Frombork

Frombork stands above the Vistula Lagoon, its fortified cathedral dominating the shore of Warmia. Merchants, farmers and fishermen lived below the cathedral hill, while the canons of the Warmian chapter served the church. Among them was Nicolaus Copernicus, who made the town his home for much of his working life and observed the heavens from its precincts.

In 1519 Copernicus sought help from the Polish king against the Teutonic Knights; the following year their forces took and burned Frombork. The astronomer later returned and completed his work on the revolutions of the heavenly spheres here. Published in 1543, it placed the Sun rather than the Earth at the centre of the planetary system. Copernicus died that year and was buried in the cathedral.