Bydgoszcz (German: Bromberg ) is a major city of 360,000 in Poland and with suburban area the agglomeration has nearly 500,000. It has well preserved 19th-century architecture and was known as Little Berlin before the world wars. Nicely located along Brda river it offers many green areas, intriguing museums and music scene with a famous Concert Hall – Filharmonia Pomorska, opera house – Opera Nova and the Paderewski Academy of Music. Bydgoszcz is also an important centre of higher education being the seat of Casimir the Great University, the University of Technology and Life Sciences, Academy of Music as well as a Collegium Medicum of Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń and several private institutes. It is also an important centre for athletics and water sports. : P70 : P8