Once the seat of merchant guilds and a meeting place for the wealthiest of Toruń’s burghers, Artus Court is now a cultural centre, hosting exhibitions, concerts, and festivals.
Artus Court in Toruń.
The Artus Court (ENG: Court of Arthur) that you see today dates from the end of the 19th century, a structure standing in place of the original Gothic building that was first built at the end of the 14th century. By all accounts, it was a spacious and richly ornamented interior, worthy of the highest-rolling clientele. It was in the original Artus Court that the landmark 1466 signing of the Second Peace of Toruń was signed, which saw peace brought between Poland and the Order of Teutonic Knights as well as the incorporation of Toruń and the surrounding region of 'Royal Prussia' into Poland. In the 18th century, the building, which at that point was well-and-truly past its heyday, served as both a Protestant and Orthodox Church. Ultimately, its poor condition resulted in the decision to demolish it, after which a theatre and tenement houses were built on the site. That premises was short lived, however, as the 'neo-gothic' version of Artus Court was constructed after 1889. After World War II, the building was handed over to Nicolaus Copernicus University and housed the Collegium Maximum and a student club. Since 1993, the building has been the seat of the Cultural Centre, in which the Toruń Symphony Orchestra had their home base until 2015.
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