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| Port Overview |
| Something old, something new, something re-constructed, and Baltic Sea blue.
Formerly called Danzig (Germany’s naming of the city), Gdansk was once the most prosperous city in Poland. It flourished as a member of the Hanseatic League. This association of Baltic towns originated on Germany’s northern coast. The league offered protection and trade opportunities to member cities. Gdansk’s commercial success was expressed in the Renaissance style architecture of the town’s buildings. Although most of these structures were destroyed in WWII, they have been painstakingly restored. The city’s most prized works of art, including the Neptune Fountain in Long Market, were concealed in small rural villages and protected from bombing. Today you can walk through the re-constructed Town Hall, decorated with the paintings and frescoes that hung on its walls before the war.
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| In days of yore, Polish monarchs occasionally visited the city. When the sovereign came to Gdansk his procession wound through the city on a path called the Royal Way. Today you can walk in the footsteps of the king. Enter the city through a series of gates. The outermost Upland Gate was once surrounded by a moat. Continue to the Golden Gate, decorated with allegorical figures, to Long Street. This route will take you past Gdansk’s most opulent Hanseatic buildings. Stop at the Long Market, bordered by the Artus Court guildhall, and pass through the Green Gate to the waterfront. This final gate was designed as a palace where the king could stay after traveling through the city; however no Polish royalty ever slept here.
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| Gdansk is much more than just an old commercial port. It played a central part in the development of the Solidarity union. In 1980 Lech Walesa, an electrician, organized a series of strikes in the Gdansk shipyards. The town and the man were both catapulted into the political limelight. For nearly a decade Solidarity struggled against Poland’s communist leadership. Eventually, the movement succeeded and Walesa served as the Polish president from 1990 until 1995. The Monument of the Fallen Shipyard Workers in Gdansk harbor commemorates the victims of a protest that was met with police brutality.
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| If history and politics aren’t your thing, spend the day enjoying the Baltic Sea. Sopot, an old resort town, offers beaches and boardwalks. Discover underwater life at the Gdynia Museum of Oceanography. Use your day in Poland to create new memories – take photographs, purchase souvenirs, and taste the Baltic Sea air. Whether you choose to savor the old in Gdansk, or enjoy the present in its neighboring cities, you’ll surely enjoy your visit. | |
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