According to UNESCO, its value lies in its being "a small historic trading city that preserves to a remarkable extent its original street pattern and outstanding early buildings, and which provides an exceptionally complete picture of the medieval way of life".

[1] The Medieval Town is one of Poland's official national Historic Monuments (Pomnik historii), as designated September 16, 1994.

[1] The World Heritage Committee passed it as a World Heritage Site on the basis of criteria (ii – "exhibits an important interchange of human values, over a span of time, or within a cultural area of the world, on developments in architecture or technology, monumental arts, town-planning, or landscape design") and (iv – "is an outstanding example of a type of building, Architectural, or Technological ensemble or landscape which illustrates a significant stage in human history").

[1] It noted that Toruń represents a valuable example of "a small historic trading city that preserves to a remarkable extent its original street pattern and outstanding early buildings, and which provides an exceptionally complete picture of the medieval way of life".

[1] The spatial layout of Toruń has remained mostly unchanged since the Middle Ages and thus constitutes a valuable source for the urban history of medieval Europe.