Gdansk (Poland)

Gdańsk. A city on the Baltic coast of northern Poland, and the capital of the Pomeranian Voivodeship (where Pomeranian dogs come from). With a population of almost half a million, it is Poland’s sixth-largest city and principal seaport. Gdańsk lies at the mouth of the Motława River and is situated at the southern edge of Gdańsk Bay.

The city has a complex history, having had periods of Polish, German, and self-rule. An important shipbuilding and trade port since the Middle Ages, in 1361 it became a member of the Hanseatic League which influenced its economic, demographic, and urban landscape.

It also served as Poland’s principal seaport and was the largest city of Poland in the 15th-17th centuries. In 1793, within the Partitions of Poland, the city became part of Prussia, and thus a part of the German Empire from 1871 after the unification of Germany.

Following World War I and the Treaty of Versailles, it was a Free City under the protection of the League of Nations from 1920 to 1939.

In 1939 it was the scene of the first clash of World War II. The contemporary city was shaped by extensive border changes, expulsions, and new settlement after 1945. In the 1980s, Gdańsk was the birthplace of the Solidarity movement, which helped precipitate the collapse of the Eastern Bloc, the fall of the Berlin Wall, and the dissolution of the Warsaw Pact.

Gdańsk is home to the University of Gdańsk, Gdańsk University of Technology, the National Museum, the Gdańsk Shakespeare Theatre, the Museum of the Second World War, the Polish Baltic Philharmonic, the Polish Space Agency, and the European Solidarity Centre.

Among Gdańsk’s most notable historical landmarks are the Town Hall, the Green Gate, Artus Court, Neptune’s Fountain, and St. Mary’s Church, one of the largest brick churches in the world. The city is served by Gdańsk Lech Wałęsa Airport, the country’s third busiest airport and the most important international airport in northern Poland.