At the initiative of the APOLINA association, Luc Adolphe traveled to Poland in July 2008, invited to bring his professional, artistic, and above all, Toulouse-centric perspective to Torun, a city of 250,000 inhabitants located in the Kuyavia-Pomerania region. Toruń is first and foremost a city. Situated in the Kuyavia-Pomerania region in central Poland, on the banks of the Vistula River, it is one of the few cities in Poland whose name is borne by a celestial object in the solar system. The asteroid "(12999) Toruń" travels somewhere between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter… Toruń, the birthplace of Copernicus, perpetuates the astronomical tradition with its university, observatory, and world-renowned contemporary astronomers.

The city was founded in 1231 by the Teutonic Knights, who built a castle there in the 13th century to serve as a base for the conquest and evangelization of Prussia. Today, the only remaining intact vestige of the Teutonic Knights' castle is the so-called "gdanisko" tower, which once served as a latrine. Favored by its location on the banks of the Vistula River and its economic advantages, Toruń functioned as an inland port, receiving goods from Hungary, Flanders, England, and other countries. Towards the end of the Middle Ages, ten thousand people lived in this wealthy trading post and strategic center of the Teutonic state. The medieval urban area, surrounded by fortified walls, comprised Gothic churches, granaries, and workshops.

The Renaissance left its mark on the city's architecture. In Toruń, located in Royal Prussia, the Northern Renaissance style, resulting from constant trade with the Netherlands, was dominant. Today, Toruń is a small, historic trading city that preserves the original layout of its medieval streets and exceptional old brick buildings. This unique arrangement, combining two towns with a castle, has remained virtually intact and was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1997.

Poland is trying to erase the traces of the communist era: few monuments, whereas there were many at the time, bear witness to this period. Some of these memories, however, are making a comeback, such as milk bars, which were very common back then, or the popular cars in Poland during the 1970s, like the German brands Trabant and Wartburg. During its production run, the Trabant was the only car in the world whose used value was higher than its new value due to waiting lists of ten to fifteen years. In 1989, Poland rejected Marxist socialism in favor of a consumer society. Since then, wages have risen dramatically. Unfortunately, this economic development has been accompanied by a dramatic widening of social inequalities.

The Polish Church was a constant presence throughout the centuries, ensuring a modicum of unity for a divided Poland that had disappeared from the map at certain points in history. Even today, Poland remains a predominantly Catholic country: over 90% of the population are believers and baptized. Mass is celebrated several times a day on every Sunday. Churches are packed for every service.

Just as the Earth revolves around the sun, the city of Toruń revolves around Nicolaus Copernicus, author of the heliocentric theory of the universe, who was born in this Polish city on February 19, 1473. Through his observations and calculations, Copernicus inflicted perhaps the greatest narcissistic wound on humanity by demonstrating that the Earth was not the center of the universe but that it revolved around the sun.