Inowrocław, often referred to as the capital of Western Kujawy is one of the largest towns in Kujawsko-Pomorskie province. Situated on the Inowrocław Plain and the historical Piast Route, close to river routes, the town is cut through in the south by the River Noteć, connecting Inowrocław with the basins of the Vistula and the Odra. Inowrocław attempts to combine the functions of a health resort with an extensive system of sanatoriums with those of an economic centre, making use of rich resources found under the town and in its outskirts.
The oldest mention of Inowrocław in historical records, under the Latin name of Novus Wladislaw, dates back to 1185. The document was issued for a bishop of Kujawy and presented Inowrocław as a market town, enjoying a special role thanks to a nearby saltworks. In the Roman times the town was a stop on the Amber Route, a trade route connecting the south of Europe with the Baltic coast.
Historical monuments in the town
- The Blessed Virgin Mary Church at Bpa Laubitza 9
The church, traditionally called the „Ruin”, is the oldest and the most valuable gem of architecture, erected at the end of the 12th century. Its notable features include a Gothic sculpture of the Virgin Mary with the Baby Jesus and a unique collection of reliefs carved in stone blocks, depicting heads, crosses and magical symbols, which made the church famous in Poland.
- The Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary Church at Plebanka 10
The neo-Romanesque church with its prominent 77-metre bell tower was built in 1898 – 1900. It has a rich sculpted interior, referring to Polish national traditions. The main decorative element is a golden mosaic conveying religious and national messages through figurative scenes. Cardinal Józef Glemp was baptised in the church.
- The St. Nicholas Church, at Gordona 4
The church was founded by Kazimierz I, a duke of Kujawy, about 1250. Destroyed by knights of the Teutonic Order, the church was rebuilt in 1431. It houses a number of sacred art relics, predominantly in the Baroque and Rococo style, and the St. Cross altar from the 15th century. In 1397 in the church Queen Hedwig foretold Teutonic knights their defeat at Grundwald (1410). In 1860 Jan Kasprowicz, one of the most eminent Polish poets, was baptised in the church.
- Defensive walls at Kilińskiego and Poznańska 
Two fragments of Medieval defensive walls have remained up to the present day. Built after 1431 they were to protect the town against a future invasion of Teutonic knights. The walls were one of the earliest form of Polish fortifications designed to withhold artillery fire. Their total length was 1,600 metres.
-The St. Barbara and St. Maurice Church at Aleja Kopernika 16
The church was built in 1927-1929 in the Neo-Byzantine style, as a garrison church. It was laid out on a cruciform (Greek cross), whereas the interior hints at the Classic revival. The church is topped with a dome in the shape of a soldier’s helmet with a lantern in the centre. Inside the church there are numerous plaques commemorating events from the latest history, important for the residents of the region.
Królowej Jadwigi Street in Inowrocław
The main street in the town centre, colloquially called „Królówka”, is the oldest traffic and trade route of the town. The buildings are mainly from the late 19th and the early 20th century, then inhabited by well-established middle class townspeople. Today, the street is the centre of business and social life.
- Solankowa Street in Inowrocław 
Since its planning in the 19th century, the street has maintained elite characteristics. It connects the spa with the town centre and features a lot of tenement houses built in a number of historical styles, fashionable at the time. You can find traces of the Italian, French or Netherlandish Renaissance, as well as of the English Gothic and Neo-classicism.
LEGENDS
Queen Hedwig and Teutonic Knights
It is said to have taken place a very long time ago in the times when the town found itself in the borderland between Poland and the State of the Teutonic Order, as a result of an unfortunate decision of Duke Konrad of Mazovia who had invited the Order to spread and maintain the Catholic faith in the North East. Teutonic Knights soon made their neighbours’ life a misery, slandering and threatening them and conquering their land. They did not use prayers or preach the Word to persuade the locals to accept their religion, but forced it on them with fire and sword and the wailing of widows and orphans.
The struggle with the cruel neighbour in Inowrocław lasted for many years. More and more raids into the Polish territories were carried out from the castle of Marienburg (Malbork). The sight of a white cape with a black cross was not a sign of peace, but raised fear and horror. Despite a number of negotiations, discussions and suits it was impossible to come to an agreement with the Order. Władysław II Jagiełło, the gallant but peace-loving grand duke, who had come from the forests of Lithuania to marry Hedwig (Jadwiga) and rule both nations, reprimanded the Teutonic Knights and stood up to them.
Władysław used to leave the capital and his young wife in Kraków to keep an eye on the peculiar robbers inhabiting the villages of Murzynno and Orłowo, rebuke them or, if that failed, personally inflict punishment on them.
And so one day the royal couple met a Teutonic delegation in St. Nicholas church in Inowrocław. The King had detailed all the Order’s crimes, unlawful and greedy seizures, plunders and murders but the negotiations were futile. Instead, the Teutonic delegation accused and slandered Polish knights and the King.
All of a sudden, Queen Hedwig, who had been listening to the false and misleading explanations attentively for a long time, raised to her feet, her blood boiling, and addressed the Teutonic Knights with words that would turn out to be prophetic. ‘As long as I live God hesitates to punish you for all your crimes, yet when I pass away He shall raise my husband’s hand on you and strike you with a lethal blow. Your vile race shall never come back to life’, she said and left.
Years passed and the Queen died in veneration. In 1410 her prophecy came true. The Teutonic Order was defeated at the Battle of Grunwald, never to recover their former power.
A dwarf who looked after horses in Inowrocław
Once upon a time, when Inowrocław was a famous market town, something extraordinary happened. There used to be stables, full of horses, in the marketplace. They belonged to a local innkeeper. Traders and visitors to the market noticed that the owner never fed the horses, but those who had seen them claimed the animals were in good condition. So, one night a group of curious people crept up to the stables and looked inside with trembling hearts. The night was hot and sultry. It was so quiet one could hear mice stealing oats from the horses. The horses neighed quietly every now and then, chewing on the feed. Suddenly, the peeping Toms saw ‘something’ put more oats into the mangers and carry buckets to water the horses. At a closer look, they found the thing was… a drenched hen.
When the town hall clock struck midnight the innkeeper entered the stable, took a walk around to make sure all the horses were fed and watered and then stopped on his way out and reminded the hen to take good care of the animals.
After much consideration the eldest of the onlookers concluded the hen must have been a dwarf who had taken the form of the common domestic animal and helped the innkeeper for unknown reasons. He thought the dwarf stayed in its original shape at night and turned into the hen at day. Upon this conclusion he told his companions to leave the stable. No one ever came back to the stables or showed an interest in the horses.
The sunken army
They say that a Polish army troop has been drowned in the River Noteć, yet they have not died. They are merely asleep.
A local farmer saw them while he was coming to town on a market day. When the dawn broke but the mist still lingered over the marshes he was stopped on the river bank by a soldier wearing an odd, old-fashioned uniform. The soldier offered to buy the grain that the farmer wanted to sell at the marketplace if the farmer unloaded and carried the bags in himself. He agreed and then the waters in the river parted and uncovered a gate in the river bed, leading into the ground. The gate opened and the farmer saw a large hall with rows of horses standing at mangers and knights sleeping at the walls.
The farmer also saw a big bell near the entrance. When he was carrying a bag of grain he carelessly knocked the bell a little but it was enough to make it ring. At the sound of the bell the horses started neighing and the knights were slowly waking up, asking if the time had already come. Their superior calmed them down and told them to go back to sleep, because it was not the right time yet.
The farmer carried in the last bag, took his payment and left terrified. When he was back on the bank and turned around the river was flowing slowly as usual, the mist had dispersed and there was no trace of the underwater passage.
Names of nearby villages and the battle of Mątwy
All of this happened during the Swedish Deluge (17th century). In the vicinity of Mątwy three villages are situated quite close to one another: Janowice, Przedbojewice and Tupadły. When the wars spread through the whole country military actions reached the outskirts of Inowrocław, namely the village of Mątwy (now a district within the administrative borders of the city). In the area that is now the village of Janowice the Swedish clashed in a terrible battle with Polish troops led by a general whose first name was Jan. The village that was later established there was named after the general. An introductory, minor battle took place near another settlement, which has become Przedbojewice (przed bojem = before a fight).
The Swedish, pressed by the Poles, had to withdraw. Many of them fell on the fields of the contemporary village of Tupadły, also named to commemorate the fact (tu padły = here they fell). They say that so many Swedes died in the battle that the nearby branch of the River Noteć turned red and clouded with their blood. Because of that the river branch was named Mątwa (mącić się = to cloud).
References and sources: //www.dawny-inowroclaw.info/ and Sikorska, Janina – Inowrocław, Dzieje, Zabytki, Okolice, Legendy, Inowrocław:1997, pp. 126 – 130.
