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{{Dablink|For alternative meanings of Gdańsk and Danzig, see [[Gdańsk (disambiguation)]] and [[Danzig (disambiguation)]]}} |
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#REDIRECT [[Gdańsk]] |
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{{Infobox settlement |
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|name = Gdańsk |
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|motto = ''[[Nec Temere, Nec Timide]]'' <br />(Neither rashly, nor timidly) |
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|image_skyline = Collage of views of Gdansk.jpg |
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|imagesize = 250px |
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|image_caption = |
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|image_flag = Gdansk flag.svg |flag_link = Symbols of Gdańsk |
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|image_shield = POL Gdańsk COA.svg |shield_link = Symbols of Gdańsk |
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|pushpin_map = Poland |
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|pushpin_label_position = bottom |
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|subdivision_type = Country |
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|subdivision_name = {{POL}} |
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|subdivision_type1 = [[Voivodeships of Poland|Voivodeship]] |
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|subdivision_name1 = [[Pomeranian Voivodeship|Pomeranian]] |
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|subdivision_type2 = [[Powiat|County]] |
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|subdivision_name2 = ''city county'' |
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|leader_title = Mayor |
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|leader_name = [[Paweł Adamowicz]] ([[Civic Platform|PO]]) |
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|established_title = Established |
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|established_date = 10th century |
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|established_title3 = City rights |
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|established_date3 = 1263 |
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|area_total_km2 = 262 |
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|population_as_of = 2008 |
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|population_total = 455584 |
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|population_density_km2 = auto |
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|population_metro = 1080700 |
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|timezone = [[Central European Time|CET]] |
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|utc_offset = +1 |
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|timezone_DST = [[Central European Summer Time|CEST]] |
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|utc_offset_DST = +2 |
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|latd = 54 | latm = 22 | lats = | latNS = N | longd = 18 | longm = 38 | longs = | longEW = E |
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|postal_code_type = Postal code |
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|postal_code = 80-008 to 80-958 |
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|area_code = +48 58 |
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|website = http://www.gdansk.pl |
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|blank_name = [[Polish car number plates|Car plates]] |
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|blank_info = GD}} |
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'''Gdańsk''', also known by its German name '''Danzig''' (see [[#Names|''Names'']] below), is a city on the [[Baltic Sea|Baltic]] coast in northern [[Poland]], at the centre of the country's fourth-largest [[metropolitan area]].<ref name = "lvhmzm">{{cite web|url=http://world-gazetteer.com/wg.php?x=&men=gcis&lng=en&des=gamelan&geo=-173&srt=npan&col=abcdefghinoq&msz=1500&pt=a&va=&srt=pnan |title=Poland - largest cities (per geographical entity) |publisher=World Gazetteer |date= |accessdate=2009-05-05}}</ref> |
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Gdańsk is Poland's principal [[Port|seaport]] as well as the capital of the [[Pomeranian Voivodeship]]. It is also historically the largest city of the [[Kashubia|Kashubian region]]. The city is close to the former boundary between [[West Slavs|West Slavic]] and [[Germanic Europe|Germanic]] lands and it has a complex [[political history]] with long spells of Polish rule interspersed with periods of [[Germany|German]] control and two spells as a [[Free imperial city|free city]]. It has been part of modern Poland since 1945. |
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The city lies on the southern edge of [[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 [[Tricity, Poland|Tricity]] (''Trójmiasto''), with a population of over 800,000.<ref name = "lvhmzm"/> Gdańsk itself has a population of 458,053 (2006), making it the largest city in the [[Pomerania]] region of Northern Poland. |
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Gdańsk is situated at the mouth of the [[Motława]] River, connected to the [[Leniwka]], a branch in the delta of the nearby [[Vistula River]], whose waterway system supplies 60% of the area of Poland and connects Gdańsk to the [[Capital (political)|national capital]] in [[Warsaw]]. This gives the city a unique advantage as the center of Poland's sea trade. Together with the nearby port of [[Gdynia]], Gdańsk is also an important industrial center. Historically an important seaport and shipbuilding center, Gdańsk was a member of the [[Hanseatic League]]. |
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The city was the birthplace of the [[Solidarity]] movement which, under the leadership of Gdańsk [[Activism|political activist]] [[Lech Wałęsa]], played a major role in bringing an end to [[Communism|Communist]] rule across [[Central Europe]]. It is also the home and birthplace of Polish [[Prime Minister of the Republic of Poland|Prime Minister]] [[Donald Tusk]], who is of [[Kashubians|Kashubian]] origin. |
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==Names== |
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[[File:Zwantepolc.png|left|thumb|''Zwantepolc de Danceke'', 1228]] |
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The city's name is thought to originate from the [[Gdania River]],<ref>[http://64.233.167.104/search?q=cache:CricehQx6TwJ:www.directferries.co.uk/gdansk_guide.htm+Gdania+river&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=3&gl=ca From the history of Gdańsk city name, as explained at Gdansk Guide]</ref> the original name of the Motława branch on which the city is situated. Gdańsk and Gdania are considered to be derivations from the Gothic name of the area ([[Gothiscandza|Gutiskandja]]),<ref>Adrian Room, ''Placenames of the World, 2nd Ed.'' [http://books.google.se/books?id=M1JIPAN-eJ4C&pg=PA142&lpg=PA142&dq=gda%C5%84sk+%22gothic+name%22&source=web&ots=idosJ5LU_M&sig=s2TpjJe3SgAaHy7E4M086LOheVY&hl=sv] Quote: "The city has a Gothic name, from Gutisk-andja, "end of the Goths," as these people's territory extended to here. The city's former German name, Danzig, misleadingly suggests an association with the Danes."</ref> however this has also been questioned.<ref>Dennis H. Green, ''The Visigoths from the Migration Period to the Seventh Century'' [http://books.google.se/books?id=0QLwfButJokC&pg=PA17&lpg=PA17&dq=%22gutisk+andja%22+gdansk&source=web&ots=2Dd4piTYAz&sig=s44y04whCmgcM0_hUFtqCUaYgEg&hl=sv ] Quote: "...the difficulty with Gdańsk, Gdynia and ''gudas''... in the Polish coastal area centuries before the Goths are known to have occupied this region... casts doubt on the theory of Gothic origin."</ref> Like many other Central European cities, Gdańsk has had many different names throughout its history. |
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The name of a settlement was recorded after St. Adalbert's death in 997 AD as ''urbs Gyddanyzc''<ref name=Tighe>Carl Tighe, "Gdańsk: national identity in the Polish-German borderlands", Pluto Press, 1990, [http://books.google.com/books?id=MkBpAAAAMAAJ&q=Gyddanyzc&dq=Gyddanyzc]</ref> and later was written as ''Kdanzk'' (1148), ''Gdanzc'' (1188), [[Swantopolk II, Duke of Pomerania|''Danceke'']]<ref>[http://books.google.com/books?id=VfEeAAAAMAAJ&dq=%22Zwantepolc+de%22&q=Zwantepolc&pgis=1#search Marian Gumowski: Handbuch der polnischen Siegelkunde, 1966]</ref> (1228), ''Gdansk'' (1236, 1454, 1468, 1484, 1590), ''Danzc'' (1263), ''Danczk'' (1311, 1399, 1410, 1414–1438), ''Danczik'' (1399, 1410, 1414),<ref name=Tighe/> ''Danczig ''(1414), ''Gdąnsk'' (1636). See also [[Names of European cities in different languages: E-H#G|Names of European cities in different languages]]. |
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In Polish the modern name of the city is pronounced {{IPAr|pl|AUD|Pl-Gdańsk.ogg|'|g|d|a|ń|s|k}}. In English (where the [[Polish alphabet|diacritic]] over the "n" is frequently omitted) the usual pronunciation is {{IPA-en|ɡəˈdænsk|}} or {{IPA-en|ɡəˈdɑːnsk|}}. |
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For much of its history the majority of the city's inhabitants were [[German language|German-speakers]], who called it ''Danzig'' {{IPA-de|ˈdantsɪç||Danzig.ogg}}. This name was also used in English<ref>[http://www.1911encyclopedia.org/Danzig Britannica 11th edition (published in 1911)]</ref> until the end of World War II, and is still used in historical contexts. Other former English spellings of the name include ''Dantzig'', ''Dantsic'' and ''Dantzic''. |
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In the [[Kashubian language]] the city is called ''Gduńsk''. The city's [[Latin]] name may be given as either ''Gedania'', ''Gedanum'' or ''Dantiscum''; the variety of Latin names reflects the mixed influence of the city's Polish, German and Kashubian heritage. |
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=== Ceremonial names === |
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[[File:RegiaCivitatisGedanensis.jpg|thumb|''Regia Civitatis Gedanensis'' (Royal City of Gdańsk) coin of 1589, [[Sigismund III Vasa]] period.]] |
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On special occasions the city is also referred to as "The Royal Polish City of Gdańsk" (Polish ''Królewskie Polskie Miasto Gdańsk'', Latin ''Regia Civitas Polonica Gedanensis'', Kashubian ''Królewsczi Polsczi Gard Gduńsk'').<ref>Gdańsk, in: Kazimierz Rymut, ''Nazwy Miast Polski'', [[Ossolineum]], Wrocław 1987</ref><ref>Hubert Gurnowicz, ''Gdańsk'', in: ''Nazwy miast Pomorza Gdańskiego'', [[Ossolineum]], Wrocław 1978</ref><ref>''Baedeker's Northern Germany'', [[Baedeker|Karl Baedeker Publishing]], Leipzig 1904</ref> |
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Kashubians also use the name "Our Capital City Gdańsk" (''Nasz Stoleczny Gard Gduńsk'') or "The Kashubian Capital City Gdańsk" (''Stoleczny Kaszëbsczi Gard Gduńsk''). |
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== History == |
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{{Main|History of Gdańsk}}{{See also|History of Pomerania}} |
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=== Foundation and the Middle Ages === |
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At the mouth of the [[Motlawa]] river (archaic Gdania), a [[Pomeranians (Slavic tribe)|Pomeranian]] settlement was archaeologically recorded that probably dates back to the 7th century.<ref name=Hess40>{{cite book|title=Danziger Wohnkultur in der frühen Neuzeit|first=Corina|last=Hess|publisher=LIT Verlag|location=Berlin-Hamburg-Münster|year=2007|isbn=3825887111|page=40}}</ref> In the 980s, a stronghold was built most probably by [[Mieszko I of Poland]] who thereby connected the [[Piast dynasty|Piast]] realm with the trade routes of the [[Baltic Sea]].<ref name=Hess39>{{cite book|title=Danziger Wohnkultur in der frühen Neuzeit|first=Corina|last=Hess|publisher=LIT Verlag|location=Berlin-Hamburg-Münster|year=2007|isbn=3825887111|page=39}}</ref> The first written record of this stronghold is the ''vita of [[Saint Adalbert]]'', written in 999 and describing events of 997.<ref name=Hess39/> This date is generally{{Citation needed|date=October 2009}} regarded as the founding of Gdańsk in Poland; in 1997 the city celebrated the millennial anniversary of the year 997 when Saint [[Adalbert of Prague]] baptized the inhabitants of the settlement on behalf of [[Bolesław I Chrobry|Boleslaw the Brave]] of Poland. In the 12th century, the settlement comprised the [[Samborides|ducal]], former Piast stronghold, a settlement at modern Long Market, a craftman's setllements along the ''Altstädter Graben'' ditch, and a settlement of German merchants around the ''St Nicolas'' church.<ref name=Hess40/> In 1186, a [[Cistercians|Cistercian]] monastery was set up in [[Oliwa]] nearby (now within the city limits). In 1215, the ducal stronghold became the center of a [[List of Pomeranian duchies and dukes|Pomerelian splinter duchy]]. In 1224/25, Germans in the course of the [[Ostsiedlung]] established a settlement in the area of the earlier fortress.{{Citation needed|date=October 2009}} |
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About 1235, the town was granted city rights under [[Lübeck law]] by [[Pomerelia]]n duke [[Swantopolk II, Duke of Pomerania|Swantopolk II]], an [[German town law|autonomy charter]] similar to that of [[Lübeck]] which was also the primary origin of many settlers.<ref name=Hess40/> In 1300, the town had an estimated population of 2,000.<ref name=Hess4041>{{cite book|title=Danziger Wohnkultur in der frühen Neuzeit|first=Corina|last=Hess|publisher=LIT Verlag|location=Berlin-Hamburg-Münster|year=2007|isbn=3825887111|pages=40-41}}</ref> While overall the town was not that an important trade center at that time, it had some relevance in the trade with [[Eastern Europe]].<ref name=Hess4041/> In 1308, the [[Teutonic Knights]] [[Teutonic take-over of Danzig|took over the town]].<ref name=Hess41>{{cite book|title=Danziger Wohnkultur in der frühen Neuzeit|first=Corina|last=Hess|publisher=LIT Verlag|location=Berlin-Hamburg-Münster|year=2007|isbn=3825887111|page=41}}</ref> Medieval massacre records of 10,000 inhabitants are perceived divergently in modern literature:<ref name=Boockmann158>[[Hartmut Boockmann]], ''Ostpreussen und Westpreussen'', Siedler, 2002, p.158, ISBN 3-88680-212-4</ref> while sources state it as a fact,<ref name="p.376">James Minahan, One Europe, Many Nations: A Historical Dictionary of European National Groups, Greenwood Publishing Group, 2000, ISBN 0313309841, [http://books.google.com/books?id=NwvoM-ZFoAgC&pg=PA376&dq=1308+Gdansk+massacre&as_brr=3&ei=cilQSPHSMom2iwGE8JU0&sig=OR_a7-g10jIZsYOJGkmBe5ZwfSY p.376]</ref> other sources discard it as a medieval exaggeration.<ref name=Boockmann158/> The alleged massacre was used as evidence by the Polish crown in a subsequent papal lawsuit.<ref name=Boockmann158/><ref name="Thomas Urban">Thomas Urban: "[http://www.thomas-urban.pl/gdansk.php Rezydencja książąt Pomorskich]". {{pl icon}}</ref> The knights colonized the area, replacing local Kashubians with German settlers.<ref name="p.376"/> In 1308, they founded ''Hakelwerk'' near the town, initially as a Slavic fishing settlement.<ref name=Hess41/> In 1340, the Teutonic Knights built a large fortress, which became the seat of the knights' [[Komtur]].<ref name=Hess4142>{{cite book|title=Danziger Wohnkultur in der frühen Neuzeit|first=Corina|last=Hess|publisher=LIT Verlag|location=Berlin-Hamburg-Münster|year=2007|isbn=3825887111|pages=41-42}}</ref> In 1343, they founded ''Rechtstadt'', which in contrast to the pre-existing town (thence ''Altstadt'', "Old Town" or ''Stare Miasto'') was chartered with [[Kulm Law]].<ref name=Hess41/> In 1358, Danzig joined the [[Hanseatic League]], and became an active member in 1361.<ref name=Hess42>{{cite book|title=Danziger Wohnkultur in der frühen Neuzeit|first=Corina|last=Hess|publisher=LIT Verlag|location=Berlin-Hamburg-Münster|year=2007|isbn=3825887111|page=42}}</ref> It maintained relations with the trade centers [[Brügge]], [[Novgorod]], [[Lisboa]] and [[Sevilla]].<ref name=Hess42/> In 1377, the ''Old Town's'' city limits were expanded.<ref name=Hess41/> In 1380, ''Neustadt'' ("New Town" or "Nowe Miasto") was founded as the fourth, independent settlement.<ref name=Hess41/> |
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[[File:Pl gdansk zuraw dlugiepobrzeze2006.jpg|thumb|right|The medieval port crane (''Krantor''), called ''Żuraw'' over [[Motława]] river.]] |
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After a series of [[Polish-Teutonic War]]s, in the [[Treaty of Kalisz (1343)]] the Order had to acknowledge that it would hold Pomerelia as an [[Alms|alm]] from the [[Crown of the Kingdom of Poland|Polish Crown]]. Although it left the legal basis of the Order's possession of the province in some doubt, the city thrived as a result of increased exports of grain (especially wheat), timber, potas, tar, and other goods of forestry from Prussia and Poland via the [[Vistula River]] [[Trade route|trading routes]], despite the fact that after its capture, the Teutonic Knights tried to actively reduce the economic significance of the town. While under the control of [[Teutonic Knights|the Teutonic Order]] German migration increased. A new war broke out in 1409, ending with the [[Battle of Grunwald]] (1410), and the city came under the control of the [[Kingdom of Poland (1385–1569)|Kingdom of Poland]]. A year later, with the first [[Peace of Thorn (1411)|First Peace of Thorn]], it returned to the Teutonic Order. In 1440, the city participated in the foundation of the [[Prussian Confederation]] which was an organization opposed to the rule of the Teutonic Knights. This led to the [[Thirteen Years' War]] of independence from the [[State of the Teutonic Order|Teutonic Monastic State of Prussia]] (1454-1466). This intermittent warfare ended on May 25, 1457, when the city - jointly with [[Royal Prussia]] - became part of the [[Kingdom of Poland (1385–1569)|Crown of Poland]] while maintaining its rights and independence as an autonomous city.<ref>[http://209.85.165.104/search?q=cache:uLbVQeGT2_4J:www.worldstatesmen.org/Poland.htm+1457+Danzig&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=4&gl=ca From "Poland. Chronology]</ref><ref>[http://209.85.165.104/search?q=cache:DogMsKfps18J:www.geocities.com/CapitolHill/Rotunda/2209/Gdańsk.html+1457+Danzig&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=5&gl=ca From Danzig - Gdansk until 1920]</ref> |
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[[File:Gdańsk Zielona Brama.jpg|thumb|left|[[Green Gate]] was built between 1568-1571 inplace of Koggentor, to serve as the residence of visiting Polish monarchs.<ref>{{pl icon}} {{cite web |author = |url = http://miasta.gazeta.pl/trojmiasto/1,49422,3928314.html |title = Zielona Brama w Gdańsku |work = wilanowmiasta.gazeta.pl |publisher = |pages = |page = |date = 2007-02-18 |accessdate = 2008-12-29}}</ref> It was designed by Hans Kramer of Dresden and built by Regnier, the architect from [[Amsterdam]].<ref>{{en icon}} {{cite book |author=Philip Ward|coauthors=|title=Polish cities: travels in Cracow and the South, Gdańsk, Malbork and Warsaw|year=1988 |editor= |page=77 |pages= |chapter= | chapterurl = |publisher= Oleander |location= |isbn=09-06672-73-2 |url=http://books.google.pl/books?id=hFIdAAAAMAAJ&pgis=1|format= |accessdate=}}</ref>]] |
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===Modern Ages=== |
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On 15 May 1457, [[Casimir IV of Poland]] granted Danzig the ''Great Privilege'' ({{lang-de|Großes Privileg}}), after he had been invited by the town's council and had already stayed in town for five weeks.<ref name=Hess45>{{cite book|title=Danziger Wohnkultur in der frühen Neuzeit|first=Corina|last=Hess|publisher=LIT Verlag|location=Berlin-Hamburg-Münster|year=2007|isbn=3825887111|page=45}}</ref> With the ''Great Privilege'', the town was granted autonomy from Poland.<ref name=Hess45A>{{cite book|title=Danziger Wohnkultur in der frühen Neuzeit|first=Corina|last=Hess|publisher=LIT Verlag|location=Berlin-Hamburg-Münster|year=2007|isbn=3825887111|page=45}}: "Geben wir und verlehen unnsir Stadt Danczk das sie zcu ewigen geczeiten nymands for eynem herrn halden noc gehorsam zcu weszen seyn sullen in weltlichen sachen."</ref> The privilege confirmed to the town independent jurisdiction, legislation and administration of her territory, and the rights of the Polish crown were limited to the following: The Polish king was allowed to stay in town for three days a year, he was further allowed to chose a permanent envoy from eight councilmen proposed to him by the town, and received an annual payment, the ''Gefälle''.<ref name=Hess45/> Furthermore, the privilege united ''Old Town'', ''Hakelwerk'' and ''Rechtstadt'', and legalized the demolition of ''New Town'', which had sided with the [[Teutonic Knights]].<ref name=Hess45/> Already in 1457, ''New Town'' was demolished completely, no buildings remained.<ref name=Hess41/> |
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Gaining free and privileged access for the first time to Polish markets, the seaport prospered while simultaneously trading with the other Hanseatic cities. After the [[Second Peace of Thorn (1466)]] with the Teutonic Monastic State of Prussia the warfare between the latter and the Polish crown ended permanently. After the incorporation of Royal Prussia by the [[Kingdom of Poland (1385–1569)|Kingdom of Poland]] in 1569, the city continued to enjoy a large degree of internal autonomy (cf. [[Danzig Law]]). |
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King [[Stephen Báthory of Poland|Stephen Báthory's]] attempt to subject the city, which had supported [[Maximilian II, Holy Roman Emperor|Maximilian II]] in the prior election of the king, failed. The city, encouraged by its immense wealth and almost impregnable fortifications, as well as by the secret support of [[Denmark]] and [[Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor|Emperor Maximilian]], shut its gates against Stephen. After the [[Siege of Danzig (1577)]], lasting six months, the city's army of 5,000 mercenaries was utterly defeated in a field battle on December 16, 1577. However, since Stephen's armies were unable to take the city by force, a compromise was reached: [[Stephen Báthory of Poland|Stephen Báthory]] confirmed the city's special status and her [[Danzig Law]] privileges granted by earlier [[List of Polish monarchs|Polish kings]]. The city recognised him as ruler of Poland and paid the enormous sum of 200,000 [[Guilder|gulden]]s in gold as payoff ("apology"). |
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[[File:Entry of Queen Marie Louise into Gdańsk.JPG|thumb|right|Entry of Queen [[Ludwika Maria Gonzaga|Marie Louise of Poland]] into Gdańsk, February 11, 1646.]] |
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Beside the German-speaking majority, whose elites sometimes distinguished their German dialect as [[Pomerelia]]n,<ref>Bömelburg, Hans-Jürgen, ''Zwischen polnischer Ständegesellschaft und preußischem Obrigkeitsstaat: vom Königlichen Preußen zu Westpreußen (1756-1806)'', München: Oldenbourg, 1995, (Schriften des Bundesinstituts für Ostdeutsche Kultur und Geschichte (Oldenburg); 5), zugl.: Mainz, Johannes Gutenberg-Univ., Diss., 1993, 549 pp.</ref> the city was home to a large number of Polish-speaking Poles, [[Jew]]ish Poles, and [[Dutch people|Dutch]]. In addition, a number of [[Scottish people|Scotsmen]] took refuge or immigrated to and received citizenship in the city. During the [[Protestant Reformation]], most German-speaking inhabitants adopted [[Lutheranism]]. |
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[[File:Gdańsk ratusz.jpg|200px|thumb|right|The Town Hall spire, with a gilded statue of King [[Sigismund II Augustus]] of [[Poland]] on its pinnacle (installed in 1561), dominates Long Market skyline.<ref>{{pl icon}} {{cite web |author = |url = http://www.mhmg.gda.pl/international/?lang=eng&oddzial=1 |title = The Main Town Hall |work = www.mhmg.gda.pl |publisher = |pages = |page = |date = |accessdate = 2008-12-29}}</ref>]] |
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The city suffered a slow economic decline due to the wars of the 18th century, when it was taken by the Russians after the [[Siege of Danzig (1734)|Siege of Danzig]] in 1734. Danzig was [[Partitions of Poland|annexed]] by the [[Kingdom of Prussia]] in 1793, only to be broken off by Napoleon as a pseudo-independent [[Free City of Danzig (Napoleonic)|free city]] from 1807-1814. Returned to Prussia after [[France]]'s defeat in the [[Napoleonic Wars]], the city became the capital of [[Danzig (region)|Regierungsbezirk Danzig]] within the province of [[West Prussia]] from 1815. The city's longest serving Regierungspräsident was [[Robert von Blumenthal]], who held office from 1841, through the [[Revolutions of 1848 in the German states|revolutions of 1848]], until 1863. The city became part of the [[German Empire]] in 1871. |
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Throughout its long history Gdańsk/Danzig faced various periods of rule from different states before 1945: |
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*997-1308: as part of Poland |
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*1308-1454: as part of territory of Teutonic Order |
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*1454-1466: Thirteen Years' War |
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*1466-1793: as part of Poland |
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*1793-1805: as part of Prussia |
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*1807-1814: as a free city |
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*1815-1871: as part of Prussia |
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*1871-1918: as part of Imperial Germany |
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*1918-1939: as a free city |
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*1939-1945: as part of Nazi Germany |
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Altogether combining the number of years, the city was under rule of Poland for 641 years, under the rule of Teutonic Order for 158 years, 125 years as part of Prussia and later Germany, 29 years of its history are marked by the status of a free city, and 6 years under the occupation of Nazi Germany until it returned to Poland again in 1945. |
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==== The inter-war years, and World War II ==== |
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[[File:Gdanskmemorial.jpg|150px|thumb|right|Monument to the defenders of Polish Gdańsk]] |
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When Poland regained its independence after [[World War I]] with access to the sea as promised by the [[Allies of World War I|Allies]] on the basis of [[Woodrow Wilson]]'s "[[Fourteen Points]]", the Poles hoped the city's harbour would also become part of Poland. However, since a 1919 census determined that the city's population was 98% German,<ref>''Encyclopaedia Britannica'' Year Book, 1938,{{Verify source|date=March 2008}}</ref> it was not placed under Polish sovereignty, but, according to the terms of the [[Versailles Treaty]], became the [[Free City of Danzig]], an independent quasi-state under the auspices of the [[League of Nations]] with its external affairs largely under Polish control. This led to a large degree of tension between the city and the surrounding [[Second Polish Republic|Republic of Poland]]. The Free City had its own constitution, [[national anthem]], parliament (''Volkstag''), and government (''Senat''). It issued its own stamps as well as currency. |
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[[File:Danzig-Propaganda.jpg|left|thumb|German Nazi propaganda poster: "[[Danzig]] is German".]] |
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The German population of the [[Free City of Danzig]] favored reincorporation into Germany. In the early 1930s the local [[Nazi Party]] capitalized on these pro-German sentiments and in 1933 garnered 38% of vote in the parliament. Thereafter, the Nazis under [[Gauleiter]] [[Albert Forster]] achieved dominance in the city government, which was still nominally overseen by the League of Nations' [[High Commissioner]]. [[Nazism|The Nazis]] demanded the return of Danzig to Germany along with an extraterritorial (meaning under German [[jurisdiction]]) highway through the area of the [[Polish Corridor]] for land-based access between the parts of Germany which had become physically separated after World War I.<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 archived, ''Documents Relating to the Eve of the Second World War'' Volume II: 1938-1939 (New York: International Publishers), 1948.</ref> The [[Politics of Poland|Polish government]] in principle agreed to this proposal until the [[Anglo-Polish military alliance]] in March 1939 effectively canceled the [[German–Polish Non-Aggression Pact]] of 1934 and ended Polish willingness to negotiate successions. German-Polish relations deteriorated rapidly afterwards, even [[Escalation|escalating]] into border skirmishes. The German Nazi Government, knowing that its [[Military|military strength]] was inferior to the combined British, French, Polish, and Soviet forces, [[Invasion of Poland (1939)|invaded Poland]] on September 1 only after having secured [[Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact|Soviet approval]] in late August, hoping to negotiate a peace solution with Britain and France after the end of hostilities.<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 archived, ''Documents Relating to the Eve of the Second World War'' Volume II: 1938-1939 (New York: International Publishers), 1948.</ref> This invasion of Poland is regarded as the beginning of World War II. |
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World War II began in Danzig, with a bombardment of Polish positions at [[Westerplatte]] by the German battleship ''[[German battleship Schleswig-Holstein|Schleswig-Holstein]]'', and the landing of German infantry on the peninsula. Outnumbered Polish defenders at Westerplatte resisted for seven days before running out of ammunition. Meanwhile, after a fierce day long fight, defenders of the Polish [[Post office]] were murdered and buried on the spot in the Danzig quarter of [[Zaspa]]. To celebrate the surrender of Westerplatte, the NSDAP organized a night parade on Sep 7th along Adolf-Hitlerstrasse that was inadvertently attacked by a Polish hydroplane taking off from [[Hel Peninsula]]. The city was officially annexed by [[Nazi Germany]] and incorporated into the [[Reichsgau Danzig-West Prussia]]. |
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[[File:Sonderstempel2.jpg|thumb|left|"Danzig is German". Postage stamp issued by Nazi Germany to celebrate the incorporation of Danzig into [[Germany]] after the [[Invasion of Poland (1939)|invasion of Poland]].<ref>Translation: The postage seal reads: "''Danzig greets joyously her leader and liberator, Adolf Hitler.''"</ref>]] |
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Most of the [[Kehilla|Jewish community]] in Danzig were able to escape from the Nazis shortly before the outbreak of war. [[Gestapo|Nazi secret police]] had been observing Polish communities since 1936, compiling information which in 1939 served to prepare lists of Poles to be captured in [[Operation Tannenberg]]. On the first day of the war, approximately 1,500 [[Poles|ethnic Poles]] were arrested, some because of their participation in social and economic life, others because they were activists and members of various Polish organizations. On September 2, 1939, 150 of them were deported to the [[Stutthof concentration camp]] some 30 miles from Danzig, and murdered.<ref>[http://www.kki.net.pl/~museum/museums.htm Museums Stutthof in Sztutowo]. Retrieved January 31, 2007.</ref> Many Poles living in Gdańsk were deported to Stutthof or executed in the [[Piaśnica]] forest. |
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In 1941, the Nazi Regime ordered the [[Operation Barbarossa|invasion of the Soviet Union]], eventually causing the fortunes of war to turn against it. As the [[Soviet Army]] advanced in 1944, German populations in Central and Eastern Europe took flight, resulting in the beginning of 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 on foot from [[East Prussia]] (see [[evacuation of East Prussia]]), tried to escape through the city's port in a large-scale evacuation involving hundreds of German cargo and passenger ships. Some of the ships were sunk by the Soviets, including the ''[[MV Wilhelm Gustloff|Wilhelm Gustloff]]'' after an evacuation was attempted at neighboring Gdynia. In the process, tens of thousands of refugees were killed. |
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The city also endured heavy Allied and Soviet bombardment by air. Those who survived and could not escape encountered the Soviet Army, which captured the city on March 30, 1945 and was heavily damaged.<ref>[http://www.gdansk.pl/en/article.php?category=453&article=926&history=453: Gdansk, history. Official website. {{en icon}}]</ref> In line with the decisions made by the Allies at the [[Yalta Conference|Yalta]] and [[Potsdam Conference|Potsdam]] conferences, the city returned to Poland. The remaining German residents of the city who had survived the war [[Flight and expulsion of Germans from Poland during and after World War II|fled or were expelled]] to postwar Germany, and the city was repopulated with ethnic Poles [[Polish Population transfers (1944–1946)|deported by the Soviets]] in [[Repatriation of Poles (1955–1959)|two major waves]] from [[Territories of Poland annexed by the Soviet Union|Polish areas annexed by the Soviet Union]] including many from the [[Kresy|eastern portion]] of [[Second Polish Republic|pre-war Poland]]. An unspecified number of young (mostly underaged) inhabitants of Gdańsk, both male and female, was rounded up by the Soviet [[NKVD]] in 1945 and placed in provisional camps in Grudziądz, Ciechanów, Działdowo and Iława. All of them were soon deported to Siberia by the Soviet [[secret police]], as revealed by the [[Institute of National Remembrance]] in 2000-2002 investigation.<ref>[[Institute of National Remembrance]], [http://www.ipn.gov.pl/wai/en/19/199/Investigation_in_the_case_of_deportations_of_people_from_the_Gdansk_Pomerania_to.html Investigation in the case of deportations of people from the Gdańsk Pomerania to the Soviet Union in 1945] 18 November 2003.</ref> |
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==== Contemporary times ==== |
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[[File:Old arsenal.jpg|thumb|right|Example of the [[Architecture of the Netherlands|Dutch style]] buildings recreated in the Main Town after the world war - Old Arsenal by Anthony van Obberghen, Jan Strakowski and Abraham van den Blocke, 1602 - 1605.<ref>{{en icon}} {{cite book |author=|coauthors=Lech Krzyżanowski, Michał Wożniak, Marek Źak, Wacław Górski |title=Beautiful historic Gdańsk|year=1995 |editor= |page=769 |pages= |chapter= | chapterurl = |publisher= Excalibur |location= |isbn= |url=http://books.google.pl/books?id=18O1AAAAIAAJ&pgis=1|format= |accessdate=}}</ref>]] |
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The historic old city of Gdańsk, which had suffered large-scale destruction at the hands of the Soviet Army, was rebuilt during the 1950s and 1960s. Boosted by heavy investment in the development of its port and three major shipyards for Soviet ambitions in the [[Baltic region]], Gdańsk became the major shipping and industrial center of the [[Communism|Communist]] [[People's Republic of Poland]]. |
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As part of German-Polish reconciliation policies driven by [[West Germany|West German]] [[Chancellor]] [[Willy Brandt]]'s ''[[Ostpolitik]]'', German territorial claims on Gdańsk were renounced, and the city's full incorporation into Poland was recognized in the [[Treaty of Warsaw (1970)|Treaty of Warsaw]] in 1970. This was confirmed by a reunited Germany in 1990 and 1991. |
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In 1970, Gdańsk was the scene of anti-regime 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 Communist regime led to the end of Communist Party rule in 1989, and sparked a series of protests that successfully overturned the Communist regimes of the former [[Soviet bloc]]. Solidarity's leader, [[Lech Wałęsa]] became [[President of the Republic of Poland|President of Poland]] in 1990. Gdańsk native [[Donald Tusk]] became [[Prime Minister of the Republic of Poland|Prime Minister of Poland]] in 2007. |
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Today Gdańsk is a major shipping port and [[tourist destination]] and has been the setting for a number of major open air concerts, including [[Pink Floyd]]'s [[David Gilmour]] and [[Jean Michel Jarre]]. The [[Rock band]] Queen staged a concert in the Shipyard in October 2008.<ref>According to FollowQueen.com[http://www.followqueen.com/ FollowQueen.com]</ref> |
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[[Wikimania]] 2010 — the 6th annual Wikimedia Conference — is scheduled to take place in the Polish Baltic Philharmonic in Gdańsk, Poland from July 9-11, 2010. |
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==Climate== |
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{{Unreferenced section|date=May 2008}} |
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Gdansk enjoys a [[Temperateness|temperate climate]], with cold, cloudy, moderately severe winters and mild summers with frequent showers and thunderstorms. Average temperatures range from -1.0°C to 17.2°C and rainfall varies from 31.0 mm/month to 84.0 mm/month. In general it is a [[Oceanic climate|maritime climate]] and therefore damp, variable and harsh. |
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The seasons are clearly differentiated. Spring starts in March and is initially cold and windy, later becoming pleasantly warm and often very sunny. Summer, which begins in June, is predominantly warm but hot at times (with temperature reaching as high as 30-35C at least once per year) with plenty of sunshine interspersed with heavy rain. The average annual hours of sunshine for Gdansk are 1600, similar to other Northern cities. July and August are the hottest months. Autumn comes in September and is at first warm and usually sunny, turning cold, damp and foggy in November. Winter lasts from December to March and includes periods of snow. January and February are the coldest months with the temperature sometimes dropping as low as -15°C. |
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{{Infobox Weather |
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|metric_first=yes |
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|single_line=yes |
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|location=Gdańsk |
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|Jan_Hi_°C = 0 |
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|Feb_Hi_°C = 0 |
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|Mar_Hi_°C = 4 |
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|Apr_Hi_°C = 9 |
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|May_Hi_°C = 15 |
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|Jun_Hi_°C = 18 |
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|Jul_Hi_°C = 20 |
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|Aug_Hi_°C = 20 |
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|Sep_Hi_°C = 16 |
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|Oct_Hi_°C = 11 |
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|Nov_Hi_°C = 5 |
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|Dec_Hi_°C = 1 |
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|Year_Hi_°C = 10 |
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|Jan_Lo_°C = -4 |
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|Feb_Lo_°C = -4 |
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|Mar_Lo_°C = -1 |
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|Apr_Lo_°C = 1 |
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|May_Lo_°C = 6 |
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|Jun_Lo_°C = 9 |
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|Jul_Lo_°C = 11 |
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|Aug_Lo_°C = 11 |
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|Sep_Lo_°C = 8 |
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|Oct_Lo_°C = 4 |
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|Nov_Lo_°C = 0 |
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|Dec_Lo_°C = -2 |
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|Year_Lo_°C = 3 |
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|Jan_MEAN_°C = -1 |
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|Feb_MEAN_°C = -1 |
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|Mar_MEAN_°C = 1 |
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|Apr_MEAN_°C = 5 |
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|May_MEAN_°C = 11 |
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|Jun_MEAN_°C = 14 |
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|Jul_MEAN_°C = 16 |
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|Aug_MEAN_°C = 16 |
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|Sep_MEAN_°C = 12 |
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|Oct_MEAN_°C = 7 |
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|Nov_MEAN_°C = 2 |
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|Dec_MEAN_°C = 0 |
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|Year_MEAN_°C = 7 |
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|Jan_Precip_days = 22 |
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|Feb_Precip_days = 18 |
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|Mar_Precip_days = 18 |
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|Apr_Precip_days = 16 |
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|May_Precip_days = 16 |
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|Jun_Precip_days = 17 |
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|Jul_Precip_days = 18 |
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|Aug_Precip_days = 16 |
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|Sep_Precip_days = 18 |
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|Oct_Precip_days = 18 |
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|Nov_Precip_days = 22 |
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|Dec_Precip_days = 23 |
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|Year_Precip_days = 222 |
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|Jan_Precip_cm = 2.39 |
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|Feb_Precip_cm = 1.99 |
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|Mar_Precip_cm = 2.43 |
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|Apr_Precip_cm = 2.49 |
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|May_Precip_cm = 4.72 |
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|Jun_Precip_cm = 4.87 |
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|Jul_Precip_cm = 10.17 |
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|Aug_Precip_cm = 5.8 |
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|Sep_Precip_cm = 4.03 |
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|Oct_Precip_cm = 4.38 |
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|Nov_Precip_cm = 3.43 |
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|Dec_Precip_cm = 3.11 |
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|Year_Precip_cm = 49.81 |
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|source = Weatherbase,<ref name="Weatherbase">{{cite web |
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|url=http://www.weatherbase.com/weather/weather.php3?s=5121&refer=&units=metric |
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|title=Weatherbase: Historical Weather for Gdansk, Poland |
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|dateformat=mdy |
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|accessdate=}}</ref> MSN Weather<ref name="MSN Weather">{{cite web |
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|url=http://weather.msn.com/monthly_averages.aspx?&wealocations=wc%3aPLXX0005&q=Gda%c5%84sk%2c+POL&setunit=C |
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|title=Monthly Averages for Gdansk, POL |
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|dateformat=mdy |
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|accessdate=}}</ref> (for precipitation cm data) |
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|accessdate = }} |
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==Economy== |
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The industrial sections of the city are 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 is also an important part of the local economy, as the majority of the world's amber deposits lie along the [[Baltic Sea|Baltic]] coast. The [[Pomeranian Voivodeship]], including Gdańsk, is also a major tourist destination in the summer months, as millions of Poles and [[European Union]] citizens flock to the beaches of the Baltic coastline. |
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==Main sights== |
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[[File:Neptun.jpg|thumb|[[Poseidon|Neptune's]] Fountain in the center of the Long Market, a masterpiece by a Dutch architect Abraham van den Blocke, 1617.<ref name="Sturgis">{{cite book |author=|coauthors=Russell Sturgis, Arthur Lincoln Frothingham |title=A history of architecture|year=1915 |editor= |page=293 |pages= |chapter= | chapterurl = |publisher= Baker & Taylor |location= |isbn= |url=http://books.google.pl/books?id=Inw3AAAAIAAJ&pgis=1|format= |accessdate=}}</ref><ref>{{en icon}} {{cite book |author=|coauthors=Paul Wagret, Helga S. B. Harrison|title=Poland|year=1964 |editor= |page=302 |pages= |chapter= | chapterurl = |publisher= Nagel |location= |isbn= |url=http://books.google.pl/books?id=uXu0AAAAIAAJ&pgis=1|format= |accessdate=}}</ref>]] |
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[[File:Pl-gdansk-kaplica-krolewska-2006.jpg|thumb|right|Royal Chapel of the Polish King - [[John III Sobieski]] was built in [[baroque]] style between 1678-1681 by [[Tylman van Gameren|Tylman Gamerski]].<ref name="ROBiDZ">{{cite web |author = ROBiDZ w Gdańsku |url = http://www.wrotapomorza.pl/pl/kultura/zabytki/wybrane_zabytki/kosciol/krolewska|title = Kaplica Królewska w Gdańsku |work = www.wrotapomorza.pl |publisher = |laguage = Polish|page = |date = |accessdate = 2008-12-29}}</ref>]] |
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The city has many fine buildings from the time of the [[Hanseatic League]]. Most [[tourist attraction]]s are located along or near Ulica Długa (''Long Street'') and Długi Targ (''Long Market''), a pedestrian thoroughfare surrounded by buildings reconstructed in historical (primarily 17th century) style and flanked at both ends by elaborate [[city gate]]s. This part of the city is sometimes referred to as the Royal Road as the former path of processions for visiting kings. |
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Walking from end to end, sites encountered on or near the Royal Way include: |
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*Upland Gate (''Brama Wyżynna'') |
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*Torture House (''Katownia'') |
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*Prison Tower (''Wieża więzienna'') |
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*[[Golden Gate (Gdańsk)|Golden Gate]] (''Brama Złota'') |
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*Long Street (''Ulica Długa'') |
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**Uphagen House (''Dom Uphagena'') |
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**Main [[City and town halls|Town Hall]] (''Ratusz Głównego Miasta'') |
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*Long Market (''Długi Targ'') |
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**Arthur's Court (''Dwór Artusa'') |
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**Neptune Fountain (''Studnia Neptuna'') |
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**Golden House (''Złota kamienica'') |
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*Green Gate (''Brama Zielona'') |
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Gdańsk has a number of historical churches: |
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*St. Bridget |
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*St. Catherine |
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*St. John |
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*[[St. Mary's Church, Gdańsk|St Mary]] (''Bazylika Mariacka''), a municipal church built during the 15th century, is the largest brick church in the world. |
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*St Nicholas' Church |
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*Church of [[Trinity|the Holy Trinity]] |
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The [[museum ship]] ''[[SS Sołdek|SS Soldek]]'' is anchored on the [[Motława]] River. |
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In the 16th century, Gdańsk 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 [[Shakespeare Theatre Company|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. |
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==Famous people== |
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{{See also|Category:People from Gdańsk}} |
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{{See also|List of people from Gdańsk}} |
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{{See also|List of people from Danzig}} |
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{{See also|List of mayors of Gdańsk}} |
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{{See also|List of mayors of Danzig}} |
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{{See also|List of famous people living or working in Gdańsk}} |
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{{See also|List of Dukes of Gdańsk}} |
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== Transportation == |
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[[File:Tramwaj na Abrahama.JPG|thumb|right|300px|Gdańsk tram - Bombardier NGT6.]] |
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* [[Gdańsk Lech Wałęsa Airport]] - an international [[airport]] located in Gdańsk; |
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* [[Port of Gdańsk]] - a seaport located on the southern coast of [[Gdańsk Bay]] within the city; |
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* [[Gdańsk Główny (PKP station)]] - major railway passenger station with [[PKP Intercity]] and SKM service; |
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* [[Szybka Kolej Miejska (Tricity)|Szybka Kolej Miejska]] - an urban transportation service of ''Tricity''; |
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* City buses and trams are operated by [http://www.ztm.gda.pl/ ZTM Gdańsk] (Zarząd Transportu Miejskiego w Gdańsku). |
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* [[Obwodnica Trójmiejska|Obwodnica Trojmiejska]] - an expressway that bypasses the cities of Gdynia, Sopot and Gdańsk. |
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Train transportation provides good connection with all major [[List of cities in Poland|Polish cities]], and with the neighbouring Kashubian Lakes region. The A-1 Highway connects the port and city of Gdańsk with the southern border of the country. |
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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 ending at the [[Adriatic Sea]] in [[Pula|Pula, Croatia]]. |
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== Sports == |
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{{Main|Sports in Gdańsk}} |
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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). The city's professional [[soccer|football]] club is [[Lechia Gdańsk|Lechia Gdansk]]. Founded in 1945, they play in the [[Ekstraklasa]], Poland's top division. Their home stadium, [[Stadion Lechii]], will be replaced by the under-construction [[Baltic Arena]] one of the four Polish stadia to host the [[UEFA Euro 2012]] competition. |
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== Politics and local government == |
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{{Main|Politics of Gdańsk}} |
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Contemporary Gdańsk is the capital of the province called [[Pomeranian Voivodeship]] 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. |
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===Regional centre=== |
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[[Gdańsk Voivodeship]] was extended in 1999 to include most of former [[Słupsk Voivodeship]], the western part of [[Elbląg Voivodeship]] and [[Chojnice County]] from [[Bydgoszcz Voivodeship]] to form the new [[Pomeranian Voivodeship]]. |
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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, Poland|Tricity]] constituted an [[absolute majority]] of the population; almost half of the inhabitants of the new region live in the centre. |
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== Education and science == |
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[[File:UG - WPiA ubt.jpeg|thumb|300px|Gdańsk University, Law and Administration Department]] |
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There are 14 universities with a total of 60,436 students, including 10,439 graduates as of 2001. |
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* [[University of Gdańsk|Gdańsk University]] (Uniwersytet Gdański) |
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* [[Gdańsk University of Technology]] (Politechnika Gdańska) |
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* [[Gdańsk Medical University]] (Gdański Uniwersytet Medyczny) |
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* Academy of Physical Education and Sport of Gdansk (Akademia Wychowania Fizycznego i Sportu im. Jędrzeja Śniadeckiego) |
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* Musical Academy (Akademia Muzyczna im. Stanisława Moniuszki) |
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* Arts Academy (Akademia Sztuk Pięknych) [http://www.asp.gda.pl/] |
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* Instytut Budownictwa Wodnego PAN |
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* Ateneum{{ndash}} Szkoła Wyższa |
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* Gdańska Wyższa Szkoła Humanistyczna |
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* Gdańska Wyższa Szkoła Administracji |
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* Wyższa Szkoła Bankowa |
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* Wyższa Szkoła Społeczno-Ekonomiczna |
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* Wyższa Szkoła Turystyki i Hotelarstwa w Gdańsku |
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* Wyższa Szkoła Zarządzania |
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=== Scientific and regional organizations === |
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* [[Gdańsk Scientific Society]] |
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* [[Baltic Institute]] (Instytut Bałtycki), established 1925 in [[Toruń]], since 1946 (?) in Gdańsk |
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* TNOiK - Towarzystwo Naukowe Organizacji i Kierowania (Scientific Society for Organization and Management) O/Gdańsk |
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* IBNGR - Instytut Badań nad Gospodarką Rynkową (The Gdańsk Institute for [[Market economy|Market Economics]]) <ref>{{cite web|url=http://web.archive.org/web/20080209112613/http://www.ibngr.edu.pl/english/index2.htm |title=The Gdańsk Institute for Market Economics |publisher=Web.archive.org |date= |accessdate=2009-07-25}}</ref> |
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==International relations== |
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===Twin towns — Sister cities=== |
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Gdańsk is [[town twinning|twinned]] with:<ref name="Gdańsk">{{cite web|url=http://www.gdansk.pl/samorzad,62,733.html|title=Gdańsk Official Website: 'Miasta partnerskie'|publisher=[[copyright|©]] 2009 [http://www.gdansk.pl/ Urząd Miejski w Gdańsku]|language=Polish & English|accessdate=2009-07-11}}</ref><sup>[in [[Chronology|chronological]] order]</sup> |
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{| cellpadding="10" |
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|- style="vertical-align:top;" |
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| |
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* {{flagicon|Germany}} [[Bremen]] in [[Germany]] <small>''(since 1976)''</small> <ref name="Gdańsk"/> |
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* {{flagicon|Finland}} [[Turku]] in [[Finland]] <small>''(since 1987)''</small> <ref name="Gdańsk"/> |
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* {{flagicon|Spain}} [[Barcelona]] in [[Spain]] <small>''(since 1990)''</small> <ref name="Gdańsk"/><ref name="Barcelona">{{cite web|url=http://w3.bcn.es/XMLServeis/XMLHomeLinkPl/0,4022,229724149_257215678_1,00.html|title=Barcelona internacional - Ciutats agermanades|publisher=© 2006-2009 [http://www.bcn.es/catala/copyright/welcome2.htm Ajuntament de Barcelona]|language=Spanish|accessdate=2009-07-13}}</ref> |
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* {{flagicon|USA}} [[Cleveland]] in [[United States]] <small>''(since 1990)''</small> <ref name="Gdańsk"/> |
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* {{flagicon|Sweden}} [[Kalmar]] in [[Sweden]] <small>''(since 1991)''</small> <ref name="Gdańsk"/> |
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* {{flagicon|Denmark}} [[Helsingør]] in [[Denmark]] <small>''(since 1992)''</small> <ref name="Gdańsk"/> |
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* {{flagicon|France}} [[Marseille]] in [[France]] <small>''(since 1992)''</small> <ref name="Gdańsk"/> |
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* {{flagicon|France}} [[Rouen]] in [[France]] <small>''(since 1992)''</small> <ref name="Gdańsk"/> |
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* {{flagicon|Russia}} [[Kaliningrad]] in [[Russia]] <small>''(since 1993)''</small> <ref name="Gdańsk"/> |
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* {{flagicon|United Kingdom}} [[Metropolitan Borough of Sefton|Sefton]] in [[United Kingdom]] <small>''(since 1993)''</small> <ref name="Gdańsk"/> |
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* {{flagicon|Russia}} [[St. Petersburg]] in [[Russia]] <small>''(since 1993) <ref name="Gdańsk"/><ref name="St. Petersburg">{{cite web |url=http://eng.gov.spb.ru/figures/ities |title=Saint Petersburg in figures - International and Interregional Ties |publisher=Saint Petersburg City Government |accessdate=2008-03-23}}</ref>''</small> |
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*{{flagicon|Kazakhstan}} [[Astana]] in [[Kazakhstan]] <small>''(since 1996)''</small> <ref name="Gdańsk"/> |
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* {{flagicon|Ukraine}} [[Odessa]] in [[Ukraine]] <small>''(since 1996)''</small> <ref name="Gdańsk"/> |
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* {{flagicon|Netherlands}} [[Rotterdam]] in [[Netherlands]] <small>''(since 1998)''</small> <ref name="Gdańsk"/> |
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* {{flagicon|Lithuania}} [[Vilnius]] in [[Lithuania]] <small>''(since 1998)''</small> <ref name="Gdańsk"/> |
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* {{flagicon|France}} [[Nice]] in [[France]] <small>''(since 1999)''</small> <ref name="Gdańsk"/> |
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* {{flagicon|PRC}} [[Shanghai]], [[People's Republic of China|China]] <small>''(since 2004)''</small> <ref name="Gdańsk"/> |
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* {{flagicon|Italy}} [[Palermo]], [[Italy]] <small>''(since 2005)''</small> <ref name="Gdańsk"/> |
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* {{flagicon|Poland}} [[Bytów]] in [[Poland]] <small>''(since 2007)''</small><ref>[http://www.bytow.com.pl/index_en.php Bytów official web site]</ref> |
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== See also == |
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* [[Danzig law|Gdańsk law]] |
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* [[Gdańsk Pomerania]] |
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* [[List of neighbourhoods of Gdańsk|List of modern neighbourhoods of Gdańsk]] |
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* [[List of major corporations in Gdańsk]] |
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* [[St. Mary's Church, Gdańsk]] |
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* [[Space of Freedom]] - [[Jean Michel Jarre]]'s concert (26 August 2005) |
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* [[764 Gedania]] - a minor planet orbiting the Sun |
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== Footnotes == |
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{{reflist|colwidth=30em}} |
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== External links == |
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{{commons|Gdańsk}} |
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{{Wiktionary}} |
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*{{en icon}} [http://www.en.gdansk.gda.pl/ Official website] |
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*{{en icon}} [http://www.shopandsee.eu/ Official Tourist Board Website - Tourist Guide as well as shopping guide |
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* [http://www.countryguidebook.com/Poland/Photogallery/Gdansk.html Gdansk Photogallery] |
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*{{pl icon}} [http://www.wirtualny.gdansk.pl/ Virtual Gdańsk] (portal) |
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* [http://panoramiczne.com.pl/blog/trojmiasto/gdansk/mariacka/01/ Mariacka Street Panoramic Photo] |
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{{Template group |
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{{Gdansk}} |
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Revision as of 11:45, 22 October 2009
Gdańsk | |
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![]() | |
Motto(s): Nec Temere, Nec Timide (Neither rashly, nor timidly) | |
Country | ![]() |
Voivodeship | Pomeranian |
County | city county |
Established | 10th century |
City rights | 1263 |
Government | |
• Mayor | Paweł Adamowicz (PO) |
Area | |
• City | 262 km2 (101 sq mi) |
Population (2008) | |
• City | 455,584 |
• Density | 1,700/km2 (4,500/sq mi) |
• Metro | 1,080,700 |
Time zone | UTC+1 (CET) |
• Summer (DST) | UTC+2 (CEST) |
Postal code | 80-008 to 80-958 |
Area code | +48 58 |
Car plates | GD |
Website | http://www.gdansk.pl |
Gdańsk, also known by its German name Danzig (see Names below), is a city on the Baltic coast in northern Poland, at the centre of the country's fourth-largest metropolitan area.[1]
Gdańsk is Poland's principal seaport as well as the capital of the Pomeranian Voivodeship. It is also historically the largest city of the Kashubian region. The city is close to the former boundary between West Slavic and Germanic lands and it has a complex political history with long spells of Polish rule interspersed with periods of German control and two spells as a free city. It has been part of modern Poland since 1945.
The city lies on the southern edge of 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 Tricity (Trójmiasto), with a population of over 800,000.[1] Gdańsk itself has a population of 458,053 (2006), making it the largest city in the Pomerania region of Northern Poland.
Gdańsk is situated at the mouth of the Motława River, connected to the Leniwka, a branch in the delta of the nearby Vistula River, whose waterway system supplies 60% of the area of Poland and connects Gdańsk to the national capital in Warsaw. This gives the city a unique advantage as the center of Poland's sea trade. Together with the nearby port of Gdynia, Gdańsk is also an important industrial center. Historically an important seaport and shipbuilding center, Gdańsk was a member of the Hanseatic League.
The city was the birthplace of the Solidarity movement which, under the leadership of Gdańsk political activist Lech Wałęsa, played a major role in bringing an end to Communist rule across Central Europe. It is also the home and birthplace of Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk, who is of Kashubian origin.
Names
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/c2/Zwantepolc.png/220px-Zwantepolc.png)
The city's name is thought to originate from the Gdania River,[2] the original name of the Motława branch on which the city is situated. Gdańsk and Gdania are considered to be derivations from the Gothic name of the area (Gutiskandja),[3] however this has also been questioned.[4] Like many other Central European cities, Gdańsk has had many different names throughout its history.
The name of a settlement was recorded after St. Adalbert's death in 997 AD as urbs Gyddanyzc[5] and later was written as Kdanzk (1148), Gdanzc (1188), Danceke[6] (1228), Gdansk (1236, 1454, 1468, 1484, 1590), Danzc (1263), Danczk (1311, 1399, 1410, 1414–1438), Danczik (1399, 1410, 1414),[5] Danczig (1414), Gdąnsk (1636). See also Names of European cities in different languages.
In Polish the modern name of the city is pronounced Template:IPAr. In English (where the diacritic over the "n" is frequently omitted) the usual pronunciation is /ɡəˈdænsk/ or /ɡəˈdɑːnsk/.
For much of its history the majority of the city's inhabitants were German-speakers, who called it Danzig [ˈdantsɪç] . This name was also used in English[7] until the end of World War II, and is still used in historical contexts. Other former English spellings of the name include Dantzig, Dantsic and Dantzic.
In the Kashubian language the city is called Gduńsk. The city's Latin name may be given as either Gedania, Gedanum or Dantiscum; the variety of Latin names reflects the mixed influence of the city's Polish, German and Kashubian heritage.
Ceremonial names
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d0/RegiaCivitatisGedanensis.jpg/220px-RegiaCivitatisGedanensis.jpg)
On special occasions the city is also referred to as "The Royal Polish City of Gdańsk" (Polish Królewskie Polskie Miasto Gdańsk, Latin Regia Civitas Polonica Gedanensis, Kashubian Królewsczi Polsczi Gard Gduńsk).[8][9][10]
Kashubians also use the name "Our Capital City Gdańsk" (Nasz Stoleczny Gard Gduńsk) or "The Kashubian Capital City Gdańsk" (Stoleczny Kaszëbsczi Gard Gduńsk).
History
Foundation and the Middle Ages
At the mouth of the Motlawa river (archaic Gdania), a Pomeranian settlement was archaeologically recorded that probably dates back to the 7th century.[11] In the 980s, a stronghold was built most probably by Mieszko I of Poland who thereby connected the Piast realm with the trade routes of the Baltic Sea.[12] The first written record of this stronghold is the vita of Saint Adalbert, written in 999 and describing events of 997.[12] This date is generally[citation needed] regarded as the founding of Gdańsk in Poland; in 1997 the city celebrated the millennial anniversary of the year 997 when Saint Adalbert of Prague baptized the inhabitants of the settlement on behalf of Boleslaw the Brave of Poland. In the 12th century, the settlement comprised the ducal, former Piast stronghold, a settlement at modern Long Market, a craftman's setllements along the Altstädter Graben ditch, and a settlement of German merchants around the St Nicolas church.[11] In 1186, a Cistercian monastery was set up in Oliwa nearby (now within the city limits). In 1215, the ducal stronghold became the center of a Pomerelian splinter duchy. In 1224/25, Germans in the course of the Ostsiedlung established a settlement in the area of the earlier fortress.[citation needed]
About 1235, the town was granted city rights under Lübeck law by Pomerelian duke Swantopolk II, an autonomy charter similar to that of Lübeck which was also the primary origin of many settlers.[11] In 1300, the town had an estimated population of 2,000.[13] While overall the town was not that an important trade center at that time, it had some relevance in the trade with Eastern Europe.[13] In 1308, the Teutonic Knights took over the town.[14] Medieval massacre records of 10,000 inhabitants are perceived divergently in modern literature:[15] while sources state it as a fact,[16] other sources discard it as a medieval exaggeration.[15] The alleged massacre was used as evidence by the Polish crown in a subsequent papal lawsuit.[15][17] The knights colonized the area, replacing local Kashubians with German settlers.[16] In 1308, they founded Hakelwerk near the town, initially as a Slavic fishing settlement.[14] In 1340, the Teutonic Knights built a large fortress, which became the seat of the knights' Komtur.[18] In 1343, they founded Rechtstadt, which in contrast to the pre-existing town (thence Altstadt, "Old Town" or Stare Miasto) was chartered with Kulm Law.[14] In 1358, Danzig joined the Hanseatic League, and became an active member in 1361.[19] It maintained relations with the trade centers Brügge, Novgorod, Lisboa and Sevilla.[19] In 1377, the Old Town's city limits were expanded.[14] In 1380, Neustadt ("New Town" or "Nowe Miasto") was founded as the fourth, independent settlement.[14]
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/63/Pl_gdansk_zuraw_dlugiepobrzeze2006.jpg/220px-Pl_gdansk_zuraw_dlugiepobrzeze2006.jpg)
After a series of Polish-Teutonic Wars, in the Treaty of Kalisz (1343) the Order had to acknowledge that it would hold Pomerelia as an alm from the Polish Crown. Although it left the legal basis of the Order's possession of the province in some doubt, the city thrived as a result of increased exports of grain (especially wheat), timber, potas, tar, and other goods of forestry from Prussia and Poland via the Vistula River trading routes, despite the fact that after its capture, the Teutonic Knights tried to actively reduce the economic significance of the town. While under the control of the Teutonic Order German migration increased. A new war broke out in 1409, ending with the Battle of Grunwald (1410), and the city came under the control of the Kingdom of Poland. A year later, with the first First Peace of Thorn, it returned to the Teutonic Order. In 1440, the city participated in the foundation of the Prussian Confederation which was an organization opposed to the rule of the Teutonic Knights. This led to the Thirteen Years' War of independence from the Teutonic Monastic State of Prussia (1454-1466). This intermittent warfare ended on May 25, 1457, when the city - jointly with Royal Prussia - became part of the Crown of Poland while maintaining its rights and independence as an autonomous city.[20][21]
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5c/Gda%C5%84sk_Zielona_Brama.jpg/220px-Gda%C5%84sk_Zielona_Brama.jpg)
Modern Ages
On 15 May 1457, Casimir IV of Poland granted Danzig the Great Privilege (German: Großes Privileg), after he had been invited by the town's council and had already stayed in town for five weeks.[24] With the Great Privilege, the town was granted autonomy from Poland.[25] The privilege confirmed to the town independent jurisdiction, legislation and administration of her territory, and the rights of the Polish crown were limited to the following: The Polish king was allowed to stay in town for three days a year, he was further allowed to chose a permanent envoy from eight councilmen proposed to him by the town, and received an annual payment, the Gefälle.[24] Furthermore, the privilege united Old Town, Hakelwerk and Rechtstadt, and legalized the demolition of New Town, which had sided with the Teutonic Knights.[24] Already in 1457, New Town was demolished completely, no buildings remained.[14]
Gaining free and privileged access for the first time to Polish markets, the seaport prospered while simultaneously trading with the other Hanseatic cities. After the Second Peace of Thorn (1466) with the Teutonic Monastic State of Prussia the warfare between the latter and the Polish crown ended permanently. After the incorporation of Royal Prussia by the Kingdom of Poland in 1569, the city continued to enjoy a large degree of internal autonomy (cf. Danzig Law).
King Stephen Báthory's attempt to subject the city, which had supported Maximilian II in the prior election of the king, failed. The city, encouraged by its immense wealth and almost impregnable fortifications, as well as by the secret support of Denmark and Emperor Maximilian, shut its gates against Stephen. After the Siege of Danzig (1577), lasting six months, the city's army of 5,000 mercenaries was utterly defeated in a field battle on December 16, 1577. However, since Stephen's armies were unable to take the city by force, a compromise was reached: Stephen Báthory confirmed the city's special status and her Danzig Law privileges granted by earlier Polish kings. The city recognised him as ruler of Poland and paid the enormous sum of 200,000 guldens in gold as payoff ("apology").
Beside the German-speaking majority, whose elites sometimes distinguished their German dialect as Pomerelian,[26] the city was home to a large number of Polish-speaking Poles, Jewish Poles, and Dutch. In addition, a number of Scotsmen took refuge or immigrated to and received citizenship in the city. During the Protestant Reformation, most German-speaking inhabitants adopted Lutheranism.
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/ec/Gda%C5%84sk_-_Ratusz_G%C5%82%C3%B3wnego_Miasta_%28by_Sfu%29.jpg/200px-Gda%C5%84sk_-_Ratusz_G%C5%82%C3%B3wnego_Miasta_%28by_Sfu%29.jpg)
The city suffered a slow economic decline due to the wars of the 18th century, when it was taken by the Russians after the Siege of Danzig in 1734. Danzig was annexed by the Kingdom of Prussia in 1793, only to be broken off by Napoleon as a pseudo-independent free city from 1807-1814. Returned to Prussia after France's defeat in the Napoleonic Wars, the city became the capital of Regierungsbezirk Danzig within the province of West Prussia from 1815. The city's longest serving Regierungspräsident was Robert von Blumenthal, who held office from 1841, through the revolutions of 1848, until 1863. The city became part of the German Empire in 1871.
Throughout its long history Gdańsk/Danzig faced various periods of rule from different states before 1945:
- 997-1308: as part of Poland
- 1308-1454: as part of territory of Teutonic Order
- 1454-1466: Thirteen Years' War
- 1466-1793: as part of Poland
- 1793-1805: as part of Prussia
- 1807-1814: as a free city
- 1815-1871: as part of Prussia
- 1871-1918: as part of Imperial Germany
- 1918-1939: as a free city
- 1939-1945: as part of Nazi Germany
Altogether combining the number of years, the city was under rule of Poland for 641 years, under the rule of Teutonic Order for 158 years, 125 years as part of Prussia and later Germany, 29 years of its history are marked by the status of a free city, and 6 years under the occupation of Nazi Germany until it returned to Poland again in 1945.
The inter-war years, and World War II
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a1/Gdanskmemorial.jpg/150px-Gdanskmemorial.jpg)
When Poland regained its independence after World War I with access to the sea as promised by the Allies on the basis of Woodrow Wilson's "Fourteen Points", the Poles hoped the city's harbour would also become part of Poland. However, since a 1919 census determined that the city's population was 98% German,[28] it was not placed under Polish sovereignty, but, according to the terms of the Versailles Treaty, became the Free City of Danzig, an independent quasi-state under the auspices of the League of Nations with its external affairs largely under Polish control. This led to a large degree of tension between the city and the surrounding Republic of Poland. The Free City had its own constitution, national anthem, parliament (Volkstag), and government (Senat). It issued its own stamps as well as currency.
The German population of the Free City of Danzig favored reincorporation into Germany. In the early 1930s the local Nazi Party capitalized on these pro-German sentiments and in 1933 garnered 38% of vote in the parliament. Thereafter, the Nazis under Gauleiter Albert Forster achieved dominance in the city government, which was still nominally overseen by the League of Nations' High Commissioner. The Nazis demanded the return of Danzig to Germany along with an extraterritorial (meaning under German jurisdiction) highway through the area of the Polish Corridor for land-based access between the parts of Germany which had become physically separated after World War I.[29] The Polish government in principle agreed to this proposal until the Anglo-Polish military alliance in March 1939 effectively canceled the German–Polish Non-Aggression Pact of 1934 and ended Polish willingness to negotiate successions. German-Polish relations deteriorated rapidly afterwards, even escalating into border skirmishes. The German Nazi Government, knowing that its military strength was inferior to the combined British, French, Polish, and Soviet forces, invaded Poland on September 1 only after having secured Soviet approval in late August, hoping to negotiate a peace solution with Britain and France after the end of hostilities.[30] This invasion of Poland is regarded as the beginning of World War II.
World War II began in Danzig, with a bombardment of Polish positions at Westerplatte by the German battleship Schleswig-Holstein, and the landing of German infantry on the peninsula. Outnumbered Polish defenders at Westerplatte resisted for seven days before running out of ammunition. Meanwhile, after a fierce day long fight, defenders of the Polish Post office were murdered and buried on the spot in the Danzig quarter of Zaspa. To celebrate the surrender of Westerplatte, the NSDAP organized a night parade on Sep 7th along Adolf-Hitlerstrasse that was inadvertently attacked by a Polish hydroplane taking off from Hel Peninsula. The city was officially annexed by Nazi Germany and incorporated into the Reichsgau Danzig-West Prussia.
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/1b/Sonderstempel2.jpg/220px-Sonderstempel2.jpg)
Most of the Jewish community in Danzig were able to escape from the Nazis shortly before the outbreak of war. Nazi secret police had been observing Polish communities since 1936, compiling information which in 1939 served to prepare lists of Poles to be captured in Operation Tannenberg. On the first day of the war, approximately 1,500 ethnic Poles were arrested, some because of their participation in social and economic life, others because they were activists and members of various Polish organizations. On September 2, 1939, 150 of them were deported to the Stutthof concentration camp some 30 miles from Danzig, and murdered.[32] Many Poles living in Gdańsk were deported to Stutthof or executed in the Piaśnica forest.
In 1941, the Nazi Regime ordered the invasion of the Soviet Union, eventually causing the fortunes of war to turn against it. As the Soviet Army advanced in 1944, German populations in Central and Eastern Europe took flight, resulting in the beginning of 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 on foot from East Prussia (see evacuation of East Prussia), tried to escape through the city's port in a large-scale evacuation involving 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 by air. Those who survived and could not escape encountered the Soviet Army, which captured the city on March 30, 1945 and was heavily damaged.[33] In line with the decisions made by the Allies at the Yalta and Potsdam conferences, the city returned to Poland. The remaining German residents of the city who had survived the war fled or were expelled to postwar Germany, and the city was repopulated with ethnic Poles deported by the Soviets in two major waves from Polish areas annexed by the Soviet Union including many from the eastern portion of pre-war Poland. An unspecified number of young (mostly underaged) inhabitants of Gdańsk, both male and female, was rounded up by the Soviet NKVD in 1945 and placed in provisional camps in Grudziądz, Ciechanów, Działdowo and Iława. All of them were soon deported to Siberia by the Soviet secret police, as revealed by the Institute of National Remembrance in 2000-2002 investigation.[34]
Contemporary times
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/69/Great_Armoury_in_Gda%C5%84sk_%285%29.jpg/220px-Great_Armoury_in_Gda%C5%84sk_%285%29.jpg)
The historic old city of Gdańsk, which had suffered large-scale destruction at the hands of the Soviet Army, was rebuilt during the 1950s and 1960s. Boosted by heavy investment in the development of its port and three major shipyards for Soviet ambitions in the Baltic region, Gdańsk became the major shipping and industrial center of the Communist People's Republic of Poland.
As part of German-Polish reconciliation policies driven by West German Chancellor Willy Brandt's Ostpolitik, German territorial claims on Gdańsk were renounced, and the city's full incorporation into Poland was recognized in the Treaty of Warsaw in 1970. This was confirmed by a reunited Germany in 1990 and 1991.
In 1970, Gdańsk was the scene of anti-regime 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 Communist regime led to the end of Communist Party rule in 1989, and sparked a series of protests that successfully overturned the Communist regimes of the former Soviet bloc. Solidarity's leader, Lech Wałęsa became President of Poland in 1990. Gdańsk native Donald Tusk became Prime Minister of Poland in 2007.
Today Gdańsk is a major shipping port and tourist destination and has been the setting for a number of major open air concerts, including Pink Floyd's David Gilmour and Jean Michel Jarre. The Rock band Queen staged a concert in the Shipyard in October 2008.[36]
Wikimania 2010 — the 6th annual Wikimedia Conference — is scheduled to take place in the Polish Baltic Philharmonic in Gdańsk, Poland from July 9-11, 2010.
Climate
Gdansk enjoys a temperate climate, with cold, cloudy, moderately severe winters and mild summers with frequent showers and thunderstorms. Average temperatures range from -1.0°C to 17.2°C and rainfall varies from 31.0 mm/month to 84.0 mm/month. In general it is a maritime climate and therefore damp, variable and harsh.
The seasons are clearly differentiated. Spring starts in March and is initially cold and windy, later becoming pleasantly warm and often very sunny. Summer, which begins in June, is predominantly warm but hot at times (with temperature reaching as high as 30-35C at least once per year) with plenty of sunshine interspersed with heavy rain. The average annual hours of sunshine for Gdansk are 1600, similar to other Northern cities. July and August are the hottest months. Autumn comes in September and is at first warm and usually sunny, turning cold, damp and foggy in November. Winter lasts from December to March and includes periods of snow. January and February are the coldest months with the temperature sometimes dropping as low as -15°C.
Climate data for Gdańsk | |||||||||||||
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Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
Source: Weatherbase,[37] MSN Weather[38] (for precipitation cm data) |
Economy
The industrial sections of the city are 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 is also an important part of the local economy, as the majority of the world's amber deposits lie along the Baltic coast. The Pomeranian Voivodeship, including Gdańsk, is also a major tourist destination in the summer months, as millions of Poles and European Union citizens flock to the beaches of the Baltic coastline.
Main sights
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/2c/Neptun_Monument_in_Gda%C5%84sk_%285%29.jpg/220px-Neptun_Monument_in_Gda%C5%84sk_%285%29.jpg)
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/ab/Pl-gdansk-kaplica-krolewska-2006.jpg/220px-Pl-gdansk-kaplica-krolewska-2006.jpg)
The city has many fine buildings from the time of the Hanseatic League. Most tourist attractions are located along or near Ulica Długa (Long Street) and Długi Targ (Long Market), a pedestrian thoroughfare surrounded by buildings reconstructed in historical (primarily 17th century) style and flanked at both ends by elaborate city gates. This part of the city is sometimes referred to as the Royal Road as the former path of processions for visiting kings.
Walking from end to end, sites encountered on or near the Royal Way include:
- Upland Gate (Brama Wyżynna)
- Torture House (Katownia)
- Prison Tower (Wieża więzienna)
- Golden Gate (Brama Złota)
- Long Street (Ulica Długa)
- Uphagen House (Dom Uphagena)
- Main Town Hall (Ratusz Głównego Miasta)
- Long Market (Długi Targ)
- Arthur's Court (Dwór Artusa)
- Neptune Fountain (Studnia Neptuna)
- Golden House (Złota kamienica)
- Green Gate (Brama Zielona)
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
The museum ship SS Soldek is anchored on the Motława River.
In the 16th century, Gdańsk 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.
Famous people
Transportation
- Gdańsk Lech Wałęsa Airport - an international airport located in Gdańsk;
- Port of Gdańsk - a seaport located on the southern coast of Gdańsk Bay within the city;
- Gdańsk Główny (PKP station) - major railway passenger station with PKP Intercity and SKM service;
- Szybka Kolej Miejska - an urban transportation service of Tricity;
- City buses and trams are operated by ZTM Gdańsk (Zarząd Transportu Miejskiego w Gdańsku).
- Obwodnica Trojmiejska - an expressway that bypasses the cities of Gdynia, Sopot and Gdańsk.
Train transportation provides good connection with all major Polish cities, and with the neighbouring Kashubian Lakes region. The A-1 Highway connects the port and city of Gdańsk with the southern border of the country.
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 ending at the Adriatic Sea in Pula, Croatia.
Sports
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). The city's professional football club is Lechia Gdansk. Founded in 1945, they play in the Ekstraklasa, Poland's top division. Their home stadium, Stadion Lechii, will be replaced by the under-construction Baltic Arena one of the four Polish stadia to host the UEFA Euro 2012 competition.
Politics and local government
Contemporary Gdańsk is the capital of the province called Pomeranian Voivodeship 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.
Regional centre
Gdańsk Voivodeship was extended in 1999 to include most of former 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 constituted an absolute majority of the population; almost half of the inhabitants of the new region live in the centre.
Education and science
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/ac/UG_-_WPiA_ubt.jpeg/300px-UG_-_WPiA_ubt.jpeg)
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)
- Gdańsk Medical University (Gdański Uniwersytet Medyczny)
- Academy of Physical Education and Sport of Gdansk (Akademia Wychowania Fizycznego i Sportu im. Jędrzeja Śniadeckiego)
- Musical Academy (Akademia Muzyczna im. Stanisława Moniuszki)
- Arts Academy (Akademia Sztuk Pięknych) [4]
- 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
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) [42]
International relations
Twin towns — Sister cities
Gdańsk is twinned with:[43][in chronological order]
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See also
- Gdańsk law
- Gdańsk Pomerania
- List of modern neighbourhoods of Gdańsk
- List of major corporations in Gdańsk
- St. Mary's Church, Gdańsk
- Space of Freedom - Jean Michel Jarre's concert (26 August 2005)
- 764 Gedania - a minor planet orbiting the Sun
Footnotes
- ^ a b "Poland - largest cities (per geographical entity)". World Gazetteer. Retrieved 2009-05-05.
- ^ From the history of Gdańsk city name, as explained at Gdansk Guide
- ^ Adrian Room, Placenames of the World, 2nd Ed. [1] Quote: "The city has a Gothic name, from Gutisk-andja, "end of the Goths," as these people's territory extended to here. The city's former German name, Danzig, misleadingly suggests an association with the Danes."
- ^ Dennis H. Green, The Visigoths from the Migration Period to the Seventh Century [2] Quote: "...the difficulty with Gdańsk, Gdynia and gudas... in the Polish coastal area centuries before the Goths are known to have occupied this region... casts doubt on the theory of Gothic origin."
- ^ a b Carl Tighe, "Gdańsk: national identity in the Polish-German borderlands", Pluto Press, 1990, [3]
- ^ Marian Gumowski: Handbuch der polnischen Siegelkunde, 1966
- ^ Britannica 11th edition (published in 1911)
- ^ 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
- ^ a b c Hess, Corina (2007). Danziger Wohnkultur in der frühen Neuzeit. Berlin-Hamburg-Münster: LIT Verlag. p. 40. ISBN 3825887111.
- ^ a b Hess, Corina (2007). Danziger Wohnkultur in der frühen Neuzeit. Berlin-Hamburg-Münster: LIT Verlag. p. 39. ISBN 3825887111.
- ^ a b Hess, Corina (2007). Danziger Wohnkultur in der frühen Neuzeit. Berlin-Hamburg-Münster: LIT Verlag. pp. 40–41. ISBN 3825887111.
- ^ a b c d e f Hess, Corina (2007). Danziger Wohnkultur in der frühen Neuzeit. Berlin-Hamburg-Münster: LIT Verlag. p. 41. ISBN 3825887111.
- ^ a b c Hartmut Boockmann, Ostpreussen und Westpreussen, Siedler, 2002, p.158, ISBN 3-88680-212-4
- ^ a b James Minahan, One Europe, Many Nations: A Historical Dictionary of European National Groups, Greenwood Publishing Group, 2000, ISBN 0313309841, p.376
- ^ Thomas Urban: "Rezydencja książąt Pomorskich". Template:Pl icon
- ^ Hess, Corina (2007). Danziger Wohnkultur in der frühen Neuzeit. Berlin-Hamburg-Münster: LIT Verlag. pp. 41–42. ISBN 3825887111.
- ^ a b Hess, Corina (2007). Danziger Wohnkultur in der frühen Neuzeit. Berlin-Hamburg-Münster: LIT Verlag. p. 42. ISBN 3825887111.
- ^ From "Poland. Chronology
- ^ From Danzig - Gdansk until 1920
- ^ Template:Pl icon "Zielona Brama w Gdańsku". wilanowmiasta.gazeta.pl. 2007-02-18. Retrieved 2008-12-29.
- ^ Template:En icon Philip Ward (1988). Polish cities: travels in Cracow and the South, Gdańsk, Malbork and Warsaw. Oleander. p. 77. ISBN 09-06672-73-2.
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(help) - ^ a b c Hess, Corina (2007). Danziger Wohnkultur in der frühen Neuzeit. Berlin-Hamburg-Münster: LIT Verlag. p. 45. ISBN 3825887111.
- ^ Hess, Corina (2007). Danziger Wohnkultur in der frühen Neuzeit. Berlin-Hamburg-Münster: LIT Verlag. p. 45. ISBN 3825887111.: "Geben wir und verlehen unnsir Stadt Danczk das sie zcu ewigen geczeiten nymands for eynem herrn halden noc gehorsam zcu weszen seyn sullen in weltlichen sachen."
- ^ Bömelburg, Hans-Jürgen, Zwischen polnischer Ständegesellschaft und preußischem Obrigkeitsstaat: vom Königlichen Preußen zu Westpreußen (1756-1806), München: Oldenbourg, 1995, (Schriften des Bundesinstituts für Ostdeutsche Kultur und Geschichte (Oldenburg); 5), zugl.: Mainz, Johannes Gutenberg-Univ., Diss., 1993, 549 pp.
- ^ Template:Pl icon "The Main Town Hall". www.mhmg.gda.pl. Retrieved 2008-12-29.
- ^ Encyclopaedia Britannica Year Book, 1938,[verification needed]
- ^ 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 archived, Documents Relating to the Eve of the Second World War Volume II: 1938-1939 (New York: International Publishers), 1948.
- ^ 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 archived, Documents Relating to the Eve of the Second World War Volume II: 1938-1939 (New York: International Publishers), 1948.
- ^ Translation: The postage seal reads: "Danzig greets joyously her leader and liberator, Adolf Hitler."
- ^ Museums Stutthof in Sztutowo. Retrieved January 31, 2007.
- ^ Gdansk, history. Official website. Template:En icon
- ^ Institute of National Remembrance, Investigation in the case of deportations of people from the Gdańsk Pomerania to the Soviet Union in 1945 18 November 2003.
- ^ Template:En icon Beautiful historic Gdańsk. Excalibur. 1995. p. 769.
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- ^ "Weatherbase: Historical Weather for Gdansk, Poland".
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- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s "Gdańsk Official Website: 'Miasta partnerskie'" (in Polish & English). © 2009 Urząd Miejski w Gdańsku. Retrieved 2009-07-11.
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- ^ "Barcelona internacional - Ciutats agermanades" (in Spanish). © 2006-2009 Ajuntament de Barcelona. Retrieved 2009-07-13.
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- ^ "Saint Petersburg in figures - International and Interregional Ties". Saint Petersburg City Government. Retrieved 2008-03-23.
- ^ Bytów official web site
External links
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/4/4a/Commons-logo.svg/30px-Commons-logo.svg.png)
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/99/Wiktionary-logo-en-v2.svg/40px-Wiktionary-logo-en-v2.svg.png)
- Template:En icon Official website
- Template:En icon [http://www.shopandsee.eu/ Official Tourist Board Website - Tourist Guide as well as shopping guide
- Gdansk Photogallery
- Template:Pl icon Virtual Gdańsk (portal)
- Mariacka Street Panoramic Photo