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Gdańsk

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For alternative meanings of Gdańsk and Danzig, see Gdańsk (disambiguation) and Danzig (disambiguation)
Gdańsk
Image:Gdansk flag.svg Image:Gdansk COA.svg
(Flag) (Coat of arms)
Motto: Nec temere, nec timide
(Neither rashly nor timidly)
Image:POL Gdańsk map.svg
Country Poland
Voivodeship Pomerania
Municipal government 'Rada miasta Gdańska'
Mayor Paweł Adamowicz
Area 262 km²
Population
 - city
 - urban
 - density
460 524 (2004) - Ranked 6th
1,100,000 (Tricity)
1761/km²
Founded 997
City rights 1263
Latitude
Longitude 		54°21'N
18°40'E
Area code +48 +48 58
Car plates GD
Twin towns Astana, Barcelona, Bremen, Cleveland, Elsinore, Kaliningrad, Kalmar, Marseille, Nice, Odessa, Rotterdam, Rouen, Sefton, St. Petersburg, Turku, Vilnius
Municipal Website

Gdańsk (IPA: ['ɡdaɲsk] (help·info); German: Danzig (help·info), Kashubian: Gduńsk, Late Latin: Gedania; older English Dantzig; also other languages) is the Poland's sixth-largest city, and also her principal seaport and the capital of the Pomeranian Voivodeship.

The city lies on the southern coast of the Gdańsk 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 Gdańsk or the Tricity (Trójmiasto) with a population of over a million people. Gdańsk is, with a population of 460,524 (mid 2004), the largest city in the historical province of Eastern Pomerania. North lies the Kashubian Tricity: Rumia, Reda, and Wejherowo.

Gdańsk is situated at the mouth of the Motława river, connected to the Leniwka, a branch in the delta of the Vistula, whose waterway system connects 60% of the area of Poland, giving 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, Gdańsk was a member of the Hanseatic League. Today the city remains an important industrial centre, together with the nearby port of Gdynia, and is world famous as the birthplace of the Solidarity movement which, under the leadership of Lech Wałęsa, played a major role in bringing an end to Communist rule in the Eastern Bloc.

Contents

[edit] Names

The name is thought to mean town located on Gdania river, the original name of the Motława branch the city is situated on. Like many other European cities, Gdańsk has had many different names throughout its history.

The Polish name Gdańsk is usually pronounced IPA [gəˈdɑːnsk], [gəˈdaɪnsk], or [gəˈdænsk] in English. The acute accent is frequently neglected by non-Poles. In the local Kashubian language it is known as Gduńsk.

The city was mainly populated by Germans and in 1792 became a part of the Kingdom of Prussia, later being part of the German Empire until 1919; the German name Danzig was widely used until the end of the Second World War. The city's Latin name may be given as any of Gedania, Gedanum or Dantiscum; the variety of Latin names reflects the influence of the Polish, Kashubian, and German names.

Former English versions of its name include Dantsic and Dantzic (in use until the end of World War I).

See also: List of European cities with names in different languages

[edit] Historical documents

Danzig Royal City coin of 1589 (Sigismund III Vasa period)

The name of a settlement was recorded after St. Adalbert's demise in 997 A.D. as urbs Gyddanyzc and later was written as Kdanzk (1148), Gdanzc (1188), Gdansk (1236), Danzc (1263), Danczk (1311, 1399, 1410, 1414–1438), Danczik (1399, 1410, 1414), Danczig (1414), Gdansk (1454, 1468, 1484), Gdansk (1590), Gdąnsk (1636) and in Latin documents Gedanum or Dantiscum. These early recordings show the Pomeranian name Gduńsk, the Polish name Gdańsk and the German name Danzig.

Alternative spellings from medieval and early modern documents are Gyddanyzc, Kdansk, Gdanzc, Dantzk, Dantzig, Dantzigk, Dantiscum and Gedanum. The official Latin name of Gedanum was used simultaneously.

[edit] Special celebration names

On special occasions it is also known as The Royal Polish City of Gdańsk; Polish: Królewskie Polskie Miasto Gdańsk, German: Königliche Polnische Stadt Danzig, Latin: Regia Civitas Polonica Gedanensis, Kashubian: Królewsczi Polsczi Gard Gduńsk.

The Kashubians prefer the name: Our Capital City Gdańsk (=Nasz Stoleczny Gard Gduńsk) or The Kashubian Capital City Gdańsk (=Stoleczny Kaszëbsczi Gard Gduńsk).

Sources:

  • Gdańsk, in: Kazimierz Rymut, Nazwy Miast Polski, Ossolineum, Wrocław 1987
  • Hubert Gurnowicz, Gdańsk, in: Nazwy miast Pomorza Gdańskiego, Ossolineum, Wrocław 1978
  • Baedeker's Northern Germany, Karl Baedeker Publishing, Leipzig 1904.

[edit] History

Main article: History of Gdańsk, see also: History of Pomerania

Seal of Mściwój II, duke of Gdańsk Pomerania (1271-1294)
Seal of Mściwój II, duke of Gdańsk Pomerania (1271-1294)
Image:ZURAW-Gdansk 2004 ubt.jpeg
Monument to King Jan III Sobieski, now at Gdańsk (formerly in Lwów)

[edit] Foundation and the Middle Ages

According to archeologists, the Gdańsk stronghold was built in the 980s by Mieszko I of Poland, after a series of local wars. 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 Gdańsk (urbs Gyddanyzc).

In the following years Gdańsk was the main centre of a Polish splinter duchy ruled by the Dukes of Pomerania. The most famous of them, Świętopełk II of Pomerania, granted a local autonomy charter in ca. 1235 to the city, which at the time had about 2,000 inhabitants. But at this time, the town had already obtained the city charter under Lübeck law (Lübisches Stadtrecht) in 1224 and the official spoken language was German.

By 1308 Gdańsk had became a flourishing trading city with some 10,000 inhabitants, but in the Gdańsk Massacre of 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 alm" 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.

Image:Stadssigill foer staden Luebeck.png

While under the control of the Knights, the city and its trade prospered, German influence increased, and the city began to be referred to by variations of "Gdańsk", ultimately developing into the Germanised version of the Polish name: "Danzig". 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 overlordship of the Polish king. A year later, with the Peace of Toruń (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 pre-requesit of autonomy for western Prussia. Image:Danzig.Christoph Hartknoch.JPG In 1457 Danzig with other Hanse cities became city republics with self-government. 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 Germans, inhabitants from various other ethnic groups (Poles, Jews, and Dutch, the latter the largest minority[citation needed]) contributed to Danzig's identity and rich culture of this period. A large number of Scotsmen took refuge or emigrated to and received citizenship in Danzig and other Prussian cities (see links below) and also, through trade, all over the Baltic region. With the Reformation, the German inhabitants adopted the Lutheran confession.

The city suffered a slow economic decline due to the wars in the 18th century, when it was taken by the Russians after the Siege of Danzig in 1734. Danzig was annexed to the Kingdom of Prussia in 1793 and remained Prussian until 1919 – except for the short period of 1807-1815 when it was the Free City of Danzig during the Napoleonic years. As part of Prussia, its longest serving Regierungspräsident was Robert von Blumenthal, who held office from 1841, before the troubles of 1848, until 1863. Danzig became part of the German Empire in 1871.

Image:GD032003 ubt.jpeg

[edit] World Wars and inter-war years

As a result of the Versailles treaty after World War I, Danzig became a free city under the control of the League of Nations. Its predominantly German population had no right of self-determination in a referendum as in other disputed parts of the former German Empire. When Poland regained its independence after World War I, the Poles hoped to regain the city to provide the free access to the sea which they had been promised by the Allies on the basis of Woodrow Wilson's "Fourteen Points". However, since the population of the city was predominantly German, it was not placed under Polish sovereignty, but became the Free City of Danzig, an independent quasi-state under the auspices of the League of Nations, governed by its predominantly German residents but with its external affairs largely under Polish control. The Free City issued its own stamps and currency, bearing the legend "Freie Stadt Danzig" and symbols of the city's maritime orientation and history.

The vast majority of the city's population favoured eventual return to Germany. In the early 1930s the Nazi Party capitalized on these pro-German sentiments, and in 1933 garnered 38 percent of vote for the Danzig Volkstag. Thereafter, the Nazis under the Bavarian Gauleiter Albert Förster achieved dominance in the city government - which, nominally, was still overseen by the League of Nations' High Commissioner.

Nazi demands, at their minimum, would have seen the return of Danzig to Germany and a one kilometer, state-controlled route for easier access across the Polish Corridor, from Pomerania to Danzig (and from there to East Prussia).<ref>See Documents Concerning the German Polish Relations and the Outbreak of Hostilities between Great Britain and Germany on September 3, 1939. See also the Soviet archieved, Documents Relating to the Eve of the Second World War Volume II: 1938-1939 (New York: International Publishers), 1948.</ref> Originally, the Poles had rejected this proposal, but later appeared willing to negotiate (as did the British) by August.<ref>See Documents Concerning the German Polish Relations and the Outbreak of Hostilities between Great Britain and Germany on September 3, 1939 See also the Soviet archieved, Documents Relating to the Eve of the Second World War Volume II: 1938-1939 (New York: International Publishers), 1948.</ref> By this time, however, Hitler had Soviet backing and had decided to attack Poland. Germany feigned an interest in diplomacy (delaying the Case White deadline twice), to try to drive a wedge between Britain and Poland.<ref>See Documents Concerning the German Polish Relations and the Outbreak of Hostilities between Great Britain and Germany on September 3, 1939. Hitler's change of position is well reflected in Goebbel's personal diary. See also the Soviet archieved, Documents Relating to the Eve of the Second World War Volume II: 1938-1939 (New York: International Publishers), 1948.</ref> On September 1, 1939, Germany attacked Poland, triggering the outbreak of World War II.

The military assault at Danzig began with an artillery bombardment of Polish positions at the Westerplatte peninsula by the old German pre-Dreadnought battleship Schleswig-Holstein and a subsequent landing of German infantry on the peninsula. Polish defenders at the Westerplatte resisted for nearly a week, before running out of ammunition. Many[citation needed] members of Danzig's Polish and Kashub population were deported to Stutthof concentration camp near Danzig or were executed at Piaśnica forest.[citation needed]
Image:Sonderstempel2.jpg
The city was annexed by Nazi Germany and incorporated into the Reichsgau Danzig-Westpreussen.

The Wehrmacht designated Danzig as Hauptsitze, Wehrkreis XX, under the command of General de Infanterie Bodewin Keitel. It's primary operational unit was the XX Infanterie Korps, and the XXXXVII Panzer Korps. Danzig was the Home Station of the 60th Panzer Grenadier Division, and the 21st Infanterie Division. Danzig was responsible for Sub-Area Headquarters at Neustadt in Westpreussen, Preussisch Stargard, Marienwerder, Graudenz, Bromberg, and Thorn.

Most of the Jewish community in Danzig was able to escape from the Nazis shortly before the outbreak of hostilities. However, German secret police had been observing Polish circles since 1936, compiling information which in 1939 served to prepare conscription lists of Poles to be arrested or executed in Operation Tannenberg. After the Nazi invasion, massive arrests of Poles started.[citation needed] On the first day of the war alone approx. 1,500 people were arrested[citation needed], mainly Poles active in the social and economical life, activists and members of Polish organizations.[1] On 2 September 1939, 150 of them were deported to Stutthof concentration camp, where most were eventually killed[citation needed].

As the war turned against Germany, German populations in Eastern Europe took flight from the advancing Red Army, resulting in a great population shift. After the final Soviet offensive began in January, 1945, hundreds of thousands of German refugees, many of whom had fled to Danzig by foot from East Prussia (see evacuation of East Prussia), tried to escape through the city's port in a large-scale evacuation that employed hundreds of German cargo and passenger ships. Some of the ships were sunk by the Soviets, including the Wilhelm Gustloff, after an evacuation was attempted at neighboring Gdynia. In the process, tens of thousands of refugees were killed.

The city also endured heavy Allied and Soviet bombardment. Those who survived and could not escape encountered the Red Army. On 30 March 1945, the Soviets captured the city and left it in ruins [2]. After the Yalta and Potsdam conferences, Gdańsk was assigned to Poland, along with all other territories east of the Oder-Neisse line. The remaining German residents of the city who survived the war were expelled to the western zones of remaining Germany, and henceforth the city became wholly Polish populated.

[edit] Modern age

Image:P4054828.JPG

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, Gdańsk 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 Gdańsk (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 Gdańsk was the scene of anti-government demonstrations which led to the downfall of Poland's communist leader Władysław Gomułka. Ten years later the Gdańsk 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 Wałęsa became President of Poland in 1990. Today Gdańsk is a major industrial city and shipping port.

Throughout its history Gdańsk/Danzig faced various periods of rule from different states before 1945:

From the early 13th century until 1945 the vast majority of Danzig's population had been of German ethnicity and German had been the language officially spoken since its city charter was granted in 1224 under Lübeck Law. For example, in the course of a poll executed in 1923, 96% of the citizens of Danzig stated German to be their mother tongue whereas 3% stated Polish to be so. Danzig enjoyed far reaching privileges concerning its self-autonomy (e.g. laid down in the Second Peace of Toruń) while it was under protection of the Polish Crown between 1466 - 1793. Due to its mainly German population the city resisted the Counter-Reformation and stayed predominantly Protestant until 1945. In 1945, the surviving German population was expelled to the western parts of Germany and the city was eventually re-populated by Poles, many which had been expelled from territories of Poland annexed by the Soviet Union.

Historical population
of Gdańsk

ca. 1000 1,000
1235 2,000
1308 10,000
1600 40,000
1650 70,000
1700 50,000
1750 46,000
1793 36,000
1800 48,000
1825 61,900
1840 65,000
1852 67,000
1874 90,500
1880 103,701
1885 108,500
1900 140,600
1910 170,300
1920 360,000 (whole FCD)
1925 210,300
1939 250,000
1946 118,000 (Germans expelled)
1950  ?
1960 286,900
1970 365,600
1975 421,000
1980 456,700
1990 464,600
1994 464,000
2000 456,600
2004 460,524

Compare: population of Tricity

[edit] Economy

Image:250px-GD022003 ubt.jpeg

The city's industrial landscape is dominated by shipbuilding, petrochemical and chemical industries, and food processing. The share of high-tech sectors such as electronics, telecommunications, IT engineering, cosmetics and pharmaceuticals is on the rise. Amber processing for the local economy is also important.

[edit] Culture

Gdańsk was once an important centre of culture. In the 16th century it hosted Shakespearean theatre on foreign tours, and the Danzig Research Society founded in 1743 was one of the first of its kind. Currently, there is a Fundation Theatrum Gedanensis aimed at rebuilding the Shakespeare theatre at its historical site. It is expected that Gdańsk will have a permanent English-language theatre, as at present it is only an annual event.

[edit] Main sights

The city boasts many fine buildings from the time of the Hanseatic League. Most tourist attractions are along or near Ulica Długa (Long Street) and Długi Targ (Long Market), a pedestrian thoroughfare lined by buildings reconstructed in historical (primarily 17th century) style and capped on either end by elaborate city gates. This part of the city is sometimes referred to as the Royal Way because it was the procession route of visiting kings.

Walking from end to end, sites encountered on or near the Royal Way include:

  • Upland Gate
  • Torture House
  • Prison Tower
  • Golden Gate
  • Long Street (Ulica Długa)
    • Uphagen House
    • Main Town Hall
  • Long Market (Długi Targ)
    • Arthur's Court (Artus)
    • Neptune Fountain
  • Green Gate

Gdańsk has a number of historical churches:

  • St. Bridget
  • St. Catherine
  • St. John
  • St Mary (Bazylika Mariacka), a municipal church built during the 15th century, is the largest brick church in the world.
  • St Nicholas' Church
  • Church of the Holy Trinity

Image:Danzig Jaeck Tower.jpg On the Motława river the museum ship SS Soldek is anchored.

Gdańsk is the starting point of the EuroVelo 9 cycling route which continues southward through Poland, then into the Czech Republic, Austria and Slovenia before it finally ends at the Adriatic Sea at Pula in Croatia.

[edit] Transportation

[edit] Sports

Main article: Sports in Gdańsk

There are many popular professional sports teams in the Gdańsk and Tricity area. Amateur sports are played by thousands of Gdańsk citizens and also in schools of all levels (elementary, secondary, university).

[edit] Politics and local government

Main article: Politics of Gdańsk

Contemporary Gdańsk is the capital of the Pomeranian province and is one of the major centres of economic and administrative life in Poland. Many important agencies of the state and local government levels have their main offices here: the Provincial Administration Office, the Provincial Government, the Ministerial Agency of the State Treasury, the Agency for Consumer and Competition Protection, the National Insurance regional office, the Court of Appeal, and the High Administrative Court.

[edit] Regional center

Gdańsk Voivodeship was extended in 1999 to include most of Słupsk Voivodeship, the western part of Elbląg Voivodeship and Chojnice County from Bydgoszcz Voivodeship to form the new Pomeranian Voivodeship. The area of the region was thus extended from 7,394 km² to 18,293 km² and the population rose from 1,333,800 (1980) to 2,198,000 (2000). By 1998, Tricity (greater Gdańsk) constituted an absolute majority of the population; almost half of the inhabitants of the new region live in the centre.

[edit] Education and science

Danzig in the 1890s.The Langer Markt street and City Hall

There are 14 universities with a total of 60,436 students, including 10,439 graduates as of 2001.

  • Gdańsk University (Uniwersytet Gdański)
  • Gdańsk University of Technology (Politechnika Gdańska)
  • Medical Academy (Akademia Medyczna)
  • Physical Education Academy (Akademia Wychowania Fizycznego im. Jędrzeja Śniadeckiego)
  • Musical Academy (Akademia Muzyczna im. Stanisława Moniuszki)
  • Arts Academy (Akademia Sztuk Pięknych) [3]
  • Instytut Budownictwa Wodnego PAN
  • Ateneum — Szkoła Wyższa
  • Gdańska Wyższa Szkoła Humanistyczna
  • Gdańska Wyższa Szkoła Administracji
  • Wyższa Szkoła Bankowa
  • Wyższa Szkoła Społeczno-Ekonomiczna
  • Wyższa Szkoła Turystyki i Hotelarstwa w Gdańsku
  • Wyższa Szkoła Zarządzania

[edit] Scientific and regional organizations

  • Gdańsk Scientific Society
  • Baltic Institute (Instytut Bałtycki), established 1925 in Toruń, since 1946 (?) in Gdańsk
  • TNOiK - Towarzystwo Naukowe Organizacji i Kierowania (Scientific Society for Organization and Management) O/Gdańsk
  • IBNGR - Instytut Badań nad Gospodarką Rynkową (The Gdańsk Institute for Market Economics) [4]

[edit] Sister cities

[edit] See also

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Gdańsk 		Flag of Gdańsk
Districts:
Osowa | Oliwa | Żabianka | Jelitkowo | Przymorze | Przymorze Małe | Przymorze Wielkie | VII Dwór | Strzyża | Zaspa | Zaspa-Młyniec | Zaspa-Rozstaje | Brzeźno | Matarnia | Brętowo | Wrzeszcz | Letnica | Nowy Port | Piecki-Migowo | Suchanino | Siedlce | Wzgórze Mickiewicza | Aniołki | Młyniska | Stogi z Przeróbką | Śródmieście | Krakowiec-Górki Zachodnie | Wyspa Sobieszewska | Kokoszki | Chełm i Gdańsk-Południe | Orunia-Św. Wojciech-Lipce | Olszynka | Rudniki
Tourist attractions:
St. Mary's Church | Westerplatte


[edit] External links

Voivodeships of Poland Image:Flag of Poland.svg
Greater Poland | Kuyavia-Pomerania | Lesser Poland | Lower Silesia | Lublin | Lubusz | Łódź | Masovia | Opole | Podlachia | Pomerania | Silesia | Subcarpathia | Świętokrzyskie | Warmia and Masuria | West Pomerania
Principal cities: Warsaw | Łódź | Kraków | Wrocław | Poznań | Gdańsk | Szczecin | Bydgoszcz | Lublin | Katowice | Białystok | Częstochowa | Gdynia | Toruń | Olsztyn | Radom | Kielce | Rzeszów | Opole | Gorzów Wielkopolski

Coordinates: 54°21′N 18°40′Ebe:Гданьск bg:Гданск ca:Gdansk cs:Gdaňsk cy:Gydanysg da:Gdańsk de:Danzig et:Gdańsk el:Γκντανσκ es:Gdańsk eo:Gdańsk fr:Gdańsk ko:그단스크 id:Gdańsk is:Gdańsk it:Danzica he:גדנסק csb:Gduńsk la:Gedania lv:Gdaņska lt:Gdanskas hu:Gdańsk na:Gdańsk nl:Gdansk ja:グダニスク no:Gdańsk nds:Danzig pl:Gdańsk pt:Gdańsk ro:Gdańsk ru:Гданьск simple:Gdańsk sr:Гдањск fi:Gdańsk sv:Gdańsk tr:Danzig uk:Ґданськ zh:格但斯克

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