistula River, carried tourists between the bridges and to Kępa Bazarowa grove.
7. The Sailors' Gate
The most important of Toruń's four city gates, open towards the Vistula River. Official welcome ceremonies for Polish kings were held at its gates on numerous occasions. The gate's current appearance is the result of a 19th-century reconstruction.
8. Limnigraph
The wooden building, built in 1892 in the Norwegian style, houses a limnigraph – a self-recording device used to continuously record water level fluctuations in the Vistula River.
9. The Bath Gate
The gate overlooked the part of the waterfront that housed baths in the Middle Ages. It was also known as the White Gate or the School Gate. It acquired its current appearance in the 19th century.
10. The Crane Tower
A former Gothic tower, converted in 1823 into a crane hoisting goods delivered from the Vistula port, which were then stored in the warehouses of the adjacent, large white building – the Swedish Granary.
11. The Bridge Gate
A Gothic city gate from 1432, once leading to a ferry and a wooden bridge over the Vistula River. Within the gate's opening are plaques marking the levels of the highest floods in Toruń's history.
12. Former bridge abutment
An observation deck at the former entrance to the wooden bridge over the Vistula River, built in 1500 under a privilege granted by King John I Albert. The bridge, destroyed and rebuilt several times, existed until 1877.