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 Gdansk is the Polish maritime capital with the population nearing
half a million. Lying on the Bay of Gdansk and the southern cost of the
Baltic Sea the city is a thousand years old. With its Hanseatic
tradition, it has for ages played a major role in the commercial
relationships between Northern and Western Europe as well as the
countries of Central and Eastern Europe. Present-day Gdansk is the
capital of the Pomeranian province and an important administration
centre.
The beginnings of Gdansk go back to the year 980. In its Golden Age
the city enjoyed the specific status of a Municipal Republic. It was
also a melting pot of cultures and ethnical groups. The air of tolerance
and the wealth built on trade made culture, science, and art flourish.
Today, works by outstanding Gdansk masters can be admired in museums,
churches, and galleries. Over centuries of its history Gdansk has
witnessed many great historical events. On the 1st of September 1939 the
armoured ship Schlezwig-Holstein began shelling the Polish military post
on Westerplatte. That was the beginning of the Second World War. More
recently, in 1980, Gdansk was the scene of the events which shaken the
old Soviet post-war order triggering the process of its decomposition
and drawing a new map of the Old Continent. The massive strikes begun by
the workers of Gdansk Shipyard resulted in signing the famous August
Agreement. It proved to be the final crack in the communist block that
gradually led to the emergence of a new political order of Europe.
Gdansk has earned another image. It became the city the world will
always associate with Solidarity and its leader Lech Walesa - the winner
of the Nobel peace prize and also the first President of the III
Republic of Poland.
Gdansk is a green city. The issue of environment protection is given
an exceptionally high priority because the nature was very generous
here. Sprawling on the southern Baltic coast, Gdansk gains a lot thanks
to its background of the picturesque Tri-City Landscape Park and the
hills and lakes of the Kashubian Switzerland district. The offer
addressed to those who seek leisure at the sea comprises twenty three
kilometres of clean beaches, three organised bathing grounds, and a
130-metre long pier. These are appended with such other outdoor
attractions as the Gdansk cycling tracks, zoological gardens, the famous
Oliwa Park with its ancient trees, the Gdansk Fortress Culture Park of
City Fortifications with unique authentic military architecture,
numerous parks and city squares, or the Nature Reserves of the
Sobieszewo Island. The list is far from complete. The heart of the Old
City features a yacht marina. Amateurs of water sports can indulge in
their pastime out in the Bay of Gdansk or along the Motlawa Arm, an
exquisite watercourse for canoeing or kayak escapades. Summers in Gdansk
are warm. The temperature stays between average maximum 21°C (70°F)
during the day and average minimul 13°C (60°F) over the night (after
Yahoo! Weather). The average precipitation is 7 cm (2.8 in)
Always hospitable, Gdansk invites visitors to its charming lanes and
historic interiors, bathing grounds on the sea and sailing courses,
comfortable hotels, elegant restaurants, and cosy cafes. The city has
several theatres, a philharmonic hall, opera house, outdoor summer
musical stage, three multi-cinema complexes and several smaller cinemas,
frequented youth clubs, pubs, and discos. Its numerous museums,
concerts, fairs, exhibitions, and street theatrical events complete the
broad spectrum of the city's cultural offer. Everyone will find
something of their liking, irrespective of the interests or mood.
If you are in Gdansk, be sure to visit
Debki
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