Gdańsk
Ninety per cent of the main town was destroyed by 1945, and Poland rebuilt the Dutch-influenced merchant façades from old paintings and photographs. The Second World War began here at Westerplatte on 1 September 1939, and the end of communism in Europe began at the shipyard gate in August 1980 — both within three kilometres of each other.
Why go
A rebuilt Hanseatic port — the main town was reconstructed from paintings and photographs after 1945. Where the Second World War began — Westerplatte, at 4.45 on 1 September 1939. Where communism began to end — the Lenin Shipyard, Solidarity and August 1980. Amber — the Baltic coast has supplied it for four thousand years, and the trade is still here.
The character
Gdańsk was the Hanseatic League's largest Baltic port and, as Danzig, a German-speaking city that was Polish, Prussian and finally a League of Nations free city in the interwar years — a status that made it the flashpoint. The Second World War began here when the Schleswig-Holstein shelled the Polish garrison at Westerplatte on 1 September 1939. By 1945 the main town was ninety per cent destroyed, and Poland rebuilt it from Dutch-influenced merchant façades using old paintings and photographs, a reconstruction as deliberate as Warsaw's.
Then 1980. Shipyard workers led by Lech Wałęsa occupied the Lenin Shipyard, and the agreement they signed in August created Solidarity — the first independent trade union in the Soviet bloc, ten million members within a year, and the beginning of the process that ended communism in Europe. The European Solidarity Centre stands at the shipyard gate. Gdańsk therefore holds both ends of the twentieth century within three kilometres, and does not let visitors forget it.
Places of character
Długi Targ and Neptune's Fountain — the reconstructed main street of merchant houses, at its best early. European Solidarity Centre — at the shipyard gate, in a rusted steel building; the best modern museum in Poland. Museum of the Second World War — comprehensive and much argued about politically; allow three hours. Westerplatte — where the war started, reached by boat down the Motława. St Mary's Church — one of the largest brick churches in the world, holding twenty-five thousand people. Mariacka Street — amber workshops under the stone terraces, and the prettiest street in the city.
The way to do it
Do the two big museums on separate days; both are demanding. Take the boat to Westerplatte rather than the bus. Buy amber on Mariacka from a workshop and not a stall. And go out to Sopot and Gdynia — the Tricity is one urban area and the beach is twenty minutes.
One perfect day
Długi Targ at seven with the façades lit and nobody in them. Breakfast, then the European Solidarity Centre for three hours: the shipyard gate, the twenty-one demands written on plywood, and the whole sequence from 1970 to 1989. Lunch by the water. Afternoon boat down the Motława to Westerplatte, where the war began, and back. Amber on Mariacka. Climb St Mary's tower for the roofs and the cranes. Dinner of Baltic fish, and a walk along the Motława with the crane and the granaries lit.
Grand hotels
Hotel Gdańsk Boutique — in a converted granary on the Motława, facing the old crane. Grand Hotel Sopot — 1927 on the beach twenty minutes north, with the pier alongside.
When to go
Best expression: June to August — the Baltic is swimmable, the light is long and the Tricity is at its best. Consider: the St Dominic's Fair in late July and August, running since 1260. Avoid if possible: November to February, when the Baltic wind makes the old town hard work.
The frame
Ideal stay 3 nights · Minimum 2 nights · Best arrival by air, or the express train from Warsaw · Airport GDN, 12 km · Walkability excellent and flat · Best without a car yes, with the SKM commuter train