Cat's head tower | www.torun.pl

The origins of the round tower, called the “Cat’s head”, located in the northern part of the town walls (today it is the end of Podmurna street) go deep into early Middle Ages.

In XVI century it was enlarged and adapted for a greater number of cannons to become a powerful artillery post. Its dungeons were used as prison cells. During the northern war (1703), the tower was partially destroyed, then rebuilt in the beginning of the XX century, when an additional storey was built.

According to a local tale, a part of northern fortifications was dedicated to commemorate heroic bravery of a cat which took part in defending Toruń from Swedish invasion in 1629. Thus, there were Cat’s paws (4 towers), a Cat’s head tower, a Cat’s tail and a great Chełmno Barbican called the Cat’s Belly. Only the second of these buildings survived to the present.