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HISTORY
The beginnings of colonisation
in the Gdańsk area date back
to the 7th century when it was
a small group of fishing hamlets.
Because of its strategic position
at the head of the Vistula River,
Gdańsk developed as an important
trade centre.
10th Century The first Christian
mission comes to the small
fishing village of Gdańsk. The
Bishop of Prague, Adalbert, christens the inhabitants with
the year 997 commonly accepted as the year that Gdańsk
was founded.
13th Century Gdańsk welcomes vessels from England, Sweden
and the Walloon Lands. The Teutonic Knights penetrate
Polish regions from the west in 1226.
14th Century The Teutonic Knights make a treacherous
assault on Gdańsk in 1308. The Knights meanwhile crown
Malbork 60km south, the capital of their Teutonic state.
In 1361 Gdańsk joins the Hanseatic League, a mercantile
organisation, and its sea port prospers.
15th Century Polish-Lithuanian forces defeat the Teutonic
Knights at the Battle of Grunwald in 1410, thereby stopping
German expansion eastward.
16th Century Gdańsk enjoys a golden era, prospering into a
rich seaport and important centre of trade and culture. Besides
Germans, Gdańsk’s ethnic make-up is predominantly Polish,
Dutch and Jewish, as well as a large number of Scotsmen.
18th Century Poland becomes a playground for Tsar Peter
the Great, and in 1734 Gdańsk is besieged by the Russian
army. Austria, Prussia and Russia impose the first partition
of Poland in 1773. Gdańsk loses its trade routes and falls into
decline. A Prussian-Russian agreement on the second partition
of Poland is concluded in 1793. In 1795 Austria, Prussia
and Russia impose a third partition of Poland, ending Polish
independence for more than a century.
19th Century Gdańsk is established as a free city, with
French troops stationed there. After Napoleon’s defeat and
the Congress of Vienna in 1815, Poland is partitioned anew:
Danzig (Gdańsk) is given back to Prussia. In 1871 it is officially
incorporated into the German Empire.
Early 20th century On 11th November 1918, Poland regains
independence giving birth to what is regarded as the Second
Polish Republic. With Germany defeated, the partition
collapses leaving Gdansk caught in a tug of war between
Germany and Poland who turn to the League of Nations to
decide on control. Since the majority of the city’s inhabitants
were German the city is not placed under Polish sovereignty,
instead The Free City of Danzig is established in 1920 complete
with its own parliament, currency and postal stamps. In
1939, WWII starts with Nazi Germany’s September 1 attack
on Poland’s military posts at Westerplatte. From 1940-44 all
Polish territory falls under Nazi occupation and becomes its
primary killing ground. Six million Poles, including three million
Jews, are killed. Although most of Gdańsk’s pre-war Jewish
population managed to escape in time to avoid the Holocaust,
much of Gdańsk’s Polish intelligentsia found itself rounded up
and murdered in the nearby Stutthoff death camp. On March
28, 1945, the Soviet Army seizes Gdańsk, now a smouldering
mass of rubble. From 1945 Poland is Sovietised. Control of
Gdańsk is given over to Poland, and most Germans exiled,
replaced by refugees from east Poland. In 1947 the Communists
consolidate political monopoly after rigged elections.
In 1955 the Warsaw Pact is created. The 50s and 60s mark
a time of major urban rebuilding following the large-scale
wartime destruction of the city.
By 1968 popular disenchantment begins and an opposition
that will eventually overthrow the government is born.
1970 The events of 1970 in Gdańsk are the first to rock the
system. In December shipyard workers in Gdańsk strike to
protest poor living standards. The army intervene to put an
end to the protests, resulting in clashes in which 44 die. It is
also in this year that West German chancellor Willy Brandt
formally renounces German territorial claims to the city.
1980-1989 A general strike is called in August 1980 by the
fledgling Solidarność (Solidarity) trade union, led by shipyard
electrician Lech Wałęsa. Martial law is declared the following year.
In 1982 Solidarność is outlawed by the government and its leadership
imprisoned. Other union activists are driven underground.
In protest, more than 20,000 Gdańsk citizens take sanctuary in
St. Mary’s Church in Gdańsk. In 1983 martial law is lifted. Wałęsa
is awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. The late 1980s see a period
of gradual liberalisation due in part to Soviet President Mikhail
Gorbachev’s perestroika in the Soviet Union. Renewed strikes
in 1988 and a failing economy convince General Jaruzelski to
initiate talks with Solidarność. In 1989 Round Table talks produce
a formula for power sharing between the Communists and
Solidarność. Partly-free elections result in sweeping Solidarność
victories and the communist regime crumbles.
Post 1989 Finance Minister, Leszek Balcerowicz, launches
an ambitious shock-therapy economic reform programme.
Lech Wałęsa becomes Poland’s first democratically-elected,
post-communist President. In 1995 reformed communist, Aleksander
Kwaśniewski, defeats Wałęsa in presidential elections.
The following year the Gdańsk shipyards are declared bankrupt.
2001 sees flash floods hit the Tri-City area. Three people die.
2004 May - Poland enters the European Union on May 1.
2005 Pope John Paul II loses his battle against illness and
passes away.
2007 - Platforma (PO) defeat PiS, the party of the Kaczynski
twins, which results in local boy Donald Tusk becoming
Prime Minister.
2010 - April 10th sees 96 high-ranking Poles tragically killed
in the air disaster at Smolensk in Russia. Among the dead are
President Lech Kaczynski and his wife along with a number
of well-known Gdanskians including Solidarity’s Anna Waletynowicz,
Senator Maciej Placzynski and MP Arkadiusz Rybicki
whose funerals take place in various old town churches.
Gdańsk through the Ages
997-1308: as part of Poland
1308-1466: as part of territory of Teutonic Order
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: German Reich
1920-1939: as a free city
1939-1945: German Reich
1945 onwards: part of Poland
Gdańsk In Your Pocket gdansk.inyourpocket.com
gdansk.inyourpocket.com
TRI-CITY CULTURE & EVENTS
Poland is an increasingly important centre of culture,
and artisans, performers and musicians from all over the
world now regularly arrive here to showcase their various
talents. From art house sculptors to top-name bands,
In Your Pocket is dedicated to bringing news of these
events to as wide an audience as possible. Besides the
listings on the print guide, we also regularly update our
website with all the news and events as they reach us,
sometimes after our print guide has gone to press. For
the latest event information make www.inyourpocket.com
the first place you visit.
Art galleries
Desa Gallery N-2, Gdynia, ul. Abrahama 54 (entrance
from ul. Władysława IV), tel. (+48) 58 620 36 63.
QOpen 10:00 - 18:00, Sat 10:00 - 14:00. Closed Sun.
Admission free.
Dworek Sierakowskich L-4, Sopot, ul. Czyżewskiego
12, tel. (+48) 58 551 07 56, www.tps-dworek.pl.
QOpen 12:00 - 19:00. Admission free.
Engel Gallery N-2, Gdynia, ul. Świętojańska 56, tel.
(+48) 58 620 91 67, www.galeriaengel.pl. QOpen
11:00 - 19:00, Sat 11:00 - 15:00. Closed Sun. Admission
free.
Green Gate (Zielona Brama) C-5, Gdańsk, ul. Długi
Targ 24, tel. (+48) 58 307 59 12, www.muzeum.
narodowe.gda.pl. Q Open 09:00-16:00, Sat, Sun 10:00-
17:00. Closed Mon. Last entrance 45 minutes before
closing. Admission fee depends on the exhibition, check
website for details.
Günter Grass Gallery in Gdańsk C-4, ul. Szeroka
34/35-37, tel. (+48) 58 304 98 54, www.ggm.gda.
pl. QOpen 11:00 - 19:00, Tue, Wed 11:00 - 17:00. Closed
Mon. Admission free.
Profile Art Gallery N-3, Gdynia, ul. Wojewódzka 7,
tel. (+48) 58 622 33 11, www.eraartprofile.pl. QOpen
12:00 - 18:00, Sat 12:00 - 16:00. Closed Sun. Admission
free. Y
Sopot Auction Home (Sopocki Dom Aukcyjny)
M-4, Sopot, ul. Bohaterów Monte Cassino
43, tel. (+48) 58 550 16 05, www.sda.pl.QOpen
11:00 - 19:00, Sat 11:00 - 15:00. Closed Sun. Admission
free.
ZPAP Gallery C-4, Gdańsk, ul. Mariacka 46/47,
tel. (+48) 58 301 69 14, www.zpap-gdansk.art.
pl. Also at ul. Piwna 67/68, B-4 (Open 11:00 - 17:00.
Closed Sat, Sun) QOpen 09:00 - 17:00. Closed Sat,
Sun. Admission free.
Cinemas
Cinema City Krewetka B-2, Gdańsk, ul. Karmelicka
1, tel. (+48) 58 769 31 00, www.cinema-city.pl.QBox
office open 09:30 - 22:45. Tickets 15-28zł. AU
Helios Gdańsk Gdańsk, Alfa Centrum, ul. Kołobrzeska
41c, tel. (+48) 58 767 99 88, www.helios.pl.QBox office
open 09:00 - 22:00. Tickets 13-27zł.
Multikino H-3, Gdańsk, Al. Zwycięstwa 14, tel. (+48)
58 732 10 10, www.multikino.pl.QBox office open 09:00
- 22:30. Tickets 15-27zł.
Multikino O-1, Gdynia, ul. Waszyngtona 21
(Gemini), tel. (+48) 58 731 39 10, www.multikino.
pl/gdynia. Q Box office open 15 minutes before first
showtime to 15 minutes after last showtime. Tickets
13-27zł. U
Multikino M-4, Sopot, Bohaterów Monte Cassino 63,
tel. (+48) 58 741 75 10, www.multikino.pl.QBox office
open 15 minutes before the first showtime to 15 minutes
after last showtime. Tickets 18-27zł.
State Art Gallery
State Art Gallery (Państwowa Galeria Sztuki)
M-4, Sopot, Pl. Zdrojowy 2, tel. (+48) 58 551 06 21,
www.pgs.pl. Individual exhibitions of major contemporary
Polish artists. Q Open 11:00 - 19:00. Closed Mon.
Admission 10/7zł.
13.04 Friday - 03.06 Sunday
Piotr Potworski - Visions of landscape
Fifty years after the death of artist Piotr Potworski this
exhibit highlight’s his numerous landscape paintings.
These pieces serve as a biography of Potworski’s life,
with many of the paintings showcasing places he lived
throughout his career. On exhibit will be 40 landscapes,
considered Potworski’s main motif, from museums
around Poland.
10.05 Thursday - 17.06 Sunday
Jan Dobkowski - 70
Explore more than 50 works by artist Jan Dobkowski,
including paintings and drawings that span 1969-2007
at this new exhibition at the State Art Gallery. Visitors
will notice the exhibition is divided into three helpful sections:
works on canvas, works on paper, and paintings
from 1981-2001.
31.05 Thursday - 07.07 Saturday
Anna Szprynger - Horizons
Artist Anna Szprynger is considered unique because her
art is hard to categorize; just try to classify her work and
you’ll find yourself stumped. The new Horizons exhibit
showcases her interest in the geometric abstract and
how together they are harmonious.
07.06 Thursday - 23.09 Sunday
Russian Avant-Garde from family collection
of Żerlicynów - Żarskich
This renowned collection of Russian Avant-Garde art will
present works from the years 1910-1913 to the public for
the first time. Since the 1960s the Żerlicynów-Żarskich
collection has been highly regarded for both its artistic
and historical value.
22.06 Friday - 23.09 Sunday
Jacek Malczewski from collection of National
Art Gallery in Lviv
One of Poland’s most important and well-known
painters, Jacek Malczewski is known as the master or
Polish symbolism and a career in which he combined
the popular styles of his time (1854-1929) with motifs
of national suffering and martyrdom. These works
from the National Gallery in L’viv (formerly Polish
Lwów) haven’t been seen in PL since 2001, when
the exhibit was so wildly popular they’ve decided
to bring it back. A great chance to see the work of
a Polish master.
May - July 2012
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