Chełmno

Chełmno stands above the Vistula in the land that gave its name to one of central Europe's most influential town charters. In 1233 the Teutonic Order granted Chełmno and Toruń the rights known as Chełmno, or Kulm, law. Its provisions became a model for hundreds of towns across the region. Chełmno was also associated with a bishopric, though the bishop's cathedral and residence stood at nearby Chełmża.

The town prospered through Hanseatic commerce, but resentment of the Order's rule led it to join the Prussian Confederation in 1440. The uprising of 1454 and the ensuing Thirteen Years' War brought Chełmno under the Polish Crown, a change confirmed by the Peace of Toruń in 1466. It remained a centre of Royal Prussia until the First Partition of Poland in 1772 placed it under the Kingdom of Prussia.