Polonia Gdansk

Gdansk was known as the free city of Danzig under the auspices of the League of Nations between the 2 world wars. However, much of our familiarity with Gdansk is tied up with Solidarity, Lech Walesa, and the stand against Communism. The 1st 2 pictures relate to this. 1st is the European Solidarity center built where it all began and the 2nd is the shipyard where Lech Walesa worked. Gdansk/Danzig has been a major ship building port for centuries. Even U-boats were built here.
In the world war 2 museum (see another post) is the reconstruction of the damage to the city. So most of what we see is reconstructed. Notice that the architecture looks Dutch. That is because Dutch engineers were brought in to help develop the area, much of which is below sea level. As another Hanseatic port, those influences are not surprising.
The 3rd picture is of the main street today. It was decided to focus the reconstruction on the golden age of Danzig during the Hanseatic era. The 4th an 5th pictures are old buildings that mostly survived the war located on granary island. The last is the Neptune Fountain, a central landmark in the old town.Read more