Old Fordon, Bydgoszcz

Old Fordon (Stary Fordon) is a former small town on the Vistula, part of Bydgoszcz since 1973 – with an intimate market square, churches, a historic synagogue and a view of the Fordon truss bridge. It looks nothing like big-city Bydgoszcz: low townhouses, cobbled lanes and the river close by. After the revitalisation of the square and streets, it is a good place for an unhurried stroll.

History: a customs town on the Vistula

The town was founded in the 14th century, when people moved here from the ruined stronghold of Wyszogród; the name Fordon appears in records from 1409. According to one explanation it comes from a water toll called "fordon" or "the fourth grosz", collected at the old river crossing. In the 15th century a customs house operated here, and from 1594 a royal customs house of King Sigismund III Vasa – every ship sailing along the Vistula had to moor and pay a fee.

For centuries Fordon was an independent town with a river port, and from 1893 also a bridge. Until 1973, when it was incorporated into Bydgoszcz, it had about 8,500 inhabitants. Today around 9,000 people live in the neighbourhood, the oldest part of the large Fordon district.

What to see

• The Market Square – reopened after revitalisation on 3 June 2022 (cost over PLN 7 million); in 2018–2019 the surrounding streets were also rebuilt, including Bydgoska, Mączna, Przy Bóżnicy and Piekary.
• The synagogue on ul. Bydgoska – according to dendrochronological research, its roof truss was made in 1827/1828, after a town fire destroyed the previous wooden synagogue. In the 20th century the building served as a cinema.
• St Nicholas's Church and the Church of St John the Apostle and Evangelist.
• The "Brama/Gate" mural from 2018 on the walls of the prison, by Tomasz Pobiedziński, with the Latin motto "Bonus intra, melior exi" – "Enter good, leave better".
• The Fordon Bridge – a 1,005 m truss rail-and-road bridge opened in 1893 to a design by Georg Christoph Mehrtens. It was built for strategic reasons, to link the German Reich with East Prussia while bypassing the Toruń fortress.

Tripto tips

• Time needed: allow 1–1.5 hours for a walk around the square, the lanes and the riverbank.
• By train: trains to Bydgoszcz Główna, Chełmża and Toruń Główny stop at Bydgoszcz Fordon station; after an eight-year break, services returned in September 2008.
• By bus: lines including 65, 81, 82 and 40 (to Ostromecko) serve the neighbourhood – check the current timetable with the operator.
• By car: national road 80 and regional road 256 cross in Old Fordon; park on the streets around the square.
• Note: the lanes are cobbled and sloping in places – passable with a pushchair, but not always comfortable.