Bydgoszcz in the context of "Vistula"

A water taxi or a water bus is a boat used to provide public or private transport, usually, but not always, in an urban environment. Service may be scheduled with multiple stops, operating in a similar manner to a bus, or on demand to many locations, operating in a similar manner to a taxi. A boat service shuttling between two points would normally be described as a ferry rather than a water bus or taxi.

The term water taxi is usually confined to a boat operating on demand, and water bus to a boat operating on a schedule. In North American usage, the terms are roughly synonymous.

In the history of Poland, a royal city or royal town (Polish: miasto królewskie) was an urban settlement within the crown lands (Polish: królewszczyzna).

The most influential royal cities enjoyed voting rights during the free election period in Poland (1572–1791). These cities were Gdańsk, Warsaw, Kraków, Poznań, Lwów, Wilno, Toruń, Lublin, Kamieniec and Elbląg. Other important royal cities included Gniezno (ecclesiastical capital of Poland and former capital of early medieval Poland), Płock (former capital of medieval Poland), Piotrków (second most important political center of Poland in the early and mid-16th century as the main location of the Sejm, and then the main Crown Tribunal location alongside Lublin, thus one of the two judiciary capitals of Poland), Grodno (de facto capital of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth in the 1580s and then the general sejm location alongside Warsaw), Bydgoszcz and Kalisz (temporary locations of the Crown Tribunal), and Sandomierz, Przemyśl, Kazimierz.

Włocławek (Polish: [vwɔˈt͡swavɛk] ; German: Leslau or Alt Lesle, Yiddish: וולאָצלאַוועק, romanized: Vlatzlavek, Russian: Влоцлавек Vlotslavek) is a city in the Kuyavian–Pomeranian Voivodeship in central Poland along the Vistula River, bordered by the Gostynin-Włocławek Landscape Park. As of December 2021, the population of the city is 106,928.

Founded in the 9th century, Włocławek is located in the historical region of Kuyavia, and was its administrative center and main city in the Middle Ages. Nowadays, Włocławek is the third largest city of the Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship (after Bydgoszcz and Toruń) and the main cultural and economic center of eastern Kuyavia. It is the seat of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Włocławek, one of the oldest dioceses in Poland, since the 12th century, with the landmark Gothic Włocławek Cathedral listed as a Historic Monument of Poland. Poland's largest hydroelectric power plant is also located there.

Toruń (Polish: [ˈtɔruɲ] ; German: Thorn [ˈtoːɐ̯n] ) is a city on the Vistula River in north-central Poland and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Its population was 196,935 as of December 2021. Previously, it was the capital of the Toruń Voivodeship (1975–1998) and the Pomeranian Voivodeship (1921–1945). Since 1999, Toruń has been a seat of the local government of the Kuyavian–Pomeranian Voivodeship and is one of its two capitals, together with Bydgoszcz. The cities and neighboring counties form the Bydgoszcz–Toruń twin city metropolitan area.

Toruń is one of the oldest cities in Poland; it was first settled in the 8th century and in 1233 was expanded by the Teutonic Knights. For centuries it was home to people of diverse backgrounds and religions. From 1264 until 1411, Toruń was part of the Hanseatic League and by the 17th century a leading trading point, which greatly affected the city's architecture, ranging from Brick Gothic to Mannerist and Baroque.

Kuyavia (Polish: Kujawy; Latin: Cuiavia), also referred to as Cujavia, is a historical region in north-central Poland, situated on the left bank of Vistula, as well as east from Noteć River and Lake Gopło. It is divided into three traditional parts: north-western (with the capital in Bydgoszcz, ethnographically distinct), central (the capital in Inowrocław or Kruszwica), and south-eastern (the capital in Włocławek or Brześć Kujawski).

Inowrocław (Polish pronunciation: [inɔˈvrɔtswaf] ; German: Hohensalza; before 1904: Inowrazlaw; archaic: Jungleslau, Junges Leslau, Junge Leszlaw, Yiddish: לעסלא, romanized: Lesle or Lessle) is a city in central Poland with a total population of 68,101 (as of December 2022). It is situated in the Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship. It is one of the largest and most historically significant cities within the historic region of Kuyavia.

Inowrocław is an industrial town located about 40 kilometres (25 miles) southeast of Bydgoszcz known for its saltwater baths and salt mines. The town is the 5th largest agglomeration in its voivodeship, and is a major railway junction, where the west–east line (Poznań–Toruń) crosses the Polish Coal Trunk-Line from Chorzów to Gdynia.

Inowrocław Voivodeship (Polish: województwo inowrocławskie) was a unit of administrative division and local government in Poland from the 14th century to the First Partition of Poland in 1772. Together with the neighbouring Brześć Kujawski Voivodeship it was part of the Kuyavia region and the Greater Poland Province.

With size of some 2,900 km (together with Dobrzyn Land, its area was 5,877 km.), it was one of the smallest voivodeships of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. In early years after its creation (14th century), it was called Gniewkowo Voivodeship (Województwo gniewkowskie), from the town of Gniewkowo, the seat of local Piast princes. Last mention of Gniewkowo Voivodeship was in 1420. Even though the capital of the voivodeship was in Inowrocław, its biggest urban center was Bydgoszcz. Local sejmiks, together with Brzesc Kujawski Voivodeship, took place in Radziejów. The Inowroclaw Voivodeship with Dobrzyn Land had six senators (Voivode and Castellan of Inowrocław, Castellan of Bydgoszcz, and Castellans of Dobrzyń, Rypin and Słońsk Dolny).