Gdansk is a city with a long and very interesting history.
Its beginnings date back to the 10th century – when the first written mention about the city appeared. It was here that the part of the famous ancient Amber Route ended.
Gdansk went through good and bad times in its history – twice had been a Free City, and for a long time was the most important and the wealthiest in the former Polish Kingdom. The town belonged to the Hanseatic League, and was a site of the Eastland Company for some time.
Gdansk – former name Danzig – very much contributed to the history of Poland as well as Europe.
Here the August strikes of 1980 happened, the Solidarity Trade Union was established as a movement, which completely changed the political status of Eastern Europe. It was here that the effect of domino started…
The Berlin Wall would have collapsed anyway – as Europe’s mentality has changed… But it might have taken longer to happen – if not for Gdansk.
I realised the importance of my City – when the Berlin Wall was falling. My boss (I was working then at the Gdansk Television Dept.) asked me to organise accomodation for journalists from Gdansk. Nobody wanted to talk to me in Berlin. It was a day or two before the great ceremony. I said I called from Danzig, where the struggle for freedom started, from the town of Lech Walesa…
And.. I got the accomodation at once!
Come and see the City of Freedom, the City of magnificent history and architecture. It is a perfect start for tours, it has many hotels, and pensions, good restaurants and cafés. And what is most important – it has an international airport 🙂
Tutivillus and others 