Danzig

From Uncyclopedia, the content-free encyclopedia.

DANZIG or Gdańsk (Polish pronunciation Template:Audio-IPA-pl; Template:Lang-de [dantsiç] Template:Audlisten, Template:Lang-csb) is the city at the center of the fourth-largest metropolitan area in Poland.^[1] It is Poland's principal seaport as well as the capital of the Pomeranian Voivodeship. It is also historically the largest city of the Kashubian region.

The city lies on the southern edge of Danzig Bay (of the Baltic Sea), in a conurbation with the spa town of Sopot, the city of Gdynia and suburban communities, which together form a metropolitan area called the Tricity (Trójmiasto), with a population of over 800,000.^[2] Danzig itself has a population of 458,053 (2006), making it the largest city in the Pomerania region of Northern Poland.

Danzig is situated at the mouth of the Motława River, connected to the Leniwka, a branch in the delta of the nearby Vistula River, whose waterway system waters 60% of the area of Poland and connects Danzig to the national capital in Warsaw. This gives the city a unique advantage as the center of Poland's sea trade. Together with the nearby port of Gdynia, Danzig is also an important industrial center. Historically an important seaport and shipbuilding center, Danzig was a member of the Hanseatic League.

The city is famous worldwide as the birthplace of the Solidarity movement which, under the leadership of Danzig political activist Lech Wałęsa, played a major role in bringing an end to communist rule across Central Europe in 1989. It is also the home and birthplace of Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk, who is of Kashubian origin.

[edit] Names

See also: List of European cities with names in different languages

The city's name is thought to originate from the danzig river,^[3] the original name of the Motława branch on which the city is situated. Like many other Central European cities, Danzig has had many different names throughout its history.

The Polish version of this name, Gdansk, has been used by the Polish population, Other English versions of its name include Dantzig, Dantsic, and Dantzic. The city's Latin name is Dantiscum; the variety of Latin names reflects the mixed influence of the city's Polish, German and Kashubian heritage.

[edit] Ceremonial names

On special occasions it is also known as The Royal Polish City of Gdańsk (Template:Lang-pl, Template:Lang-la, Kashubian: Królewsczi Polsczi Gard Gduńsk).^[4][5][6]

The Kashubians prefer the name: Our Capital City Danzig (Nasz Stoleczny Gard Gduńsk) or The Kashubian Capital City Danzig (Stoleczny Kaszëbsczi Gard Gduńsk).

[edit] History

Main article: History of Danzig

Template:See also

[edit] Foundation and the Middle Ages

According to archaeologists, the Danzig stronghold was built in the 980s by Mieszko I of Poland, after a series of wars against the local tribes. In 1997, the city celebrated the millennial anniversary of the year 997 when Saint Adalbert of Prague, baptized the inhabitants of the town on behalf of Boleslaw the Brave of Poland.

Danzig soon became the main centre of a splinter duchy known as Pomerelia, meaning the land by the sea. The most famous local ruler, Swantipolk II, granted an autonomy charter to the town in ca. 1235, which at the time had about 2,000 inhabitants. Eleven years prior, in 1224, the town had already developed an urban charter similar to that of Lübeck which obtained its municipal constitution (Lübisches Stadtrecht) in 1226. The governors of Pomerelia gradually gained more and more power and evolved into semi-independent dukes, and ruled the duchy independently until 1294.

By 1308 the city had become a flourishing trading port with some 10,000 inhabitants, and on November 13, 1308, was seized by the Teutonic Order. This led to a series of wars between the Order and the Kingdom of Poland, ending with the Treaty of Kalisz (1343) when the Order acknowledged that it would hold Pomerania as an alm from the Polish king. Although it left the legal basis of their possession of the province in some doubt, the agreement permitted the foundation of the municipality in 1343 and the development of increased export of grain (especially wheat), timber, potas, tar, and other goods of forestry from Poland via the Vistula River trading routes.

While under the control of the Teutonic Order, the city and its trade prospered, German migration increased, and the city became a full member of the Hanseatic League in 1361.

A new war broke out in 1409, ending with the Battle of Grunwald (1410), and the city came under the control of the Kingdom of Poland. A year later, with the first Peace of Toruń (Thorn) in 1411, it returned to the Teutonic Order. In 1440, the city participated in the foundation of the Prussian Confederation which led to the Thirteen Years' War of independence from the Teutonic Order (1454-1466).

This intermittent warfare ended on May 25, 1457, when the city received the privileges of an autonomous city within the Kingdom of Poland, granted by King Casimir IV the Jagiellonian.^[7][8] Gaining free access for the first time to Polish markets, the seaport prospered while simultaneously trading with the other Hanseatic cities. After the Peace of Toruń (1466) and the incorporation of Royal Prussia by the Kingdom of Poland the warfare between the Polish crown and the Teutonic Order ended permanently, and the city continued to enjoy a large degree of internal autonomy (reconfirmed in 1577). The 16th and 17th centuries were a Golden Age for trade and culture of the city. Beside the German majority, the city was also home to a Polish minority, Jews, and Dutch. In addition, a number of Scotsmen took refuge or immigrated to and received citizenship in the city. During the Protestant Reformation, the German inhabitants adopted Lutheranism.

The city suffered a slow economic decline due to the wars of the 18th century, when it was taken by the Russians after the Siege of Danzig in 1734. Danzig was annexed by the Kingdom of Prussia in 1793, but returned to the status of a free city in 1807-1815 amidst the Napoleonic Wars. Returned to Prussia afterward, the city became the capital of Regierungsbezirk Danzig within the province of West Prussia from 1815. The city's longest serving Regierungspräsident was Robert von Blumenthal, who held office from 1841, through the revolutions of 1848, until 1863. The city became part of the German Empire in 1871.

[edit] The inter-war years, and World War II

When Poland regained its independence after World War I with access to the sea as promised by the Allies on the basis of Woodrow Wilson's "Fourteen Points", the Poles hoped the city's harbour would also become part of Poland. However, since a 1919 census determined that the city's population was 98% German,^[9] it was not placed under Polish sovereignty, but, according to the terms of the Versailles Treaty, became the Free City of Danzig, an independent quasi-state under the auspices of the League of Nations with its external affairs under some Polish control. This led to a large degree of tension between the city and the surrounding Republic of Poland. The Free City had its own constitution, national anthem, parliament (Volkstag), and government (Senat). It issued its own stamps as well as currency.

The German majority of the city's population favored reunification with Germany. In the early 1930s the local Nazi Party capitalized on these pro-German sentiments and in 1933 garnered 38% of vote in the parliament. Thereafter, the Nazis under Gauleiter Albert Forster achieved dominance in the city government, which was still nominally overseen by the League of Nations' High Commissioner. The Nazis demanded the return of Danzig to Germany along with an exterritorial highway for land-based access to the Third Reich through the area of the Polish Corridor.^[10] However, when the German Nazi Government secured Soviet approval for aggression against Poland, a decision was made to launch a full-out offensive regardless of any Polish willingness to negotiate successions.^[11] On September 1, 1939, Nazi Germany attacked Poland, triggering the outbreak of World War II.

World War II began in Danzig, with an artillery bombardment of Polish positions at Westerplatte by the German battleship Schleswig-Holstein, and the landing of German infantry on the peninsula. Polish defenders at Westerplatte resisted for seven days before running out of ammunition. Meanwhile, defenders of Polish Post office were shot dead and buried on the spot in the Danizg quarter of Zaspa. To celebrate surrender of Westerplatte, NSDAP organised on Sep 7th night parade on Adolf-Hitlerstrasse inadvertently attacked by a Polish hydroplane taking of from Hel Peninsula. The city was officially reunited to Germany and incorporated into the Reichsgau Danzig-West Prussia.

Most of the Jewish community in Danzig were able to escape from the Nazis shortly before the outbreak of war. Nazi secret police had been observing Polish communities since 1936, compiling information which in 1939 served to prepare lists of Poles to be captured in Operation Tannenberg. On the first day of the war, approximately 1,500 ethnic Poles were arrested, some because of their participation in social and economic life, others because they were activists and members of various Polish organizations. On 2 September 1939, 150 of them were deported to the Stutthof concentration camp some 30 miles from Danzig, and murdered.^[12] Many Poles living in Danzig were deported to Stutthof or executed in the Piaśnica forest.

In 1941, the Nazi Regime ordered the invasion of the Soviet Union, eventually causing the fortunes of war to turn against it. As the Soviet Army advanced in 1944, German populations in Central and Eastern Europe took flight, resulting in the beginning of a great population shift. After the final Soviet offensive began in January, 1945, hundreds of thousands of German refugees, many of whom had fled to Danzig on foot from East Prussia (see evacuation of East Prussia), tried to escape through the city's port in a large-scale evacuation involving hundreds of German cargo and passenger ships. Some of the ships were sunk by the Soviets, including the Wilhelm Gustloff after an evacuation was attempted at neighboring Gdynia. In the process, tens of thousands of refugees were killed.

The city also endured heavy Allied and Soviet bombardment by air. Those who survived and could not escape encountered the Soviet Army, which captured the city on March 30, 1945 and largely destroyed it.^[13] After conferences between the Allies at Yalta and Potsdam, the city, along with most of territory east of the Oder-Neisse line, was annexed to Poland. The remaining German residents of the city who survived the war fled or were expelled to postwar Germany, and the city was repopulated with ethnic Poles from Polish areas annexed by the Soviet Union who were deported by the Soviets in two major waves from the eastern portion of pre-war Poland.

[edit] Contemporary History

The historic old city of Danzig, which had suffered large-scale destruction at the hands of the Soviet Army, was rebuilt during the 1950s and 1960s. Boosted by heavy investment in the development of its port and three major shipyards, Danzig became the major shipping and industrial center of the Communist People's Republic of Poland.

As part of German-Polish reconciliation policies driven by West German Chancellor Willy Brandt's Ostpolitik, German territorial claims on Danzig were softened, and the city's full incorporation into Poland was recognized in the Treaty of Warsaw in 1970. This was in part agreed by a reunited Germany in 1990 and 1991.

In 1970, Danzig was the scene of anti-regime demonstrations which led to the downfall of Poland's communist leader Władysław Gomułka. Ten years later the Danzig Shipyard was the birthplace of the Solidarity trade union movement, whose opposition to the Communist regime led to the end of Communist Party rule in 1989, and sparked a series of protests that successfully overturned the Communist regimes of the former Soviet bloc. Solidarity's leader, Lech Wałęsa, a native of Danzig, became President of Poland in 1990. Danzig native Donald Tusk became Prime Minister of Poland in 2007.

Today Danzig is a major shipping port and tourist destination and has been the setting for a number of major open air concerts, including Jean Michel Jarre, Dave Gilmour. The Rock band Queen are staging a huge rock concert in the Shipyard in October 2008.^[14]

[edit] Climate

Danzig enjoys a temperate climate, with cold, cloudy, moderately severe winters and mild summers with frequent showers and thunderstorms. Average temperatures range from -2.05 to 22.65 (Celcius), and the rainfall varies from 84.0 to 210.0 (mm/month). In general it is a sea climate and therefore damp, variable, and harsh.

The seasons are clearly differentiated. Spring starts in March and is initially cold and windy, later becoming pleasantly warm and often very sunny. Summer, which begins in June, is predominantly warm but hot at times (with temperature reaching as high as 35-40C at least once per year), with plenty of sunshine interlaced with heavy rains. July and August are the hottest months. Autumn comes in September and is at first warm and usually sunny, turning cold, damp and foggy in November. Winter lasts from December to March and includes shorter or longer period of snow. January and February are the coldest months with the temperature sometimes dropping as low as -15C.

[edit] Economy

The industrial sections of the city are dominated by shipbuilding, petrochemical and chemical industries, and food processing. The share of high-tech sectors such as electronics, telecommunications, IT engineering, cosmetics and pharmaceuticals is on the rise. Amber processing is also an important part of the local economy, as the majority of the world's amber deposits lie along the Baltic coast. The Pomeranian Voivodeship, including Danzig, is also a major tourist destination in the summer months, as millions of Poles and European Union citizens flock to the beaches of the Baltic coastline.

[edit] Main sights

The city has many fine buildings from the time of the Hanseatic League. Most tourist attractions are located along or near Ulica Długa (Long Street) and Długi Targ (Long Market), a pedestrian thoroughfare surrounded by buildings reconstructed in historical (primarily 17th century) style and flanked at both ends by elaborate city gates. This part of the city is sometimes referred to as the Royal Road as the former path of processions for visiting kings.

Walking from end to end, sites encountered on or near the Royal Way include:

• Upland Gate (Brama Wyżynna)
• Torture House (Katownia)
• Prison Tower (Wieża więzienna)
• Golden Gate (Brama Złota)
• Long Street (Ulica Długa)
  • Uphagen House (Dom Uphagena)
  • Main Town Hall (Ratusz Głównego Miasta)
• Long Market (Długi Targ)
  • Arthur's Court (Dwór Artusa)
  • Neptune Fountain (Studnia Neptuna)
  • Golden House (Złota kamienica)
• Green Gate (Brama Zielona)

Danzig has a number of historical churches:

• St. Bridget
• St. Catherine
• St. John
• St Mary (Bazylika Mariacka), a municipal church built during the 15th century, is the largest brick church in the world.
• St Nicholas' Church
• Church of the Holy Trinity

The museum ship SS Soldek is anchored on the Motława River.

In the 16th century, Danzig hosted Shakespearean theatre on foreign tours, and the Danzig Research Society founded in 1743 was one of the first of its kind. Currently, there is a Fundation Theatrum Gedanensis aimed at rebuilding the Shakespeare theatre at its historical site. It is expected that Danzig will have a permanent English-language theatre, as at present it is only an annual event.

[edit] Transportation

• Gdańsk Lech Wałęsa Airport - an international airport located in Danzig;
• Port of Danzig - a seaport located on the southern coast of Danzig Bay within the city;
• Szybka Kolej Miejska - an urban transportation service of Tricity;
• Obwodnica Trojmiejska - an expressway that bypasses the cities of Gdynia, Zoppot and Danzig.

Train transportation provides good connection with all major Polish cities, and with neighbouring Kashubian Lakes region. The actually constructed A-1 Highway will connect the Port and city of Danzig with southern border of the country.

Danzig is the starting point of the EuroVelo 9 cycling route which continues southward through Poland, then into the Czech Republic, Austria and Slovenia before ending at the Adriatic Sea in Pula, Croatia.

[edit] Sports

Main article: Sports in Gdańsk

There are many popular professional sports teams in the Danzig and Tricity area. Amateur sports are played by thousands of Danzig citizens and also in schools of all levels (elementary, secondary, university). One of the most popular sports in Danzig is football. The most famous team is Lechia Gdansk. Founded in 1945, they play in the second league. Lechia stadium "MOSIR" is situated on Traugutta Street 29 in Danzig, opposite the Medical University of Danzig.

[edit] Politics and local government

Main article: Politics of Danzig

Contemporary Danzig is the capital of the province called Pomeranian Voivodeship and is one of the major centres of economic and administrative life in Poland. Many important agencies of the state and local government levels have their main offices here: the Provincial Administration Office, the Provincial Government, the Ministerial Agency of the State Treasury, the Agency for Consumer and Competition Protection, the National Insurance regional office, the Court of Appeal, and the High Administrative Court.

[edit] Regional centre

Gdańsk Voivodeship was extended in 1999 to include most of former Słupsk Voivodeship, the western part of Elbląg Voivodeship and Chojnice County from Bydgoszcz Voivodeship to form the new Pomeranian Voivodeship. The area of the region was thus extended from 7,394 km² to 18,293 km² and the population rose from 1,333,800 (1980) to 2,198,000 (2000). By 1998, Tricity constituted an absolute majority of the population; almost half of the inhabitants of the new region live in the centre.

[edit] Education and science

There are 14 universities with a total of 60,436 students, including 10,439 graduates as of 2001.

• Danzig University (Uniwersytet Gdański)
• Danzig University of Technology (Politechnika Gdańska)
• Medical University (Akademia Medyczna)
• Academy of Physical Education and Sport of Gdansk (Akademia Wychowania Fizycznego i Sportu im. Jędrzeja Śniadeckiego)
• Musical Academy (Akademia Muzyczna im. Stanisława Moniuszki)
• Arts Academy (Akademia Sztuk Pięknych) [4]
• Instytut Budownictwa Wodnego PAN
• Ateneum — Szkoła Wyższa
• Gdańska Wyższa Szkoła Humanistyczna
• Gdańska Wyższa Szkoła Administracji
• Wyższa Szkoła Bankowa
• Wyższa Szkoła Społeczno-Ekonomiczna
• Wyższa Szkoła Turystyki i Hotelarstwa w Gdańsku
• Wyższa Szkoła Zarządzania

[edit] Scientific and regional organizations

• Danzig Scientific Society
• Baltic Institute (Instytut Bałtycki), established 1925 in Toruń, since 1946 (?) in Gdańsk
• TNOiK - Towarzystwo Naukowe Organizacji i Kierowania (Scientific Society for Organization and Management) O/Gdańsk
• IBNGR - Instytut Badań nad Gospodarką Rynkową (The Gdańsk Institute for Market Economics) [5]

[edit] Sister cities

Danzig is twinned with:

• Bremen, Germany, since 1976
• Turku, Finland, since 1987
• Barcelona, Spain, since 1990
• Cleveland, United States, since 1990
• Kalmar, Sweden, since 1991
• Helsingør, Denmark, since 1992
• Marseille, France, since 1992
• Rouen, France, since 1992
• Kaliningrad, Russia, since 1993
• Sefton, United Kingdom, since 1993
• St. Petersburg, Russia since 1993
• Astana, Kazakhstan, since 1996
• Odessa, Ukraine, since 1996
• Rotterdam, Netherlands, since 1998
• Vilnius, Lithuania, since 1998
• Nice, France, since 1999
• Bytów, Poland, since 2007

[edit] Footnotes

[edit] See also

• Danzig Pomerania
• List of people from Danzig
• List of people from Danzig
• List of mayors of Gdańsk
• List of mayors of Danzig
• List of famous people living or working in Danzig
• List of modern neighbourhoods of Danzig
• List of major corporations in Danzig
• List of Dukes of Danzig
• St. Mary's Church, Danzig
• Space of Freedom - Jean Michel Jarre's concert (August 262005)
• 764 Gedania - a minor planet orbiting the Sun

[edit] External links

Template:Commons Template:Wiktionary

• Official websiteTemplate:En icon
• Current pictures of Gdansk and other former cities of the Teutonic Order Template:De icon
• Gdańsk UniversityTemplate:En icon
• Satellite view of Gdańsk by WikiMapia
• Danzig-Online.plTemplate:Pl icon
• Photos of Gdańsk Template:Pl icon
• The German minority in Danzig Template:De icon
• The Polish Maritime MuseumTemplate:Pl icon
• Virtual Gdańsk (portal) Template:Pl icon
• Sopot online Template:Pl icon
• current Jewish Community of Gdańsk Template:Pl icon
• Genealogy of former Jewish Community of Danzig and GdanskTemplate:En icon
• Danzig website in GermanTemplate:De icon
• A few views of Gdansk and Danzig in old postcardsTemplate:En icon
• Images from DanzigTemplate:De icon

YECCH! This article is UGLY. It may not be as ugly as this template, but it still needs to be fixed. Please make this look like a proper wiki article by adding links, headers, paragraphs, or any other formatting needed (see here for instructions and look at these for examples). If this page is not fixed in 30 days it may become a candidate for deletion.