Gdansk
Gdansk
- wave of Baltic Sea.
The sea capital of Poland
is the world capital of amber, a major economic, scientific and cultural
centre, as well as a popular tourist destination. Located on the southern shore
of the Baltic Sea, this 1000-year-old, Hanseatic city has played a key role in
commodities exchanges between Northern and Western Europe and Central and
Eastern Europe. In the ‘golden period’ of the 14th and 15th centuries, the city
was a kind of multicultural townsfolk republic. The atmosphere of tolerance and
wealth coming from trade resulted in the development of culture, science and
fine arts.
More about Gdansk
Gdansk
is the sixth-largest city in Poland and is Poland's principal seaport and the
capital of the Pomeranian Voivodeship. Gdansk is, with a population of 458,053
(2006), the largest city in the province of Eastern Pomerania, and present
region of Gdansk Pomerania. To the West lies the Kashubian Tricity (Rumia,
Reda, and Wejherowo), while Pruszcz Gdanski is to the south. Gdansk is situated
at the mouth of the Motlawa River, connected to the Leniwka, a branch in the
delta of the Vistula, whose waterway system connects 60% of the area of Poland.
This gives the city a unique advantage as the center of Poland's sea trade.
Historically an important seaport since medieval times and subsequently a principal
ship-building centre, Gdansk was a member of the Hanseatic League. The city is
famous worldwide as the birthplace of the Solidarity movement which, under the
leadership of Lech Walesa, played a major role in bringing an end to Communist
rule in the Eastern Block. Today Gdansk remains an important industrial centre,
together with the nearby port of Gdynia.
Gdansk, Sopot, Gdynia – Tricity -
the seaside metropolitan area
The city lies on the southern coast of Gdansk Bay (of the Baltic Sea), in a
conurbation with the spa town of Sopot, the city of Gdynia and suburban
communities, which together form a metropolitan area called the greater Gdansk
or the Tricity (Trójmiasto) with a population of over a million people.
Sopot is a large health-spa and tourist
resort destination, well known for the longest wooden pier in Europe, the Molo
(at 515.5 meters), from which one can see the Gulf of Gdansk. The city is also
famous for its Sopot International Song Festival, the largest such event in
Europe after the Eurovision Song Contest.
Gdynia is a relatively modern city and one
will not find many historical buildings. The oldest building in Gdynia is 13th
century St. Michael Archangel's Church in Oksywie. There is also a 17th century
neo-Gothic manor house located in the Folwarczna Street in Orlowo. However, what
most tourists look for Gdynia deals with its recent past. In the harbour there
two museum ships are anchored, the ORP Blyskawica destroyer and the Dar Pomorza
Tall Ship frigate. Gdynia is also famous for its numerous examples of early
20th century architecture, especially monumentalism and early functionalism.
Recently reconstructed Swietojanska street and Kosciuszki square are also worth
mentioning. The surrounding hills and the coastline attract many nature lovers.
Leisure pier and cliff-like coastline in Kepa Redzowska as well as the
surrounding Reservation Park are also popular. 1.5 kilometers long promenade
leads from the marina in the city centre to the beach in Redzowo. Most of
Gdynia can be seen from Kamienna Góra (54 meters asl) or a newly built
observation point near Chwaszczyno. You can also take hydrofoil or ship trip to
Gdansk Westerplatte, Hel or just see port.
City of Gdynia is also the host of the Heineken Open'er Festival, one of the
biggest contemporary music festivals in Poland. The festival gathers many
foreign hip-hop, rock, alternative and electronic music artists every
year. The second important summer event in Gdynia is Viva Beach Party, which is
a large two-day techno party made on Gdynia's Public Beach. Usually organized
in August.
Oldest history
According to archaeologists, the Gdansk
stronghold was built in the 980s by Mieszko I of Poland, after a series of
local wars against the inhabiting pagans. In 1997, the year 997 was celebrated
by Poland as the date of the foundation of the city, this being the year when
Saint Adalbert of Prague (sent by the Polish king Boleslaus the Brave) baptized
the inhabitants of Gdansk (urbs Gyddanyzc). Gdansk soon became the main centre
of a Polish splinter duchy known as Pomerelia ruled by the Dukes of Pomerania.
The most famous of them, Swietopelek II, granted the local autonomy charter to
the city in ca. 1235, which at the time had about 2,000 inhabitants. Eleven
years prior, in 1224, the town had already developed a city charter similar to
that of Lübeck which obtained its municipal constitution (Lübisches Stadtrecht)
in 1226. Polish governors of Pomerelia gradually gained more and more power and
evolved into semi-independent dukes, who ruled the duchy until 1294. The
official language of Gdansk was the language of its ruling family and their own
administrative body. By 1308 the city had became a flourishing trading city
with some 10,000 inhabitants, but on November 13, 1308, it was occupied and
demolished by the Teutonic Knights. This led to a series of wars between the
Knights and Poland, ending with the Peace of Kalisz in 1343 when the Knights
acknowledged that they would hold Pomerania as an alma from the Polish king.
Although it left the legal basis of their possession of the province in some
doubt, the agreement permitted the foundation of the municipality in 1343 and
the development of increased export of grain from Poland via the Vistula river
trading routes. While under the control of the Knights, the city and its trade
prospered, German migration increased, and the city's name continued to show up
in various forms. The city became a full member of the Hanseatic League in
1361, and its city seal showed, similar to that of Lübeck, a
"Hansekogge" ship, with the inscription SIGILLUM BURGENSIUM DANTZIKE
(approx. Seal of the Citizens of Dantzik).A new war broke out in 1409, ending
with the Battle of Grunwald (1410), and the city briefly came under the direct overlord
ship of the Polish king. A year later, with the Peace of Torun (Thorn) in 1411,
it returned to the Teutonic Knights' administration. In 1440 Danzig
participated in the foundation of the Prussian Union which eventually led to
the Thirteen Years War (1454-1466) and the incorporation of Royal Prussia by
the crown of Poland, with the prerequisite of autonomy for western Prussia.
Like other Hanseatic cities, Danzig became a city republic with self-government
in 1457. Recognized by the royal charters granted by King Casimir IV the
Jagiellonian and the free access to all Polish markets, Danzig became a large
and prosperous seaport and city. The 16th and 17th centuries were a Golden Age
for trade and culture of the city. Beside the German majority, there were a
variety of minorities that made up the population - Poles, Jews, and Dutch, who
were the largest minority. In addition, a number of Scotsmen took refuge or
immigrated to and received citizenship in Danzig and other Prussian cities and
also, through trade, all over the Baltic region. During the Protestant
Reformation, the German inhabitants adopted Lutheranism, which later became the
predominant faith in the Kingdom of Prussia.
Newest history
Poles came to the city from throughout Poland, especially from the regions of
eastern Poland annexed by the Soviet Union. The Old City was rebuilt during the
1950s and 1960s. Because of the development of its port and three major shipyards,
Gdansk was a major shipping and industrial center of the Communist People's
Republic of Poland. In the course of German-Polish reconciliation policies
driven by West German Chancellor Willy Brandt's Ostpolitik, German territorial
claims on Gdansk (and all other formerly German territories now under Polish
administration) were renounced, and its full incorporation into Poland was
recognized in the Treaty of Warsaw in 1970. In 1970 Gdansk was the scene of
anti-government demonstrations which led to the downfall of Poland's communist
leader Wladyslaw Gomulka. Ten years later the Gdansk Shipyard was the
birthplace of the Solidarity trade union movement, whose opposition to the
government led to the end of communist party rule (1989). Solidarity's leader
Lech Walesa became President of Poland in 1990. Today Gdansk is a major
industrial, cultural and commercial centre and shipping port.