The House of Copernicus

This magnificent gothic house is considered to be the birthplace of Nicholas Copernicus. It is a perfect example of old merchant’s house with typical arrangement of rooms and fittings. At present, it houses a museum devoted to life and work of the great astronomer. There is a scale model of a 15th century Toruń with audiovisual presentation accompanying it. In the basements, there is an exhibition devoted to the history of Toruń’s gingerbreads. Gingerbread baking and tasting accompany the exhibition.

Nicolas Copernicus was born in Toruń on 19 February 1473 in a rich merchant family. At the age of 18 he went to Cracow to study, and afterwards he continued his education in Italy. He studied Law, Medicine, Theology, Greek and Mathematics with Astronomy. For many years he was a canon in Frombork and the administrator of church goods in the Warmia region. In a scientific dissertation „De revolutionibus”, he presented new, revolutionary theory of the construction of the universe in which he proved that the Sun is the centre of universe.