Gadding about in Gdansk (Gdansk)

Member Name: Praskipark

Product:	Gdansk
Date:	06/09/09 (52 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: A magnificent city with a really pretty waterfront

Disadvantages: Can't think of any

For the last week or so I have had my mother-in-law over from the UK. She has never visited Poland before and as it might be a while before she comes again I wanted to take her on a trip to a city outside of Warsaw. Krakow would probably have been a good choice but having spent many years living near the sea I thought Gdansk would be a better choice and somewhere she would enjoy.

Ever since moving to Warsaw two years ago I have wanted to visit Gdansk mainly because of of its connections with Lech Walesa and Solidarity - a subject that has always been of great interest to me. What I didn't realise was that the city of Gdansk was also, like Warsaw, flattened in the Second World War.

As we strolled through the streets of ornate and impressive historic buildings I could imagine myself back in the medieval Hanseatic era, when a commercial alliance was formed between north German and Baltic cities for trade between the eastern and western sides of northern Europe. Historically, the key port on Poland's coastline, looks much as it did when it was built by wealthy merchants and ship owners. The city is indeed impressive and a crowning achievement of Polish restoration. Looking at old photographs I could see that the city had been razed to the ground which is amazing and even more amazing that it took until 1975 to clear all the rubble and complete the construction. But outward signs of prosperity conceal another story; in 1997 the Gdansk shipyards were declared bankrupt.

A little bit of history about this impressive city:

'Gydanyzc' was first mentioned in a document in 997 as a walled settlement and the seat of a Slavic prince at the place where the River Motlawa flows into the Vistula, just before it enters the Baltic. It received a town charter in 1326, after it had already become a European trade centre that belonged to the Hanseatic League. In 1308 the Teutonic Knights took over the town and built a new settlement on its southern boundary that later became known as Glowne Miasto, the Main Town.

After the decline of the Teutonic Knights, the independent towns united and in 1454 recognised Polish sovereignty. In its new form Gdansk was able to negotiate an autonomous status with many priviliges. The symbiosis with Poland also brought it great prosperity, as is evident from the splendid buildings which graced the town, then the largest in Poland, in the 16th and 17th centuries.

Gdansk remained independent within the Polish-Lithuanian monarchy until the second partition of Poland in 1793 when it became Prussian.

From 1920 to 1939 Gdansk, together with the surrounding areas of the Vistula Island, became a free city and the residence of the high commissioner of the League of Nations. World War II, which began in Gdansk, ended with terrible consequences for the city: when in March 1945 joint units of the Red Army and the Polish Army marched in, 90 per cent of the historic buildings had been destroyed. I don't know if any readers remember the film, Tin Drum, based on the novel by Gunter Grasse but the events in Gdansk during World War II were vividly recreated in both the film and novel which was written in 1958.

Forty years on and this city was again in the International spotlight, when Solidarity, a trade union movement against the Communist government, was formed. Gdansk shipbuilders, led by Lech Walesa, triggered public strikes to improve working conditions and in protest at massive price increases. In the 15 months of its activity from 1980, Solidarity proved to be a peaceful and powerful movement which, with 10 million members, represented the whole country. However, on 13th December 1981, martial law was declared. Solidarity went underground and many of its leaders were imprisoned, starting a wave of repression.

The economic crisis worsened and the government proved unable to cope. However, under the leadership of Mikhail Gorbachev, the Soviet Union saw the beginnings of Perestroika and by the autumn of 1988, the party agreed to share political power. In June 1989, the first freely elected non-Communist Polish government took power. The Gdansk shipyards, cradle of political reform throughout the former Eastern bloc, fell victim to the new free market economy.

As we walked around the reconstructed Main Town, I think my mother in law found it hard to believe that at the end of the Second World War this was just a pile of ruins and rubble.

We entered the town from the west side through a magnificent gate (Upland Gate) which was built in 1588 originally. This gate marks the beginning of the Royal Route, along which the rulers formerly paraded into the town. Next to the gate is a museum of amber. Amber is Poland's national stone, and many of the beaches in the Gdansk area yield amber, which is washed up by the sea from below the sand. Displays of jewellery, boxes, various objet's d'art are on show in the museum. The museum is open from 10am until 8pm every day.

On the other side of the Golden Gate a Renaissance construction resembling a triumphal arch is the entrance to Long Street (Ulica Dluga). An interesting street in the direction of the River Motlawa with fine residences on either side which testify to the wealth of the merchants who built them. Uphagen House is worth a peek inside as it is an 18th century merchant's house that has been turned into a museum showing how life was in the era when Gdansk was a trading metropolis and meeting place for merchants from all over Europe.

The Town Hall (Ratusz) is a fine Gothic red brick building dating back from the 14th century. The interior which has been restored and must have cost a packet now houses the Historical Museum of Gdansk. This really is worth a visit. My favourite room is the Red Room as it is magnificent in all its splendour. Large pictures cover walls and ceilings transforming the whole interior into a single work of art. Most of this is original, since the furnishings were stored outside the city during the war.

Long Street opens out into Long Market. This is a wide, pedestrianised street lined with attractive burghers' houses. Every one of their facades is a showpiece dating from various eras. One building stands out from the rest and this is Artus Court. Its windows extend the full height of the lower part of the building, which corresponds to three floors of the neighbouring houses. The building is home to a stock exchange and a Merchant's Guild.

In front of Artus Court, the 17th century Neptune Fountain symbolises the importance of Gdansk as a maritime power. The neighbouring Golden House is appropriately named, with a facade beautifully decorated in gilded reliefs. The Green Gate on the east side of Long Market marks the end of the Royal Route at the Motlawa, opposite an island featuring historic granaries and the Milk Churn Gate that has round towers.

From the Green Gate we took a boat trip which was very pleasant passing the wharfs and the old fortress at the mouth of the Vistula river. The boat eventually moors alongside the huge monument on Westerplatte - a reminder of the outbreak of World war II, when 182 soldiers held out for seven days against the Wehrmacht, defending a Polish ammunition depot on the peninsula.

One of my favourite places to stroll in any city is along the waterfront and this one in Gdansk is full of life. The harbour quay is much more than just the place where cargo was loaded and unloaded. It still continues to play a large commercial role, with boutiques selling amber jewellery and souvenirs alongside street traders and cafes.

Something that you cannot miss on the harbour promenade is the 15th century Crane Gate. The Crane gate is the symbol of Gdansk. It is typical of this trading city that it was not one of the churches but a secular building that was chosen for this honour.

The enormous harbour crane is one of the largest medieval industrial constructions in existence and now is the home of the Central Maritime Museum. Apart from the main museum inside the crane there are 3 other museums which span both sides of the waterfront. A ferry will take you across the river and it runs every 15 minutes. All museums house nautical sites and objects which educate visitors about the maritime history of Gdansk and the surrounding area. You can actually climb the crane in its entirety which is a lot of fun - well I thought so.

Opening Times - from June until September - 10am until 6pm. Ticket price - approx £5 depending on the exchange rate. This includes entrance to the museums and the short ferry trip.

Walking north, passing the 15th century Bread Gate you will also pass St Mary's Gate leading into an enchanting street called St Mary's Street. Here are some very unusual houses which we were both fascinated with. The houses feature distinctive perrons, small terraces with steps leading down into the street. These were once a typical feature of towns on the Baltic Coast. For the people of Gdansk, they were a place to see and be seen. Today they have been taken over by amber boutiques and art galleries, and were also used in the filming of Buddenbrooks by Thomas Mann, since no street could be found in Lubeck, where the book is actually set.

You could say Poland is the home of churches - well it has its fair share and one of the largest I have ever seen in Europe is St Mary's Church, here in Gdansk. The ceiling is vaulted and is 98 feet high. That's some ceiling! The Gothic church was built between 1343 and 1502, and can accommodate nearly 25,000 worshippers. The beautiful ceiling is a key feature, along with numerous Gothic altars, Renaissance and baroque elements, and an extraordinary medieval astrological clock. This so-called 'Beautiful Madonna' is an impressive sculpture but I am not sure of I like it - it is in rather bad taste but not bad enough to make it kitsch.

One of the most interesting pieces of work in the church is the triptych The Last Judgement which was painted by Hans Memling (1466-73). We were told by the guide that the picture was commandeered by the people of Gdansk en route to the person for whom it was painted in Tuscany; they put it up in St Mary's as war booty. The painting we actually saw was a copy and the original is actually in the Gdansk National Museum which is located in the former Franciscan monastery near the Church of the Holy Trinity.

Usually, in my reviews I mention the Old Town first but for this review I have left it until last. The former Old Town is a few minutes further to the north from the Crane Gate and features numerous historic buildings reconstructed after World War II.

St Catherine's Church is worth a look mainly because the man who published one of the first detailed maps of the moon is buried in this Gothic and baroque parish church. His name was Johannes Hevelius (1611-1686) and he didn't actually earn very much money from his astronomy so he also worked as a brewer; today the beer named after him 'Hevelius' is very popular and a good brew.

The church immediately behind St Catherine's went down in Polish history as the 'Solidarity Church.' It was here in St Bridget's that the anti-communist opposition met to worship when the country was under martial law, as an expression of political disobedience. The tasteful modern interior combines surprisingly well with the reconstructed Gothic star vaulting.

The Old town is very attractive as all Polish old towns are. I didn't think it was any prettier than the old towns in Cracow, Poznan or Warsaw. For me the highlight of the city was the waterfront and the shipyards which I nearly forgot to mention.

My mother in-law has spent a lot of her years in and out of shipyards. First when her boat was moored in Plymouth and then in Portimao and Lagos in Portugal. I think she was very taken with Gdansk as a city and felt quite emotional when she saw the Monument to the Shipyard Workers. This monument is three huge crosses and it is set up near gate 2 of the Gdansk shipyards to commemorate the 28 people who died when the strike in December 1970 was brutally suppressed.

The monument was erected in 1980 by Solidarity, and even the organisation was subsequently outlawed, the Communist leaders did not dare touch the memorial because of its powerful symbolic significance. Roads to Freedom (Drogi do Wolnosci) is a museum within easy reach of the shipyard tracing the history of the Solidarity movement. This is a fascinating and powerful museum- will be reviewed shortly.

Well that covers my city trip to Gdansk. We had to stay overnight as it is too far to travel from Warsaw and return in the same day. Rooms and hotels are plentiful . We stayed in the Hotel Krolewski which is situated in what used to be an old granary. The hotel is in a super location with great views of the harbour. Our room was very comfortable and the decor was modern but very tasteful. We paid £90 for the room which included a breakfast buffet.

Because the price of the room was more than I budgeted for we decided to eat out at a more modest establishment. Bar Mleczny Neptun is a 'no frills' restaurant that serves enormous portions of Polish dishes at bargain prices - a huge plate piled high with pierogi for under £4.

As my mother-in-law was on holiday and wanted to take presents back for friends we had to go shopping. Amber is probably the most popular souvenir to take back and there are numerous boutiques and street stalls all selling jewellery, cuff-links, lamps, necklaces, earrings and jewellery boxes.

Goldwasser is another idea for a gift. This literally means gold water and is a digestif vodka containing flakes of gold leaf. The original reason for adding 23 carat gold leaf to Goldwasser vodka was the belief that it contained medicinal properties. Whether it contributes to the flavour is a matter of opinion but it certainly looks very nice in its bottle. In the 1700s Goldwasser was also renowned as the most expensive vodka, giving it added cachet.

One more tip - it is easy to get around the city by public transport - buses, trams and metro. Tickets can be bought from kiosks dotted around the city and from ticket machines. Validation is important - if you get stopped and haven't validated you will be liable for a fine. Taxis are cheap and okay if you book by phone. You will pay 40% more if you just jump in a cab from a taxi rank. If you can't speak the lingo ask someone to phone a cab for you - if you are to shy to speak then point and mime.

So was the trip to Gdansk worthwhile? Oh yes. To say the city suffered terribly during the Nazi invasion and occupation and was also devastated when the city was liberated by the Red Army - it has certainly risen from the ruins. Many historic buildings were completely obliterated and have been reconstructed. The skill with which this was done is immediately evident. The result is a beautiful city.

Summary: A beautiful city risen from the ruins