Gdansk - The Hanseatic harbor city where the Second World War started

The Solidarity movement also started here

(photos of 2009)

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Gdansk (also known by its German name Danzig) has a rich history (map, Wikipedia), due to its location near the boundary of Slavic and Germanic regions. Gdansk was largely destroyed in the Second World War (which started at the mouth of its harbor). Its old city center has been beautifully restored.

(Note. For simplicity, no Polish accents -- diacritical marks -- are used here: they can be found by following the links to Wikipedia.)

Bird's eye view

The following 360-degree panorama of the old city of Gdansk was taken from a tower on the waterfront, part of the building that houses the Archeological Museum (map). Starting from the left, we see the spire of the Town Hall, then St. Mary's Church under reconstruction, with Mariacka Street leading toward it. Further to the right, leaning over the edge of the Motlawa River, is the famous Gdansk Crane (formerly used to load and offload ships). Beyond and slightly left of the Crane lies the famed Gdansk Shipyard where the Solidarity trade union was founded (Solidarnosc, Wikipedia), which led to the downfall of Communism in Poland and Europe. Across the river is Spichlerze Island, where ruins of old warehouses are gradually being replaced by new buildings. The (modernized) galeon provides tours of the harbor.

In the next view, we see at left the tower from which the above panorama was taken, and the Crane again. The following close-up of the Crane was taken from aboard a galeon. The 360-degree panorama was taken across the river opposite the Crane.

Mariacka Street

From the same tower from which the first panorama was taken, we look down on Mariacka Street, characterized by its art stores with often elaborate porches (map), shown next.

Town Hall, Long Street and Long Market

The Town Hall (map) dominates the old city of Gdansk. Supposedly first built in 1330, it was almost completely burnt out during WWII. The first view below looks at the Town Hall along ul Dluga ("Long Street"), while the next view looks from the opposite side, along Dlugi Targ ("Long Market").

Both ul Dluga and Dlugi Targ are lined by an amazing collection of beautifully restored houses, shown in the next three panoramas.

A rich assortment of buildings

Strolling around the old city of Gdansk reveals a treasure of different styles and decorations.

The final picture shows the monument that commemorates the fallen defenders of the garrison at Westerplatte, where the Second World War started on 1 September 1939 (map, Wikipedia).