Gdańsk

From a trading base for the once-mighty Teutonic Knights to the birthplace of Solidarity and modern Poland, Gdansk – lies on the Baltic Sea and drips history.

With its painstakingly reconstructed Old Town and perfect location at the heart of the coast,. It’s part of a three city conurbation which includes Sopot and Gdynia – all three cities have their own identity but Gdansk is the showpiece of Poland’s north.

This historic city was part of Poland from 1466 until 1793, when it was annexed by Prussia. Then, after WWI it was declared the Free City of Danzig (under the protection of the League of Nations).

WWII started in Gdansk when the German battleship Schleswig-Holstein fired the first shots on the Polish military post in Westerplatte. During the occupation of the city, the Nazis continued to use the local shipyards for building warships – using Poles as forced labour. The Russians arrived in March 1945 and after the fierce battle that ensued he city ceasd to exist.

The destruction of the historic quarter was comparable to that of Warsaw’s Old Town. Many of the historic buildings have since been rebuilt – the Old Town area is a masterpiece of reconstruction with its superb burgher’s houses, Town Hall, Artus’ Court, Gothic Church of Our Lady, and Neptune Fountain. Continue to Oliwa Cathedral for a concert on its fabulous rococo organ, one of the largest of its kind in the world It’s a scaled down version of Kraków’s Old Town but with a maritime flavour. Plus, it’s the best place to buy amber in Poland.

The city is also known as the birthplace of the Solidarity trade union in 1980 that was a catalyst for the ultimate fall of Communism in Poland, Soviet Union, and all of the Soviet controlled Eastern Bloc.

Destination: Poland