BROMBERG (Polish Bydgoszcz), a town of Poland, province of Poznan, 7m. from the Vistula, the centre of an important net work of railways. Pop. (1900), 52,082; (1931), 117,528. The Bromberg canal connects the Brahe with the Notec, and thus es tablishes communication between the Vistula and Oder. The town has an active trade in agricultural products and is the chief centre of the Polish timber industries. Originally a border town between Poland and Pomerania, it suffered from the raids of the Teutonic knights. Restored by Casimir the Great in 1346, its commerce flourished, but declined in the 17th century. By the Treaty of Tilsit it became part of the grand duchy of Warsaw. In 1813 it was occupied by the Prussians, and was held by Prussia from 1815 to 1918.