Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń (, UMK) is located in Toruń, Poland. It was named after Nicolaus Copernicus who was born in this town in 1473. The first institution of higher education in Torun, the Toruń Academic Gymnasium was founded in 1568 on Piekary street. It was one of the first universities in northern Poland. The Academic Gymnasium was the precursor to scientific and cultural life (including the first museum created in 1594) in the region. Thanks to the efforts of Heinrich Stroband, city mayor in 1594, academics in Toruń received good working conditions for
Mover of the Earth, Stopper of the Sun Mover of the Earth, Stopper of the Sun Mover of the Earth, Stopper of the Sun is a concert overture for large orchestra that was commissioned by Orchestre national d'Île-de-France (ONDIF) from composer Svitlana Azarova. The composition is dedicated to Renaissance astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus. The name of this composition was taken from the Nicolaus Copernicus Monument, Toruń which bears a Latin inscription drawn up by Alexander von Humboldt: "Nicolaus Copernicus Thorunensis, terrae motor, solis caelique stator" - "Nicolaus Copernicus of Thorun, mover of the earth, stopper of the sun and heavens" In the score Azarova graphically and musically shows Copernicus’s