Gdańsk

{{short description|City in Pomeranian Voivodeship, Poland}} {{redirect2|Gdansk|Danzig|the interwar city state|Free City of Danzig|and|Danzig (disambiguation)|8=Gdansk (disambiguation)}} {{Use dmy dates|date=November 2025}} {{Use British English|date=May 2026}} {{Infobox settlement | name = Gdańsk | type = City county | image_skyline = {{multiple image | total_width = 280 | border = infobox | perrow = 1/2/2/3 | caption_align = center | image1 = Calle Dlugie Pobrzeze, Gdansk, Polonia, 2013-05-20, DD 06.jpg | alt1 = Motława River | caption1 = Motława River and the Gdańsk Crane | image2 = Corte Artus, Gdansk, Polonia, 2013-05-20, DD 03.jpg | alt2 = Artus Court | caption2 = Artus Court | image3 = 7629vik Gdańsk, fontanna Neptuna. Foto Barbara Maliszewska.jpg | alt3 = Neptune's Fountain | caption3 = Neptune's Fountain | image4 = Gran Armería, Gdansk, Polonia, 2013-05-20, DD 08.jpg | alt4 = Mannerist Armoury | caption4 = Mannerist Armoury | image5 = Gdańsk Main Town Hall 2015 001.jpg | alt5 = ''Długi Targ'' (Long Market) and Town Hall | caption5 = Long Lane, City Hall | image6 = Museum WWII 2.jpg | alt6 = World War II Museum | caption6 = Museum of the Second World War | image7 = Gdansk 2023 106.jpg | alt7 = St. Mary's Church | caption7 = St. Mary's Church | image8 = Iglesia de Santa Catalina, Gdansk, Polonia, 2013-05-20, DD 01.jpg | alt8 = Radunia Canal | caption8 = Radunia Canal }} | image_shield = POL Gdańsk COA (grand).svg | shield_alt = Shield of the city of Gdańsk | motto = ''Nec temere, nec timide'' (Neither rashly, nor timidly) | pushpin_map_alt = | pushpin_map = Poland | pushpin_label = Gdańsk | pushpin_label_position = bottom | pushpin_relief = yes | pushpin_map_caption = Location in Poland | coordinates = {{Coord|54|20|51|N|18|38|43|E|region:PL_type:city(750,000)|display=title,inline}} | subdivision_type = Country | subdivision_name = {{POL}} | subdivision_type1 = Voivodeship | subdivision_type2 = County | subdivision_name1 = Pomeranian | subdivision_name2 = ''city county'' | established_title = Established | established_date = 10th century | established_title3 = City rights | established_date3 = 1263 | leader_title = City mayor | leader_name = Aleksandra Dulkiewicz (Ind.) | governing_body = Gdańsk City Council | area_total_km2 = 683 | area_urban_km2 = 414.81 | area_footnotes = <ref>{{cite web|access-date=31 August 2023|date=27 July 2023|title=Największe miasta w Polsce. Warszawa wyprzedzona, jest nowy lider|url=https://tvn24.pl/biznes/z-kraju/gdansk-wyprzedzil-warszawe-najwieksze-miasta-w-polsce-pod-wzgledem-powierzchni-zmiany-w-przepisach-7264170|website=TVN24}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|access-date=31 August 2023|date=20 July 2023|title=Powierzchnia i ludność w przekroju terytorialnym w 2023 roku|url=https://stat.gov.pl/obszary-tematyczne/ludnosc/ludnosc/powierzchnia-i-ludnosc-w-przekroju-terytorialnym-w-2023-roku,7,20.html|website=Główny Urząd Statystyczny}}</ref> | population_total = 487371 (6th) | population_as_of = 2023 | population_footnotes = <ref name="City Population">[https://www.citypopulation.de/en/poland/pomorskie/powiat_gda%C5%84sk/2261011__gda%C5%84sk/ citypopulation.de - Gdańsk]</ref> | population_density_km2 = 1800 | population_urban = 920000 | population_urban_footnotes = {{tsp}}(Tricity)<ref name="MDPI">{{Cite web|url=https://www.mdpi.com/2073-445X/10/8/800?|title=Changes in the Spatial Development of a Satellite Town under the Impact of a Metropolitan City—Evidence from Pruszcz Gdański (Poland)}}</ref> | population_metro = 1100050 | population_metro_footnotes = {{tsp}}(Tricity)<ref name="MDPI"/> | demographics_type2 = GDP | demographics2_footnotes = <ref>{{Cite web|url=https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/met_10r_3gdp/default/table?lang=en|title=Gross domestic product (GDP) at current market prices by metropolitan regions|website=ec.europa.eu}}</ref> | demographics2_title1 = Urban | demographics2_info1 = €20.529 billion (2020) | postal_code_type = Postal code | postal_code = 80-008 to 80–958 | area_code = +48 58 | website = {{URL|https://www.gdansk.pl|gdansk.pl}} | timezone = CET | utc_offset = +01:00 | timezone_DST = CEST | utc_offset_DST = +02:00 | blank_name = Car plates | blank_info = GD, XD <ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.gdansk.pl/wiadomosci/Juz-nie-tylko-GD-ale-tez-XD-Gdansk-z-nowymi-rejestracjami,a,244954|title=XD "wesołe" rejestracje w Gdańsku? Tak, ale nie wcześniej niż za trzy lata|first=Gdańskie Centrum|last=Multimedialne|website=Gdańsk - oficjalny portal miasta}}</ref> | elevation_max_m = 180 | image_flag = POL Gdańsk flag.svg | flag_alt = Flag of the city of Gdańsk | footnotes = {{designation list|embed=yes | designation1 = Historic Monument of Poland | designation1_offname = Gdańsk – city within the 17th-century fortifications | designation1_date = 8 September 1994 | designation1_number = M.P., 1994, vol. 50, No. 415<ref>{{Cite Polish law|title=Zarządzenie Prezydenta Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej z dnia 8 września 1994 r. w sprawie uznania za pomnik historii.|gazette=Monitor|year=1994|volume=50|number=415}}</ref>}} }}

'''Gdańsk'''{{Efn| * Pronunciation: ** English: {{IPAc-en|UK|ɡ|ə|ˈ|d|æ|n|s|k}} {{respell|gə|DANSK}}, {{IPAc-en|US|ɡ|ə|ˈ|d|ɑː|n|s|k}} {{respell|gə|DAHNSK}}<ref>{{cite web |title=the definition of gdansk |url=http://www.dictionary.com/browse/gdansk |website=Dictionary.com}}</ref> ** {{IPA|pl|ˈɡdaj̃sk|audio=LL-Q809 (pol)-Olaf-Gdańsk.wav|lang|small=no}}, {{IPA|pl|ˈɡdaɲsk|label=sometimes|small=no|audio=Pl-Gdańsk.ogg}}}} ({{langx|csb|Gduńsk}};{{Efn|{{IPA|csb|ɡduɲsk|pron|small=no}}<ref name="Stefan Ramułt 1893">Stefan Ramułt, ''Słownik języka pomorskiego, czyli kaszubskiego'', Kraków 1893, Gdańsk 2003, ISBN 83-87408-64-6.</ref>}} {{langx|de|Danzig}}{{Efn|{{IPA|de|ˈdantsɪç|pron|small=no|De-Danzig2.ogg}} {{IPA|de|ˈdantsɪk||De-Danzig3.ogg|label=or|small=no}}}}) is a city on the Baltic coast of northern Poland, and the capital of the Pomeranian Voivodeship.{{TERYT}} With a population of 486,492,<ref name="population">{{cite web |url=https://bdl.stat.gov.pl/BDL/dane/teryt/jednostka |title=Local Data Bank |access-date=18 July 2022 |publisher=Statistics Poland }} Data for territorial unit 2261000.</ref> it is Poland's sixth-largest city and its major seaport.<ref name="lvhmzm">{{cite web |url=http://world-gazetteer.com/wg.php?x=&men=gcis&lng=en&des=gamelan&geo=-173&srt=npan&col=abcdefghinoq&msz=1500&pt=a&va=&srt=pnan |title=Poland – largest cities (per geographical entity) |publisher=World Gazetteer |access-date=5 May 2009}}{{dead link|date=July 2021|bot=medic |fix-attempted=y}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref> Gdańsk lies at the mouth of the Motława River and is situated at the southern edge of Gdańsk Bay, close to the city of Gdynia and the resort town of Sopot; these form a metropolitan area called the Tricity (''Trójmiasto''), with a population of approximately 1.5 million.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://gdansk.stat.gov.pl/vademecum/vademecum_pomorskie/portret_obszaru_metropolitalnego/obszar_metropolitalny_gda%C5%84sk-gdynia-sopot.pdf |title=Obszar Metropolitalny Gdańsk-Gdynia-Sopot |access-date=17 April 2021 |archive-date=17 April 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210417124953/https://gdansk.stat.gov.pl/vademecum/vademecum_pomorskie/portret_obszaru_metropolitalnego/obszar_metropolitalny_gda%C5%84sk-gdynia-sopot.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref>

Gdańsk was first mentioned in 997 as part of the early Polish state, and thereafter grew into a trading town under the Piast and Samboride dynasties.<ref name="Gdańsk na przestrzeni dziejów">{{cite web |url=https://historia.trojmiasto.pl/historia-gdanska.html |title=Gdańsk na przestrzeni dziejów |website=Trójmiasto.pl Historia |publisher=Trójmiasto |access-date=15 December 2021 |archive-date=15 December 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211215162949/https://historia.trojmiasto.pl/historia-gdanska.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="polskatampabay.com">{{cite web |url=http://polskatampabay.com/2018/04/09/gdansk-jedno-z-najstarszych-polskich-miast/ |title=Gdańsk – jedno z najstarszych polskich miast |date=9 April 2018 |website=Polska Tampa Bay |access-date=15 December 2021 |archive-date=15 December 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211215180000/http://polskatampabay.com/2018/04/09/gdansk-jedno-z-najstarszych-polskich-miast/ |url-status=usurped }}</ref> Shifting between Polish and Teutonic control during the Middle Ages, it subsequently joined the Hanseatic League and, with considerable autonomy, served as the Polish Crown's principal seaport and largest city until the early 18th century. With the Partitions of Poland, the city was annexed by Prussia in 1793, and was integrated into the German Empire in 1871. It was a free city from 1807 to 1814 and from 1920 to 1939. On 1 September 1939, it was the site of a military clash at Westerplatte, one of the first events of World War II. The contemporary city was shaped by extensive border changes, the expulsion of German speakers and Polish resettlement after 1945. In the 1980s, Gdańsk was the birthplace of the Solidarity trade union and movement, which helped precipitate the collapse of communism in Europe.

The city is home to the University of Gdańsk, Gdańsk University of Technology, the National Museum, the Gdańsk Shakespeare Theatre, the Museum of the Second World War, the Polish Baltic Philharmonic, the Polish Space Agency and the European Solidarity Centre. Among Gdańsk's most notable historical landmarks are the Town Hall, the Green Gate, Artus Court, Neptune's Fountain, and St. Mary's Church, one of the largest brick churches in the world. The city is served by Gdańsk Lech Wałęsa Airport, the country's third busiest airport and the most important international airport in northern Poland.

Gdańsk is one of the most visited cities in Poland, having received 4.5 million tourists in 2024,<ref>{{Cite web |last=Multimedialne |first=Gdańskie Centrum |title=Raport o stanie Gdańska za 2024 rok przekazany do Rady Miasta |url=https://www.gdansk.pl/wiadomosci/Raport-o-stanie-miasta-za-2024-rok-przekazany-do-Rady-Miasta,a,288503 |access-date=2025-12-30 |website=Gdańsk - oficjalny portal miasta |language=pl}}</ref> especially from Scandinavia and Germany.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Kurek |first=Karolina |title=Te polskie miasto robi furorę wśród Skandynawów. "Bardzo dobrze się tu czują" |url=https://natemat.pl/567776,gdansk-przyciaga-skandynawow |access-date=2026-05-01 |website=NaTemat.pl |language=pl}}</ref> The city hosts St. Dominic's Fair, which dates back to 1260,<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.thefirstnews.com/article/saint-dominics-fair-is-760-years-old-14619 |title=Saint Dominic's Fair is 760 years old! |access-date=5 August 2020 |archive-date=29 September 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200929035944/https://www.thefirstnews.com/article/saint-dominics-fair-is-760-years-old-14619 |url-status=live }}</ref> and is regarded as one of the biggest trade and cultural events in Europe.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.pap.pl/en/news-/news,621550,millions-at-gdansks-st-dominics-fair.html |website=www.pap.pl |title=Millions at Gdansk's St. Dominic's Fair |date=21 August 2016 |access-date=30 December 2016 }}</ref> In a 2019 quality of life poll, Gdańsk ranked highest among Polish cities.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.numbeo.com/quality-of-life/rankings.jsp |title=Quality of Life Index by City 2019 Mid-Year |website=www.numbeo.com |access-date=20 September 2019 |archive-date=12 June 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190612070505/https://www.numbeo.com/quality-of-life/rankings.jsp |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=http://trojmiasto.wyborcza.pl/trojmiasto/7,35612,24341452,gdansk-najlepiej-ocenionym-polskim-miastem-w-miedzynarodowym.html?disableRedirects=true |title=Wyborcza.pl |website=trojmiasto.wyborcza.pl |access-date=20 September 2019 |archive-date=12 March 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200312090719/https://trojmiasto.wyborcza.pl/trojmiasto/7,35612,24341452,gdansk-najlepiej-ocenionym-polskim-miastem-w-miedzynarodowym.html?disableRedirects=true |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=https://en.ug.edu.pl/media/aktualnosci/85193/gdansk_high_quality_life_index |title=Gdańsk high in Quality of Life Index |website=en.ug.edu.pl |access-date=20 September 2019 |archive-date=20 September 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190920145542/https://en.ug.edu.pl/media/aktualnosci/85193/gdansk_high_quality_life_index |url-status=dead}}</ref> Its historic city centre has been listed as one of Poland's national monuments.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.nid.pl/pl/Informacje_ogolne/Zabytki_w_Polsce/Pomniki_historii/Lista_miejsc/ |title=Pomniki historii |date=n.d. |website=nid.pl |publisher=Narodowy Instytut Dziedzictwa |access-date=11 October 2021 |archive-date=11 October 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211011072200/https://www.nid.pl/pl/Informacje_ogolne/Zabytki_w_Polsce/Pomniki_historii/Lista_miejsc/ |url-status=dead}}</ref> In 2025, Gdańsk became a UNESCO City of Literature.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.unesco.org/en/articles/world-cities-day-2025-unesco-creative-cities-network-welcomes-58-new-member-cities |date=30 October 2025 |website=UNESCO |title= On World Cities Day 2025, the UNESCO Creative Cities Network welcomes 58 new member cities|access-date=8 November 2025}}</ref>

== Names == === Etymology === The name of the city was most likely derived from ''Gdania'', a river presently known as Motława on which the city is situated.<ref>{{cite book |last=Breza |first=Edward |date=2002 |title=Nazwiska Pomorzan. Pochodzenie i zmiany |volume=2 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=aEQrAQAAIAAJ&q=gda%C5%84sk%20gdania%20rzeki%20nazwa |location=Gdańsk |publisher=Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Gdańskiego |page=90 |isbn=9788373260573 |oclc=643402493 |access-date=1 November 2021 |archive-date=1 February 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220201032225/https://www.google.com.au/books/edition/Nazwiska_Pomorzan/aEQrAQAAIAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=0&bsq=gda%C5%84sk+gdania+rzeki+nazwa |url-status=live }}</ref> Other linguists also argue that the name stems from the Proto-Slavic adjective/prefix ''gъd-'', which meant 'wet' or 'moist' with the addition of the morpheme ''ń''/''ni'' and the suffix ''-sk''.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://historiagdanska.pl/roznosci/gdansk/ |title=Gdańsk. Skąd wzięła się nazwa miasta |last=Mamok |first=Szymon |date=8 October 2020 |website=Historia Gdańska |access-date=31 October 2021 |archive-date=31 October 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211031164243/https://historiagdanska.pl/roznosci/gdansk/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

=== History === thumb|left|upright=1.5|A manuscript fragment featuring ''gyddanyzc'' The name of the settlement was recorded after St. Adalbert's death in 997 CE as ''urbs Gyddanyzc'' and it was later written as ''Kdanzk'' in 1148, ''Gdanzc'' in 1188, ''Danceke''<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VfEeAAAAMAAJ&q=Zwantepolc |first=Marian |last=Gumowski |title=Handbuch der polnischen Siegelkunde |year=1966 |language=de |access-date=11 February 2016 |archive-date=8 October 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211008134300/https://books.google.com/books?id=VfEeAAAAMAAJ&q=Zwantepolc |url-status=live }}</ref> in 1228, ''Gdańsk'' in 1236,{{efn|Also in 1454, 1468, 1484, and 1590}} ''Danzc'' in 1263, ''Danczk'' in 1311,{{efn|Also in 1399, 1410, and 1414–1438}} ''Danczik'' in 1399,{{efn|Also in 1410, 1414}} ''Danczig'' in 1414, and ''Gdąnsk'' in 1656.<ref>{{cite book |first=Carl |last=Tighe |title=Gdańsk: national identity in the Polish-German borderlands |publisher=Pluto Press |year=1990 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MkBpAAAAMAAJ&q=Gyddanyzc |isbn=9780745303468 |access-date=11 February 2016 |archive-date=8 October 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211008115634/https://books.google.com/books?id=MkBpAAAAMAAJ&q=Gyddanyzc |url-status=live }}</ref>

In Polish documents, the form {{lang|pl|Gdańsk}} was always used. In German-language documents, multiple variants of the name were recorded over time.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Treder |first=Jerzy |date=2007 |title=Historyk o nazwach "Gdańsk" i "Gdania" |journal=Acta Cassubiana |volume=9 |pages=48}}</ref> The cluster "gd" became "d" (''Danzc'' from 1263),{{Sfn|Śliwiński|2006|p=12}} the combination "ns" became "nts" (''Danczk'' from 1311),{{Sfn|Śliwiński|2006|p=12}} and finally an epenthetical "i" broke up the final cluster (''Danczik'' from 1399).{{Sfn|Śliwiński|2006|p=12}}

In Polish, the modern name of the city is pronounced {{IPA|pl|ɡdaj̃sk||LL-Q809 (pol)-Olaf-Gdańsk.wav}}. In English (where the diacritic over the "n" is frequently omitted) the usual pronunciation is {{IPAc-en|ɡ|ə|ˈ|d|æ|n|s|k}} or {{IPAc-en|ɡ|ə|ˈ|d|ɑː|n|s|k}}. The German name, {{lang|de|Danzig}}, is usually pronounced {{IPA|de|ˈdantsɪç||De-Danzig2.ogg}}, or alternatively {{IPA|de|ˈdantsɪk||De-Danzig3.ogg}} in more Southern German-speaking areas. The city's Latin name may be given as either {{lang|la|Gedania}}, {{lang|la|Gedanum}}, or {{lang|la|Dantiscum}}.<ref name="Johann Georg Theodor Grässe 1861, p. 71, 237">Johann Georg Theodor Grässe, ''Orbis latinus oder Verzeichniss der lateinischen Benennungen der bekanntesten Städte etc., Meere, Seen, Berge und Flüsse in allen Theilen der Erde nebst einem deutsch-lateinischen Register derselben''. T. Ein Supplement zu jedem lateinischen und geographischen Wörterbuche. Dresden: G. Schönfeld's Buchhandlung (C. A. Werner), 1861, p. 71, 237.</ref>

===Ceremonial names=== In the Kashubian language, the city is called {{lang|csb|Gduńsk}}.<ref name="Stefan Ramułt 1893"/> On special occasions, the city is also referred to as "The Royal Polish City of Gdańsk" ({{langx|pl|Królewskie Polskie Miasto Gdańsk|links=no}}; {{langx|la|Regia Civitas Polonica Gedanensis|links=no}}; {{langx|csb|Królewsczi Pòlsczi Gard Gduńsk|links=no}}).<ref>Gdańsk, in: Kazimierz Rymut, ''Nazwy Miast Polski'', Ossolineum, Wrocław 1987</ref><ref>Hubert Gurnowicz, ''Gdańsk'', in: ''Nazwy must Pomorza Gdańskiego'', Ossolineum, Wrocław 1978</ref><ref>''Baedeker's Northern Germany'', Karl Baedeker Publishing, Leipzig 1904</ref> Although some Kashubians may also use the name "Our Capital City Gduńsk" ({{lang|csb|Nasz Stoleczny Gard Gduńsk}}) or "Our [regional] Capital City Gduńsk" ({{lang|csb|Stoleczny Kaszëbsczi Gard Gduńsk}}), the cultural and historical connections between the city and the region of Kashubia are debatable and use of such names raises controversy among Kashubians.<ref>{{cite magazine |last=Labuda |first=Aleksander |title=Gduńsk, nasz stoleczny gard |url=http://strona.kaszebsko.nazwa.pl/uploads/symbole/Gdu%C5%84sk,%20nasz%20stoleczny%20gard.pdf |magazine=Zrzesz Kaszëbskô |access-date=10 December 2022 |archive-date=8 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220308190400/http://strona.kaszebsko.nazwa.pl/uploads/symbole/Gdu%C5%84sk,%20nasz%20stoleczny%20gard.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref>

==History== {{Main|History of Gdańsk}}

=== Prehistory ===

The oldest evidence found for the existence of a settlement on the lands of what is now Gdańsk comes from the Bronze Age (which is estimated to be from c. 2500–1700 BC) and the Iron Age (c. 1200–550 BC). Archaeological finds testify to the existence of the Lusatian culture and amber trade along the so-called Amber Road.<ref name="Gdańsk na przestrzeni dziejów"/>

=== Duchy of Poland and Samborid rule ===

The settlement that is now known as Gdańsk began in the 9th century, being mostly an agriculture and fishing-dependent village.<ref name="Gdańsk na przestrzeni dziejów"/><ref name="polskatampabay.com"/> In the beginning of the 10th century, it began its transformation into an important centre for trade (especially between the Pomeranians) until its annexation in {{circa}} 975 by Mieszko I.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.gedanopedia.pl/gdansk/?title=GDA%C5%83SK_%E2%80%93_POCZ%C4%84TKI_MIASTA |title=GDAŃSK – POCZĄTKI MIASTA |date=25 December 2019 |website=Gedanopedia |publisher=Gdańsk Foundation |access-date=15 December 2021 |archive-date=9 June 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200609183651/https://www.gedanopedia.pl/gdansk/?title=GDA%C5%83SK_%E2%80%93_POCZ%C4%84TKI_MIASTA |url-status=dead}}</ref> The first written record thought to refer to Gdańsk is a work describing the life of Saint Adalbert. Written in 999, it describes how in 997, Saint Adalbert of Prague baptised the inhabitants of ''urbs Gyddannyzc'', "situated on the edge of the vast state [Duchy of Poland] and touching the seashore."<ref>{{cite web | title = Żywot pierwszy św. Wojciecha (''Vita prima Sancti Adalberti'') | url = https://www.przewodnikgdanski.pl/2014/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/%C5%9Aw-Wojciecha-%C5%BBywot-Pierwszy.pdf | website = przewodnikgdanski.pl | access-date = 3 September 2025}}</ref> No further written sources exist for the 10th and 11th centuries.<ref name=Loew24>Loew, Peter Oliver: Danzig. Biographie einer Stadt, Munich 2011, p. 24.</ref> Based on the date in Adalbert's ''vita'', the city celebrated its millennial anniversary in 1997.<ref name=Waznyetal>Wazny, Tomasz; Paner, Henryk; Golebiewski, Andrzej; Koscinski, Bogdan: Early medieval Gdańsk/Danzig revisited (EuroDendro 2004), Rendsburg 2004, [http://www.bfafh.de/eurodendro2004/abstracts_inet.pdf pdf-abstract] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130909224137/http://www.bfafh.de/eurodendro2004/abstracts_inet.pdf |date=9 September 2013 }}.</ref>

Archaeological evidence for the origins of the town was retrieved mostly after World War II had laid 90{{nbsp}}percent of the city centre in ruins, enabling excavations.<ref name=LoewWazny>Loew (2011), p. 24; Wazny et al. (2004), [http://www.bfafh.de/eurodendro2004/abstracts_inet.pdf abstract] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130909224137/http://www.bfafh.de/eurodendro2004/abstracts_inet.pdf|date=9 September 2013 }}.</ref> The oldest seventeen settlement levels were dated to between 980 and 1308.<ref name=Waznyetal/> Mieszko I of Poland erected a stronghold on the site in the 980s, thereby connecting the Polish state ruled by the Piast dynasty with the trade routes of the Baltic Sea.<ref name=Hess39>{{cite book |title=Danziger Wohnkultur in der frühen Neuzeit |first=Corina |last=Hess |publisher=LIT Verlag |location=Berlin-Hamburg-Münster |year=2007 |isbn=978-3-8258-8711-7 |page=39}}</ref> Traces of buildings and housing from the 10th century have been found in archaeological excavations of the city.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://archeologia.pl/en/exhibitions/permanent/95-1000-lat-gdanska-w-swietle-wykopalisk |title=1000 LAT GDAŃSKA W ŚWIETLE WYKOPALISK |last=((admin2)) |access-date=18 March 2017 |archive-date=20 February 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170220013801/http://archeologia.pl/en/exhibitions/permanent/95-1000-lat-gdanska-w-swietle-wykopalisk |url-status=live }}</ref>

The site was ruled by the Samborides as part of the Duchy of Pomerelia, a fief of the Duchy of Poland since 1119. According to a 1148 papal bull, Gdańsk was part of the Polish diocese of Włocławek.<ref>{{cite web | title = Gdańsk | url = https://www.britannica.com/place/Gdansk| website = Encyclopedia Britannica | date = 9 May 2025 | access-date = 3 September 2025}}</ref> Beginning approximately in 1180, the city’s increasing involvement in Baltic trade attracted numerous German settlers, the majority of whom came from Lübeck.<ref name=możejko21-22>{{cite book |last1=Śliwiński |first1=Błażej |last2=Możejko |first2=Beata |chapter=The political history of Gdańsk from the town beginnings to the sixteenth century |editor-last=Możejko |editor-first=Beata |title=New Studies in Medieval and Renaissance Poland and Prussia: The Impact of Gdańsk |date=31 March 2017 |publisher=Taylor & Francis |isbn=9781351805445 |pages=21–22}}</ref> Henceforth, the site consisted of a settlement at the modern Long Market, settlements of craftsmen along the Old Ditch, the old Piast stronghold and the newly established German merchant settlements around St Nicholas' Church.<ref name=Hess40>{{cite book |title=Danziger Wohnkultur in der frühen Neuzeit |first=Corina |last=Hess |publisher=LIT Verlag |location=Berlin-Hamburg-Münster |year=2007 |isbn=978-3-8258-8711-7 |page=40}}</ref>

[[File:2022 Gdańsk Románské sklepení.jpg|thumb|Excavated cellars of a 13th-century Dominican monastery in Gdańsk]]

Since 1227, Świętopełk II ruled Pomerelia as an independent duchy and the town subsequently became part of the Duchy of Gdańsk.<ref name=możejko23>{{cite book |last1=Śliwiński |first1=Błażej |last2=Możejko |first2=Beata |chapter=The political history of Gdańsk from the town beginnings to the sixteenth century |editor-last=Możejko |editor-first=Beata |title=New Studies in Medieval and Renaissance Poland and Prussia: The Impact of Gdańsk |date=31 March 2017 |publisher=Taylor & Francis |isbn=9781351805445 |page=23}}</ref> It was at this time that Gdańsk became an important trading town on the lower Vistula.<ref>{{cite book|title=Danzig|first=Peter Oliver|last=Loew|publisher=C.H.Beck|year=2010|isbn=978-3-406-60587-1|page=33}}</ref> Between 1242–1248 and 1252–1254, Świętopełk fought against the Teutonic Order, who were supported by Lübeck.<ref name=możejko24>{{cite book |last1=Śliwiński |first1=Błażej |last2=Możejko |first2=Beata |chapter=The political history of Gdańsk from the town beginnings to the sixteenth century |editor-last=Możejko |editor-first=Beata |title=New Studies in Medieval and Renaissance Poland and Prussia: The Impact of Gdańsk |date=31 March 2017 |publisher=Taylor & Francis |isbn=9781351805445 |page=24}}</ref> These conflicts hindered the transformation of the German colony into an autonomous town at this time.<ref name=możejko24/> Migration of merchants to the town resumed in 1257.<ref name="zbierski">{{cite book |title=Struktura zawodowa, spoleczna i etnicza ludnosci. In Historia Gdanska, Vol. 1 |publisher=Wydawnictwo Morskie |author=Zbierski, Andrzej |year=1978 |pages=228–9 |isbn=978-83-86557-00-4}}</ref> At the latest in 1263, Pomerelian duke Świętopełk II granted city rights under Lübeck law to the emerging market settlement.<ref name="ReferenceA">{{cite book |title=Stadtanlage und Befestigung von Danzig (zur Zeit des Deutschen Ordens) |publisher=GRIN Verlag |author=Harlander, Christa |year=2004 |page=2 |isbn=978-3-638-75010-3}}</ref> It was an autonomy charter similar to that of Lübeck, which was also the primary origin of many settlers.<ref name=Hess40/> In a document of 1271 the Pomerelian duke Mestwin II addressed the Lübeck merchants settled in the city as his loyal citizens from Germany.<ref name="lingenberg">{{cite book |title=Die Anfänge des Klosters Oliva und die Entstehung der deutschen Stadt Danzig: die frühe Geschichte der beiden Gemeinwesen bis 1308/10 |publisher=Klett-Cotta |author=Lingenberg, Heinz |year=1982 |page=292 |isbn=978-3-129-14900-3}}</ref><ref>'The Slippery Memory of Men': The Place of Pomerania in the Medieval Kingdom of Poland by Paul Milliman p. 73, 2013</ref>

As Mestwin II was the last male representative of his dynasty, his death in 1294 precipitated a contest for control of the city and its surrounding region, involving the Polish Piast dynasty, the Přemyslid rulers of Bohemia, the German Margraves of Brandenburg, and the Teutonic Order.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Możejko |first=Beata |title=Gdańsk as a Hanseatic City in the Late Middle Ages. Selected Aspects: Symbolism, Ruling Elites, Maritime Contacts |journal=Studia Historica Gedanensia |volume=13 |year=2022 |pages=41 |doi=10.4467/23916001HG.22.003.17423 |doi-access=free }}</ref> In 1300, the town had an estimated population of 2,000.<ref name=Hess40-41>{{cite book |title=Danziger Wohnkultur in der frühen Neuzeit |first=Corina |last=Hess |publisher=LIT Verlag |location=Berlin-Hamburg-Münster |year=2007 |isbn=978-3-8258-8711-7 |pages=40–41}}</ref> While overall the town was not an important trade centre at that time, it had relevance in regional trade.<ref name=Hess40-41/>

===Teutonic Order=== {{Main|Teutonic takeover of Danzig (Gdańsk)}}

In 1308, following a rebellion instigated against {{ill|Bogusza (Royal magistrate)|lt=Bogusza|pl|Bogusza (sędzia pomorski)}}, the governor of Gdańsk who was appointed by the future king of Poland, Władysław I the Elbow-high,<ref>{{cite book|first=Paul W.|last=Knoll|chapter=Wladyslaw Lokietek and the Restoration of the Regnum Poloniae|title=Medievalia et Humanistica vol. 17|year=1966|pages=51–78, esp. 59, 60}}</ref> the town was taken by Brandenburg.<ref name=możejko26>{{cite book |last1=Śliwiński |first1=Błażej |last2=Możejko |first2=Beata |chapter=The political history of Gdańsk from the town beginnings to the sixteenth century |editor-last=Możejko |editor-first=Beata |title=New Studies in Medieval and Renaissance Poland and Prussia: The Impact of Gdańsk |date=31 March 2017 |publisher=Taylor & Francis |isbn=978-1-351-80544-5 |page=26}}</ref> Polish forces, under siege in the stronghold, sought aid from the Teutonic Knights, who freed them and proceeded to seize the town, which had previously acknowledged Brandenburg's authority.<ref name=możejko26 /> Subsequently, the Teutonic Order massacred not only the Brandenburg forces and the Pomeranian knights who supported them, but also the town's inhabitants.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Śliwiński |first1= Błazej |last2=Możejko |first2=Beata |year=2020 |title=Exile and Return?: Gdańsk in the Aftermath of the Teutonic Order's Actions in Pomerelia during the First Half of the Fourteenth Century |journal=East Central Europe |volume=47 |issue=1 |pages=29–38 |doi= 10.30965/18763308-04701004 |quote=They forced their way into the town, and by the light of blazing buildings set about massacring not only those knights who supported the rule of the margraves and the Brandenburgers themselves, but also Gdansk's burghers […].}}</ref> Błażej Śliwiński (2008) estimates that the overall number of killed was between 50 and 60 Pomeranian and Brandenburg knights, and 1,000 commoners from of the town's population and the adjacent settlements, which he estimates at the time numbered between 2,000 and 3,000 people.<ref>{{cite web |title=Setki padły pod toporem. Co się wydarzyło w Gdańsku listopadowej nocy |url=https://trojmiasto.wyborcza.pl/trojmiasto/7,164874,24757263,setki-padly-pod-toporem.html |website=wyborcza.pl |date=9 July 2019}}</ref> Śliwiński & Możejko (2017) give the estimated number of victims as approximately 1,000.<ref name=możejko27>{{cite book |last1=Śliwiński |first1=Błażej |last2=Możejko |first2=Beata |chapter=The political history of Gdańsk from the town beginnings to the sixteenth century |editor-last=Możejko |editor-first=Beata |title=New Studies in Medieval and Renaissance Poland and Prussia: The Impact of Gdańsk |date=31 March 2017 |publisher=Taylor & Francis |isbn=978-1-351-80544-5 |page=27}}</ref> According to Smoliński (2021), the death toll is estimated to lie between 60 and 150.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Smoliński |first=Marek |year=2021 |title=The Gdańsk Massacre in the Medieval Historical Narrative |journal=Quaestiones Medii Aevi Novae |volume=2021 |pages=91–128 |quote=Admittedly, historiography has completely rejected the number of 10 thousand victims who "perished by the sword" in Gdansk, as cited in the bull of Pope Clement V of July 19, 1309. […] Thanks to analysis of the testimonies of witnesses in the Polish-Teutonic trials in the 14th-15th centuries, the number of deaths is now estimated at between 60 and 150.}}</ref> The events were used by the Polish Crown to condemn the Teutonic Order in a subsequent papal lawsuit.<ref name=Boockmann158>Hartmut Boockmann, ''Ostpreußen und Westpreußen'', Siedler, 2002, p. 158, {{ISBN|3-88680-212-4}}</ref><ref name="Thomas Urban">Thomas Urban: "[http://www.thomas-urban.pl/gdansk.php Rezydencja książąt Pomorskich]". {{in lang|pl}} {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050825225724/http://www.thomas-urban.pl/gdansk.php |date=25 August 2005}}</ref> After the takeover, the Teutonic Knights faced charges that they committed a massacre in a papal bull issued by Clement V.<ref>{{cite book|first=Ulrich|last=Nieß|title=Hochmeister Karl von Trier (1311–1324). Stationen einer Karriere im Deutschen Orden|volume=47|series=Quellen und Studien zur Geschichte des Deutschen Ordens|year=1992|page=74}}</ref>

[[File:2025-04 Gdańsk Brama Żuraw (1).jpg|thumb|left|Gdańsk Crane, the largest medieval port crane, was completed in 1444.]]

The Teutonic Knights incorporated the town into their monastic state and instructed the remaining burghers to depart.<ref name=możejko27 /> In 1308, they founded ''Osiek Hakelwerk'' near the town, initially as a Lechitic fishing settlement.<ref name=Hess41>{{cite book |title=Danziger Wohnkultur in der frühen Neuzeit |first=Corina |last=Hess |publisher=LIT Verlag |location=Berlin-Hamburg-Münster |year=2007 |isbn=978-3-8258-8711-7 |page=41}}</ref> The Order did not rebuild the town until the mid-1320s, when some of its former inhabitants—primarily Lübeckers, who also brought back the pre-1308 town seal—returned, alongside settlers from other German regions.<ref name=możejko27 /> The town saw a rapid rise in population and became almost completely German; it would become primarily known by its German name, {{lang|de|Danzig}}.<ref>{{cite book |last=Loew|first=Peter Oliver |date=2024 |title=Gdańsk: Portrait of a City |url=https://academic.oup.com/book/56315/chapter-abstract/445363687?redirectedFrom=fulltext |publisher=Oxford University Press |pages=24–44 |isbn=978-0-19-760386-4 |access-date=4 October 2024|quote=As the Teutonic Order rebuilt the city following the "Gdańsk Bloodbath", the population increased rapidly and became almost entirely German. This would remain so for over seven centuries, during which the city would be known primarily by its German name of Danzig.}}</ref> In 1340, the Teutonic Order constructed a large fortress, the Gdańsk Castle, which became the seat of the knights' Komtur.<ref name=Hess4142>{{cite book |title=Danziger Wohnkultur in der frühen Neuzeit |first=Corina |last=Hess |publisher=LIT Verlag |location=Berlin-Hamburg-Münster |year=2007 |isbn=978-3-8258-8711-7 |pages=41–42}}</ref> After a series of Polish–Teutonic Wars, King Casimir of Poland recognized the Teutonic Order’s possession of Danzig and Pomerelia in the Treaty of Kalisz (1343),<ref>{{Cite book |last=Knoll |first=Paul W. |chapter=The Last Piasts: Legitimating Royal Rule in Fourteenth Century Poland |editor-last1=Zupka |editor-first1=Dušan |editor-last2=Vercamer |editor-first2=Grischa |title=Rulership in Medieval East Central Europe: Power, Ritual and Legitimacy in Bohemia, Hungary and Poland |publisher=Brill |location=Netherlands |year=2021 |pages=251 |isbn=9789004500112}}</ref> and the Order acknowledged that it would hold Danzig and Pomerelia as a grant from the Polish Crown. By accepting this grant, the Teutonic Order thus recognised the previous rights of Polish monarchs to the seized territories, something which they had previously denied, also this allowed for future claims by the Crown for the territories to be returned.<ref>{{cite web |title=Pokój kaliski |url=http://www.muzhp.pl/kalendarium/1484/pokoj-kaliski-1343-8-8.html |website=muzhp.pl (Museum of Polish History) |access-date=5 October 2025 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150510231413/http://www.muzhp.pl/kalendarium/1484/pokoj-kaliski-1343-8-8.html |archive-date=10 May 2015}}</ref> The city thrived as a result of increased exports of grain (especially wheat), timber, potash, tar, and other goods of forestry from Prussia and Poland via the Vistula River trading routes. The Order's religious networks helped to develop Danzig's literary culture.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Sobecki |first1=Sebastian |title=Europe: A Literary History, 1348–1418, ed. David Wallace |date=2016 |pages=635–641 |url=https://global.oup.com/academic/product/europe-9780198735359?cc=nl&lang=en& |isbn=978-0-19-873535-9 |publisher=Oxford University Press |access-date=2 June 2016 |archive-date=20 December 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161220183041/https://global.oup.com/academic/product/europe-9780198735359?cc=nl&lang=en& |url-status=live}}</ref>

In 1346, Teutonic Order changed the Town Law of the city, which then consisted only of the ''Rechtstadt'', to Kulm law.<ref name=frankot>{{cite book |title='Of Laws of Ships and Shipmen': Medieval Maritime Law and its Practice in Urban Northern Europe |first=Edda |last=Frankot |publisher=Edinburgh University Press |location=Edinburgh |year=2012 |isbn=978-0-7486-4624-1 |page=100}}</ref> In 1358, Danzig joined the Hanseatic League, and became an active member in 1361.<ref name=Hess42>{{cite book |title=Danziger Wohnkultur in der frühen Neuzeit |first=Corina |last=Hess |publisher=LIT Verlag |location=Berlin-Hamburg-Münster |year=2007 |isbn=978-3-8258-8711-7 |page=42}}</ref> It maintained relations with the trade centres Bruges, Novgorod, Lisbon, and Seville.<ref name=Hess42 /> Around 1377, the Old Town was equipped with city rights as well.<ref name=Loew>{{cite book |title=Danzig: Biographie einer Stadt |first=Peter O. |last=Loew |publisher=C.H. Beck |location=München |year=2011 |isbn=978-3-406-60587-1 |page=43}}</ref> In 1380, the ''New Town'' was founded as the third, independent settlement.<ref name=Hess41 /> Urban growth was mainly driven by migration from German-speaking lands.<ref name="możejko28">{{cite book |last1=Śliwiński |first1=Błażej |last2=Możejko |first2=Beata |chapter=The political history of Gdańsk from the town beginnings to the sixteenth century |editor-last=Możejko |editor-first=Beata |title=New Studies in Medieval and Renaissance Poland and Prussia: The Impact of Gdańsk |date=31 March 2017 |publisher=Taylor & Francis |isbn=978-1-351-80544-5 |page=28 |quote= This number grew principally through the influx of newcomers. […] In total 3-3.4 per cent of people came from territories where Slavic languages were spoken (most of them from the Kingdom of Poland), while 96 per cent were from German-speaking areas.}}</ref> A new war broke out in 1409, culminating in 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 Thorn, it returned to the Teutonic Order. In 1440, the city participated in the foundation of the Prussian Confederation, an organisation opposed to the rule of the Teutonic Order.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.mgdansk.pl/ii-pokoj-torunski-i-przylaczenie-gdanska-do-rzeczpospolitej,10.html |title=II Pokój Toruński i przyłączenie Gdańska do Rzeczpospolitej |work=mgdansk.pl |access-date=16 September 2014 |archive-date=19 October 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141019234200/http://www.mgdansk.pl/ii-pokoj-torunski-i-przylaczenie-gdanska-do-rzeczpospolitej,10.html |url-status=live }}</ref> Following a fire in 1442, the Crane Gate, one of the city's present-day landmarks, was constructed in 1444 under the sanction of the Order.<ref>{{cite book |last=Grulkowski |first=Marcin |title=The 1442 Fire of the Crane in the Main Town of Gdańsk: Legal and Financial Issues Connected with Maintaining Fortifications in the Great Prussian City in the Late Middle Ages |editor1=Michaela Antonín Malaníková |editor2=Beata Możejko |editor3=Martin Nodl |series=Pre-modern Towns at the Times of Catastrophes: East-Central Europe in a Comparative Perspective |pages=77–78 |publisher=Taylor & Francis |date=2023}}</ref> In a complaint of 1453, the Prussian Confederation mentioned repeated cases in which the Teutonic Order imprisoned or murdered local patricians and mayors without a court verdict.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Górski|first=Karol|title=Związek Pruski i poddanie się Prus Polsce: zbiór tekstów źródłowych|year=1949|publisher=Instytut Zachodni|location=Poznań|language=pl|pages=16, 18}}</ref>

===Kingdom of Poland=== [[File:AGAD Przywilej w sprawie wprowadzania i zmieniania wilkierzy oraz podatków przez Radę miasta Gdańska.jpg|thumb|right|Original charter of 1455 by King Casimir IV granting Danzig the right to independently levy and abolish taxes]]

In 1454, the Prussian Confederation renounced its obedience to the Grand Master of the Teutonic Order and appealed to King Casimir IV of Poland for the territory’s reintegration into the Kingdom of Poland.<ref>Górski, pp. 51, 56</ref> This led to the Thirteen Years' War between Poland and the State of the Teutonic Order (1454–1466). The local mayor pledged allegiance to the king during the incorporation in March 1454 in Kraków,<ref>Górski, pp. 71–72</ref> and the city again solemnly pledged allegiance to the king in June 1454 in Elbing (Elbląg), recognizing the prior Teutonic annexation and rule as unlawful.<ref>Górski, pp. 79–80</ref> The incorporation considerably strengthened Danzig’s position, as the king granted the city extensive privileges on 16 June 1454.<ref>{{cite book | last=Loew | first=Peter Oliver | title=Gdańsk: Portrait of a City | publisher=Oxford University Press | location=New York | year=2024 | isbn=9780197603864 | page=47}}</ref> In 1455, the king conferred additional rights on the city, including the right to enact its own laws and to impose taxes.<ref>{{cite book |last=Możejko |first=Beata |editor=Roman Zaoral |title=Money and Finance in Central Europe During the Later Middle Ages |chapter=Financial Obligations of the City of Gdańsk to King Casimir IV Jagiellon and His Successors in the Light of the 1468–1516 Ledger Book |publisher=Palgrave Macmillan |location=United Kingdom |year=2016 |page=181}}</ref>

On 15 May 1457, King Casimir IV granted the town the {{ill|Great Privilege (Gdańsk)|lt=Great Privilege|pl|Przywileje dla Gdańska}}, after he had been invited by the town's council and had already stayed in town for five weeks.<ref name=Hess45>{{cite book |title=Danziger Wohnkultur in der frühen Neuzeit |first=Corina |last=Hess |publisher=LIT Verlag |location=Berlin-Hamburg-Münster |year=2007 |isbn=978-3-8258-8711-7 |page=45}}</ref> With the Great Privilege, the town was granted full autonomy and protection by the king of Poland.<ref name=Hess45A>{{cite book |title=Danziger Wohnkultur in der frühen Neuzeit |first=Corina |last=Hess |publisher=LIT Verlag |location=Berlin-Hamburg-Münster |year=2007 |isbn=978-3-8258-8711-7 |page=45}}: "Geben wir und verlehen unnsir Stadt Danczk das sie zcu ewigen geczeiten nymands for eynem herrn halden noc gehorsam zcu weszen seyn sullen in weltlichen sachen."</ref> The privilege removed tariffs and taxes on trade within Poland, Lithuania, and Ruthenia (present day Belarus and Ukraine), and conferred on the town independent jurisdiction, legislation and administration of its territory, as well as the right to mint its own coin, the Danzig thaler.<ref name=Hess45/> Furthermore, the privilege united the Old Town and Main Town and legalised the demolition of New Town, which had sided with the Teutonic Order.<ref name=Hess45/> By 1457, New Town was demolished completely and no buildings remained.<ref name=Hess41/> [[File:View of Gdańsk win 1575.PNG|thumb|Danzig in the 16th century, published by Georg Braun and Frans Hogenberg]] Gaining free and privileged access to Polish markets, the seaport prospered while simultaneously trading with the other Hanseatic cities. After the Second Peace of Thorn (1466) between Poland and the Teutonic Order, the warfare ended permanently. The Order recognised Danzig’s incorporation into the Kingdom of Poland and the city became part of the autonomous province of Royal Prussia (which in 1569 became part of the larger Greater Poland Province). The city was visited by Nicolaus Copernicus in 1504 and 1526, and ''Narratio Prima'', the first printed abstract of his heliocentric theory, was published there in 1540.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://szlakkopernikowski.pl/pl/gdansk|title=Gdańsk|website=Szlak Kopernikowski|access-date=11 January 2024|language=pl}}</ref> During the Protestant Reformation, most German-speaking inhabitants adopted Lutheranism.<ref name=Tighe56>{{cite book |last=Tighe |first=Carl |title=Gdansk: National Identity in the Polish-German Borderlands |publisher=Pluto Press |location=United Kingdom |year=1990 |isbn=9780745304748 |pages=56}}</ref> Following the Reformation, High German soon prevailed in Danzig, where Low German had long served as the administrative language owing to the city’s Hanseatic ties.<ref name=kohlschmidt2001>{{cite book |editor-last=Kohlschmidt |editor-first=Werner |editor2-last=Mohr |editor2-first=Wolfgang |editor2-link=Wolfgang Mohr |title=Reallexikon der deutschen Literaturgeschichte: Band 2: l–o |publisher=De Gruyter |location=Berlin; New York |year=2001 |page=517 |language=German |doi=10.1515/9783110879568 |isbn=978-3-11-017252-2 }}</ref> In 1566, High German also replaced Low German as the language of the courts.<ref name=kohlschmidt2001/> After the Union of Lublin between Poland and Lithuania in 1569, the city continued to enjoy a large degree of internal autonomy (cf. Danzig law).<ref>{{cite web |last=Grulkowski |first=Marcin |title=WILKIERZE |url=https://gdansk.gedanopedia.pl/gdansk/?title=WILKIERZE |website=gdansk.gedanopedia.pl |access-date=18 August 2025}}</ref> Being the largest and one of the most influential cities of Poland, it enjoyed voting rights during the royal election period in Poland.<ref>{{cite web |last=Kaczor |first=Dariusz |title=WOJNA GDAŃSKA Z KRÓLEM POLSKIM STEFANEM BATORYM |url=https://gdansk.gedanopedia.pl/gdansk/?title=WOJNA_GDA%C5%83SKA_Z_KR%C3%93LEM_POLSKIM_STEFANEM_BATORYM |website=gdansk.gedanopedia.pl |access-date=18 August 2025}}</ref>

[[File:Allegory of Gdańsk trade.jpg|thumb|left|upright|''Apotheosis of Gdańsk'' by Isaak van den Blocke. The Vistula-borne trade of goods in Poland was the main source of prosperity during the city's Golden Age.]]

In the 1560s and 1570s, a large Mennonite community started growing in the city, gaining significant popularity.<ref>{{cite book |last=de Graaf |first=Tjeerd |date=2004 |title= The Status of an Ethnic Minority in Eurasia: The Mennonites and Their Relation with the Netherlands, Germany and Russia}}</ref> In the 1575 election to the Polish throne, Danzig supported Maximilian II in his struggle against Stephen Báthory. It was the latter who eventually became monarch, but the city, encouraged by the secret support of Denmark and Emperor Maximilian, shut its gates against Stephen. After the Siege of Danzig, lasting six months, the city's army of 5,000 mercenaries was utterly defeated in a field battle on 16 December 1577. However, since Stephen's armies were unable to take the city by force, a compromise was reached: Stephen Báthory confirmed the city's special status and its Danzig law privileges granted by earlier Polish kings. The city recognised him as ruler of Poland and paid the large sum of 200,000 guldens in gold as an apology.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://historykon.pl/bitwa-pod-lubieszowem-w-swietle-wybranych-zrodel-pisanych/ |title=Bitwa pod Lubieszowem w świetle wybranych źródeł pisanych |last=Włusek |first=Andrzej |date=23 May 2017 |website=HistoryKon}}</ref>

During the Polish–Swedish War of 1626–1629, in 1627, the naval Battle of Oliwa was fought near the city, and it is one of the greatest victories in the history of the Polish Navy. During the Swedish invasion of Poland of 1655–1660, commonly known as the Deluge, the city was unsuccessfully besieged by Sweden. In 1660, the war was ended with the Treaty of Oliwa, signed in the present-day district of Oliwa.<ref>{{cite book |title=Wojny na Bałtyku X - XIX wiek |last=Kosiarz |first=Edmund |publisher=Wydawnictwo Morskie |location=Gdańsk |year=1978}}</ref> In 1677, a Polish-Swedish alliance was signed in the city.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Jonasson|first=Gustav|year=1980|title=Polska i Szwecja za czasów Jana III Sobieskiego|journal=Śląski Kwartalnik Historyczny Sobótka|publisher=Zakład Narodowy im. Ossolińskich, Wydawnictwo Polskiej Akademii Nauk|location=Wrocław|language=pl|volume=XXXV|issue=2|page=240|issn=0037-7511}}</ref> Around 1640, Johannes Hevelius established his astronomical observatory in the Old Town. King John III Sobieski regularly visited Hevelius.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://culture.pl/pl/tworca/jan-heweliusz |title=Jan Heweliusz - życie i twórczość |website=Culture.pl |publisher=Ministry of Culture and National Heritage |access-date=10 December 2022}}</ref>

Beside a majority of German-speakers,<ref name=Zamoyski>{{cite book |last=Zamoyski |first=Adam |year=2015 |title=Poland. A History |publisher=William Collins |isbn=978-0007556212 |pages=26, 92}}</ref> whose elites sometimes distinguished their German dialect as Pomerelian,<ref>Bömelburg, Hans-Jürgen, ''Zwischen polnischer Ständegesellschaft und preußischem Obrigkeitsstaat: vom Königlichen Preußen zu Westpreußen (1756–1806)'', München: Oldenbourg, 1995, (Schriften des Bundesinstituts für Ostdeutsche Kultur und Geschichte (Oldenburg); 5), zugl.: Mainz, Johannes Gutenberg-Univ., Diss., 1993, p. 549</ref> the city was home to a Polish minority.<ref name=Tighe60-62>{{cite book |last=Tighe |first=Carl |title=Gdansk: National Identity in the Polish-German Borderlands |publisher=Pluto Press |location=United Kingdom |year=1990 |isbn=9780745304748 |pages=60–62}}</ref> In 1632, the ''Gdańsk Bible'' was first published, which was a Polish language translation of holy scriptures that became the Bible of all Evangelical Poles.<ref name="Szeruda">{{in lang|pl}} ks. prof. dr Jan Szeruda [http://www.luteranie.pl/www/biblioteka/dteologia/z-probl-reform/biblia-gdanska.htm Geneza i charakter Biblii Gdańskiej] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120318060009/http://www.luteranie.pl/www/biblioteka/dteologia/z-probl-reform/biblia-gdanska.htm |date=18 March 2012 }}</ref> Polish influence increased slightly with Danzig’s integration into Poland, but the city retained a pronounced German linguistic and cultural character, a circumstance attributable above all to the ongoing influx of predominantly Protestant settlers, primarily of Dutch, Scottish and German origin, who assimilated into the local German culture.<ref name=Tighe60-62/> The Scots took refuge or migrated to and received citizenship in the city, with first Scots arriving in 1380,<ref>{{cite book|last=Wijaczka|first=Jacek|editor-last1=Kopczyński|editor-first1=Michał|editor-last2=Tygielski|editor-first2=Wojciech|year=2010|title=Pod wspólnym niebem. Narody dawnej Rzeczypospolitej|language=pl|location=Warszawa|publisher=Muzeum Historii Polski, Bellona|chapter=Szkoci|page=201|isbn=978-83-11-11724-2}}</ref> and a French Huguenot commune was founded in 1686.<ref>{{cite book|last=Muret|first=Eduard|title=Geschichte der Französischen Kolonie in Brandenburg-Preußen, unter besonderer Berücksichtigung der Berliner Gemeinde. Aus Veranlassung der Zweihundertjährigen Jubelfeier am 29. Oktober 1885|year=1885|location=Berlin |publisher=H. Scherer |page=211}}</ref> Due to the special status of the city and significance within the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, the city inhabitants largely became bi-cultural sharing both German and Polish culture and were strongly attached to the traditions of the Commonwealth.<ref name=Chwalba>Historia Polski 1795–1815 Andrzej Chwalba Kraków 2000, p. 441</ref>

[[File:National Museum in Poznan - painting 3.JPG|thumb|right|An allegorical portrayal of wealth from 1604. The foreground features affluent citizens and the background presents the hyperbolized city with its landmarks, notably the Torture Tower and the Main City Hall.]]

The city suffered a last great plague and a slow economic decline due to the wars of the 18th century. After peace was restored in 1721, Danzig experienced steady economic recovery. As a stronghold of Stanisław Leszczyński's supporters during the War of the Polish Succession, it was taken by the Russians after the Siege of Danzig in 1734. In the 1740s and 1750s Danzig was restored and the Danzig port was again the most significant grain exporting port in the Baltic region.<ref>{{Cite book|title= The Rise of Prussia 1700-1830 | author1=Philip G. Dwyer |publisher= Taylor & Francis |year=2014 |isbn=9781317887034 | pages=134}}</ref> The Danzig Research Society, which became defunct in 1936, was founded in 1743.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://staff-www.uni-marburg.de/~gornig/danzig/geschichte.htm |title=Geschichte der Danziger Naturforschenden Gesellschaft |last=Letkemann |first=Peter |date=2000 |website=uni-marburg.de |publisher=University of Marburg |access-date=10 December 2022 |archive-date=31 January 2005 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050131091324/http://staff-www.uni-marburg.de/~gornig/danzig/geschichte.htm |url-status=dead}}</ref>

In 1772, the First Partition of Poland took place and Prussia annexed almost all of the former Royal Prussia, which became the Province of West Prussia. However, Danzig remained a part of Poland as an exclave separated from the rest of the country. The Prussian king cut off the city with a military controlled barrier, also blocking shipping links to foreign ports, on the pretence that a cattle plague may otherwise break out.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Zaczek |first1=Adam |date=1959 |title=Gdańsk w walce z agresją pruską 1772-1793 |journal=Gdańskie zeszyty humanistyczne |volume=II |issue=1–2 |publisher=University of Gdańsk}}</ref> Danzig declined in its economic significance and lost commercial shares to Elbing, which had come under Prussian control in 1772.<ref name=loew141-142>{{Cite book |last=Loew |first=Peter Oliver |title=Danzig: Biographie einer Stadt |publisher=Beck |year=2011 |location=München |isbn=9783406605871 |pages=141–142 |language=German}}</ref> However, by the end of the 18th century, Danzig was still one of the most economically integrated cities in Poland. It was well-connected and traded actively with German cities, while other Polish cities became less well-integrated towards the end of the century, mostly due to greater risks for long-distance trade, given the number of violent conflicts along the trade routes.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Baten |first1=Jörg |last2=Wallusch |first2=Jacek |date=2005 |title=Market Integration and Disintegration of Poland and Germany in the 18th Century |journal=Economies et Sociétés}}</ref>

===Kingdom of Prussia, Napoleonic Free City and Germany=== Danzig was annexed by the Kingdom of Prussia in 1793 in the Second Partition of Poland.<ref name="lonelyplanet.com">{{cite web |url=http://www.lonelyplanet.com/poland/pomerania/gdansk/history |title=History of Gdańsk – Lonely Planet Travel Information |first=Lonely |last=Planet |work=lonelyplanet.com |access-date=29 July 2016 |archive-date=21 August 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160821171335/http://www.lonelyplanet.com/poland/pomerania/gdansk/history |url-status=live }}</ref> The population largely opposed the Prussian annexation and wanted the city to remain part of the Kingdom of Poland.<ref>Górski, p. XVI</ref> The mayor of the city stepped down from his office due to the annexation.<ref>Andrzej Januszajtis, ''Karol Fryderyk von Conradi'', "Nasz Gdańsk", 11 (196)/2017, p. 3 (in Polish)</ref> The notable city councilor Johann Uphagen also resigned as a sign of protest against the annexation.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.gait.pl/patron-cpt/jan-uphagen/ |title=Jan Uphagen |website=Gdańskie Autobusy i Tramwaje |access-date=1 April 2020 |language=pl |archive-date=19 February 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190219130048/https://www.gait.pl/patron-cpt/jan-uphagen/ |url-status=dead}}</ref> [[File:1 grosz 1809 WMG srebro.jpg|thumb|Independent currency (groschen coins) minted in the Free City of Danzig after Napoleon's entry in the aftermath of the Franco-Polish 1807 siege.]] Danzig’s integration into the Prussian kingdom soon fostered its economic revival. The city regained its significance as a Baltic port, though trade patterns shifted increasingly towards the British market.<ref name=loew148>{{Cite book |last=Loew |first=Peter Oliver |title=Danzig: Biographie einer Stadt |publisher=Beck |year=2011 |location=München |isbn=9783406605871 |page=148 |language=German}}</ref> It also benefited from its integration into the Prussian customs territory, which had been expanded considerably since the Second Partition of Poland,<ref name=loew148/> and new postal links to Berlin, Königsberg, and Warsaw, which facilitated communication.<ref name=loew149>{{Cite book |last=Loew |first=Peter Oliver |title=Danzig: Biographie einer Stadt |publisher=Beck |year=2011 |location=München |isbn=9783406605871 |page=149 |language=German}}</ref>

During the Napoleonic Wars in 1807, the city was besieged and captured by a coalition of French, Polish, Italian, Saxon, and Baden forces. It then became the Free City of Danzig, a client state of the French Empire, which it remained until 1814, when it was captured by combined Prussian-Russian forces.<ref>{{cite web |last=Hajduk |first=Bolesław |title=WOLNE MIASTO GDAŃSK, 1807–1815 |url= https://gdansk.gedanopedia.pl/gdansk/?title=WOLNE_MIASTO_GDA%C5%83SK,_1807%E2%80%931815 |website=gdansk.gedanopedia.pl |access-date=18 August 2025}}</ref> In 1815, after France's defeat in the Napoleonic Wars, the city was restored to Prussia and became the capital of {{lang|de|Regierungsbezirk Danzig}} within the province of West Prussia.

Beginning in the 1820s, the Wisłoujście Fortress served as a prison, mainly for Polish political prisoners, including resistance members, protesters, insurgents of the November and January uprisings and refugees from the Russian Partition of Poland fleeing conscription into the Russian Army,<ref>{{cite journal |last=Kubus| first=Radosław| year=2019|title=Ucieczki z twierdzy Wisłoujście w I połowie XIX wieku|journal=Vade Nobiscum|location=Łódź| publisher=Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Łódzkiego|language=pl| volume=XX|pages=154–155}}</ref> and insurgents of the November Uprising were also imprisoned in Biskupia Górka (''Bischofsberg'').<ref>{{cite book|last=Kasparek|first=Norbert|editor-last=Katafiasz|editor-first=Tomasz| year=2014|title=Na tułaczym szlaku... Powstańcy Listopadowi na Pomorzu| language=pl| location=Koszalin|publisher=Muzeum w Koszalinie, Archiwum Państwowe w Koszalinie|page=177| chapter=Żołnierze polscy w Prusach po upadku powstania listopadowego. Powroty do kraju i wyjazdy na emigrację}}</ref> From May to June 1832 and in November 1833, more than 1,000 Polish insurgents departed partitioned Poland through the city's port, boarding ships bound for France, the United Kingdom and the United States (see ''Great Emigration'').<ref>Kasparek, pp. 175–176, 178–179</ref><ref>{{cite magazine|date=6 July 1832| title=Rozmaite wiadomości| magazine=Gazeta Wielkiego Xięstwa Poznańskiego|location=Poznań| language=pl|issue=155|page=852}}</ref> The population in 1843 was 62,000 inhabitants.<ref>{{cite book |title=The National Cyclopaedia od Useful Knowledge |date=1848 |publisher=Charles Knight |location=London |page=237, Vol V |edition=First}}</ref> [[File:Flottwell Długa Street in Gdańsk.jpg|thumb|An early photograph of {{lang|de|Langgasse}}, present-day Długa Street, 1855]] The city's longest serving mayor was Robert von Blumenthal, who held office from 1841, through the revolutions of 1848, until 1863. In the second half of the 19th century, Danzig experienced railway construction, port expansion, and the growth of industries such as shipbuilding, timber processing, and food production.<ref name=loew163-165>{{Cite book |last=Loew |first=Peter Oliver |title=Danzig: Biographie einer Stadt |publisher=Beck |year=2011 |location=München |isbn=9783406605871 |pages=163–165 |language=German}}</ref> Nevertheless, its industrial development lagged behind that of other major Prussian cities.<ref name=loew163-165/> In 1871, Danzig became the first city in Continental Europe to establish a sewer system with wastewater treatment, resulting in a significant improvement in public health.<ref name=loew167>{{Cite book |last=Loew |first=Peter Oliver |title=Danzig: Biographie einer Stadt |publisher=Beck |year=2011 |location=München |isbn=9783406605871 |page=167 |language=German}}</ref>

With the unification of Germany under Prussian hegemony in 1871, the city became part of the German Empire and remained so until 1919, after Germany's defeat in World War I.<ref name="lonelyplanet.com"/> Starting from the 1850s, long-established Danzig families often felt marginalized by the new town elite originating from mainland Germany. This situation caused the Polish to allege that the Danzig people were oppressed by German rule and for this reason allegedly failed to articulate their natural desire for strong ties with Poland.<ref>{{cite journal|journal=Germanoslavica Zeitschrift für germano-slawische Studien|publisher=Verlag Georg Olms|volume =28|issue=1–2|year=207|place=Hildesheim|first=Peter Oliver|last=Loew|title=Danzig oder das verlorene Paradies. Vom Herausgeben und vom Hineinerzählen|pages=109–122}}</ref>{{clarify|date=May 2026}}

===Free City of Danzig and World War II=== {{main|Free City of Danzig}}

thumb|left|An aerial view of the historic city centre around 1920 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.<ref name="Amtliche">{{cite book |date=1920 |title=Amtliche Urkunden zur Konvention zwischen Danzig und Polen vom 15. November 1920 : zusammegestellt und mit Begleitbericht versehen von der nach Paris entsandten Delegation der Freien Stadt Danzig |url=https://kpbc.umk.pl/dlibra/publication/221530/edition/235125/content |publication-place=Danzig |publisher=Biblioteka Uniwersytecka w Toruniu}}</ref> However, in the end – since Germans formed a majority in the city, with Poles being a minority<ref>{{cite book |title=Ergebnisse der Volks- und Berufszählung vom 1. November 1923 in der Freien Stadt Danzig |publisher=Verlag des Statistischen Landesamtes der Freien Stadt Danzig |year=1926 |language=de}}</ref> – the city was not placed under Polish sovereignty.

Instead, in accordance with the terms of the Treaty of Versailles, it became the Free City of Danzig, an independent state under the auspices of the League of Nations with its external affairs largely under Polish control.<ref name="auto">{{cite book|last=Wardzyńska|first=Maria|year=2009|title=Był rok 1939. Operacja niemieckiej policji bezpieczeństwa w Polsce. Intelligenzaktion|language=pl|location=Warszawa|publisher=IPN|page=37}}</ref> Poland's rights also included free use of the harbour, a Polish post office, a Polish garrison in Westerplatte district, and a customs union with Poland.<ref name="auto"/> The Free City had its own constitution, national anthem, parliament, and government. It issued its own stamps and currency, the latter being called the Danzig gulden.<ref name="Amtliche" />

With the growth of Nazism among Germans, anti-Polish sentiment became far more common among local Germans; public Polish-language schools were heavily restricted,<ref name="auto"/> causing its Polish inhabitants to found their own private schools.<ref name=mw40>Wardzyńska, p. 40</ref> In the 1930s, the local branch of the Nazi Party under Albert Forster, a Schutzstaffel member, capitalized on the sentiments of the city's German population to win the next elections to the city's legislature, triggering a wave of repression.<ref name=mw40/> The Danzig city government implemented various discriminatory policies against Poles, including expelling Polish students from the technical university,<ref name=mw41>Wardzyńska, p. 41</ref> forcibly Germanizing dozens of Polish surnames,<ref name=mw41/> removing landmarks that reminded of Polish rule such as the Artus Court<ref>{{cite book|last=Jakrzewska-Śnieżko|first=Zofia|title=Dwór Artusa w Gdańsku|year=1972|publisher=Państwowe Wydawnictwo Naukowe|language=pl|page=19}}</ref> and Neptune's Fountain from the heritage list, prohibiting employment of Poles by German companies, and banning the use of Polish in public places.<ref name=mw42>Wardzyńska, p. 42</ref> [[File:Danzigers cheer for Adolf Hitler.jpg|thumb|Crowds greet Adolf Hitler as he rides in an open car in Danzig in September 1939.]] Attacks and discrimination also came from the citizens of Danzig themselves, who often attacked Polish schools and the youth that attended them<ref name=mw40/> and were disallowed from entering various businesses owned by Germans.<ref name=mw42/> Polish railwaymen were also subjects of beatings.<ref>Wardzyńska, pp. 39-40, 85</ref> Many ethnic Poles were tracked by the Gestapo and, in Operation Tannenberg, arrested and moved to camps such as Stutthof<ref>[http://www.kki.net.pl/~museum/museums.htm Museums Stutthof in Sztutowo] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050824163259/http://www.kki.net.pl/~museum/museums.htm |date=24 August 2005 }}. Retrieved 31 January 2007.</ref> or executed in the Piaśnica forest.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.kki.net.pl/~museum/museums.htm |title=Museums Stutthof |access-date=16 January 2006 |archive-date=24 August 2005 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050824163259/http://www.kki.net.pl/~museum/museums.htm |url-status=dead }}</ref>

Nazi Germany officially demanded the return of Danzig to Germany along with a German-controlled highway through the area of the Polish Corridor, pursuing a far more aggressive policy in this matter than it had regarding the Sudetenland with Czechoslovakia in 1938.<ref>{{cite book |last=Hoffmann |first=Peter |date=1996 |title=History of the German Resistance, 1933-1945 |publisher=McGill-Queen's University Press |page=37 |isbn=978-0773515314}} {{cite book |last=Fest |first=Joachim |date=2002 |title=Hitler |publisher=Mariner Books |page=586 |isbn=978-0156027540}} {{cite book |last=Hargreaves |first=Richard |date=2010 |title=Blitzkrieg Unleashed: The German Invasion of Poland, 1939 |publisher=Stackpole Books |page=84 |isbn=978-0811707244}} {{cite book |last=Kirchen |first=Martin |date=1975 |title=A Military History of Germany: From the Eighteenth Century to the Present Day |publisher=University of Indiana |page=305 |isbn=978-0253338389}}</ref> With Poland's refusal, German–Polish relations deteriorated, ultimately concluding with the beginning of the invasion of Poland on 1 September 1939.<ref name="Reduta">{{cite book |last=Drzycimski |first=Andrzej |date=2014 |title=Reduta Westerplatte |publisher=Oficyna Gdańska |isbn=978-8364180187}}</ref> Some of the earliest combat of World War II occurred in Danzig. At 04:45 a.m. on 1 September, the Battle of Westerplatte began with the {{SMS|Schleswig-Holstein}} firing the war's first shots on a Polish military depot there, whilst a small group of men defended the Polish post office in the city for several hours. The defenders were later executed.<ref name="Reduta" />

[[File:The Nazi-soviet Invasion of Poland, 1939 HU106374.jpg|thumb|The German battleship {{SMS|Schleswig-Holstein}} firing at the Polish Military Transit Depot in Westerplatte during the Battle of Westerplatte in September 1939]]

Within one year of a 1937 pogrom, more than half of the city's Jewish community had left,<ref name=JVL>{{cite web |url=https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/judaica/ejud_0002_0007_0_07105.html |title=Gdansk |access-date=18 March 2017 |archive-date=13 January 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170113051709/https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/judaica/ejud_0002_0007_0_07105.html |url-status=live }}</ref> and organized emigration of Jews away from Danzig began after the Kristallnacht riots in 1938.<ref name=Bauer>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WOd3rLul-LcC&q=jewish+danzig&pg=PA145 |title=American Jewry and the Holocaust |first1=Yehuda |last1=Bauer |publisher=Wayne State University Press |year=1981 |isbn=978-0-8143-1672-6 |page=145 |access-date=11 February 2016 |archive-date=1 February 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220201032226/https://books.google.com/books?id=WOd3rLul-LcC&q=jewish+danzig&pg=PA145 |url-status=live }}</ref> In 1939, regular transports to Mandatory Palestine began. The numbers of the local Jewish community quickly thinned, with only 600 Jews remaining in Danzig by 1941.<ref name=JVL/><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.jewishgen.org/yizkor/pinkas_poland/pol6_00033.html |title=Gdansk, Poland |work=jewishgen.org |access-date=27 January 2018 |archive-date=28 January 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180128021208/https://www.jewishgen.org/yizkor/pinkas_poland/pol6_00033.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name=shoa>{{cite web |url=http://www.shoa.de/holocaust/deportations-und-vernichtungspraxis/763.html |website=www.shoa.de |language=de |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110629204011/http://www.shoa.de/holocaust/deportations-und-vernichtungspraxis/763.html |archive-date=29 June 2011 |title=Die "Lösung der Judenfrage" in der Freien Stadt Danzig |date=30 November 2018}}</ref> Many of the Jews who remained were transported to the small, single-building Danzig Ghetto.<ref>{{cite web |last=Daniluk |first=Jan |date=23 October 2022 |title=Historia jednobudynkowego getta w Gdańsku |url=https://www.trojmiasto.pl/historia/Malo-znane-dzieje-gdanskiego-getta-n171954.html |website=trojmiasto.pl |access-date=15 July 2025}}</ref>

During the war, Germany operated a prison in the city,<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.bundesarchiv.de/zwangsarbeit/haftstaetten/index.php?action=2.2&tab=7&id=1516 |title=Schweres NS-Gefängnis Danzig, Neugarten 27 |website=Bundesarchiv.de |access-date=18 September 2021 |language=de |archive-date=18 September 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210918124617/https://www.bundesarchiv.de/zwangsarbeit/haftstaetten/index.php?action=2.2&tab=7&id=1516 |url-status=live }}</ref> an ''Einsatzgruppen''-operated penal camp,<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.bundesarchiv.de/zwangsarbeit/haftstaetten/index.php?action=2.2&tab=7&id=1515 |title=Einsatzgruppen-Straflager in der Danziger Holzgasse |website=Bundesarchiv.de |access-date=18 September 2021 |language=de |archive-date=18 September 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210918124616/https://www.bundesarchiv.de/zwangsarbeit/haftstaetten/index.php?action=2.2&tab=7&id=1515 |url-status=live }}</ref> a camp for Romani people,<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.bundesarchiv.de/zwangsarbeit/haftstaetten/index.php?action=2.2&tab=7&id=1018 |title=Zigeunerlager Danzig |website=Bundesarchiv.de |access-date=18 September 2021 |language=de |archive-date=18 September 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210918124615/https://www.bundesarchiv.de/zwangsarbeit/haftstaetten/index.php?action=2.2&tab=7&id=1018 |url-status=live }}</ref> two subcamps of the Stalag XX-B prisoner-of-war camp for Allied POWs,<ref>{{cite book|last=Niklas|first=Tomasz|editor-last=Grudziecka|editor-first=Beata|title=Stalag XX B: historia nieopowiedziana|language=pl|location=Malbork|publisher=Muzeum Miasta Malborka|page=29|chapter=Polscy jeńcy w Stalagu XX B Marienburg|date=23 August 2023 |isbn=978-83-950992-2-9}}</ref> and several subcamps of the Stutthof concentration camp within the present-day city limits.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Gliński |first=Mirosław |title=Podobozy i większe komanda zewnętrzne obozu Stutthof (1939–1945) |journal=Stutthof. Zeszyty Muzeum |language=pl |volume=3 |pages=165, 167–168, 175–176, 179 |issn=0137-5377}}</ref> In 1945, as the Red Army neared the area, thousands of civilians fled the city during Operation Hannibal aboard ships such as {{MV|Wilhelm Gustloff||2}}.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://wiekdwudziesty.pl/bitwa-o-gdansk-1945/ |title=Bitwa o Gdańsk 1945 |last=Voellner |first=Heinz |date=31 August 2020 |website=wiekdwudziesty.pl |access-date=9 August 2021 |archive-date=9 August 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210809091323/https://wiekdwudziesty.pl/bitwa-o-gdansk-1945/ |url-status=dead }}</ref> It endured heavy Allied and Soviet air raids during the war. Danzig was captured by Polish<ref>{{cite book|last=Jakrzewska-Śnieżko|first=Zofia|title=Dwór Artusa w Gdańsku|year=1972|publisher=Państwowe Wydawnictwo Naukowe|language=pl|page=31}}</ref> and Soviet troops in March 1945. The city was heavily damaged as a result.<ref name="Baziur"/> Soviet soldiers committed large-scale rape and looting, especially of the industrial areas.<ref name="Baziur">{{cite journal |title=Armia Czerwona na Pomorzu Gdańskim 1945–1947 (Red Army in Gdańsk Pomerania 1945–1947) |author=Grzegorz Baziur, OBEP IPN Kraków |journal=Biuletyn Instytutu Pamięci Narodowej (Institute of National Remembrance Bulletin) |year=2002 |volume=7 |publisher=IPN|language=pl|pages=35–38}}</ref><ref>Biskupski, Mieczysław B. ''The History of Poland''. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, p. 97.</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Tighe|first=Carl|title=Gdańsk: National Identity in the Polish-German Borderlands|location=London|publisher=Palgrave Macmillan|page=199}}</ref>

In line with the decisions made by the Allies under pressure of Stalin at the Yalta and Potsdam conferences, the city was annexed by Poland, although with a Soviet-installed communist regime, which stayed in power until the fall of communism in Poland in the late 1980s and early 1990s. The remaining German residents of the city who had survived the war fled or were expelled to postwar Germany. The city was repopulated by ethnic Poles; up to 18% of them had been deported by the Soviets in two major waves from pre-war eastern Polish areas annexed by the Soviet Union.<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9ifeo6zdSMcC&q=3200 |title=Danzig – Biographie einer Stadt |first1=Peter Oliver |last1=Loew |publisher=C.H. Beck |year=2011 |isbn=978-3-406-60587-1 |page=232 |language=de |access-date=11 February 2016 |archive-date=1 February 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220201032302/https://books.google.com/books?id=9ifeo6zdSMcC&q=3200 |url-status=live }}</ref>

===Post-World War II (1945–1989)=== [[File:Strajk sierpniowy w Stoczni Gdańskiej im. Lenina 34.jpg|thumb|left|Solidarity (''Solidarność'') strikes at the Gdańsk Shipyard in 1980]]

Parts of the historic old city of Gdańsk, which had suffered large-scale destruction during the war, were rebuilt during the 1950s and 1960s. The reconstruction sought to dilute the "German character" of the city, and set it back to how it supposedly looked like before the annexation to Prussia in 1793.<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=j5IU6r6cFkAC&q=+Danzig&pg=PA80 |title=Die Schleifung – Zerstörung und Wiederaufbau historischer Bauten in Deutschland und Polen |first1=Bogdana |last1=Kozinska |first2=Dieter |last2=Bingen |publisher=Deutsches Polen-Institut |year=2005 |isbn=978-3-447-05096-8 |page=67 |language=de |access-date=11 February 2016 |archive-date=1 February 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220201032225/https://books.google.com/books?id=j5IU6r6cFkAC&q=+Danzig&pg=PA80 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9ifeo6zdSMcC&q=Wiederaufbau |title=Danzig – Biographie einer Stadt |first1=Peter Oliver |last1=Loew |publisher=C.H. Beck |year=2011 |isbn=978-3-406-60587-1 |page=146 |language=de |access-date=17 October 2020 |archive-date=1 February 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220201032232/https://books.google.com/books?id=9ifeo6zdSMcC&q=Wiederaufbau |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=j5IU6r6cFkAC&q=+Danzig&pg=PA80 |title=Die Schleifung – Zerstörung und Wiederaufbau historischer Bauten in Deutschland und Polen |first1=Konstanty |last1=Kalinowski |first2=Dieter |last2=Bingen |publisher=Deutsches Polen-Institut |year=2005 |isbn=978-3-447-05096-8 |page=89 |language=de |access-date=11 February 2016 |archive-date=1 February 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220201032225/https://books.google.com/books?id=j5IU6r6cFkAC&q=+Danzig&pg=PA80 |url-status=live }}</ref> Nineteenth-century transformations were ignored as "ideologically malignant" by post-war administrations, or regarded as "Prussian barbarism" worthy of demolition,<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LMuuwvSxrj4C&q=Barbarei |title=Neue Stadt in altem Glanz – Der Wiederaufbau Danzigs 1945–1960 |first1=Jacek |last1=Friedrich |publisher=Böhlau |year=2010 |isbn=978-3-412-20312-2 |pages=30, 40 |language=de |access-date=17 October 2020 |archive-date=1 February 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220201032230/https://books.google.com/books?id=LMuuwvSxrj4C&q=Barbarei |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ztVJLYq9WtoC&q=reconstruction+gdansk&pg=PA82 |title=Cultural landscapes of post-socialist cities: representation of powers and needs |first1=Mariusz |last1=Czepczynski |publisher=Ashgate publ. |year=2008 |isbn=978-0-7546-7022-3 |page=82 |access-date=17 October 2020 |archive-date=1 February 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220201032226/https://books.google.com/books?id=ztVJLYq9WtoC&q=reconstruction+gdansk&pg=PA82 |url-status=live }}</ref> while Flemish/Dutch, Italian and French influences were emphasized in order to "neutralize" the German influence on the appearance of the city.<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LMuuwvSxrj4C&q=italienische |title=Neue Stadt in altem Glanz – Der Wiederaufbau Danzigs 1945–1960 |first1=Jacek |last1=Friedrich |publisher=Böhlau |year=2010 |isbn=978-3-412-20312-2 |pages=34, 102 |language=de |access-date=17 October 2020 |archive-date=8 October 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211008143038/https://books.google.com/books?id=LMuuwvSxrj4C&q=italienische |url-status=live }}</ref>

Boosted by heavy investment in the development of its port and shipyards fuelled by Soviet ambitions in the Baltic region, Gdańsk became the major shipping and industrial centre of the People's Republic of Poland. In December 1970, Gdańsk was the location of anti-regime demonstrations, which led to the downfall of Poland's communist leader Władysław Gomułka. During the demonstrations in Gdańsk and Gdynia, military and police forces opened fire on the demonstrators, causing several dozen deaths. Ten years later, in August 1980, Gdańsk Shipyard was the birthplace of the Solidarity trade union and political movement.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://isj.org.uk/the-rise-of-solidarnosc/ |title=The rise of Solidarnosc |last=Barker |first=Colin |date=17 October 2005 |website=International Socialism |access-date=10 December 2022}}</ref>

In September 1981, to deter Solidarity, Soviet Union launched Exercise Zapad-81, the largest military exercise in history, during which amphibious landings were conducted near Gdańsk. Around the same time, Solidarity's first national congress was hosted in the Hala Olivia, located in Gdańsk. Its opposition to the Communist regime led to the end of communist rule in 1989, and sparked a series of protests that overthrew the communist regimes of the former Eastern Bloc.<ref name="Onet.pl">{{cite news |url=http://wiadomosci.onet.pl/trojmiasto/w-gdansku-otwarto-europejskie-centrum-solidarnosci |title=W Gdańsku otwarto Europejskie Centrum Solidarności |publisher=Onet.pl |date=31 August 2014 |access-date=7 August 2015 |language=pl |archive-date=13 December 2015 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20151213151647/http://wiadomosci.onet.pl/trojmiasto/w-gdansku-otwarto-europejskie-centrum-solidarnosci |url-status=dead }}</ref>

===Contemporary history (1990–present)=== [[File:European Solidarity Centre 2015 002.jpg|thumb|The European Solidarity Centre houses exhibits documenting the history of the Solidarity trade union and the anti-communist resistance movement in Poland.]] Solidarity's leader, Lech Wałęsa, became President of Poland in 1990. In 2014 the European Solidarity Centre, a museum and library devoted to the history of the movement, opened in Gdańsk.<ref name="Onet.pl"/> On 9 July 2001, the city experienced a flood, with 200 million zł being estimated in damage, 4 people being killed, and 304 being evacuated. As a result, the city has since built more than fifty reservoirs, the number of which is rising.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://dziennikbaltycki.pl/powodz-w-gdansku-9-lipca-2001-r-gwaltowna-ulewa-zatopila-czesc-miasta-18-rocznica-tragicznych-wydarzen-archiwalne-zdjecia/ar/c1-14259993 |title=Powódź w Gdańsku. 9 lipca 2001 r. gwałtowna ulewa zatopiła część miasta. 18 rocznica tragicznych wydarzeń [archiwalne zdjęcia] |last=Bednarz |first=Beata |date=9 July 2019 |publisher=Dziennik Bałtycki |access-date=16 October 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://wiadomosci.onet.pl/trojmiasto/gdansk-mija-20-lat-od-tragicznej-powodzi-zdjecia/68zqwqh |title=Gdańsk. Mija 20 lat od tragicznej w skutkach powodzi [ZDJĘCIA] |last=Olejarczyk |first=Piotr |date=9 July 2021 |publisher=Onet.pl |access-date=16 October 2022}}</ref> Donald Tusk, a Gdańsk native,<ref>{{cite web |last=Fortuna |first=Grzegorz |title=TUSK DONALD FRANCISZEK, premier |url=https://gdansk.gedanopedia.pl/gdansk/?title=TUSK_DONALD_FRANCISZEK,_premier |website=gdansk.gedanopedia.pl |access-date=30 August 2025}}</ref> has been prime minister of Poland since 2023, and also filled the role from 2007 to 2014.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Higgins |first=Andrew |date=11 December 2023 |title=Donald Tusk Chosen as Poland's Prime Minister After Rival Is Rejected |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2023/12/11/world/europe/poland-donald-tusk-government.html |access-date=11 December 2023 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=11 December 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231211214554/https://www.nytimes.com/2023/12/11/world/europe/poland-donald-tusk-government.html |url-status=live }}</ref> He was additionally President of the European Council from 2014 to 2019.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-28989875 |title=Italy's Mogherini and Poland's Tusk get top EU jobs |publisher=BBC |date=30 August 2014 |access-date=8 August 2015 |archive-date=31 August 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140831010253/http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-28989875 |url-status=live }}</ref>

In January 2019, the Mayor of Gdańsk, Paweł Adamowicz, was assassinated by a man who had just been released from prison for violent crimes. After stabbing the mayor in the abdomen near the heart, the man claimed that the mayor's political party had been responsible for imprisoning him. Though Adamowicz underwent a multi-hour surgery, he died the next day.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://edition.cnn.com/2019/01/14/europe/pawel-adamowicz-gdansk-mayor-stabbed-poland-intl/index.html |title=Gdansk mayor Pawel Adamowicz dies after being stabbed in heart on stage | publisher=CNN|date=14 January 2019 |access-date=14 January 2019 |archive-date=14 January 2019 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190114150906/https://edition.cnn.com/2019/01/14/europe/pawel-adamowicz-gdansk-mayor-stabbed-poland-intl/index.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/mayor-of-polish-city-dies-after-stabbing-at-charity-event/ar-BBSeqqz?ocid=chromentpshop |title=Mayor of Polish city dies after stabbing at charity event | publisher=www.msn.com |access-date=16 April 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190115023117/https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/mayor-of-polish-city-dies-after-stabbing-at-charity-event/ar-BBSeqqz?ocid=chromentpshop |archive-date=15 January 2019 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

In October 2019, the city of Gdańsk was awarded the Princess of Asturias Award in the Concord category as a recognition of the fact that "the past and present in Gdańsk are sensitive to solidarity, the defense of freedom and human rights, as well as to the preservation of peace".<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.thefirstnews.com/article/polish-city-of-gdansk-wins-princess-of-asturias-award-8170 |title=Polish city of Gdansk wins Princess of Asturias Award |access-date=19 October 2019 |archive-date=19 October 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191019135303/https://www.thefirstnews.com/article/polish-city-of-gdansk-wins-princess-of-asturias-award-8170 |url-status=live }}</ref> In a 2023 Report on the Quality of Life in European Cities compiled by the European Commission, Gdańsk was named as the fourth best city to live in Europe alongside Leipzig, Stockholm and Geneva.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://ec.europa.eu/regional_policy/sources/reports/qol2023/2023_quality_life_european_cities_en.pdf |title=Report on the quality of life in European cities, 2023 |website=ec.europa.eu |access-date=18 January 2024}}</ref>

==Geography== Gdańsk is divided into two main parts, known as the ''Górny Taras'' and ''Dolny Taras'' in Polish; the low-lying ''Dolny Taras'' (Lower Terrace) is found on the Baltic coast, covering parts of the Vistula Fens, whereas the ''Górny Taras'' (Upper Terrace) is characterised by uneven highlands and is part of the Kashubian Lake District. The city is also found at the mouth of the Motława and Vistula rivers, which has significantly influenced its geography and shaped its economy.<ref>{{cite web |date=2015 |title=Studium uwarunkowań i kierunków zagospodarowania przestrzennego miasta Gdańska |url=https://www.brg.gda.pl/planowanie-przestrzenne/studium-uwarunkowan-i-kierunkow-zagospodarowania-przestrzennego |website=brg.gda.pl |publisher=Biuro Rozwoju Gdańska |access-date=5 August 2025}}</ref>

===Climate=== {{climate chart |Gdańsk |−3.8|1.4|28.7 |−3.1|2.3|22.5 |−0.7|6.1|27.9 |3.1|11.4|31.2 |7.9|16.7|54.8 |11.1|19.6|68 |13.6|22.6|68.4 |13.2|22.9|69.2 |9.9|17.7|63.9 |5.6|12.6|49.3 |1.2|6.1|46.4 |−2.2|2.5|38.8

|float=right |source=[http://worldweather.wmo.int/en/city.html?cityId=25 World Meteorological Organisation] }} Gdańsk has a climate with both oceanic and continental influences. According to some categorisations, it has an oceanic climate (Cfb), while others classify it as belonging to the humid continental climate (Dfb).<ref>"[https://www.britannica.com/media/full/276210/206711 Köppen climate classification] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180214202852/https://www.britannica.com/media/full/276210/206711 |date=14 February 2018 }}". ''Britannica''. Retrieved 14 February 2018</ref> It actually depends on whether the mean reference temperature for the coldest winter month is set at {{cvt|-3|C|F}} or {{cvt|0|C|F}}. Gdańsk's dry winters and the precipitation maximum in summer are indicators of continentality. However seasonal extremes are less pronounced than those in inland Poland.<ref name = Weatherbase>[http://www.weatherbase.com/weather/weather-summary.php3?s=5121&cityname=Gdansk%2C+Pomeranian+Voivodeship%2C+Poland&units= Gdansk] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181106230835/http://www.weatherbase.com/weather/weather-summary.php3?s=5121&cityname=Gdansk%2C+Pomeranian+Voivodeship%2C+Poland&units= |date=6 November 2018 }}". ''Weatherbase.com''. Retrieved 14 February 2018.</ref>

The city has moderately cold and cloudy winters, with mean temperatures in January and February near or below {{cvt|0|C|F}} and mild summers with frequent showers and thunderstorms. Average temperatures range from {{cvt|-1.0|to|17.2|C|F|0}} and average monthly rainfall varies {{cvt|17.9|to|66.7|mm|in|0}} per month with a rather low annual total of {{cvt|507.3|mm|in|0}}. In general, the weather is damp, variable, and mild.<ref name = Weatherbase />

The seasons are clearly differentiated. Spring starts in March and is initially cold and windy, later becoming pleasantly warm and often increasingly sunny. Summer, which begins in June, is predominantly warm but hot at times with temperature reaching as high as {{cvt|30|to|35|C|F|0}} at least couple times a year with plenty of sunshine interspersed with heavy rain. Gdańsk averages 1,700 hours of sunshine per year. July and August are the warmest 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 periods of snow. January and February are the coldest months with the temperature sometimes dropping as low as {{cvt|-15|C|0}}.<ref name = Weatherbase />

{{Weather box|location= Gdańsk (1991–2020) |width= auto |metric first= y |single line= y |Jan record high C = 15.5 |Feb record high C = 18.1 |Mar record high C = 24.5 |Apr record high C = 30.6 |May record high C = 32.3 |Jun record high C = 34.7 |Jul record high C = 36.0 |Aug record high C = 35.8 |Sep record high C = 31.7 |Oct record high C = 28.1 |Nov record high C = 21.1 |Dec record high C = 13.7 | Jan avg record high C = 7.6 | Feb avg record high C = 8.4 | Mar avg record high C = 14.9 | Apr avg record high C = 22.1 | May avg record high C = 25.9 | Jun avg record high C = 28.9 | Jul avg record high C = 30.0 | Aug avg record high C = 29.9 | Sep avg record high C = 24.8 | Oct avg record high C = 19.2 | Nov avg record high C = 11.8 | Dec avg record high C = 8.4 |year avg record high C = 31.8 |Jan high C = 1.7 |Feb high C = 2.9 |Mar high C = 6.6 |Apr high C = 12.1 |May high C = 16.8 |Jun high C = 20.4 |Jul high C = 22.6 |Aug high C = 22.9 |Sep high C = 18.5 |Oct high C = 12.7 |Nov high C = 6.7 |Dec high C = 3.1 |year high C = 12.3 | Jan mean C = -1.4 | Feb mean C = -0.8 | Mar mean C = 1.8 | Apr mean C = 6.9 | May mean C = 11.9 | Jun mean C = 15.5 | Jul mean C = 17.7 | Aug mean C = 17.3 | Sep mean C = 12.9 | Oct mean C = 8.0 | Nov mean C = 3.4 | Dec mean C = 0.1 | year mean C = 7.7 |Jan low C = -3.3 |Feb low C = -2.7 |Mar low C = -0.4 |Apr low C = 3.6 |May low C = 8.1 |Jun low C = 11.6 |Jul low C = 14.2 |Aug low C = 13.9 |Sep low C = 10.4 |Oct low C = 5.8 |Nov low C = 1.9 |Dec low C = -1.6 |year low C = 5.1 | Jan avg record low C = -15.6 | Feb avg record low C = -13.5 | Mar avg record low C = -9.7 | Apr avg record low C = -3.8 | May avg record low C = 0.0 | Jun avg record low C = 4.3 | Jul avg record low C = 7.5 | Aug avg record low C = 7.2 | Sep avg record low C = 3.0 | Oct avg record low C = -2.2 | Nov avg record low C = -6.3 | Dec avg record low C = -11.3 |year avg record low C = -19.1 |Jan record low C = -27.4 |Feb record low C = -29.8 |Mar record low C = -22.8 |Apr record low C = -7.7 |May record low C = -4.3 |Jun record low C = -0.5 |Jul record low C = 2.1 |Aug record low C = 4.4 |Sep record low C = -1.9 |Oct record low C = -7.0 |Nov record low C = -16.9 |Dec record low C = -23.3 |year record low C = |precipitation colour = green |Jan precipitation mm = 28.5 |Feb precipitation mm = 23.7 |Mar precipitation mm = 27.5 |Apr precipitation mm = 32.0 |May precipitation mm = 53.3 |Jun precipitation mm = 58.8 |Jul precipitation mm = 79.4 |Aug precipitation mm = 70.0 |Sep precipitation mm = 64.5 |Oct precipitation mm = 54.8 |Nov precipitation mm = 42.6 |Dec precipitation mm = 36.0 |year precipitation mm = 571.0 |unit precipitation days = 0.1 mm |Jan precipitation days = 16.67 |Feb precipitation days = 14.25 |Mar precipitation days = 14.03 |Apr precipitation days = 11.43 |May precipitation days = 13.07 |Jun precipitation days = 14.03 |Jul precipitation days = 13.43 |Aug precipitation days = 14.03 |Sep precipitation days = 12.40 |Oct precipitation days = 15.27 |Nov precipitation days = 15.93 |Dec precipitation days = 17.97 |year precipitation days = 172.51 | Jan humidity = 87.7 | Feb humidity = 85.9 | Mar humidity = 82.5 | Apr humidity = 75.5 | May humidity = 71.6 | Jun humidity = 72.2 | Jul humidity = 74.7 | Aug humidity = 78.1 | Sep humidity = 82.6 | Oct humidity = 84.6 | Nov humidity = 89.1 | Dec humidity = 89.8 | year humidity = |Jan sun = 39 |Feb sun = 70 |Mar sun = 134 |Apr sun = 163 |May sun = 244 |Jun sun = 259 |Jul sun = 236 |Aug sun = 225 |Sep sun = 174 |Oct sun = 105 |Nov sun = 45 |Dec sun = 32 |year sun = 1726 | Jan uv =1 | Feb uv =2 | Mar uv =2 | Apr uv =4 | May uv =4 | Jun uv =5 | Jul uv =5 | Aug uv =4 | Sep uv =4 | Oct uv =3 | Nov uv =1 | Dec uv =1 | Jan dew point C = -3 | Feb dew point C = -3 | Mar dew point C = -1 | Apr dew point C = 2 | May dew point C = 6 | Jun dew point C = 10 | Jul dew point C = 13 | Aug dew point C = 12 | Sep dew point C = 9 | Oct dew point C = 6 | Nov dew point C = 2 | Dec dew point C = -1 |source 1 = Institute of Meteorology and Water Management<ref name=IMGWtavg>{{cite web | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20211203115527/https://klimat.imgw.pl/pl/climate-normals/TSR_AVE | archive-date = 3 December 2021 | url = https://klimat.imgw.pl/pl/climate-normals/TSR_AVE | title = Średnia dobowa temperatura powietrza | work = Normy klimatyczne 1991-2020 | publisher = Institute of Meteorology and Water Management | language = pl | access-date = 31 January 2022 | url-status = live }}</ref><ref name=IMGWtmin>{{cite web | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20220115043924/https://klimat.imgw.pl/pl/climate-normals/TMIN_AVE | archive-date = 15 January 2022 | url = https://klimat.imgw.pl/pl/climate-normals/TMIN_AVE | title = Średnia minimalna temperatura powietrza | work = Normy klimatyczne 1991-2020 | publisher = Institute of Meteorology and Water Management | language = pl | access-date = 31 January 2022 | url-status = live }}</ref><ref name=IMGWtmax>{{cite web | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20220115044916/https://klimat.imgw.pl/pl/climate-normals/TMAX_AVE | archive-date = 15 January 2022 | url = https://klimat.imgw.pl/pl/climate-normals/TMAX_AVE | title = Średnia maksymalna temperatura powietrza | work = Normy klimatyczne 1991-2020 | publisher = Institute of Meteorology and Water Management | language = pl | access-date = 31 January 2022 | url-status = live }}</ref><ref name=IMGWprecip>{{cite web | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20220109045820/https://klimat.imgw.pl/pl/climate-normals/OPAD_SUMA | archive-date = 9 January 2022 | url = https://klimat.imgw.pl/pl/climate-normals/OPAD_SUMA | title = Miesięczna suma opadu | work = Normy klimatyczne 1991-2020 | publisher = Institute of Meteorology and Water Management | language = pl | access-date = 31 January 2022 | url-status = live }}</ref><ref name=IMGWprecipdays>{{cite web | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20220115051112/https://klimat.imgw.pl/pl/climate-normals/OPAD_01 | archive-date = 15 January 2022 | url = https://klimat.imgw.pl/pl/climate-normals/OPAD_01 | title = Liczba dni z opadem >= 0,1 mm | work = Normy klimatyczne 1991-2020 | publisher = Institute of Meteorology and Water Management | language = pl | access-date = 31 January 2022 | url-status = live }}</ref><ref name=IMGWsnowdepth>{{cite web | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20220115054936/https://klimat.imgw.pl/pl/climate-normals/SNIEG_SR_GRUB | archive-date = 15 January 2022 | url = https://klimat.imgw.pl/pl/climate-normals/SNIEG_SR_GRUB | title = Średnia grubość pokrywy śnieżnej | work = Normy klimatyczne 1991-2020 | publisher = Institute of Meteorology and Water Management | language = pl | access-date = 31 January 2022 | url-status = live }}</ref><ref name=IMGWsnowdays>{{cite web | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20220121044246/https://klimat.imgw.pl/pl/climate-normals/SNIEG_0 | archive-date = 21 January 2022 | url = https://klimat.imgw.pl/pl/climate-normals/SNIEG_0 | title = Liczba dni z pokrywą śnieżna > 0 cm | work = Normy klimatyczne 1991-2020 | publisher = Institute of Meteorology and Water Management | language = pl | access-date = 31 January 2022 | url-status = live }}</ref><ref name=IMGWsun>{{cite web | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20220115055331/https://klimat.imgw.pl/pl/climate-normals/USL | archive-date = 15 January 2022 | url = https://klimat.imgw.pl/pl/climate-normals/USL | title = Średnia suma usłonecznienia (h) | work = Normy klimatyczne 1991-2020 | publisher = Institute of Meteorology and Water Management | language = pl | access-date = 31 January 2022 | url-status = live }}</ref> |source 2= meteomodel.pl,{{efn|Record temperatures are from all Gdańsk stations.}}<ref>{{cite web |url=https://meteomodel.pl/dane/srednie-miesieczne/?imgwid=354180155&par=tmax&max_empty=3 |title=Gdańsk Średnie i sumy miesięczne |date=6 April 2018 |publisher=meteomodel.pl |access-date=14 January 2020 |archive-date=9 March 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200309021457/https://meteomodel.pl/dane/srednie-miesieczne/?imgwid=354180155&par=tmax&max_empty=3 |url-status=live }}</ref> Weather Atlas (UV),<ref>{{cite web | url = https://www.weather-atlas.com/en/poland/gdansk-climate | title = Gdańsk, Poland – Detailed climate information and monthly weather forecast | publisher = Weather Atlas | access-date = 1 August 2022 }}{{Dead link|date=May 2026 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }}</ref> Time and Date (dewpoints, 2005–2015)<ref>{{cite web | url = https://www.timeanddate.com/weather/poland/gdansk/climate | title = Climate & Weather Averages in Gdańsk | publisher = Time and Date | access-date = 31 July 2022}}</ref> | date = October 2015 }}

==Economy== [[File:Gdańsk czerwiec 2008 (1).JPG|thumb|Gdańsk Shipyard]]

The industrial sections of the city are dominated by shipbuilding, petrochemical, and chemical industries, as well as 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.<ref name = "biznes">{{cite web |url=https://businessinsider.com.pl/firmy/8-biznesowych-rzeczy-ktorych-nie-wiedziales-o-gdansku/7yhqcfl |title=Gdańsk – dobry klimat dla interesów. 8 biznesowych rzeczy, których nie wiedziałeś o Gdańsku |date=13 July 2020 |website=Business Insider |publisher=Onet |access-date=31 October 2021 |archive-date=31 October 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211031101856/https://businessinsider.com.pl/firmy/8-biznesowych-rzeczy-ktorych-nie-wiedziales-o-gdansku/7yhqcfl |url-status=live }}</ref>

Major companies based in Gdańsk include the multinational clothing company LPP,<ref>{{cite web |last=Kalus |first=Katarzyna |date=28 January 2020 |title=Fiskus zażądał 24 mln zł podatku. Przez trzy lata go nie ściągnął |url=https://www.money.pl/gospodarka/fiskus-zazadal-24-mln-zl-podatku-przez-trzy-lata-go-nie-sciagnal-6472485953816705a.html |website=money.pl |publisher=Wirtualna Polska |access-date=7 August 2025}}</ref> the energy company Energa,<ref>{{cite web |date=27 August 2019 |title=Energa sponsorem piłkarzy ręcznych Wybrzeża Gdańsk |url=https://www.trojmiasto.pl/sport/Energa-sponsorem-pilkarzy-recznych-Wybrzeza-Gdansk-n126807.html |website=trojmiasto.pl |access-date=6 August 2025}}</ref> the shipyard Remontowa,<ref>{{cite book |last=Belin |first=Jean |date=2019 |title=The Economics of the Global Defence Industry |publisher=Taylor and Francis |isbn=978-0429882692}}</ref> the Gdańsk Shipyard, and Ziaja.<ref>{{cite web |last=Błaszczak |first=Anita |date=11 July 2008 |title=Strateg niskich cen |url=https://www.rp.pl/opinie-ekonomiczne/art8120411-strateg-niskich-cen |website=rp.pl |publisher=Rzeczpospolita |access-date=7 August 2025}}</ref> The city also served as a major base for Grupa Lotos, with the Gdańsk Refinery being the second-largest in Poland, with a capacity of {{convert|210000|oilbbl/d|m3/d|abbr=on|order=flip}}.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.lotos.pl/en/869/this_is_lotos/lotos_group/history |title=LOTOS Group History |website=lotos.pl |publisher=Grupa Lotos |access-date=9 August 2024}}</ref><ref name = "biznes" /> Gdańsk also hosts the biennial BALTEXPO International Maritime Fair and Conference, the largest fair dedicated to the maritime industry in Poland.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.polandatsea.com/baltexpo-international-maritime-fair-and-conference-2023-is-coming-soon/ |title=Baltexpo International Maritime Fair and Conference 2023 is coming soon! |website=polandatsea.com |date=31 March 2023 |access-date=4 April 2024}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=https://baltexpo.eu/en/ |title=BALTEXPO will return in 2025! |website=baltexpo.com |access-date=4 April 2024}}</ref>

The largest shopping centre located in the city is Forum Gdańsk,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://pomorskie-prestige.eu/en/shoppinglifestyle-en/shopping-inspirations/forum-gdansk-the-new-face-of-the-city/ |title=Forum Gdańsk. The new face of the city |date=9 June 2018 |website=pomorskie-prestige.eu |access-date=4 April 2024}}</ref> which covers a large plot in the city centre.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.archdaily.com/909887/forum-gdansk-sud-polska |title=Forum Gdańsk / SUD Polska |date= 16 August 2019|website=archdaily.com |publisher=ArchDaily |access-date=9 September 2021}}</ref> In 2021, the registered unemployment rate in the city was estimated at 3.6%.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://stat.gov.pl/obszary-tematyczne/rynek-pracy/bezrobocie-rejestrowane/bezrobotni-zarejestrowani-i-stopa-bezrobocia-stan-w-koncu-lipca-2021-r-,2,108.html |language=pl |title=Bezrobotni zarejestrowani i stopa bezrobocia. Stan w końcu lipca 2021 r. |website=stat.gov.pl |access-date=4 April 2024}}</ref>

==Main sights== {{Wide image|2012-08-30 pano gdansk sm2.jpg|900px|View of Gdańsk's Main Town from the Motława River (2012)}}{{Clear}}

===Architecture=== {{multiple image | align = right | caption_align = center | perrow = 2 | total_width = 350 | header = Sights along the Royal Route | image1 = Puerta Alta, Gdansk, Polonia, 2013-05-20, DD 02.jpg | image2 = Gdańsk, Brama Złota (HB1).jpg | image3 = Ayuntamiento Principal, Gdansk, Polonia, 2013-05-20, DD 01.jpg | image4 = Dwór Artusa DSC03492.jpg | image5 = Gdańsk Złota Kamienica.jpg | image6 = Monumento Neptuno, Gdansk, Polonia, 2013-05-20, DD 05.jpg | caption1 = Highland Gate | caption2 = Golden Gate | caption3 = ''Ulica Długa'' (Long Lane) | caption4 = Interior of Artus Court | caption5 = Sculptures atop the Steffens House | caption6 = Neptune's Fountain and ''Długi Targ'' (Long Market) }}

The city has many reconstructed buildings originally built in the time of the Hanseatic League, most of which are located in the Main City<ref>{{Cite web |date=25 May 2023 |title=Główne i Stare Miasto Gdańsk |url=https://www.suerteprzewodnicy.pl/blog/glowne-i-stare-miasto-gdansk-odkrywamy-gdanska-starowke/ |access-date=5 August 2023 |website=suerteprzewodnicy.pl |language=pl-PL}}</ref> and specifically along or near Ulica Długa and Długi Targ, a pedestrian thoroughfare surrounded by reconstructed historical buildings and flanked at both ends by elaborate city gates; this is sometimes referred to as the ''Royal Route'', since it was once the path of processions for visiting Kings of Poland.<ref name="Richard Franks">{{Cite web |url=https://theculturetrip.com/europe/poland/articles/20-must-visit-attractions-in-gdansk-poland/ |title=Must-Visit Attractions in Gdańsk, Poland |website=theculturetrip.com |author=Richard Franks |date=15 November 2017 |access-date=2 December 2022 |archive-date=2 December 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221202165734/https://theculturetrip.com/europe/poland/articles/20-must-visit-attractions-in-gdansk-poland/ |url-status=dead }}</ref>

Walking from end to end, sites encountered on or near the Royal Route include the Highland Gate, marking the beginning of the route, located near the Torture Chamber, {{ill|Mansion of the Society of Saint George|pl|Dwór Bractwa św. Jerzego w Gdańsku}}, and the Golden Gate.<ref name="Richard Franks" />

Along Długa Street, Uphagen's House is found, today housing a branch of the {{ill|Gdańsk Museum|pl|Muzeum Gdańska}}, which is located near the Lion's Castle and the Main City Hall. Further down the route, along the Długi Targ, the Artus Court is located,<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://visitgdansk.com/en/corobic/neptune-s-fountain,a,16,5 |title=Classical Gdańsk. Artus Court |access-date=2 December 2022 |archive-date=2 December 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221202155753/https://visitgdansk.com/en/corobic/neptune-s-fountain,a,16,5 |url-status=dead }}</ref> followed by Neptune's Fountain,<ref name="Sturgis">{{cite book |author1=Russell Sturgis |author2=Arthur Lincoln Frothingham |title=A history of architecture |year=1915 |page=[https://archive.org/details/ahistoryarchite01sturgoog/page/n315 293] |publisher=Baker & Taylor |url=https://archive.org/details/ahistoryarchite01sturgoog}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |author1=Paul Wagret |author2=Helga S. B. Harrison |title=Poland |year=1964 |page=302 |publisher=Nagel |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uXu0AAAAIAAJ |access-date=17 October 2020 |archive-date=10 October 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211010230031/https://books.google.com/books?id=uXu0AAAAIAAJ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=16 December 2022 |title=Fontanna Neptuna w Gdańsku |url=https://www.suerteprzewodnicy.pl/blog/fontanna-neptuna-w-gdansku/ |access-date=5 August 2023 |website=suerteprzewodnicy.pl |language=pl-PL}}</ref> the New Jury House,<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://pomorskie.travel/en/-/nowy-dom-lawy-sien-gdanska- |title=The New Jury House (The Gdańsk Hall) |website=Pomorskie.travel |access-date=1 May 2020 |archive-date=1 February 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220201032307/https://pomorskie.travel/en/punkty-poi/nowy-dom-lawy-sien-gdanska/ |url-status=live }}</ref> the Steffens House,<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://visitgdansk.com/en/corobic/golden-house,a,16,9 |title=Classical Gdańsk. Golden House |access-date=2 December 2022 |archive-date=2 December 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221202154656/https://visitgdansk.com/en/corobic/golden-house,a,16,9 |url-status=dead }}</ref> and the Green Gate.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://visitgdansk.com/en/corobic/Green-Gate,a,16,8 |title=Classical Gdańsk. Green Gate |access-date=2 December 2022 |archive-date=2 December 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221202154610/https://visitgdansk.com/en/corobic/Green-Gate,a,16,8 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Gdańsk has a number of historical churches, including St. Catherine's Church, St. Nicholas' Church and St. Mary's Church (''Bazylika Mariacka''). St. Mary's Church is a city church built in the 15th century, and is one of the largest brick churches in the world.<ref name="Richard Franks"/> The city centre within 17th-century fortifications is a Historic Monument of Poland.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.nid.pl/pl/Informacje_ogolne/Zabytki_w_Polsce/Pomniki_historii/Lista_miejsc/|title=Pomniki historii|website=www.nid.pl}}</ref>

Other notable sights in the historical city centre include the Royal Chapel, Gdańsk Crane,<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://visitgdansk.com/en/corobic/the-crane,a,16,10 |title=Classical Gdańsk. The Crane |access-date=2 December 2022 |archive-date=2 December 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221202155757/https://visitgdansk.com/en/corobic/the-crane,a,16,10 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Great Armoury, granaries on Ołowianka and Wyspa Spichrzów, the John III Sobieski Monument, the Old Town Hall,<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://visitgdansk.com/en/corobic/town-hall-of-the-old-town,a,16,11 |title=Classical Gdańsk. Town Hall of the Old Town |access-date=2 December 2022 |archive-date=2 December 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221202155755/https://visitgdansk.com/en/corobic/town-hall-of-the-old-town,a,16,11 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Mariacka Street,<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://visitgdansk.com/en/corobic/mariacka-street,a,16,12 |title=Classical Gdańsk. Mariacka Street |access-date=2 December 2022 |archive-date=2 December 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221202155749/https://visitgdansk.com/en/corobic/mariacka-street,a,16,12 |url-status=dead }}</ref> the Polish Post Office, and a series of city gates.<ref name="Richard Franks"/> Main sights outside the historical city centre include the Abbot's Palace, Oliwa Cathedral, Brzeźno Pier, medieval city walls, Westerplatte,<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://muzeum1939.pl/historia-polwyspu-westerplatte-m2wswirtualnie/aktualnosci/3298.html |language=pl |title=HISTORIA PÓŁWYSPU WESTERPLATTE |access-date=2 December 2022}}</ref> Wisłoujście Fortress,<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://podroze.onet.pl/ciekawe/twierdza-wisloujscie-jak-dojechac/mpc6ey5 |language=pl |title=Twierdza Wisłoujście - mało znana sąsiadka Westerplatte |website=onet.pl |date=24 December 2021 |access-date=2 December 2022}}</ref> and Gdańsk Zoo.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://zoo.gda.pl/en/homepage/ |title=Zoo Gdansk|access-date=2 December 2022}}</ref> The Olivia Centre, found in Oliwa, includes Olivia Star, the tallest building in northern Poland, measuring {{convert|180|m|ft}}.<ref>{{cite web |title=Olivia Star |url=https://www.urbanity.pl/pomorskie/gdansk/olivia-star,b10657 |website=urbanity.pl |access-date=24 July 2025}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Olivia Centre |url=https://www.urbanity.pl/pomorskie/gdansk/olivia-business-centre,b3510 |website=urbanity.pl |access-date=24 July 2025}}</ref><ref name="Richard Franks" />

===Museums=== [[File:Gdańsk (DerHexer) 2010-07-15 091.jpg|thumb|The Polish Post Office museum, dedicated to the Defence of the Polish Post Office in the Free City, which functioned during the interwar period, 1920–1939.]]

The National Museum includes the Department of Historical Art in Stare Przedmieście, the Department of Modern Art and the nearby Department of Ethnography in Oliwa, and the NOMUS modern art gallery and the Gdańsk Gallery of Photography in Stare Miasto. It also has departments in Kościerzyna and Waplewo Wielkie, those being the Museum of the National Anthem and Museum of Noble Tradition respectively.<ref>{{cite web |title=Muzeum Narodowe w Gdańsku |url=https://www.mng.gda.pl/zbiory |website=mng.gda.pl |date=23 August 2017 |access-date=4 August 2025}}</ref>

The {{ill|Gdańsk Museum|pl|Muzeum Gdańska}} is also present in the city and has departments in the Main City Hall, Artus Court, Uphagen's House, Great Mill, Polish Post Office, Wisłoujście Fortress, Westerplatte Guard House No. 1, St. Catherine's Church, and {{ill|Oliwa Water Forge|pl|Kuźnia Wodna w Oliwie}}.<ref>{{cite web |title=Wirtualne zwiedzanie oddziałów Muzeum Gdańska |url=https://wirtualne.muzeumgdansk.pl |website=muzeumgdansk.pl |access-date=3 August 2025}}</ref> Another museum is the National Maritime Museum, which operates a branch in the Gdańsk Crane, as well as the museum ship SS ''Sołdek''. Its main building is found in the Main City and is accompanied by the Centre for Maritime Culture closer to the mouth of the Vistula. It has branches in Gdynia, Hel, Kąty Rybackie, Łeba, and Tczew.<ref>{{cite web |title=Narodowe Muzeum Morskie |url=https://nmm.pl |website=nmm.pl |publisher=National Maritime Museum, Gdańsk |access-date=3 August 2025}}</ref> Other museums include the European Solidarity Centre, dedicated to the history of the Solidarity trade union;<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://culture.pl/en/work/the-european-solidarity-centre |title=The European Solidarity Centre |website=culture.pl |access-date=2 December 2022}}</ref> the {{ill|Archdiocese Museum|pl|Muzeum Archidiecezjalne w Gdańsku}} in Oliwa, about the history of the city's archdiocese;<ref>{{cite web |title=Katedra Oliwska - Muzeum Diecezjalne |url=http://www.pascal.pl/atrakcja.php?id=30769 |website=pascal.pl |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://archive.today/20150812182313/http://www.pascal.pl/atrakcja.php |archive-date=12 August 2015 |access-date=3 August 2025}}</ref> and the Museum of the Second World War.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.thefirstnews.com/article/gdansk-rising-the-cradle-of-the-second-world-war-defies-it-past-and-embraces-a-bold-future-7397 |title=Gdańsk rising: the cradle of the Second World War defies it past and embraces a bold future |website=thefirstnews.com |author=Alex Webber |access-date=2 December 2022 }}{{Dead link|date=May 2026 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }}</ref>

===Entertainment=== The Polish Baltic Philharmonic exists on Ołowianka and frequently collaborates with various playwrights and theatres.<ref>{{cite web |last=Mielnik |first=Konrad |title=POLSKA FILHARMONIA BAŁTYCKA IM. FRYDERYKA CHOPINA |url=https://gdansk.gedanopedia.pl/gdansk/?title=POLSKA_FILHARMONIA_BAŁTYCKA_IM._FRYDERYKA_CHOPINA |website=gedanopedia.pl |access-date=3 August 2025}}</ref> The Baltic Opera is a similar institution.<ref>{{cite web |last=Szczypior |first=Janusz |title=OPERA BAŁTYCKA |url=https://gdansk.gedanopedia.pl/gdansk/?title=OPERA_BAŁTYCKA |website=gedanopedia.pl |access-date=3 August 2025}}</ref> The Gdańsk Shakespeare Theatre is a Shakespearean theatre built on the former site of a 17th-century playhouse where English travelling players came to perform. The new theatre, completed in 2014, hosts the annual Gdańsk Shakespeare Festival.<ref>{{cite news |title=Elizabethan playhouse in Poland to host work by Shakespeare's Globe |last=Snow |first=Georgia |url=http://www.thestage.co.uk/news/2014/09/elizabethan-playhouse-poland-host-work-shakespeares-globe/ |newspaper=The Stage |date=3 September 2014 |access-date=15 September 2014 |archive-date=12 September 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140912235038/http://www.thestage.co.uk/news/2014/09/elizabethan-playhouse-poland-host-work-shakespeares-globe/ |url-status=dead }}</ref> The annual St. Dominic's Fair combines traditional market trading with a wide range of cultural events.<ref>{{cite web |title=St. Dominic's Fair in Gdańsk |url=https://pomorskie.travel/en/articles/st-dominics-fair-in-gdansk/ |access-date=30 October 2025}}</ref>

==Transport== [[File:Port Lotniczy im Lecha Walesy Terminal 2.jpg|thumb|Gdańsk Lech Wałęsa Airport (2012, before the 2022 expansion)]] [[File:Gdańsk Główny station 1.jpg|thumb|Gdańsk Główny railway station]]

The city's core transport infrastructure includes Gdańsk Lech Wałęsa Airport, an international airport located in Gdańsk,<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.airport.gdansk.pl/airport/airport-history-p27.html |title=Airport History |access-date=2 December 2022}}</ref> the Szybka Kolej Miejska (SKM),<ref name = "skmka">{{Cite web |url=https://www.skm.pkp.pl/o-nas/nasza-historia/ |language=pl |title=Nasza historia |access-date=2 December 2022 |archive-date=5 November 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221105140651/http://www.skm.pkp.pl/o-nas/nasza-historia |url-status=dead }}</ref> which functions as a rapid transit system for the Tricity area, including Gdańsk, Sopot and Gdynia, operating frequent trains to 27 stations covering the Tricity,<ref>{{Cite web |title=SKM Trójmiasto |url=http://www.skm.pkp.pl/ |access-date=2026-05-05 |website=www.skm.pkp.pl}}</ref> and the Pomeranian Metropolitan Railway, a commuter railway opened in 2015 linking Gdańsk Wrzeszcz railway station with Gdynia Główna railway station via the airport.<ref>{{cite web |last=Naskręt |first=Maciej |date=8 September 2015 |title=18 pociągów dziennie z Kartuz do Gdańska od 1 października |url=https://www.trojmiasto.pl/wiadomosci/18-pociagow-dziennie-z-Kartuz-do-Gdanska-od-1-pazdziernika-n94133.html |website=trojmiasto.pl |access-date=18 August 2025}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Korolczuk |first=Maciej |date=21 December 2015 |title=Nowe ceny biletów metropolitalnych |url=https://www.trojmiasto.pl/wiadomosci/Nowe-ceny-biletow-metropolitalnych-n97404.html |website=trojmiasto.pl |access-date=18 August 2025}}</ref>

The principal train station in Gdańsk is Gdańsk Główny railway station, served by both SKM local and PKP long-distance trains. In addition, long-distance trains also stop at Gdańsk Oliwa railway station and Gdańsk Wrzeszcz railway station. Gdańsk also has nine other railway stations, served by SKM trains.<ref name = "skmka" /> Long-distance trains are operated by PKP Intercity which provides connections with most major Polish cities, including Warsaw, Kraków, Łódź, Poznań, Katowice, Szczecin, Częstochowa, and Wrocław. Polregio operates regional trains with the neighbouring Kashubian Lake District along with trains to Słupsk, Hel, Malbork, and Elbląg.<ref>{{cite web |url = http://www.rynek-kolejowy.pl/49466/bariera_300_km_h_nie_padla_na_koniec_testow_293_km_h.htm |title = Wszystko na temat branży kolejowej: PKP, Intercity, przewozy regionalne, koleje mazowieckie, rozkłady jazdy PKP, Kolej |website = Rynek-kolejowy.pl |access-date = 29 July 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url = https://rozklad-pkp.pl/ua/sq?ld=mobil&seqnr=2&ident=69.012318225.1650824103&time=14:20&input=5100009&boardType=dep&productsFilter=1111111&GUIREQProduct_0=on&GUIREQProduct_1=on&GUIREQProduct_2=on&GUIREQProduct_3=on&start=start |title = Departures from Gdańsk Glowny|access-date = 26 April 2025}}</ref>

Between 2011 and 2015, the rail route between Gdańsk, Gdynia, and Warsaw underwent a major upgrade, resulting in improvements in the railway's speed and to critical infrastructure such as signalling systems, as well as the construction of the Pomeranian Metropolitan Railway, a major commuter railway project, which was opened in 2015.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.trojmiasto.pl/wiadomosci/Pendolino-z-Trojmiasta-do-Warszawy-Wiecej-pytan-niz-odpowiedzi-n71010.html |title=Pendolino z Trójmiasta do Warszawy. Więcej pytań niż odpowiedzi |date=30 July 2013 |work=trojmiasto.pl |access-date=25 December 2014 |archive-date=28 July 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140728035932/http://www.trojmiasto.pl/wiadomosci/Pendolino-z-Trojmiasta-do-Warszawy-Wiecej-pytan-niz-odpowiedzi-n71010.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web | title=Jeszcze szybciej z Warszawy do Gdańska | newspaper=Kurier Kolejowy | date=2015-01-09 | url= http://www.kurierkolejowy.eu/aktualnosci/22716/Jeszcze-szybciej-z-Warszawy-do-Gdanska.html | language=pl | trans-title=Even faster from Warsaw to Gdańsk| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150110043951/http://kurierkolejowy.eu/aktualnosci/22716/Jeszcze-szybciej-z-Warszawy-do-Gdanska.html | archive-date=10 January 2015 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.pkm-sa.pl/2020/12/22/pkm-sa-podpisala-umowe-na-realizacje-tzw-bajpasu-kartuskiego-z-gdynska-firma-torhamer/ |title=PKM SA podpisała umowę na realizację tzw. "bajpasu kartuskiego" z gdyńską firmą Torhamer |date=22 December 2020 |website=PKM |language=pl }}</ref>

Gdańsk bus station is the city's principal bus terminal.<ref>{{cite web |last=Szymajda |first=Michał |date=15 May 2012 |title=Czego wstydzimy się przed Euro 2012 w Gdańsku? Dworzec PKS |url=https://gdansk.naszemiasto.pl/czego-wstydzimy-sie-przed-euro-2012-w-gdansku-dworzec-pks/ar/c2-2807174 |website=naszemiasto.pl |access-date=19 July 2025}}</ref> City buses and trams are operated by ZTM Gdańsk (Zarząd Transportu Miejskiego w Gdańsku).<ref>{{cite magazine |last=Oleksy |first=Ewelina |date=21 June 2018 |title=W Gdańsku dzieci będą jeździć za darmo. Ale tylko z kartą |magazine=Naszemiasto.pl}}</ref> The Port of Gdańsk is a seaport located on the southern coast of Gdańsk Bay, located within the city,<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.portgdansk.pl/en/about-port/investments-and-development/the-port-and-the-city/ |title=The port and the city |access-date=2 December 2022}}</ref> and the Obwodnica Trójmiejska and A1 autostrada allow for automotive access to the city.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://historia.trojmiasto.pl/42-lata-temu-otwarto-Obwodnice-Trojmiasta-n140985.html |title=42 lata temu otwarto Obwodnicę Trójmiasta |last=Brancewicz |first=Michał |date=30 December 2019 |website=trojmiasto.pl |access-date=9 August 2024}}</ref> Additionally, Gdańsk is part of the Rail-2-Sea project. This project's objective is to connect the city with the Romanian Black Sea port of Constanța with a {{cvt|3,663|km|abbr=off}} long railway line passing through Poland, Slovakia, Hungary and Romania.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://universul.net/rail-2-sea-and-via-carpathia-the-us-backed-highway-and-rail-links-from-the-baltic-to-the-black-sea/ |title=Rail-2-Sea and Via Carpathia, the US-backed highway and rail links from the Baltic to the Black Sea |first=Alison |last=Mutler |newspaper=Universul.net |date=12 October 2020 |access-date=13 July 2021 |archive-date=10 November 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211110070034/https://universul.net/rail-2-sea-and-via-carpathia-the-us-backed-highway-and-rail-links-from-the-baltic-to-the-black-sea/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/347344614 |title=The Three Seas Initiative as a new model of regional cooperation in Central Europe: A Polish perspective |first=Łukasz |last=Lewkowicz |journal=UNISCI Journal |volume=18 |pages=177–194 |year=2020 |issue=54 |doi=10.31439/UNISCI-101 |doi-access=free |access-date=13 July 2021 |archive-date=1 February 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220201032231/https://www.researchgate.net/publication/347344614_The_Three_Seas_Initiative_as_a_new_model_of_regional_cooperation_in_Central_Europe_A_Polish_perspective |url-status=live }}</ref>

==Sport== [[File:PGE Arena, Gdańsk, 2015-09-25 (Muri WG 2015-34).jpg|thumb|right|Stadion Miejski]]

There are many professional sports teams in the Gdańsk and Tricity area. The city's professional football club is Lechia Gdańsk.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://worldfootballindex.com/2019/04/lechia-gdansk-history-rebirth-promotion-title-challenge/ |title=The Story of Lechia Gdansk |date=24 April 2019 |access-date=2 December 2022}}</ref> Founded in 1945, they play in the {{Lang|pl|Ekstraklasa|italic=no}}, Poland's top division. Their home stadium, Stadion Miejski,<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.e-architect.com/poland/stadion-energa-in-gdansk |title=Stadion Energa in Gdansk |date=3 August 2017 |access-date=2 December 2022}}</ref> was one of the four Polish stadiums to host the UEFA Euro 2012 competition,<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.uefa.com/uefaeuro/history/news/0254-0d7c89050219-0fe6f9752206-1000--selection-of-host-cities-for-uefa-euro-2012tm/ |title=Selection of host cities for UEFA EURO 2012™ |date=12 May 2009 |access-date=2 December 2022}}</ref> as well as the host of the 2021 UEFA Europa League Final.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.uefa.com/uefaeuropaleague/news/0245-0e98d40b6826-86b29d622244-1000--2021-final-gdansk/ |title=2021 UEFA Europa League final: Gdańsk |date=September 2020 |access-date=2 December 2022}}</ref> Other notable football clubs are Gedania 1922 Gdańsk and SKS Stoczniowiec Gdańsk, which both played in the second tier in the past.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://gedania1922.pl/historia/ |title=Historia - Klub Sportowy Gedania 1922 |website=Gedania 1922 |publisher=Gedania 1922 Gdańsk |access-date=15 May 2024}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Grüne |first=Hardy |date=1996 |title=Vom Kronprinzen bis zur Bundesliga |publisher=Agon Sportverlag|isbn=3-928562-85-1}}</ref> Other notable clubs include speedway club Wybrzeże Gdańsk,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.wybrzezegdansk.pl/|title=Zdunek Wybrzeże Gdańsk|first=Wirtualna Polska|last=Media|website=sportowefakty.wp.pl}}</ref> rugby club Lechia Gdańsk,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://lechiarugby.pl/Zarys_50_lat_RC_Lechia.pdf |title=Zarys pięćdziesięcioletnich dziejów rugby w Gdańskiej Lechii |last=Bocheński |first=Damian |date=2007 |website=lechiarugby.pl |access-date=9 August 2024 |archive-date=4 March 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304033733/http://lechiarugby.pl/Zarys_50_lat_RC_Lechia.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref> ice hockey club Stoczniowiec Gdańsk,<ref>{{cite web |url=https://sport.trojmiasto.pl/Gdansk-nie-bedzie-mial-druzyny-w-Polskiej-Hokej-Lidze-Stoczniowiec-wycofuje-sie-n153704.html |title=Gdańsk nie będzie miał drużyny w Polskiej Hokej Lidze. Stoczniowiec wycofuje się |last=Główczyński |first=Jacek |date=28 February 2021 |website=trojmiasto.pl|access-date=9 August 2024}}</ref> and volleyball club Trefl Gdańsk.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://sport.trojmiasto.pl/Mika-najlepszym-siatkarzem-Final-Four-Trefl-Gdansk-n89743.html |title=Lotos Trefl zdobył Puchar Polski! |date=19 April 2015 |website=trojmiasto.pl |access-date=9 August 2024}}</ref>

The city's Hala Olivia was a venue for the official 2009 EuroBasket,<ref>[https://archive.fiba.com/pages/eng/fa/event/p/sid/6328/_/index.html 2009 EuroBasket] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160807052744/http://www.fiba.com/pages/eng/fa/event/p/sid/6328/_/index.html |date=7 August 2016 }}, ARCHIVE.FIBA.com, Retrieved 5 June 2016.</ref> and the Ergo Arena was one of the 2013 Men's European Volleyball Championship, 2014 FIVB Volleyball Men's World Championship and 2014 IAAF World Indoor Championships venues.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.todor66.com/volleyball/Europe/Men_2013.html |title=Men's Volleyball XXVIII European Championship 2013 |website=Todor66 |access-date=15 May 2024}}</ref><ref>{{cite press release|url=http://fivb.com/en/FIVB/viewnews.asp?No=18145 |title=FIVB signs agreement for Men's 2014 Volleyball World Championship to be hosted in Poland |access-date=6 April 2008 |publisher=Federation Internationale de Volleyball |date=8 September 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100924084519/http://fivb.com/EN/FIVB/viewNews.asp?No=18145 |archive-date=24 September 2010 }}</ref><ref>{{cite press release | url = http://pzla.pl/index.php?_a=1&kat_id=4&_id=5335 | title = HALOWE MŚ 2014 W SOPOCIE! |publisher = Polski Związek Lekkiej Atletyki | date=18 November 2011}}</ref>

==Politics and local government== Contemporary Gdańsk is one of the major centres of economic and administrative life in Poland. It is the seat of a Polish central institution, the Polish Space Agency,<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://scienceinpoland.pap.pl/en/news/news%2C403961%2Cpolish-space-agency-may-launch-operations-in-gdansk-in-early-march.html |title=Polish Space Agency may launch operations in Gdańsk in early March |work=Science in Poland |access-date=2 December 2022}}</ref> several supra-regional branches of further central institutions,<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.ulc.gov.pl/pl/aktualnosci/5326-informacja-dla-klientow-delegatury-polnocno-zachodniej-w-gdansku |title=nformacja dla klientów Delegatur w Gdańsku i we Wrocławiu |date=15 December 2020 |website=ulc.gov.pl |access-date=10 August 2024}}</ref> as well as the supra-regional (appellate-level) institutions of justice.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://gdansk.sa.gov.pl/zasieg-terytorialny-apelacji-gdanskiej,m,m1,214,227 |title=Zasięg terytorialny apelacji gdańskiej |website=gdansk.sa.gov.pl |access-date=9 August 2024}}</ref> As the capital of the Pomeranian Voivodeship it has been the seat of the Pomeranian Voivodeship Office, the Sejmik, and the Marshal's Office of the Pomeranian Voivodeship and other voivodeship-level institutions.<ref>{{cite act |title=Ustawa z dnia 24 lipca 1998 r. |date=24 July 1998 |institution=Sejm |at=Dz.U. 1998 nr 96 poz. 603 |url=https://isap.sejm.gov.pl/isap.nsf/DocDetails.xsp?id=WDU19980960603 |access-date=9 August 2024}}</ref>

Legislative power in Gdańsk is vested in a unicameral Gdańsk City Council (Rada Miasta), which comprises 34 members. Council members are elected directly every four years. Like most legislative bodies, the City Council divides itself into committees, which have the oversight of various functions of the city government.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.gdansk.pl/wiadomosci/pelna-lista-radni-gdanska-prezydenci-przewodniczacy-1990-2020,a,171617 |title=30 lat samorządu terytorialnego. Zobacz pełną listę radnych, prezydentów i ich zastępców |date=25 May 2020 |website=gdansk.pl |access-date=15 May 2020}}</ref>

===Districts=== Gdańsk is divided into 36 districts (''dzielnice''), most of which are also subdivided into ''osiedla''. A full list can be found at Districts of Gdańsk, but the largest by population include Śródmieście, Przymorze Wielkie, Chełm, Wrzeszcz Dolny, and Wrzeszcz Górny.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://bip.gdansk.pl/urzad-miejski/Podzial-administracyjny-Gdanska,a,647 |title=Podział administracyjny Gdańska |date=31 December 2023 |website=Biuletyn Informacji Publicznej |publisher=Gdańsk City Council |access-date=15 May 2024}}</ref> Śródmieście encompasses most of the city as it was in 1813. The city's boundaries were first expanded beyond the borders of Śródmieście in 1814, and various districts were gradually incorporated into it (with larger expansions including the annexation of Oliwa in 1926 and Suchanino in 1902). Many of the city's current suburban districts, such as Jasień, Ujeścisko-Łostowice, Matarnia, and Osowa, were incorporated into it in a 1973 expansion.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Gliński |first1=Mirosław |last2=Śliwiński |first2=Błażej |title=ADMINISTRACYJNY PODZIAŁ I TERYTORIALNY ROZWÓJ GDAŃSKA |url=https://gdansk.gedanopedia.pl/gdansk/?title=ADMINISTRACYJNY_PODZIA%C5%81_I_TERYTORIALNY_ROZW%C3%93J_GDA%C5%83SKA# |website=gdansk.gedanopedia.pl |access-date=18 August 2025}}</ref>

==Education and science== thumb|Gdańsk University of Technology

There are 15 higher schools in the city, including three universities. Notable educational institutions include the University of Gdańsk, Gdańsk University of Technology, and Gdańsk Medical University.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.studies-in-poland.pl/s/2333/57926-Studies-in-Poland/429-University-of-Gdansk.htm |title=University of Gdańsk (Uniwersytet Gdański), UG - Studies in Poland |website=Studies in Poland |access-date=15 May 2024}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.cdio.org/cdio-action/school-profiles/gdansk-university-technology-europe-region |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130131175603/http://www.cdio.org/cdio-action/school-profiles/gdansk-university-technology-europe-region |url-status=dead |archive-date=31 January 2013 |title=Gdansk University of Technology - Worldwide CDIO Initiative |website=CDIO |publisher=CDIO Initiative |access-date=15 May 2024 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://naukawpolsce.pl/aktualnosci/news%2C85430%2Ctrzy-gdanskie-szkoly-wyzsze-utworzyly-zwiazek-uczelni-im-daniela-fahrenheita |title=Trzy gdańskie szkoły wyższe utworzyły Związek Uczelni im. Daniela Fahrenheita|website=Nauka w Polsce|access-date=15 May 2024}}</ref> The city is also home to the Baltic Institute.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Grzechnik |first=Marta |date=2018 |title=Love of Wide Open Waters. The Polish Maritime Programme according to the Baltic and Western Institutes in the Aftermath of the Second World War (1945–ca. 1950) |journal=Acta Poloniae Historica |volume=117 |pages=195 |doi=10.12775/APH.2018.117.07 |issn=0001-6829|doi-access=free }}</ref>

==International relations== ===Consulates=== {{Further|List of diplomatic missions in Poland#Consulates in Poland}}

There are four consulates general in Gdańsk – China, Germany, Hungary, Russia, one consulate – Ukraine, and 17 honorary consulates – Austria, Bangladesh, Bulgaria, Estonia, Ethiopia, Kazakhstan, Latvia, Lithuania, Mexico, Moldova, Netherlands, Peru, Seychelles, Spain, Sri Lanka, Sweden, Uruguay.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.gdansk.pl/turystyka-w-gdansku/konsulaty,a,3749|title=Wykaz konsulatów - informacja według stanu na 4 września 2024 r.|access-date=19 September 2024|language=pl}}</ref>

===Sister cities=== {{See also|List of twin towns and sister cities in Poland}}

Gdańsk is twinned with:<ref name=twins>{{cite web |title=Twin Cities |url=https://www.gdansk.pl/urzad-miejski/biuro-prezydenta/miasta-partnerskie,a,1620 |website=gdansk.pl |publisher=Gdańsk |access-date=4 April 2024}}</ref>

{{div col|colwidth=20em}} * {{Flagicon|DEN}} Helsingør, Denmark * {{Flagicon|GER}} Bremen, Germany * {{Flagicon|USA}} Cleveland, United States * {{Flagicon|SWE}} Kalmar, Sweden  * {{Flagicon|FRA}} Nice, France * {{Flagicon|KAZ}} Astana, Kazakhstan  * {{Flagicon|NED}} Rotterdam, Netherlands * {{Flagicon|UK}} Sefton, United Kingdom * {{Flagicon|FIN}} Turku, Finland * {{Flagicon|LTU}} Vilnius, Lithuania {{div col end}}

===Former sister cities=== * {{Flagicon|RUS}} Kaliningrad, Russia * {{Flagicon|RUS}} Saint Petersburg, Russia

On 3 March 2022, Gdańsk City Council passed a unanimous resolution to terminate the cooperation with the Russian cities of Kaliningrad and Saint Petersburg as a response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine.<ref>{{cite web| url = https://www.trojmiasto.pl/wiadomosci/Koniec-wspolpracy-Trojmiasta-z-Rosja-n164797.html |title=Trójmiasto zrywa współpracę z rosyjskimi miastami |date=3 March 2022 | access-date = 3 March 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite web| url = https://wiadomosci.wp.pl/trojmiasto/gdansk-zrywa-wspolprace-z-rosyjskimi-miastami-na-sali-byl-konsul-ukrainy-6743312033806944a |language = pl |title=Gdańsk zrywa współpracę z rosyjskimi miastami. Na sali był konsul Ukrainy |date = 3 March 2022 | access-date = 4 March 2022}}</ref>

===Cooperation with non-sister cities=== Gdańsk also cooperates with the following non-sister cities:<ref name=twins/>

* {{Flagicon|BEL}} Ghent, Belgium<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.gdansk.pl/urzad-miejski/biuro-prezydenta/miasta-wspolpracujace,a,1621 |title=Miasta współpracujące |access-date=17 August 2020 |archive-date=18 September 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200918150542/https://www.gdansk.pl/urzad-miejski/biuro-prezydenta/miasta-wspolpracujace,a,1621 |url-status=live }}</ref> * {{Flagicon|FRA}} Le Havre, France<ref name="Le Havre twins">{{cite web |url=http://lehavre.fr/dossier/le-havre-ville-partenaire |title=Le Havre – Les villes jumelées |access-date=7 August 2013 |work=City of Le Havre |language=fr |trans-title=Le Havre – Twin towns |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130729215238/http://lehavre.fr/dossier/le-havre-ville-partenaire |archive-date=29 July 2013}}</ref> * {{Flagicon|FRA}} Marseille, France * {{Flagicon|UKR}} Odesa, Ukraine

==Demographics== {{Further|Repatriation of Poles (1944–1946)|Repatriation of Poles (1955–1959)|Flight and expulsion of Germans from Poland during and after World War II}} {{Historical populations |1890|120338 |1910|170337 |1929|256403 |1945|139078 |1946|117894 |1950|194633 |1960|286940 |1970|365600 |1978|442118|21=1988|22=464308|25=2002|26=461334|29=2011|30=460276|35=2021|36=486022|footnote=Sources:<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.polskawliczbach.pl/Gdansk | title=Gdańsk (Pomorskie) » mapy, nieruchomości, GUS, noclegi, szkoły, regon, atrakcje, kody pocztowe, wypadki drogowe, bezrobocie, wynagrodzenie, zarobki, tabele, edukacja, demografia }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Demographic and occupational structure and housing conditions of the urban population in 1978-1988|url=https://statlibr.stat.gov.pl/exlibris/aleph/a22_1/apache_media/RQ1U9XAX48KJJDQ54QSAFQKQ6AK6GS.pdf}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Statistics Poland - National Censuses|url=https://bdl.stat.gov.pl/bdl/dane/podgrup/temat/}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://polnische-ostsee-urlaub.de/danzig/ |title=Reiseführer Danzig – Polnische Ostsee Urlaub |website=polnische-ostsee-urlaub.de |access-date=4 October 2025}}</ref>|37=2024|38=488000}} thumb|Gdańsk population pyramid in 2021

Around 1600, the city’s population was composed of over 90% Germans and adherents of Protestantism.<ref name=Tighe62>{{cite book |last=Tighe |first=Carl |title=Gdansk: National Identity in the Polish-German Borderlands |publisher=Pluto Press |location=United Kingdom |year=1990 |isbn=9780745304748 |pages=62}}</ref> Around 1700, more than 80% of the inhabitants were Protestants, followed by Catholics with about 10% and a smaller but significant group of Calvinists, while German remained the dominant language.<ref>{{cite web |last = Kościelak |first = Sławomir |title = 18th century Gdańsk – a cooling star in the firmament of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth: Denominational, ethnic and political structure of the city on the Motława River |url = https://amorartis.pl/en/dr-hab-slawomir-koscielak-18th-century-gdansk-a-cooling-star-in-the-firmament-of-the-polish-lithuanian-commonwealthdr/ |website = AmorArtis |publisher = Fundacja Trinitas Artis |access-date = 28 August 2025}}</ref> By 1816, the proportion of Catholics had risen to 23.6%, whereas Protestants accounted for 70% of the population.<ref name="Loew136">{{cite book |last=Loew |first=Peter Oliver |title=Gdańsk: Portrait of a City |publisher=Oxford University Press |location=New York |year=2024 |page=136 |isbn=9780197603864}}</ref> In 1890, according to Stefan Ramułt there were 92.28% Germans, 0.94% Poles, 4.50% Kashubians, 2.11% Jews and 0.17% others.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Ramułt |first=Stefan |url=https://bc.radom.pl/dlibra/publication/47796/edition/46348 |title=Statystyka Ludności Kaszubskiej |year=1899 |location=Kraków |publisher=Akademia Umiejętności |pages=121 |language=Polish |trans-title=Statistics of the Kashubian Population}}</ref> In the 1920 election, 6.5% of the inhabitants voted for the Polish Party while the 1923 census conducted in the Free City of Danzig indicated that of all inhabitants in the city proper, 95% were German-speaking and 3.5% spoke Polish and Kashubian.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book |last=Kijeński |first=Tadeusz |url=https://kpbc.umk.pl/Content/212181/Magazyn_309_10_HD_010.pdf |title=Ilu jest Polaków na terenie Wolnego Miasta Gdańska |publisher=Towarzystwo Przyjaciół Nauki i Sztuki w Gdańsku |year=1929 |location=Gdańsk |pages=4–10 |language=Polish |trans-title=How many Poles are there in the Free City of Gdansk |archive-date=11 November 2021 |access-date=6 July 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211111084804/https://kpbc.umk.pl/Content/212181/Magazyn_309_10_HD_010.pdf |url-status=live}}</ref> In 1929, Poles and Kashubians accounted for 11% of Danzig‘s total population (23,120 people out of 215,464).<ref name=":0" /> The end of World War II is a significant break in continuity with regard to the inhabitants of Gdańsk.<ref>{{cite book |date=1923 |title=The Jews of the Free City of Danzig—census of 1923 and 1924 |url=https://www.ajcarchives.org/AJC_DATA/Files/1930_1931_8_StatSupplements.pdf |access-date=10 December 2022 |archive-date=10 December 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221210162154/https://www.ajcarchives.org/AJC_DATA/Files/1930_1931_8_StatSupplements.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref>

German citizens began to flee en masse as the Soviet Red Army advanced, composed of both spontaneous flights driven by rumors of Soviet atrocities, and organised evacuation starting in the summer of 1944 which continued into the spring of 1945.<ref name="Kacowicz100101">Arie Marcelo Kacowicz, Pawel Lutomski, ''Population resettlement in international conflicts: a comparative study'', Lexington Books, 2007, pp. 100, 101 {{ISBN|0-7391-1607-X}} [https://books.google.com/books?id=ovck_g0xwX0C&dq=expulsion+germans+poland&pg=PA100] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210308061435/https://books.google.de/books?id=ovck_g0xwX0C&pg=PA103&dq=expulsion+germans+poland&lr=&as_brr=3&redir_esc=y#PPA100,M1|date=8 March 2021}}</ref> Approximately 1% (100,000) of the German civilian population residing east of the Oder–Neisse line perished in the fighting prior to the surrender in May 1945.<ref>Spieler, Silke. ed. ''Vertreibung und Vertreibungsverbrechen 1945–1948''. Bericht des Bundesarchivs vom 28. Mai 1974. Archivalien und ausgewählte Erlebnisberichte. Bonn: Kulturstiftung der deutschen Vertriebenen. (1989). {{ISBN|3-88557-067-X}}. pp. 23–41</ref> German civilians were also sent as "reparations labour" to the Soviet Union.<ref>Pavel Polian-''Against Their Will: The History and Geography of Forced Migrations in the USSR'' Central European University Press 2003 {{ISBN|963-9241-68-7}} pp. 286-293</ref>{{sfn|Kamusella|2004|p=28}}

Poles from other parts of Poland replaced the former German-speaking population, with the first settlers arriving in March 1945.<ref name=Curp42>{{cite book |title=A clean sweep?: the politics of ethnic cleansing in western Poland, 1945-1960 |first=T. David |last=Curp |publisher=Boydell & Brewer |year=2006 |isbn=1-58046-238-3 |page=42 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ARxnK1u_WOEC&pg=PA42 |access-date=4 August 2009 |archive-date=28 January 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150128133042/http://www.google.de/books?id=ARxnK1u_WOEC&pg=PA42 |url-status=live }}</ref> On 30 March 1945, the Gdańsk Voivodeship was established as the first administrative Polish unit in the Recovered Territories.<ref>{{cite book |title=A history of modern Poland: from the foundation of the State in the First World War to the present day |first=Hans |last=Roos |publisher=Knopf |year=1966 |isbn=978-91-40-10256-0 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EfpoAAAAMAAJ&q=%22recovered+territories%22+gdansk+OR+danzig |access-date=4 August 2009 |archive-date=8 March 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130308120817/http://www.google.de/books?id=EfpoAAAAMAAJ&q=%22recovered+territories%22+gdansk+OR+danzig&dq=%22recovered+territories%22+gdansk+OR+danzig&lr= |url-status=live }}</ref> As of 1 November 1945, around 93,029 Germans remained within the city limits.<ref name=Byk>{{cite book |title=The Rehabilitation and Ethnic Vetting of the Polish Population in the Voivodship of Gdańsk after World War II |author=Sylwia Bykowska |publisher=Peter-Lang-Verlagsgruppe |page=116 |year=2020 |isbn=978-3-631-67940-1}}</ref> Ethnically German population was then expelled to Germany, while these of the locals who declared Polish nationality and were ethnically verified as Poles were permitted to remain; according to the census of 1950 out of 194,633 inhabitants of Gdańsk 12% (23,442) were pre-war autochthons of the Regained Lands, including 22,213 from the city of Gdańsk itself, 828 from neighbouring areas of the Free City and 401 from elsewhere.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Kosiński |first=Leszek |url=https://www.rcin.org.pl/dlibra/publication/50482/edition/33932?language=en |title=Pochodzenie terytorialne ludności Ziem Zachodnich w 1950 r. |publisher=Instytut Geografii PAN |year=1960 |location=Warsaw |pages=Tabela 1 |language=Polish |trans-title=Territorial origins of the inhabitants of the Western Lands in 1950}}</ref>

The settlers can be grouped according to their background:

*Poles that had been freed from forced labor in Nazi Germany<ref name=Cordell168>Karl Cordell, Andrzej Antoszewski, ''Poland and the European Union'', 2000, p. 168, {{ISBN|0-415-23885-4}}, {{ISBN|978-0-415-23885-4}}: gives 4.55 million in the first years</ref><ref name=Hoffmann142/> *Repatriates: Poles expelled from the areas east of the new Polish-Soviet border. This included assimilated minorities such as the Polish-Armenian community<ref name=Cordell168/><ref name=Hoffmann142>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NKcePnPDA1MC |title=Geglückte Integration? |page=142 |isbn=9783486645033 |last1=Hoffmann |first1=Dierk |last2=Schwartz |first2=Michael |year=1999 |publisher=Oldenbourg }}</ref> *Poles incl. Kashubians relocating from nearby villages and small towns<ref>{{cite web |url=http://kaszebsko.com/kaszubi-w-gdansku.html |title=Kaszubi w Gdańsku |website=Kaszëbskô Jednota |publisher=Kashubian Association |archive-date=10 December 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221210162155/http://kaszebsko.com/kaszubi-w-gdansku.html |url-status=dead }}</ref> *Settlers from central Poland migrating voluntarily<ref name=Cordell168/> *Non-Poles forcibly resettled during Operation Vistula in 1947. Large numbers of Ukrainians were forced to move from south-eastern Poland under a 1947 Polish government operation aimed at dispersing, and therefore assimilating, those Ukrainians who had not been expelled eastward already, throughout the newly acquired territories. Belarusians living around the area around Białystok were also pressured into relocating to the formerly German areas for the same reasons. This scattering of members of non-Polish ethnic groups throughout the country was an attempt by the Polish authorities to dissolve the unique ethnic identity of groups like the Ukrainians, Belarusians, and Lemkos, and broke the proximity and communication necessary for strong communities to form.<ref>Thum, p. 129</ref> *Jewish Holocaust survivors, most of them Polish repatriates from the Eastern Borderlands<ref>Selwyn Ilan Troen, Benjamin Pinkus, Merkaz le-moreshet Ben-Guryon, ''Organizing Rescue: National Jewish Solidarity in the Modern Period'', pp. 283-284, 1992, {{ISBN|0-7146-3413-1}}, {{ISBN|978-0-7146-3413-5}}</ref> *Greeks and Slav Macedonians, refugees of the Greek Civil War<ref>{{cite book |editor1=Grzegorz Waligóra |editor2=Łukasz Kamiński |date=2010 |title=NSZZ Solidarność, 1980-1989: Wokół Solidarności |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=c_M-AQAAIAAJ&q=grecy%20do%20gda%C5%84ska%20%20wojn%C4%85%20domow%C4%85 |location=Warszawa (Warsaw) |publisher=Instytut Pamięci Narodowej, Komisja Ścigania Zbrodni Przeciwko Narodowi Polskiemu |page=463 |isbn=9788376291765 |language=pl |access-date=28 September 2021 |archive-date=1 February 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220201032230/https://www.google.com.au/books/edition/NSZZ_Solidarno%C5%9B%C4%87_1980_1989_Wok%C3%B3%C5%82_Sol/c_M-AQAAIAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=0&bsq=grecy+do+gda%C5%84ska++wojn%C4%85+domow%C4%85 |url-status=live }}</ref>

==People== {{main|List of people from Gdańsk}}

==See also== {{Portal|Poland|European Union}} * 764 Gedania – Minor planet named after Gdańsk * {{annotated link|Danzig Highflyer}} * Danzig Trilogy – Novels by Günter Grass * {{annotated link|Father Eugeniusz Dutkiewicz SAC Hospice}} * {{annotated link|Kashubians}} * {{annotated link|Laznia Centre for Contemporary Art}} * List of honorary citizens of Gdańsk * List of neighbourhoods of Gdańsk * {{annotated link|Live in Gdańsk|''Live in Gdańsk''}} * {{annotated link|Orunia Park}} * {{annotated link|Ronald Reagan Park}} * St. Mary's Church, Gdańsk * Tourism in Poland

==Notes== {{notelist}}

==References== {{Reflist|30em}}

==Sources== {{Refbegin}}

*{{cite book | last=Loew | first=Peter Oliver | title=Gdańsk: Portrait of a City | publisher=Oxford University Press | location=New York | year=2024 | isbn=9780197603864}} *{{cite book |editor-last=Możejko |editor-first=Beata |title=New Studies in Medieval and Renaissance Poland and Prussia: The Impact of Gdańsk |date=31 March 2017 |publisher=Taylor & Francis |isbn=9781351805445}} *{{citation |last=Kamusella |first=Tomasz |year=2004 |author-link=Tomasz Kamusella |url=http://cadmus.eui.eu/bitstream/handle/1814/2599/HEC04-01.pdf |title=The Expulsion of the Population Categorized as 'Germans' from the Post-1945 Poland |publisher=European University Institute, Florence. Department of History and Civilization |editor1=Steffen Prauser |editor2=Arfon Rees |work=The Expulsion of the 'German' Communities from Eastern Europe at the End of the Second World War |id=EUI Working Paper HEC No. 2004/1 |format=PDF direct download, 2.52 MB |access-date=17 August 2012 |pages=21–30}} *{{Cite book |last=Kimmich |first=Christoph M |title=The free city: Danzig and German foreign policy, 1919–1934 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QEcmAQAAMAAJ |access-date=8 March 2010 |year=1968 |publisher=Yale University Press |location=New Haven, Connecticut |ref=Kimmich68 }} *{{Cite book |last=Rudziński |first=Grzegorz |title=Gdańsk |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9AKfPQAACAAJ |access-date=26 February 2010 |date=1 March 2001 |publisher=Bonechi |isbn=978-88-476-0517-6 |ref=Rudziński69 |archive-date=11 October 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131011064134/http://books.google.com/books?id=9AKfPQAACAAJ |url-status=live }} *{{Cite book |last=Simson |first=Paul |title=Geschichte Der Stadt Danzig |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DSmxtiBx4CoC |access-date=26 February 2010 |date=October 2009 |publisher=BiblioBazaar, LLC |isbn=978-1-115-53256-3 |ref=Simson70 |archive-date=11 October 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131011050903/http://books.google.com/books?id=DSmxtiBx4CoC |url-status=live }} * {{Cite journal |last=Śliwiński |first=Błażej |date=2006 |title=O rzece 'Gdani' i początkach Gdańska. Uwagi historyka do ustaleń językoznawców |trans-title="About the river 'Gdania' and the beginnings of Gdańsk. Historian's comments on the findings of linguists" |journal=Acta Cassubiana |volume=8 |pages=11–23}} {{Refend}}

== External links == {{Commons}} {{Wikivoyage|Gdańsk}} {{Wiktionary|Gdańsk}} * {{Cite EB1911|wstitle=Danzig|noicon=1|short=1}}

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