WW2-Poland-2015
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• Gdańsk Shakespeare Theatre (Gdański Teatr Szekspirowski), ul. Wojciecha Bogusławskiego 1, ☎+48 58 304 00<br />
20(gts@teatrszekspirowski.pl, fax: +48 58 322 08 45), [8]. Built over the site of a 17th century theatre, the<br />
Shakespeare Theatre opened to the public in 2014. Commemorating the historical legacy of Shakespeare in<br />
Gdańsk, whose plays were regularly performed in the city during the early 1600s, the theatre also includes a fully<br />
retractable roof. Performances are regularly scheduled in the theatre, in both Polish and English. edit<br />
• Uphagen House, ul. Długa 12, ☎+48 58 301 23 71 (dom.uphagena@mhmg.pl). Mo closed, Tu 10:00-13:00, We<br />
10:00-16:00, Th 10:00-18:00, F-Sa 10:00-16:00, Su 11:00-16:00. The Uphagen House was purchased by prominent<br />
city merchant Johann Uphagen in 1775. The house was passed among successive generations until it became a<br />
museum in 1911. Before the Red Army entered the city, German historians wisely removed its furnishings and<br />
interior for safekeeping before the home was destroyed in fighting in 1945. Lovingly restored in the 1990s with<br />
its original interior, the Uphagen House is an excellent venue for visitors to see upper class life in Gdańsk in the<br />
18th and 19th centuries. The Uphagen House is a department of the Historical Museum of the City of Gdańsk.<br />
Old Town (Stare Miasto)[edit]<br />
• Old Town Hall (Ratusz Starego Miasta), ul. Korzenna 33/35, ☎+48 58 301 1051 (sekretariat@nck.org.pl, fax: +48<br />
58 301 1957), [9]. M-Su 10:00-18:00. Constructed between 1587 to 1595 in Dutch Mannerist architecture, the<br />
Old Town Hall served as the home for the city's municipal government in the early modern era. Among those<br />
who worked in the building was astronomer, brewer, city councillor and mayor Johannes Hevelius. Miraculously<br />
surviving World War 2 virtually intact, the Old Town Hall is today the home of the Baltic Sea Culture Centre. edit<br />
• Great Mill (Wielki Młyn), Wielkie Młyny 16. Built by the Teutonic Knights in 1350, this pre-industrial mill harnessed<br />
canal-directed water power to process countless tons of grain and flour for centuries, used continuously until the<br />
end of World War II, when the mill was destroyed. Rebuilt in the 1960s, the mill has since become a small<br />
shopping center. In 2014, a new fountain was installed in front of the mill. edit<br />
• Polish Post Office Museum (Muzeum Poczty Polskiej), ul. Obrońców Poczty Polskiej 1/2, ☎+48 58 301 76<br />
11(muzeum.poczty@mhmg.pl), [10]. Sa & M closed, Tu 10:00-13:00, We 10:00-16:00, Th 10:00-18:00, F 10:00-<br />
16:00, Su 11:00-16:00. Although an unceremonious building today, this Polish Post Office has been collectively<br />
seared into Polish historical memory due to the events of September 1939. Meant originally to serve the Polish<br />
postal service within the predominantly German-majority Free City of Danzig, the post office acted as the Polish<br />
government’s presence in the semi-independent city state. The building came under attack from German units<br />
during the Nazi invasion. Against overwhelming odds, its postal workers fought off its attackers for several hours<br />
before capitulating, with its survivors summarily executed by the Germans afterwards. Today, the Polish Post<br />
Office is an extension of the Gdańsk City History Museum, as well as a national memorial to its courageous and<br />
indefatigable defenders. edit<br />
• Monument to the Fallen Shipyard Workers of 1970 (Pomnik Poległych Stoczniowców 1970), Plac<br />
Solidarności. Built during a brief political thaw in 1980, this towering memorial commemorates striking shipyard<br />
workers killed by police and army units during coastal strikes in 1970. The memorial was the first of its kind in<br />
the communist world to visibly commemorate victims of the regime. edit<br />
• Westerplatte, ul. Mjr. H. Sucharskiego, ☎+48 58 343 6972 (westerplatte@mhmg.pl), [21]. Etched into world<br />
history, Westerplatte is the location of the opening exchange of salvos of World War 2 when. in the early morning<br />
hours of 1 September 1939, the German battleship Schleswig-Holstein engaged the Polish coastal battery and<br />
military transit depot on the narrow Westerplatte Peninsula, a crucial chokepoint at the mouth of the Dead<br />
Vistula leading into Gdańsk's harbour. The Polish defences withstood the Nazi sea and land assault for six days<br />
before surrendering on 7 September. Today, Westerplatte is a national memorial and museum site dedicated to<br />
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