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Gdansk
KNOWLEDGE OF Gdansk
Gdańsk (usually Gdansk in English and pronounced ['gdansk](?), German: Danzig, Kashubian: Gduńsk, Latin: Gedania; also other languages) is the sixth-largest city in Poland, its principal seaport, and the capital of the Pomeranian Voivodship.
The city lies on the southern coast of the Gdańsk Bay (of the Baltic Sea), in a conurbation with the spa town of Sopot, the city of Gdynia and suburban communities, which together form a metropolitan area called the greater Gdańsk or the Tricity (Trójmiasto) with a population of over a million people. Gdańsk is, with a population of 460,524 (mid 2004), the largest city in the historical province of Eastern Pomerania. North lies the Kashubian Tricity: Rumia, Reda, and Wejherowo
Gdańsk is situated at the mouth of the Motława river, connected to the Leniwka, a branch in the delta of the Vistula, whose waterway system connects 60% of the area of Poland, giving the city a unique advantage as the center of Poland's sea trade.
Historically an important seaport since mediaeval times and subsequently a principal ship-building centre, Gdańsk was a member of the Hanseatic League. Today the city remains an important industrial centre, together with the nearby port of Gdynia, and is world famous as the birthplace of the Solidarity movement which, under the leadership of Lech Wałęsa, played a major role in bringing an end to Communist rule in the Eastern Bloc.
According to archeologists, the Gdańsk stronghold was built in the 980s by Mieszko I of Poland. However, the year 997 has in recent years been considered to be the date of the foundation of the city, this being the year when Saint Adalbert of Prague (sent by the Polish king Boleslaus the Brave) baptized the inhabitants of Gdańsk (urbs Gyddanyzc).
In the following years Gdańsk was the main centre of a Polish splinter duchy ruled by the Dukes of Pomerania. The most famous of them, Świętopełk II of Pomerania, granted a local autonomy charter in ca. 1235 to the city, which at the time had some 2,000 inhabitants.
By 1308 Gdańsk had became a flourishing trading city with some 10,000 inhabitants, but in the Gdańsk Massacre of November 13 1308, it was occupied and demolished by the Teutonic Knights. This led to the city's decline and to a series of wars between the Knights and the Polish kings, ending with the Peace of Kalisz in 1343 when the Knights acknowledged that they would hold Pomerania as "an alm" from the Polish king. Although it left the legal basis of their possession of the province in some doubt, the agreement permitted the foundation of the municipality in 1343 and the development of increased export of grain from Poland via the Vistula river trading routes.
While under the control of the Knights, tGerman influence increased, and the city began to be referred to by variations of "Gdańsk", ultimately developing into the German name "Danzig". The city became a full member of the Hanseatic League in 1361. A new war broke out in 1409, ending with the Battle of Grunwald (1410), and the city briefly came under the direct overlordship of the Polish kings. One year later, with the Peace of Toruń (Thorn) in 1411, it returned to the Teutonic Knights' administration. In 1440 Danzig participated in the foundation of the Prussian Union which eventually led to the Thirteen Years War (1454-1466) and the incorporation of Royal Prussia to the direct rule of the Polish Crown.
Thanks to the Royal charters granted by king Casimir IV the Jagiellonian and the free access to all Polish markets, Danzig became a large and prosperous seaport and city. The 16th and 17th centuries were a Golden Age for trade and culture in Danzig. Inhabitants from various ethnic groups (Germans, Poles, Jews, and Dutch being the largest) contributed to Danzig's identity and rich culture of this period.
The city suffered a slow economic decline due to the wars in the 18th century, which ended with the Partitions of Poland from 1772 to 1795. Danzig was annexed to the Kingdom of Prussia in 1793 and remained Prussian until 1919 – except for the short period of 1807-1815 when it was the Free City of Danzig during the Napoleonic years. As part of Prussia, it became part of the German Empire in 1871. As a result of the Versailles treaty after World War I, Danzig became a free city under the control of the League of Nations. Its (predominantly German) population had no right of self-determination in a referendum as in other disputed parts of Germany.
The city lies on the southern coast of the Gdańsk Bay (of the Baltic Sea), in a conurbation with the spa town of Sopot, the city of Gdynia and suburban communities, which together form a metropolitan area called the greater Gdańsk or the Tricity (Trójmiasto) with a population of over a million people. Gdańsk is, with a population of 460,524 (mid 2004), the largest city in the historical province of Eastern Pomerania. North lies the Kashubian Tricity: Rumia, Reda, and Wejherowo
Gdańsk is situated at the mouth of the Motława river, connected to the Leniwka, a branch in the delta of the Vistula, whose waterway system connects 60% of the area of Poland, giving the city a unique advantage as the center of Poland's sea trade.
Historically an important seaport since mediaeval times and subsequently a principal ship-building centre, Gdańsk was a member of the Hanseatic League. Today the city remains an important industrial centre, together with the nearby port of Gdynia, and is world famous as the birthplace of the Solidarity movement which, under the leadership of Lech Wałęsa, played a major role in bringing an end to Communist rule in the Eastern Bloc.
According to archeologists, the Gdańsk stronghold was built in the 980s by Mieszko I of Poland. However, the year 997 has in recent years been considered to be the date of the foundation of the city, this being the year when Saint Adalbert of Prague (sent by the Polish king Boleslaus the Brave) baptized the inhabitants of Gdańsk (urbs Gyddanyzc).
In the following years Gdańsk was the main centre of a Polish splinter duchy ruled by the Dukes of Pomerania. The most famous of them, Świętopełk II of Pomerania, granted a local autonomy charter in ca. 1235 to the city, which at the time had some 2,000 inhabitants.
By 1308 Gdańsk had became a flourishing trading city with some 10,000 inhabitants, but in the Gdańsk Massacre of November 13 1308, it was occupied and demolished by the Teutonic Knights. This led to the city's decline and to a series of wars between the Knights and the Polish kings, ending with the Peace of Kalisz in 1343 when the Knights acknowledged that they would hold Pomerania as "an alm" from the Polish king. Although it left the legal basis of their possession of the province in some doubt, the agreement permitted the foundation of the municipality in 1343 and the development of increased export of grain from Poland via the Vistula river trading routes.
While under the control of the Knights, tGerman influence increased, and the city began to be referred to by variations of "Gdańsk", ultimately developing into the German name "Danzig". The city became a full member of the Hanseatic League in 1361. A new war broke out in 1409, ending with the Battle of Grunwald (1410), and the city briefly came under the direct overlordship of the Polish kings. One year later, with the Peace of Toruń (Thorn) in 1411, it returned to the Teutonic Knights' administration. In 1440 Danzig participated in the foundation of the Prussian Union which eventually led to the Thirteen Years War (1454-1466) and the incorporation of Royal Prussia to the direct rule of the Polish Crown.
Thanks to the Royal charters granted by king Casimir IV the Jagiellonian and the free access to all Polish markets, Danzig became a large and prosperous seaport and city. The 16th and 17th centuries were a Golden Age for trade and culture in Danzig. Inhabitants from various ethnic groups (Germans, Poles, Jews, and Dutch being the largest) contributed to Danzig's identity and rich culture of this period.
The city suffered a slow economic decline due to the wars in the 18th century, which ended with the Partitions of Poland from 1772 to 1795. Danzig was annexed to the Kingdom of Prussia in 1793 and remained Prussian until 1919 – except for the short period of 1807-1815 when it was the Free City of Danzig during the Napoleonic years. As part of Prussia, it became part of the German Empire in 1871. As a result of the Versailles treaty after World War I, Danzig became a free city under the control of the League of Nations. Its (predominantly German) population had no right of self-determination in a referendum as in other disputed parts of Germany.
Chapi