An Open City

Grudziądz, a city with a population of over 100,000, is situated in the Lower Vistula Valley, on the right-hand side of the river, in the center of a 'Grudziądz Basin', an area with exceptional landscape and natural resources.
The history of the city is so rich and varied that it would suffice for a few similar cities more. Today development opportunities for the town are connected with the A1 highway that is to be built in its southern part and related investments .
The first written record on Grudziąc dates back to the 11th c. In 1218, the town became a property of Christian, a missionary bishop for the Prussia (thus his image is presented in the town's crest). Soon, the Teutonic Order took over Grudziądz and in 1291 granted it a town chart. A castle was built and the town was surrounded by double city walls with four gates.
In 1466, under the II Toruń Treaty Grudziądz was incorporated in Królestwo Polskie (Polish Kingdom). Since then,

due to its strategic location at the crossroads of waterways and commercial routes the city was a frequent venue of various regional gatherings and meetings. It was here that in 1522 Nicholas Copernicus presented his thesis on monetary systems.
The times of Rzeczpospolita was economic heyday for Grudziądz that lasted until the 17th c, when consecutive wars brought an end to the town's prosperity.
As a result of the first partition of Poland in 1722 the town fell to the Prussian king. In appreciation of the town's strategic location, the construction of one of the largest fortresses in Prussia was

commenced in Grudziądz (which was the only fortress that was not captured by Napoleon in the French-Prussian war). Today, the fortress and a defense system that was extended on the turn of the 19th c, are major tourist attractions.
In the second part of the 19th c. Grudziądz was in full bloom. It was then that a power and a gas plant, water and wastewater systems and the first streetcar line and major industrial plants were established.
The fast pace of development was continued in the inter-war period. For several years, Grudziądz was an economic center for the Pomerania province. At that time, a large garrison and numerous military schools, including a famous Centrum Wyszkolenia Kawalerii (Cavalry Training Center), operated in the town.The long history of Grudziądz has left many splendid memoirs. In addition to the aforementioned fortifications, other historical monuments worth seeing include the renovated Water Gate (an element of the 14th century city walls), unique granaries built in the 17th and 18th c., which constitute a picturesque panorama of the town,

 a three-isle Gothic St Nicholas's church with Romanesque font, Baroque main altar and bells from the 15th and 18th century, as well as a former college built in Baroque style and St Francis Xavier's Jesuit church and Baroque Benedictine Convent with a Pałac Opatek and numerous tenement houses built between the 17th and 19th c.
Today the city is a powerful business center specializing in metal, chemical, light and construction industries. It has attracted foreign investors. In 1999 a Swedish concern, Stora- Enso and a German CeWe Color and American Sonoco companies were established here. In the same year, the city joined two European Union programs. The first one called ECOS- Ouverture - 'Prelude' encompasses four cities from Greece, Spain, Great Britain and Poland which in collaboration with the Copernicus University in Toruń attempt at creating new jobs in the sector of tourist services based on the experience of other EU countries. Thanks to this program Grudziądz will receive support from the PHARE program. The other program supported by the EU is the Baltic Development Zone encompassing Scandinavian and Baltic countries located along the planned North-South A1 highway.
Grudziądz has also been maintaining partnership relations with the German city
 

of Gütersloh (headquarters of Bertelsmann and Miele concerns) and the Swedish town of Falun. The initiated cooperation between the Business Chambers of the partner cities of Grudzi ądz and Falun is a good example of economic cooperation and invitation to visit Grudziądz and invest here. The offer is presented during annual exhibitions and fair events such as the 'Investcity' in Poznań and Economic Exhibition in Gütersloh.
Grudziądz today is a busy business center in which no one can ever get bored.
(mar)