"The History of Grudziądz" at the Museum in Grudziądz

Granary No. 9, in which we are located, is considered to be the oldest of the 26 granaries preserved to our times. It was rebuilt after the destruction of the city in the second half of the seventeenth century. In the past, grain was stored here, which was carried in bags up ladder stairs to the appropriate level, where it was dumped and stored in bulk. Goods imported from Western Europe were also stored here: high-quality handicrafts, spices, cloths and wines. Today, on four floors of the former granary, there is an exhibition presenting the history of the city from the Middle Ages to 1939. The exhibition has a chronological arrangement, to which individual rooms are subordinated. We start our journey in time from the top floor.
Settlement in the area of today's city dates back to prehistoric times, which is confirmed by numerous excavations and artifacts obtained during them. The first written mention of the existence of the settlement of Grudenczch comes from a document issued in Mogilno in 1065. In 1207, the town together with the Chełmno land was taken over by prince Konrad I of Masovia, who ten years later donated the settlement to the bishop of Prussia Christian – a Cistercian missionary. The image of the bishop in recognition of his merits for Grudziądz to this day is in the coat of arms of the city. Around 1233, the Teutonic Order occupies the area of Chełmno Land. In 1243, at Lake Rządzkie near the settlement, there was a battle between the Teutonic Knights and the Prussian tribes and the Gdańsk prince Świętopełk, as a result of which the Order suffered a defeat. Grudziądz in the thirteenth century was still ravaged several times by the invasions of Prussian tribes, which claimed the right to the city.The daily life of the inhabitants of the city in the
fourteenth and fifteenth centuries is evidenced by archaeological exhibits placed in a display case on the right side of the entrance. They are accompanied by the most important document in the history of Grudziądz – it is the location privilege, issued on June 18, 1291 by the national master of the Teutonic Order, Meinhard of Querfurt. Unfortunately, the original document was lost – probably in the Middle Ages. The copy we are exhibiting is based on a fifteenth-century copy in German. According to the privilege, the location confirmed the facts, which had existed for a long time. The document defined the boundaries of the city, which, apart from minor modifications, did not change until the end of the eighteenth century. Grudziądz was granted the Chełmno law, freedom of fishing, but the construction of an inn within one mile of the city walls was forbidden. In the fourteenth century, a number of multi-storey granaries were built, which over the centuries served defensive, storage and even residential functions. An interesting exhibit is a stone from the Teutonic castle, which once towered over the city. On the hill in the northern part of the town, the Teutonic Knights built a magnificent castle, unfortunately it has not survived to our times, it was demolished at the beginning of the nineteenth century, and the acquired bricks were used to build a Prussian fortress – the Citadel. The date engraved on the stone – 1299 – informs about the completion of the construction of the castle chapel.
In the further part of the showcase, more important documents are displayed – including the privilege for the butchers' guild issued by Konrad von Jungingen in 1400. Right next to it there are very interesting lists of good birth, bearing the character of admitting the candidate to a corporation or brotherhood. The letters were to certify that the new candidate was free, legitimately begotten and righteous. Only such a man could count on achieving a certain position in medieval society. And a certain idea of how impressive the city was Grudziądz in the Middle Ages gives the image of Wilhelm Burza from the 20s of the twentieth century.

Now go to the display cases on the opposite side, situated on the wall with windows. Start with a coin showcase. The desktop display case displays coins from the Middle Ages and the Renaissance, as well as Grudziądz seals. On the city there is a figure of bishop Nicholas – the patron of the Grudziądz parish church, the protector of fishermen, raftsmen and all those whose professions were associated with the element of water. There is also an engraving depicting the speech of the famous "Treaty on the improvement of coins" by Nicolaus Copernicus in 1522 at the provincial Sejm of the Prussian lands. In this work, Copernicus formulated the law of displacing a better coin by a worse one, he also drew attention to the relationship between the money supply and inflation. This is not the only place in our city commemorating the famous astronomer and economist. Within the Old Town of Grudziądz you will find two monuments depicting Nicolaus Copernicus.
Stand in front of the panorama now.
Leaving the room, pay attention to the board with the panorama of the city from the second half of the eighteenth century. On the left side dominates the Teutonic castle, while on the banks of the Vistula we can see majestic granaries, the number of which increased from 14 at the beginning of the sixteenth century to about 30 in the mid-eighteenth century. Near the panorama, weapons from the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries were exposed.
Now go one floor below to the next room
The exhibition in the next room, presenting the spatial layout and architecture of Grudziądz, is a great introduction to further sightseeing of the city. And this is due to the model set here, showing the urban layout from the mid-eighteenth century. In the hall we will also find examples of artistic craftsmanship, weapons, and even a dozen or so bricks from the Middle Ages.
We see a series of granaries based on a steep slope and fortified walls, which in fragments have survived to this day. Four gates led to Grudziądz, from the south restored after World War II, preserved to this day, the Water Gate, located right next to the place where we are, not far from here the Toruń Gate, from the east the Side Gate, and from the north the Łasińska Gate, also called Kwidzyn Gate. As a result of the dynamic development of the city in the mid-nineteenth century, the gates were demolished. In the middle of the rectangular market square stood the town hall, demolished in 1851. Currently, the seat of the City Hall is located in the baroque buildings of the former Jesuit college. Right next to it is visible brick body of the basilica dedicated to Saint Nicholas, the construction of which began in the thirteenth century. The majestic castle and the whole city are dominated by the Klimek Tower. The original one was destroyed in 1945, but it was rebuilt in 2014. On the opposite side of the castle, the buildings of the former Benedictine monastery, currently the Main Building of the Museum, are visible.
Now look at the portraits hanging on the right.
From the rich frames look at us kings Polish: Stanisław August Poniatowski, August II the Strong and Sigismund III Vasa. The last portrait, according to legend, was handed over by the king to the city as a token of gratitude for the support during the election and the wonderful reception in the city in 1587.
Now approach the sculptures placed behind the mock-up.
Opposite the entrance we can see late-Baroque sculptures, which are elements of the altar from the Grudziądz church of the Reformed Fathers. The altars survived the dissolution of the monastery, two world wars, but at the end of the 40s of the twentieth century they were dismantled. Currently, there is a prison in the former monastery, and the archival photo shows what the main altar of the temple looked like.
On the right side of the sculptures in the display case there are parchment documents, these are royal privileges. The oldest of them, written in German, is a privilege for the bakers' guild in Grudziądz, issued in 1686 by Jan III Sobieski. Two more in Latin, from 1698 and 1766, issued by Augustus II the Strong and Stanisław August Poniatowski, confirm the privileges of the city and are one of the most important in the museum collections.
Now let's go to the next level of exposure.
Leaving the room, pay attention to the arrangement of medieval bricks, called fingers. On one of them, probably by accident, a child's foot was imprinted.
Now go one floor below to the next level of exposure
Another room is devoted to the history of our city during the Prussian partition from 1772 to regaining independence by Grudziądz on January 23, 1920. Head straight ahead to see another mock-up, this time a model of the Grudziądz Fortress.
The Grudziądz citadel was built in the years 1776-1789 according to the design of Paul von Gontzenbach. This powerful fortress passed its baptism of fire during the siege during the Franco-Prussian War in 1806-1807. General Courbiere, whose portrait was placed above the mock-up, refused to surrender to Napoleon's troops, despite the defeat of the Prussian troops. In this conflict, only two fortresses remained that did not surrender to Napoleon's troops, Kołobrzeg and Grudziądz. Above the model there is also a commemorative stone on which the date of the start of the construction of the Fortress was engraved. Right next to it, on the right side, there are percussion rifles from the nineteenth century and officers' claws from the eighteenth century.
When we go around the display case on the right, it is worth paying attention to the uniform of a soldier of the Prussian army, and more precisely a line shooter from 1894. In the second half of the nineteenth century, many military barracks were built in Grudziądz, where infantry, cavalry and artillery units were stationed. Barracks were scattered in different parts of the city. During the Second Republic of Poland, military buildings were adopted by units of the Polish army.
Right next to it there are replacement banknotes of Grudziądz from the period of World War I and vouchers of the prisoner-of-war camp for soldiers of the Entente countries, especially the French and English from the same period. As a result of the war, the number of banknotes and coins on the market decreased, as a result of which many cities of the Reich, including Grudziądz, had to issue their own banknotes, the equivalent of which corresponded to pfennigs and marks. It was enough to add an appropriate stamp in red in Polish, informing about the authenticity and validity of a given currency and you could put the money into circulation. On the right side there are souvenirs related to regaining independence on January 23, 1920, m.in banner handmade by the Polish community in Grudziądz and historical photographs. Grudziądz regained its independence after over 147 years of Prussian captivity!
Now go one floor below to the last level of exhibition
Before you enter the next room, pay attention to the impressive collection of aircraft models, which our Museum received from Czesław Szachnitowski, honorary citizen of the city of Grudziądz, who died at the age of 101 in 2015. Grudziądz has great aviation traditions. It was in our city that in 1920 one of the main aviation schools in Poland was founded: the Higher School of Pilots in Grudziądz. Finally, after 7 years, it was moved to Dęblin. In the standing display case on the left you can see models of airplanes that certainly flew over Grudziądz until the outbreak of World War II. All of them were hand-made and painted by Prof. Szachnitowski.
Enter the exhibition room.
The last room of our permanent historical exhibition covers the period of Grudziądz in the years 1920 – 1939. Souvenirs were collected here after the incorporation of the city into the borders of the Republic of Poland in 1920. The exhibition presents both the military past of the city – exhibits related to the garrison, military schools, as well as monuments presenting the development of industry and crafts, cultural life and art. In the middle of the hall two machine guns were exposed: Maxim model 1910 and Browning model 1930. However, the most valuable weapon is the anti-tank rifle model 35 found between the Polish rifles, commonly called your rifle, constructed in the mid-thirties and produced since 1938 at the State Rifle Factory in Warsaw. This rifle proved to be an effective weapon, capable of penetrating the armor of any German tank of the period at a distance of less than 100 m, including the most advanced Panzer IV.
The showcase on the right side of the entrance is devoted to the culture, art and industry of Grudziądz. In the central part of the exhibition there is a diploma of the First Pomeranian Exhibition of Agriculture and Industry in Grudziądz, which took place in 1925. Just above it there is a poster, and on the right side there are photos from this exhibition. It was proof of the city's economic power, especially until the crash of 1929 and 1930. It was officially opened by President Władysław Wojciechowski himself, and for several days many thousands of people visited the exhibition area. All exhibition pavilions were built especially for this occasion, and after its completion they were demolished, except for the main gate, which still existed in the communist period.
Turn left in the same part of the exposure.
Newspaper Gazeta Grudziądzka from 1924 sticks out of the bookmark. Its founder was Wiktor Kulerski, Polish socio-political activist, journalist and publisher, member of the German parliament during the Prussian partition and senator after regaining independence. In 1914, just before the outbreak of World War I, the circulation of Gazeta Grudziądzka was nearly 130,000 copies. Among the Polish newspapers published during the partitions, the newspaper had the largest circulation in the whole world. On the left side there is a bust of Wacław Szczebewski, the founder of the Pomeranian Academy of Fine Arts, which was located in the City Library at Legionów Street. The idea of establishing a school was put forward by Józef Piłsudski himself during his stay in the city in 1921. Already in the following year, the first students took classes, and it was attended by junior high school students, schoolteachers, officers and doctors. Every year, exhibitions were held in the halls of the school, which were very popular. In 1934 the school was moved to Gdynia.

Go to the left side of the exposure.
The left side of the exhibition is devoted to sports and militaristic themes. After 1920, Grudziądz took over the barracks buildings built by the Germans, in which many military units were located, among which we can mention the 18th Pomeranian Uhlan Regiment, stationed in the former Fortress, the 64th, 65th and part of the 66th Infantry Regiment, the 16th Light Artillery Regiment, the aviation school, the Gendarmerie Training Center and the most famous school, the Cavalry Training Center. The headquarters of the 16th Pomeranian Infantry Division was also located in the city. In the central part of the exhibition, pay attention to the sabre model 21 and the officer's patent for the rank of infantry lieutenant, issued to Jan Zieliński in 1932. Patents from this period were made on parchment, and later on handmade paper and richly decorated with military symbols. They were signed by the most important personalities in the country, in this case in the lower right corner there is the original signature of Marshal Józef Piłsudski.
When we head to the left, we will see military emblems and regimental badges of various types of weapons, including infantry and cavalry. You can learn more about the cavalry history of Grudziądz from the permanent exhibition of the Cavalry Training Center in Grudziądz, located in the Opatek Palace.
The museum’s staff will show you the further direction of sightseeing.