BydgoszczâÂÂToruà  metropolitan area (Polish: bydgosko-toruà Âski obszar metropolitalny) is the name of the bi-polar metropolitan area in the middle of the Vistula river centered on the cities of Bydgoszcz and Toruà  in north-central Poland. The distance between the built-up areas of the cities is about 30 km. They are the administrative capitals and economic centers of Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship.
The cities have traditionally been competitors through the centuries. In September 2004, the Medical Academy in Bydgoszcz joined Toruà  University as Collegium Medicum in Bydgoszcz. This has usually been considered an important step in the integration process.
The total population of the two biggest cities combined (Bydgoszcz + Toruà Â), excluding adjacent communities:
Historically, Bydgoszcz and Toruà  were the most important royal cities in the area. Both cities hosted sessions of the Polish Parliament, i.e. Bydgoszcz in 1520, and Toruà  in 1576 and 1626. It is also where Peaces of Thorn and Treaty of Bromberg were signed. The two were parts of different administrative units for centuries, with Bydgoszcz starting as Polish and Toruà  as Teutonic settlements, then becoming the biggest cities of Inowrocà Âaw Voivodeship and Cheà Âmno Voivodeship in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, later in Germany of Bromberg district (Province of Posen) and Marienwerder district (West Prussia).
This would change only in the year of 1938, when Bydgoszcz was moved from the Poznaà  to the Pomeranian Voivodeship with Toruà Â, soon to take the role of the capital of the whole region.
The postwar growth of the cities and the new political administrative landscape led to application of the term "Bydgoszcz-Toruà  metropolitan area" which first appeared in the 1960s.
The main sights of the agglomeration are the old towns of Bydgoszcz and Toruà Â, with the latter listed as a World Heritage Site. The local spa town is Ciechocinek, and its graduation towers, saline and spa parks are declared a Historic Monument of Poland.
The metropolitan area is rich in historic architecture ranging from Romanesque and Gothic architecture to Renaissance, Baroque and Art Nouveau. There are also several castles and palaces, including Dybów, Zamek Bierzgà Âowski, Ostromecko, à »oà ÂÃÂdowo. The Dybów Castle was the place where in 1454 King Casimir IV Jagiellon issued the famous Statutes of Nieszawa, covering a set of privileges for the Polish nobility; an event that is regarded as the birth of the noble democracy in Poland, which lasted until the late-18th-century Partitions of Poland.
Bydgoszcz and Toruà  host major museums and art galleries, including the Leon Wyczóà Âkowski Regional Museum in Bydgoszcz and District Museum in Toruà Â. The more unique museums include:
Motorcycle speedway, basketball and volleyball enjoy the largest following in the metropolitan area. The KS Toruà  and Polonia Bydgoszcz clubs are among the most accomplished speedway clubs in the country and contest the Pomeranian-Kuyavian Derby, one of the fiercest speedway rivalries.