Artus Court in Toruń

On the site of today's Artus Court, the Second Peace of Toruń was sworn in 1466 – the treaty under which Gdańsk Pomerania, and with it access to the sea, returned to Poland. The present building at Rynek Staromiejski 6 is already the third on this plot: an eclectic brick building of 1891, where concerts, festivals and plays now take the place of merchant brotherhood meetings.

History: three courts on one site

The first court was built around 1385 for the Brotherhood of St George, which united the city's wealthiest patrician families. The name referred to the legendary King Arthur and his round table, at which there was no hierarchy – Artus courts were meant as meeting places for equals. Toruń's building was narrower than today's, two storeys high, with octagonal turrets on either side of the gable; the great hall on the ground floor had a vault resting on two columns. It was the city's main drawing room: kings and princes were entertained here, and sessions of the Polish–Lithuanian parliament and the diets of Royal Prussia were held here. Guests included Casimir IV Jagiellon, John I Albert, Sigismund Augustus, Stephen Báthory and John III Sobieski.

In the 18th century the court declined: it was damaged during the Swedish siege of 1703, housed a Lutheran congregation in 1724–1756 and, during the Seven Years' War, an Orthodox church for a few years. Its appearance is known from a single mid-18th-century engraving. Demolition began on 14 June 1802, and in 1829 a new Neoclassical building opened, which from 1842 served as the municipal theatre.

The third building was designed by government architect Rudolph Schmidt. Built in 1889–1891, it opened on 12 December 1891, with shops and a restaurant on the ground floor, four halls upstairs and guest rooms in the attic. After 1920 it hosted General Józef Haller and President Ignacy Mościcki, and in 1923 the Society of Friends of Toruń was founded here. After the war Nicolaus Copernicus University took it over as its Collegium Maximum; the student club “Od Nowa” operated here until 1983. Following conservation work in 1993–2000 it became the home of the Artus Court Cultural Centre, established in 1995.

What to see

The unplastered brick façade has five bays, an arcaded cornice framed by turrets and a portal with a pediment. Upstairs are four grand halls – the Great, White, Red and Small Halls; the Great Hall is used for concerts. In front of the entrance runs the Gingerbread Walk of Fame, honouring well-known people linked to Toruń since 2003.

Did you know?

The Artus Court interiors have appeared in films. In 1984 Krzysztof Zanussi shot scenes for “A Year of the Quiet Sun” here, and much later the court was a location for “Filip”, which won four Polish Film Awards (Eagles). Guided tours take you into rooms that are normally closed and include anecdotes from their history.

Tripto tip

You can admire the façade any time on a walk around the Old Town Square. The easiest ways inside are a concert or the guided tour for individual visitors, held once a month (minimum 5 people). Prices in October 2026: PLN 18 standard, PLN 12 reduced; tickets are sold at the Artus Court box office and online, and places are limited. Groups of 15–30 people can book a tour (PLN 15 per person) at edukacja@artus.torun.pl. Tour dates are announced in advance on the centre's website and on posters. Allow about an hour for a guided visit.