{{Short description|Former arsenal in Śródmieście, Gdańsk}} {{Infobox building | name = Great Armoury | image = Gran Armería, Gdansk, Polonia, 2013-05-20, DD 12 (adjusted).jpg | image_caption = The Great Armoury in 2013 | coordinates = {{coord|54.3507|18.6491|type:landmark|display=inline,title}} | architectural_style = Mannerist | address = Targ Węglowy 4<br />Śródmieście, Gdańsk, Poland | years_built = 1600–1605 | completion_date = 1605 | owner = Academy of Fine Arts | floor_count = 3 | architect = Anthonis van Obbergen | footnotes = {{designation list | embed = yes | designation1 = Historic Monument of Poland | designation1_date = 1994-09-08 | designation1_partof = Gdańsk – city within the 17th-century fortifications | designation1_number = M.P. 1994 nr 50 poz. 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> }}}}
The '''Great Armoury''' ({{langx|pl|Wielka Zbrojownia}}; {{langx|de|Großes Zeughaus}}) is a 17th-century former arsenal beside the Targ Węglowy in Gdańsk, Poland, today housing the Academy of Fine Arts. It is on the regional heritage list.<ref>{{cite web |title=Zestawienia zabytków nieruchomych - woj. pomorskie |url=https://nid.pl/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/POM-rej_31.01.2025.pdf |website=nid.pl |publisher=National Institute of Cultural Heritage |access-date=14 July 2025 }}</ref> It is considered the greatest example of Mannerist architecture in Gdańsk.<ref name =:0/><ref name =:1/>
== Characteristics == [[File:Gdańsk Wielka Zbrojownia 2.jpg|thumb|left|Statue of Athena on the facade]] The Great Armoury is beside the Targ Węglowy (Coal Market). Constructed in a Mannerist style, it is a signature feature of the Targ Węglowy, and was inspired by the Vleeshal in Haarlem. It has 3 floors and an attic, whilst the top of its façade are four gables, and the accompanying separation between parts of the building makes it appear as if the building is subdivided into four different constructions.<ref>{{cite web |last=Babnis |first=Krystyna |date=10 July 2014 |title=Wielka Zbrojownia ze studnią |url=https://zabytek.pl/pl/obiekty/gdansk-wielka-zbrojownia |website=zabytek.pl |publisher=National Institute of Cultural Heritage |access-date=15 August 2025 }}</ref> The top of the façade is decorated with bas-reliefs of Athena, the ancient Greek goddess of warfare; soldiers of the city of Gdańsk and exploding cannonballs; and a carving of Ivan Pidkova.<ref name = :1>{{cite web |date=28 February 2017 |title=Wielka Zbrojownia |url=https://infogdansk.pl/wielka-zbrojownia/ |website=infogdansk.pl |access-date=15 August 2025 }}</ref> {{clear|left}}
== History == The Great Armoury was built from 1600 to 1605; its architect was Anthonis van Obbergen and construction was overseen by Hans Strakowski. It was used as an arsenal up to 1793, when the city was annexed by the Kingdom of Prussia in the Second Partition of Poland. During the time of the First Free City of Danzig, it was used as a French military hospital.<ref name =:0/> After the dissolution of the First Free City, it was mostly used for storing old firearms, also hosting a collection of portrait paintings of kings of Poland moved from the Main City Hall up to {{circa|1866}}.<ref name =:0/> In 1919, the ''Zeughaus-Automat'', a restaurant housing several vending machines for purchasing ready-made meals, opened on the building's first floor.<ref name = :0>{{cite web |last=Duchnowski |first=Tomasz |title=WIELKA ZBROJOWNIA |url=https://gdansk.gedanopedia.pl/gdansk/?title=WIELKA_ZBROJOWNIA |website=gedanopedia.pl |access-date=15 August 2025 |archive-date=24 April 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250424100506/https://gdansk.gedanopedia.pl/gdansk/?title=WIELKA_ZBROJOWNIA |url-status=live }}</ref>
In 1922, the Great Armoury was taken by the city of Danzig, and the following year, the ground floor was transformed into a shopping arcade, as described by Nobel Prize-winning author Günter Grass in ''The Tin Drum''.<ref name = :1 />
thumb|left|Reconstruction after World War II In 1945, it was severely damaged. It was rebuilt from 1947 to 1951. In 1951, an art exhibition was displayed in the building, which, in 1952, was handed over to the Academy of Fine Arts; the Academy moved into the Great Armoury in 1954. The Armoury's ground floor was again repurposed into a trade passage, which lasted until 2007.<ref name = :0 /> After the closure of the trade passage, the Academy began looking for investors to buy and use said passage, but few presented favourable arrangements.<ref>{{cite web |last=Klimowicz-Sikorska |first=Marzena |date=22 September 2010 |title=Pech Zbrojowni: znowu bez inwestora |url=https://www.trojmiasto.pl/wiadomosci/Pech-Zbrojowni-znowu-bez-inwestora-n41950.html |website=trojmiasto.pl |access-date=15 August 2025 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Klimowicz-Sikorska |first=Marzena |date=4 April 2011 |title=Co dalej ze Zbrojownią? |url=https://www.trojmiasto.pl/wiadomosci/Co-dalej-ze-Zbrojownia-n46528.html |website=trojmiasto.pl |access-date=15 August 2025 |archive-date=24 June 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130624075505/http://www.trojmiasto.pl/wiadomosci/Co-dalej-ze-Zbrojownia-n46528.html |url-status=live }}</ref>
The former trade passage was opened to art exhibitions in 2012<ref>{{cite web |date=20 July 2012 |title=Zbrojownia otwarta. Na razie dla sztuki |url=https://www.trojmiasto.pl/wiadomosci/Zbrojownia-otwarta-Na-razie-dla-sztuki-n60279.html |website=trojmiasto.pl |access-date=15 August 2025 }}</ref> and, as of 2025, remains in this function.<ref>{{cite web |last=Mielke |first=Magda |date=4 June 2025 |title=Feminizm, queer, las, dyplomy i plakaty. O tych wystawach będzie głośno |url=https://www.trojmiasto.pl/kultura/Feminizm-queer-las-dyplomy-i-plakaty-O-tych-wystawach-bedzie-glosno-n203912.html |website=trojmiasto.pl |access-date=15 August 2025 }}</ref> {{clear|left}}
== References == {{Reflist}}
Category:Buildings and structures in Gdańsk Category:Arsenals Category:Buildings and structures completed in 1605 Category:Mannerist architecture in Poland Category:17th-century architecture in Poland