After the history lesson below, let's now have a little walk through Gdańsk / Danzig. Most of the famous landmarks are situated not in the Old Town, but in the - much older - Rechtstadt (Town of the Law), the part of Danzig which held town rights since 1224.
Much of Gdańsk had been destroyed during WW2, but was restored in the years after the war, with its various town gates, beautiful late Gothic gabled houses and decorated Renaissance buildings that once had been the homes of wealthy merchants and burghers, a lot of whom were of German origins. A considerable number of Germans lived in Danzig and Pomeralia (later known as East Prussia) since the early 12th century and remained there until the end of WW2.
One of the iconic buildings is the Crane Gate. A timber gate with an integrated crane function had been built in 1367, but it was destroyed by a fire in 1442. A new and larger brick gate in Gothic style replaced it immediately afterwards. The wealthier burghers of Danzig collected money to its construction, and they successfully faced off the protests of the Teutonic Knights who felt their nearby castle to be threatened.
The new crane is a double one and was once the largest in Europe. The upper crane could lift weights to a height of 27 metres and was used to put up the masts on boats. The lower crane could lift a weight of four tons up to 11 metres. The cranes were moved by hollow drums of 6 metres in diameter placed inside the gate; usually prisoners worked those threadmills. Ropes wound around the shafts of the drums and passed over the beams. The crane hooks were made of metal. The sturdy towers of the crane gate show that it served as defense of the town as well.
The Green Gate with its flamboyant Renaissance decorations is a very different gate compared to the Gothic Crane Gate. It replaced an older gate guarding the drawbridge (which had been known as Green Bridge) across the Motława river at the site of the old Amber Road crossing, today it marks the end point of the Długi Targ, the Long Market.
The architects were Hans Kramer and Regnier of Amsterdam, thus the strong Flemish influences. Four vaults lead through the gate. The building above makes the gate look more like a palace and indeed, those rooms were intended to serve as quarter for the Polish king when he visited Danzig, though they were seldom used.
The Milk Can Gate, nicknamed for the shape of its twin towers (one now is shorter because it was not restored to full size after WW2) was built in the 15th century to protect the Granary Island outside the main town. It consists of two towers connected by an overhead passage. The larger tower is today 28 metres high, its walls are 4 metres thick and with small windows - quite a sturdy thing compared to the elegant Green Gate.
The Motława river is an estuary of the Vistula (Weichsel in German) and connects Gdańsk with the Baltic Sea. The delta of the Vistula changed over time so that the coast today is further away from the town.
While a lot of the historical Danzig had been rebuilt in the 1950ies/60ies, there were still some ruins left at the beginning of the 21st century. One of those were the granaries on the Granary Island (Speicherstetten, Polish: spichlerze). Those are undergoing repair right now, and when I visited in 2012, a set of the Gothic houses had been reconstructed with the exterior mostly according to the old plans, but converted into hotels, shops and appertments.
The first buildings on the island in the Motława river were those not wanted inside the town, like a slaughterhause (dating to the 14th century), tar cookery, and other smelly and dirty occupations. Granaries and storehouses that gave the place its name were soon added. In 1576, the Motława canal and earth fortifications were built to protect the site from attacks. At that time, the number of granaries amounted to 315. 250,000 tons of grain could be stored there, worth 200 ship loads. No wonder Danzig became one of the richest cities in Europe.
But we're not finished with those gates yet. Most of the town walls of Danzig that were destroyed have never been restored, but the more famous gates underwent a lovingly done reconstruction. I got some more for you.
The gate with the charming name of Torture Chamber Gate (German: Peinkammertor) and its matching Prison Tower (Stockturm) were erected in the 14th century as tower with a passage beside a former gate in the Gothic style - now the Golden Gate, see below - to protect acces to the main road Ulica Długa, the Long Lane. The gate got another storey in the 15th century and some Renaissance decorations at the end of the 16th century. The tower was enlarged twice in 1418 and 1509 when it gots its tent shaped roof and those pretty arcades. The tower was damaged during the siege of Danzig by King Stephen Báthory 1577. Danzig won the siege, but it marked the beginning of the end of traditional town fortifications which would not hold against modern cannons.
After they lost their function within the town fortifications in the 17th century, the gate and tower served as prison (yes, including a torture chamber), hall of justice - for the cases that didn't require a big public show - and place of execution. Today they host an amber museum.
The Golden Gate (also known als Long Lane Gate) replaced an older one. It was erected in 1612-14 and takes it name from the gilded decorative pillars. At that time, town gates were more than defense features; they also served to showcase the wealth of a town (which could afford to use gold on a gate).
The oldest part of the Main Town Hall (that is the one in the Town of the Law; there is another town hall in the Old Town) dates to the 1330ies. That first building was much smaller. The first expansion took place in 1378-82, and another enlargement was done in the wake of the visit of King Casimir IV Jagiełło in 1457. The 81 metres high tower was added in 1488. In 1556, a fire severely damaged the town hall which was rebuilt by Dutch architects and today shows a number of Renaissance elements.
The Ulica Długa (Long Lane) and Długi Targ (Long Market) together form the main street of the Town of the Law since the 13th century. In the Middle Ages, they were considered a single street, the Longa Platea, connecting the Golden Gate with the Green Gate. As such, the street was part of the Amber Road.
Since the celebrations during the time when King Casimir IV Jagiełło stayed in Danzig in 1457 (after Danzig had joined the Prussian Confederation that offered King Casimir souzerainty in order to better withstand the Teutonic Knights, see history post), the street is also knowns as Droga Królewska, the Royal Road.
Long Lane and Long Market had always been the place where the most important and wealthy citicenzs of Danzing lived, and shows the prettiest and most impressive houses. The Long Market is also framed by the public buildings of the Town Hall and Arthur's Court.
But it was not only a place for fêtes and fireworks, but also for public executions of criminals who were nobles or citizens, including those accused of being witches and heretics. People of lower rank were put to death in the Torture Chamber Gate or on the gallow hill outside the town.
One of the outstanding houses at the Long Market is the Golden House or Speymannhaus, which was built in 1609 for the town major and wealthy merchant Johannes Speymann.
The Artus Court (Artushof) was the name of a meeting place - sort of a club *grin* - for rich merchants and nobles (craftsmen and stall-keepers were not allowed). It took the name from the popular King Arthur, symbol of chivalry. There were Artus Courts in other countries as well. Citizens and visitors of standing would meet there in the evenings, attending performances of musicians and jugglers, dining and gambling (albeit the latter was officially forbidden) and discussing business (though that was officially forbidden as well). Sometimes they held parties lasting several days to entertain foreign visitors of importance. The peak of popularity of the Artus Court was in the 16th and 17th centuries. The building was the seat of the bourse of Danzig since 1742.
The first brick house of the Curia regis Artusi was built in 1380, though the name dates to a charte of 1357, refering probably to a simpler half-timbered house. After a fire, a larger house in the late Gothic style was erected in 1478. The splendid Renaissance facade was added in 1617.
Neptun's Fountain was erected in front of the Artus Court in 1633. The town major Bartholomäus Schachmann had been to Italy and took a liking to Neptune figures, so he wanted to have one in Danzig. The god of the sea would be a fitting symbol for a town that got most of its wealth by sea trade, after all.
The Great Armoury dates to 1600 and is a fine example of the Flemish Renaissance style which was popular in Danzig at that time. The leading architect was Anton van Obberghen who was also involved in the Renaissance makeover of other buildings in Danzig. He hailed from Antwerp and was responsible for the construction of a number of famous buildings in northern Europe, including Castle Kronborg in Helsingør (Hamlet's Elsinore).
The Mariacka Street (Our Lady's Street; German: Frauengasse), named after the St. Mary's Church you can see in the background is a bit less showy compared to the Long Lane, but still one of the oldest in town and was also settled by well-off citizens. The street had been completely destroyed during WW2, but was restored in the 1950ies and 60ies. Due to its genuine Mediaeval look it sometimes serves a set for movies.
A typical feature of the houses in the Mariacka Street are the terraces that lead to the entrances, often decorated with richly wrought iron ornaments. In former times, those terraces could be found in other streets in Danzig as well, but most have been dismantled because the get in the way of modern traffic. On fine days, inhabitants of the houses set up small impromptu shops on the terraces and sell hand made stuff to the tourists.
St.Mary's Church, or more formally, Basilica of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, is on of the largest hall churches in the world and one of the largest brick buildings in northern Europe. It is a triple aisled church with a transept, measuring 105.5 metres (346 foot) in length, a width of 66 metres (217 foot) and a heigth of 26.5 metres. Particularly the vaultings are a piece of fine architecture and art: the main nave and transept are covered by net vaults, the aisles by crystal vaults.
Like in case of many other churches, there had been a Romanesque basilica on the site which proved too small for the increasing number of inhabitants. The construction of the Gothic church started in 1343 and was finished in 1502. But parts of the church had been in use already during the later stages of construction (churches usually were built in parts, not upward from the foundations in one go). A chapel for the King of Poland was added in 1466.
When the Reformation reached Danzing, the church was used for Roman Catholic and Lutheran services simultaneously for some years - quite a unique act of tolerance. Since 1572 to 1945, St.Mary was a Lutheran church - the second largest in the world. After WW2 it became the main Catholic church of Gdańsk again.
This fresco on a house in the Long Lane depicts a scene of merchants from various contries - shown by the different local costumes - discussing trade and ship building. Danzig must once have been alive with scenes like this.
If everything goes according to plan, I might be able to add two more Polish towns to my list in April: Krakow and Wrocław / Breslau.
