Gdansk Travel guide

For a thousand years Gdansk, like a sailor with his knots, has been marking the important and even climacteric dates of its own history in the history of Poland, Europe and the world. In this statement there is no exaggeration dictated by a merely personal relationship with the city, which for successive generations of its inhabitants has been a small homeland and to which they have felt a particular attachment. For Gdansk, apart from this obvious and subjectively-written history, so dear to each of its citizens, possesses also the dimension of a city-symbol, and as such it transcends its individual, regional and national significance, becoming a universal value. Although this may sound rather grandiloquent, that is in fact how it is.
After all it was here in September 1939 that the hell of the Second World War started, the war that was to realise Hitler's mad plans to make Europe and half the world into the dominion of his thousand-year Third Reich.

It was also here that the Solidarity movement was born, the movement that would bring about the victory of democracy in this part of Europe, which had been subjected, as a result of the Yalta Agreement, to the domination of another sick totalitarian ideology. These two facts in themselves, of such importance in the history of Europe and the world, prove that thinking about Gdansk as an exceptional place, is not just a stylistic manipulation.
Bearing that in mind, it is worth becoming acquainted with Gdansk and offering the city a good place in one's memory.

The first critical historic moment was 27 March 997, recorded in chronicles as the official date of the founding of Gdansk.
A stronghold had already existed on the Motlawa, but it was on that day that the Bishop of Prague, Adalbert, arrived in Gdansk and brought with him Christianity. The significance of this moment depended not only on the fact that a new religion had appeared in these parts, and as the chronicler of Adalbert's mission, Jan Canaparius, noted - huge crowds of people were baptised - but that St Adalbert together with this religion brought a new culture to this part of Europe.
Gdansk, by entering the circle of Christian Europe, became a full member of the modern world with its universal system of values.
The readiness of Gdansk inhabitants to accept the new universals was obviously not accidental. From the very beginning, the town, because of its location, had maintained numerous contacts with many nations, while mercantile pragmatism had led to an openness towards the world, without a trace of xenophobia. Here was the crossing-point of trade routes from the west to the east and from the north to the south of Europe. As early as the 9th and 10th centuries luxury goods were arriving in Gdansk from the Arabian states. In the 12th century Gdansk was an important sea port, and a centre of political and economic life. The port greeted ships from Byzantium, Persia, England, Flanders, the Walloon lands, Germany, Sweden, Denmark and Courland. The town was full of the sounds of many tongues, and it absorbed cultural novelties from around the world. Together with the growth of the individual wealth of Gdansk's citizens, their intellectual aspirations also increased.

The next significant date for Gdansk was the year 1224, when merchants from Lubeck, at that time the greatest experts in the difficult craft of trade, arrived and settled in the town.
They brought with them the greatest achievements of civilisation, including the so-called Lubeck Law, which set in order and codified all matters to do with trade. It was they who took upon themselves all difficulties associated with trade and became intermediaries, and in so doing laid the foundations for Gdansk's strong bourgeoisie.
In 1361 Gdansk became a full member of Hansa, a mercantile organization whose official foundation had taken place at a meeting in Lubeck in 1356. The Hanseatic League, whose aim was economic co-operation, attempted to standardise laws, regulations and currencies, to introduce mutual reductions in payments, and to act together to eliminate competitors. It was a confederation of many towns, places and communes set up in order for trade transactions to proceed without interference from the pirates on the seas and bandits on land routes. It embraced an area which included the Baltic Sea and the North Sea, and even stretched as far as Portugal, Spain, Russia, Finland and Iceland.
The leader of Hansa was Lubeck, and the highest authority were the conferences, in which Gdansk participated almost from the beginning, from 1361. In 1494 Gdansk became the leader of one of the Hanseatic Quarters, which embraced among others Chelmno, Braniewo, Elblag, Torun and Konigsberg.
Although the golden age of Hansa was brought to an end with Columbus's discovery of the route to America and with the creation of new trade routes, Gdansk still retained its outstanding trading position for a further two hundred years. This was made possible also by the throwing off of the Teutonic hegemony and by the joining of the lands to the Kingdom of Poland in 1454.

The privileges granted to the city by Kazimierz Jagiellonczyk, and the links with the natural economic hinterland - the huge river system of the Vistula - made Gdansk into a city which was talked about as the granary of Europe. And so it was. Gdansk in the 15th and 16th centuries fed Europe. Each year between February and November over 200 ships came into the port of Gdansk for goods which had arrived along the Vistula from all of Poland. In those days, known as the golden age of the city, over 75% of Polish exports were loaded in Gdansk. Three hundred multi-storey granaries were filled with the Polish grain for which Europe waited so impatiently. The length of the port quays was greater then in London, while the Gdansk crane, today one of the city`s most popular sights, was, right up until the 19th century, the largest port crane in Europe.
And so the wheel of modern history has come around again after 300 years, since Hansa has been revived and a tradition has been restored. Today New Hansa, an association of over 100 European towns including Gdansk, wishes, like its predecessor, to continue economic and cultural co-operation. The first conference took place in 1980 in the Dutch city of Zwolle. In Gdansk memories are still fresh of the conference which took place in the memorable year of 1997, when the city was celebrating its millennium.

Here the shadow of St Mary`s Basilica slowly, like the hand of a huge clock, slides along the terraces of the houses on St Mary`s Street. It is a daily mystery, repeated for centuries, renewed once again in front of yet another generation. And it is an enormous shadow, because the basilica is the biggest Gothic building in Gdansk. And not only in Gdansk - it is one of the largest churches in Europe, measuring as it does 105 metres in length, 30 metres in height and it can accommodate 25 thousand people. Its builders were in no hurry. From 25 March 1343, when the foundation-stone was laid, 159 years were to pass before they finished the construction in 1502. Successive masons lifted the construction higher, decorated the interior with star and crystal vaulting, added chapels and created slender turrets climbing 78 metres above Old Gdansk ...For over one and a half centuries they created a monumental stone book - a record of their skill.
The interior in every detail - the grave-stones, the epitaphs - complement this record. After many years the astronomical clock is working again - it is the work of Hans Duringer from 1470. In the chapel of St Rajnold the 19th century copy of Hans Memling`s `The Last Judgment` (the original is in the national Museum in Gdansk) reminds us not only about the end of the world, but also about the Gdansk privateer Pawel Beneke, who captured this painting during the Anglo-Hanseatic War in April 1473 and offered it to St Mary`s Basilica.
The Basilica towers over Gdansk with its massive Gothic bulk. Beneath it the streets of the Old Town seem to run like streams at the foot of a great mountain. But the church is not overwhelm, it does not stop their flow. It can be stated that it rules proudly but kindly. Then there is the most beautiful of routes - the Royal Route, as if clasped at each end with a beautiful buckle - the Golden Gate and the Green Gate. The Golden Gate was constructed in 1612-1614 according to a design by Abraham van den Blocke and under the masterly control of the builder Jan Strakowski - it is a true architectural masterpiece. But how could it be otherwise, since it is this triumphal arch which leads to the Royal Route, to Dluga Street and Dlugi Targ. Crowned with statues representing Peace, Liberty, Wealth, Fame, Prudence, Piety, Justice and Concord, sculpted by the Gdansk artist Piotr Ringering, it gives a foretaste of what will be seen once we have passed under the arch. Here begins a stroll past two tows of town-houses, which become even prettier the further we progress along the Royal Route.
Near the beginning, we can see the rococo interiors of Uphagen`s House, which belonged to the 17th century councillor and alderman, who donated his residence with all its furnishings to the city. Today the building houses the Museum of Bourgeois Interiors. At number 29 there is the house which used to belong to the outstanding patrician families the Czirenbergs and the Brandeses. Its facade was designed by Abraham van den Blocke, while the medallions with the likenesses of Caesars were sculpted by Piotr Ringering. On the opposite side, at number 28, there is the house, preserved in the Renaissance style, of the Ferbers, one of the greatest Gdansk dynasties. A few doors further down, at number 35, stone lions are looking out from the portal. This is the so-called Lions` Castle, probably designed by Jan Kramer and constructed in 1569. In this house in the 17th century lived the Schwartzwalds, who organised discussions here for outstanding academics and artists. At 45 Dluga Street there is the house of the Schumanns from around 1560, called by many experts the most beautiful in the city with its decorations of the mythological figures of Diana and Apollo.

On the other hand, a few steps further along the uncommon beauty of the Golden House draws the eye. You cannot possibly miss it - it is at 41 Dlugi Targ. It was conjured up by the talent of Abraham van den Blocke. Descriptions are inadequate! You simply have to see it.
Next to Arthur's Court and opposite the Neptune Fountain, the Golden House appears to be just a little gem, but then the function of Arthur's Court was completely different: for centuries it was the most elegant and representative salon for the burgher brotherhoods, who did not begrudge money to make it ever more beautiful. The creator of the rich Renaissance facade from 1617 was of course Abraham van den Blocke. It is composed of three pointed-arched windows, a stone portal with bas-reliefs portraying King Zygmunt III and the Crown Prince Wladyslaw, a decorative attic with allegorical figures of Justice and Strength in the niches, and the whole is crowned with a personification of Fortune above the ridge of the roof. In the enormous hall of Arthur's Court there is, among other features, a Gothic sculpture of St George from 1485, paintings by Evert from 1585 depicting the parade of the Polish armies after the capture of Malbork and by Jan de Vriese from 1592 depicting Orpheus. The most interesting element of the interior is a huge 12-metre-high tiled stove - the largest Renaissance stove in the world! After careful renovation Arthur`s Court once again serves a representative function. Once kings were received here - now it is presidents. This happened for example in 1993, when President Francois Mitterrand of France and President Richard von Weizsaecker of Germany, in the company of President Lech Walesa of Poland, received their doctorates honoris causa from the University of Gdansk. Here also in June 1997, Gdansk's memorable millennium year, three former presidents: George Bush of the USA, Richard von Weizsaecker of Germany and Lech Walesa of Poland, were made honorary citizens of Gdansk.
At the end of the Royal Route stands the green Gate, the work of Jan Kramer and the Dutchman Regnier, constructed in 1564-1568 with the intention of being a permanent residence for Polish monarchs. That is why it was designed with such panache and decorated with coats of arms.

The Royal Route, St Mary's Basilica, the Great Armoury, the Upland Gate, the Torture-House, St Mary`s Street, Chlebnicka Street, Piwna Street - this is just a small part of Gdansk. It is like a modest slice of a great gateau, skilfully created by the greatest confectioners. But just as no description can adequately replace the taste of a gateau, so Gdansk cannot be properly described. You have to see this enchanting city for yourself. You have to immerse yourself into its daily life in order to feel, just alongside, like a guardian angel, the presence of History accompanying your every step ...

Those who made their way to Gdansk in 1997, when the city was celebrating for almost 365 days its 1000th anniversary, had a wonderful opportunity to become acquainted with all the features that make this proud and beautiful city exceptional.
The citizens of Gdansk, with their unquestioned organizational talents, panache, kind-heartedness and sense of humour, presented the cultural, intellectual, economic, recreational and ... culinary potential of their city. Maybe only the experienced chronicler Canaparius, the first to mention the name of the city of Gdansk in print, would be able to meet the challenge of describing everything that happened in the millennium year.
Perhaps he would open his contemporary chronicle with the words: "And it came to pass in that favoured year when a great host of the citizens of the fair city of Gdansk did assemble at the foot of the great and famous Crane to greet the return after one thousand years of "Sanctus Adalbertus", the boat of Adalbert himself, returned to praise the city so faithful to tradition and so steadfast in its history."
Not feeling capable of taking over Canaparius`s role, but desiring to recall at least some humble part of Gdansk's celebrations, I suggest we confine ourselves to presenting a mosaic of impressions of the events whose number no-one has yet been able to count.
Since noblesse oblige, and a thousand years of history is undoubtedly a noble achievement, the millennium year began on a high note: Holy Mass in St Mary`s Basilica, concelebrated by the Primate of Poland, Cardinal Jozef Glemp, with the participation of some twenty thousand citizens of Gdansk and their distinguished guests. Next, despite the capricious weather, with its snow, rain and frost, there passed along Dlugi Targ (The Long Market) a procession of city councillors dressed in their ceremonial robes. Behind them there followed tableaux vivants presenting an allegorical story about the city on the Motlawa River: from the oldest times, through the maritime years, the Golden Age, up to and including the future. The creators and designers of this spectacle, Marcel Kochanczyk and Lucja and Bruno Sobczak, dedicated the event to Fortune. The sharp cold of the April evening was dispersed by a display of fireworks, while along the streets of Gdansk's Old Town there passed a huge dragon presented by the artists of the French theatre group Plasticiens Volants. The fire-breathing beast passed through the narrow streets and rose above the heads of the crowds following behind it. Finally, attacked by a monstrous octopus, it reached a monsters` coven near the Torture-House ...
That is how it all began, ceremonially, and at the same time fabulously and magically.
Later, for many many days, it was as if the organizers had taken to heart the maxim of the great master Hitchcock: the number of events increased dramatically, their artistic level delighted the participants, aroused a sense of wonder among the spectators and transformed Gdansk into a multi-cultural melting-pot of joyous celebration. Among the general hurly-burly of carefree festivity, the citizens of Gdansk and their guests did not fail to notice particular moments which were the crowning of the city`s cultural, sporting and social aspirations.
A spiritual experience of the highest order was the world premiere of several works composed especially for the millennium: music-lovers reacted enthusiastically to "Omnia tempus habent", an oratorio by Gdansk`s outstanding Polish composer, Elzbieta Sikora, which inaugurated the 40th International Festival of Organ Music in Oliwa Cathedral, and gave an equally warm reception to "Hymn to St Adalbert", a piece for mixed choir and symphony orchestra composed by Krzysztof Penderecki as the crowning moment of the millennium celebrations in Gdansk. In total almost 200 concerts of classical music were presented during the year, including the afore-mentioned 40th International Festival of Organ Music, the Festival of a Thousand organized by the Baltic Philharmonia, the 9th International Guitarists` Meetings, a series of concerts entitled "Closer to Bach" and the series entitled "Music on the Water".
Lovers of theatre and para-theatrical forms also had reasons to be satisfied, mostly because of the International Festival of Open-air and Street Theatres "FETA" and the Shakespeare Festival. The former was an opportunity to see 68 performances put on by 38 theatre groups from 13 countries. Particularly memorable were the performances by the German group "Titanic", which performed in an artistic and impressive way the tragedy of the ... "Titanic", the "Liceder" theatre from St Petersburg, presenting a monumental spectacle about the anxieties of modern man, Anton Adasinski`s "Derevo" theatre, very warmly received by the Polish public, the French theatre group "Ilotopic", and, reliable as ever in their artistic and spiritual communication, the domestic groups: Theatre of the Eighth Day, Travel Agency, Theatre of Dreams and Academy of Movement. There were also artists from many other countries, including Ukraine, Ghana, Italy and Hungary.
Another great success of Gdansk`s millennium summer was the Shakespeare Festival, organised by the Theatrum Gedanense Foundation, which recalled the tradition of Shakespeare`s plays performed in Gdansk during the Bard of Avon`s lifetime. Performances were staged by theatre groups from Great Britain, Byelarus and Ukraine, as well as Poznan, Olsztyn, Warszawa, Gdansk and Gdynia.
An event of the greatest significance was the 17th International New Hansa Conference, under the slogan "Hansa invests in Hansa". Over 2500 people from 12 countries and 108 cities came to this conference. The opening ceremony was graced by the presence of the President of Germany, Roman Herzog, and the President of the Republic of Poland, Aleksander Kwasniewski. The exalted atmosphere was enhanced still further by a performance of Haydn`s oratorio "The Creation", conducted in St Mary`s Basilica by Enoch zu Guttenberg. Later, on successive days in June, our guests from Estonia, Holland, Latvia, Germany, Norway, Sweden and of course from the Polish Hanseatic towns presented their culture on the streets of Gdansk - from art to cuisine. The Hanseatic Fair, organised specially for this occasion, attracted everyone with its original crafts, tourist souvenirs, products and regional delicacies.
Because of Gdansk`s unique anniversary, the traditional annual St Dominic`s Fair took on a more distinguished and European title. For two weeks in August the Main Town was taken over by traders who bustled about feverishly among the enormous crowds. Against the background of all these transactions there were permanent celebrations going on all around. And there was every kind of fun to be had! The Festival of the Folklore of Northern Peoples, The Festival of Bread, Brass Bands, and even ... medieval knights.
The programme of the Festival of Gdansk's Partner Cities and Regions was particularly lavish. Each of the following had their own day: Bremen (Germany), Marseilles (France), Storstroms (Denmark), Cleveland (USA), Helsingor (Denmark), Kaliningrad (Russia), Sefton (Great Britain), Schlesswig-Holstein (Germany), Trondheim (Norway) and Akmola (Kazakhstan).
While we are talking about festivals, it has to be mentioned that there took place a two-month-long International Festival of Monumental Painting during the summer, during which ten artists, from Poland, Russia and the USA decorated the walls of the tower-blocks on Gdansk's Zaspa estate with their huge compositions. There was also a St Mary's Street Festival (and why not). The Goldwasser Festival was a joyous event filled with the spirit of poetry.