7 - 10 Aug – Gdańsk

If St Petersburg was ‘the jewel in the crown’ of last summer’s cruise, then Gdańsk was this year’s ultimate destination.  It is an extremely interesting and beautiful city – much of it rebuilt following war damage – perhaps not quite as exciting and romantic as St Petersburg, but a great place to visit and a real contrast to Scandinavia.

And it’s really hot and humid here – summer has definitely arrived for us at last!!

It was a glorious sunny day as we motored up the Vistula River, the lengthy entrance channel to the city of Gdańsk.  As we arrived in the old city, we passed the famous medieval wooden port crane, almost dwarfed by a massive racing catamaran moored at the entrance to the harbour …

We got a nice comfortable berth alongside the new pontoon in the recently refurbished harbour, with brand new shower facilities, etc – but on the left hand side of the harbour, there’s the empty shell of a building and it still looks as if the war has only just ended!  We saw this contrast all over the city – much of it is now beautifully restored, but in between are still signs of the devastation.

We enjoyed 4 days in Gdańsk, and the first thing we had to get used to was how crowded and busy it was compared to Sweden and Finland and some of the islands we’ve visited.  The pedestrianised main street, Długi Targ, was constantly bustling, with market stalls, pavement cafés, street performers, stilt-walkers, musicians and so on.  There are lots of tourists here and it’s lively until late at night.

One of the street acts we saw – apparent levitation …

We had just a ten minute walk over this bridge into the city …

Several of the gates to the city are still in existence.  This is the Green Gate through which we entered the city from the marina…

Here are some of the elaborately detailed rooflines that adorn the main thoroughfare through Gdańsk …

Intricate carvings …

… and detailed wall paintings …

… differently-coloured and patterned facades …

… and a beautiful doorway …

The white building in the picture below is Artus Court, which has a history dating back to the 1300s and was a meeting place for rulers and knights in the Middle Ages.  It was the seat of Gdańsk’s merchant guilds and the commercial centre of Gdańsk life in the 15^th century, but was used as a corn exchange from 1742 until 1920. 

The famous Neptune Fountain in front of it dates from the 17^th century.  Local legend has it that Neptune contributed to the recipe for the Gdańsk herbal liqueur, Goldwasser, by striking the water in the fountain with his trident.  The gold coins people had thrown into it were crushed into tiny glittering flakes, which have been added to the drink ever since …

I rather liked this steel tree sculpture in one of the squares we wandered through …

An unusual view of the Great Armoury, an imposing and ornate example of Dutch Mannerist architecture in Gdańsk …

The first evening we managed to catch an organ recital in the massive St Mary’s Basilica.  Apparently it’s the largest church in Europe and can hold up to 25,000 people.

The basilica is huge inside, with 27 soaring white columns up to its impressive crystal vaults.  It’s also very cool, which was a definite ‘plus’ on such a humid evening.  It was just the right venue for a Baroque organ recital with great acoustics.

We enjoyed supper afterwards at a nice little family-run restaurant in one of the back streets, including an unusual – but actually delicious! – dessert of vanilla icecream with olive oil, salt and pepper!

The next day was still hot, but there was a faint breeze, so after a leisurely breakfast in the cockpit we set off to visit the famous medieval wooden crane. 

A nice view looking down the waterfront with the crane in the distance …

Dating from the 14^th century, the crane was badly damaged during World War II, but rebuilt in the late 1950s. 

The building is brick and was also used as a residence and a city gate.  The crane itself is wooden.

It contains 4 large treadmills, which were propelled by labourers walking on the steps within the huge wheels. 

These wheels winched massive hemp ropes to hoist goods up from the river below, and the crane was also used to install masts on sailing ships … 

After that it was time to sample some of Poland’s famous beer – very tasty, especially after the weak stuff you find in Swedish supermarkets – and a fraction of the price – about £1.20 a half-litre in bars.  Everything seems cheap here compared to Sweden and UK, even though we’re paying tourist prices!

We wandered through the town to attend another concert on our second evening, passing these tall buildings, completely covered with rather delicately painted intricate patterns …

This is a modern development which has tried to incorporate some of the style of the old Gdańsk buildings, with turrets and similar roof lines …

… and quite a nice mixture of old and new …

This is the Church of St Petri and St Pawel …

… another church with a very lofty white interior and enormously tall pillars.  The concert was slightly odd because, although they welcomed us in English as well as Polish, there was a 20 minute musical lecture in Polish only between each piece!  When the music did start, it was a very pleasant woodwind trio – a bassoon, and two clarinets – the Gdańskie Trio Stroikowe.  The musicians and lecturer were all given single sunflowers at the end of the concert, rather than bouquets.

We followed the concert with dinner at a traditional Polish restaurant – cabbage leaves stuffed with mincemeat and rice; and a glass of Goldwasser, the clear liqueur with little gold flakes floating in it – very tasty, quite sweet.

We spent Sunday morning at the Maritime Museum following the history of seafaring in Gdańsk since the Bronze Age.  Apparently, the museum was the brainchild of a group of city residents, who founded it before they really had any exhibits, then had to find artefacts to put in it!  They approached local diving clubs to search for items on the sea bed, and have actually found quite a lot!

There were lots of these little amphibious cars buzzing around the harbour …

… and other unusual forms of water transport …

A nice view of the city from the Maritime Museum …

Following lunch of Polish beer and dumplings, we felt fortified for the afternoon and did a self-guided walking tour of the Raduna Canal area, a bit off the beaten track and not so touristy.

The Grand Mill, with its huge gable roof, was erected in 1350 and was the largest industrial structure of medieval Europe.  The site was operated as a flour mill, granary and bakery …

An attractive corner of the Raduna Canal …

The ceiling decoration in this church is picked out in brickwork …

The Old Town Hall was surprisingly interesting with its big dark Dutch carved furniture …

… blue-tiled walls and a knight in armour …

… carved frieze and portrait paintings on the ceilings.

From there we walked down to the Gdańsk Shipyard when Lech Wałęsa started the Solidarity movement in the 1970s, the Soviet bloc’s first independent trade union.  There was an impressive memorial to the three workers who were killed in the first uprising in December 1970.  A huge stainless steel structure, designed by artists and shipworkers together, it was fabricated in the shipyard itself.  The three crosses are 42 metres high and weigh almost 140 tonnes each.

The shipyard gates look much as I remember them from TV footage at the time, but sadly since liberation from Communism the shipyard is no longer economically viable and has closed down.  It did feel quite moving to be there, though, having grown up watching their struggle on the news.

The huge ‘European Solidarity Centre’ has been constructed on the shipyard site and looks, both outside and inside, as if it has been made from rusty steel left over from shipbuilding days. 

Actually, it’s striking and modern and rather attractive inside – rust-coloured steel with black, orange and glass décor and plenty of greenery.  It’s an exhibition and conference centre as well as a symbol of the peaceful victory of the Solidarity movement.

On our final day, I got up relatively early (for me!) and left the boat before 10am for a leisurely mooch through the main part of the old town – I followed a walking tour in the guide book, stopping to look at things at my own pace, much easier when alone!

This is the Golden Gate, built in the early 17^th century, the statues symbolising the ‘virtues’ of peace, freedom, wealth, fame, concord, justice, piety and reason …

Being Monday, there was free entry to some of the museums – both a good and bad thing!  Great to get in free, but more crowds trying to get in!

I particularly wanted to see Uphagen House, which has amazing and beautifully painted interiors, some of which had survived the wartime bombing.  This mixed Rococo and Classicist 18^th century townhouse once belonged to Johann Uphagen, a wealthy merchant and eminent councillor …

The delicate plasterwork of the entrance hall …

The rich colours of the drawing room …

The entrance to the ‘Insect Room’ where the painted panels are decorated with butterflies and insects …

This is one of the originals which survived the war …

The door to the 'Bird Room' …

An original panel in the 'Wildflower Room' …

An 18^th century pianoforte and harp …

The piano’s keys are the ‘other way round’ – the main keys are black instead of white and the sharps and flats are white!

A very fancy mirror …

… and everything is highly decorated in this room …

By contrast, this is the maid’s room!

I also visited the Main Town Hall, with its carved spiral staircase …

This is the Great Council Room dating from the late Renaissance period, also called the Red Room since the 16^th century when the walls were lined with red material.  The ceiling, fireplace and the rest of the walls are completely covered in paintings, plasterwork and gilding.  Rather ugly in a way, I thought, but impressive …

In the vaults under the Town Hall, some of the original wooden water pipes which supplied the city are displayed …

Charles and I met up again at midday and set off on a Spanish galleon (there’s at least one in every Polish seaside resort we visited!) to visit Westerplatte, a narrow peninsula at the entrance to the Vistula River.  It was actually quite a pleasant way to travel, if a bit touristy – not expensive, at least not by UK standards, and we could enjoy a refreshing drink on the way.

Westerplatte is the spot where the first shots of World War II were fired. 

The Westerplatte peninsula had become popular as a holiday resort and spa in the second half of the 19th century, but between the wars a military guard post was established on the peninsula with a few weapons and several reinforced buildings and guardhouses hidden in the forest.  The intention was to be able to withstand any attack for 12 hours to allow time for the Polish Army to arrive.

The sentry post on Westerplatte, manned by just 182 men, was attacked on 1st September 1939, but they mounted a brave defence and held off the far more powerful enemy for 7 days.  One barracks building has been left just as it was after the heavy shelling as a sort of memorial … 

Their heroic stand became symbolic of the Polish opposition.  A massive memorial which dominates the landscape has been raised at the end of the Westerplatte peninsula in honour of those fighters who resisted …

Later we went on Gdansk’s version of the London Eye, here seen from Astraia with a derelict building in the foreground …

We had a brilliant view of the city, as well as a bird’s eye view of the mad bungee-jumpers leaping from the crane – we could hear their screams as well!

So that was Gdańsk – the furthest point of our cruise this year – 19° 30’ of longitude east of Bosham, 745 nautical miles as the crow flies.

Now we really are on the ‘homeward bound’ bit of our journey – starting tomorrow when we are going to Hel!