{{Short description|Central part of Gdańsk}} {{For|the community in the United States|Main City, Missouri}} {{redirect-distinguish|Rechtsstadt|Rechtsstaat|Reichsstadt}} {{Infobox settlement |name = Main City |settlement_type = Quarter (''osiedle'') |image_skyline = Calle Dlugie Pobrzeze, Gdansk, Polonia, 2013-05-20, DD 07.jpg |image_caption = Main City as seen from across the Motława |image_map = Głowne Miasto Subdivision.svg |map_caption = Główne Miasto within Śródmieście |mapframe = yes |coordinates = {{coord|54.3489|N|18.6529|E|source:wikidata|display=inline,title}} |subdivision_type = Country |subdivision_name = Poland |subdivision_type1 = Voivodeship |subdivision_name1 = Pomeranian |subdivision_type2 = City |subdivision_name2 = Gdańsk |subdivision_type3 = District |subdivision_name3 = Śródmieście |established_title = Founded |established_date = 1343 }} The '''Main City''' ({{langx|pl|Główne Miasto}}, {{langx|de|Rechtstadt}}) is the central, historic part of Gdańsk's borough of Śródmieście. Unlike the Old Town, the area was rebuilt after World War II and includes some of the city's best known historical monuments, including the St. Mary's basilica, Golden Gate, Artus Court, Main City Hall, the Royal Road, Long Lane and Long Market.
== Location == The Main City is located on the western bank of Motława. It is surrounded by the Old Town to the north, the Stare Przedmieście to the south, the borough of Nowe Ogrody to the east and the Granary Island to the east, across Motława.
== History == [[File:Danzig Langen Markt und Rathaus (1890-1900).jpg|thumb|left|Długi Targ (then usually known by its German name, ''Langen Markt'') in 1890-1900]] [[File:Monumento Neptuno, Gdansk, Polonia, 2013-05-20, DD 02.jpg|thumb|left|Długi Targ]] It was founded in 1343 by the Teutonic Knights who had conquered the area in 1308.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|title = Danziger Wohnkultur in der frühen Neuzeit: Untersuchungen zu Nachlassinventaren des 17. und 18. Jahrhunderts|url = https://books.google.com/books?id=VDu-lIW7ZxEC|publisher = LIT Verlag|date = 2007|isbn = 978-3-8258-8711-7|language = de|first = Corina|last = Heß|location = Münster|pages = 40–45}}</ref> Officially a separate settlement from the nearby city (since then called the Old Town), it was chartered with Kulm Law,<ref name=":0" /> and was governed separately until 1457, when king Casimir IV of Poland granted the town with the ''Great Privilege'', uniting the Main City with the Old Town and the suburb of Osiek.<ref name=":0" /> From then onwards the Main City shared its history with the rest of Gdańsk. In 19th century many houses in the largely mediaeval and renaissance part of Gdańsk received new, Gothic revival façades in line with a trend in Germany tying this style to "German spirit".<ref name=":1">{{Cite journal|url = http://biblioteka.wejherowo.pl/dlibra/Content/973|title = Odbudowa Gdańska jako miasta polskiego po 1945 roku|last = Friedrich|first = Jacek|date = 2007-03-05|journal = Pomerania|access-date = 2015-06-27|trans-title = Reconstruction of Gdańsk as a Polish city after 1945|publisher = Zarząd Główny Zrzeszenia Kaszubsko-Pomorskiego|location = Gdańsk|pages = 6–11|issue = 3/2007}}</ref>
During World War II the Main City was often targeted by Allied bombing raids.<ref>{{Cite book|edition = 1st|title = Germany and the Second World War|publisher = Oxford University Press|date = July 7, 2015|isbn = 978-0-19-873827-5|first1 = Horst|last1 = Boog|first2 = Gerhard|last2 = Krebs|first3 = Detlef|last3 = Vogel|pages = 153–158|volume = VII: The Strategic Air War in Europe and the War in the West and East Asia, 1943-1944/5|translator = Derry Cook-Radmore|translator2 = Francisca Garvie|translator3 = Ewald Osers|translator4 = Barry Smerin|translator5 = Barbara Wilson}}</ref><ref name=":2">{{Cite book|url = http://www.gedanopedia.pl/gdansk/?title=ODBUDOWA_%C5%9AR%C3%93DMIE%C5%9ACIA_GDA%C5%83SKA_PO_1945_ROKU|title = Odbudowa śródmieścia Gdańska po 1945 roku|date = 2012|access-date = 2015-06-27|website = Gedanopedia: Encyklopedia Gdańska|publisher = Fundacja Gdańska|last = Gruszkowski|first = Wiesław|trans-title = Reconstruction of Gdańsk's downtown after 1945|location = Gdańsk|language = pl|at = ¶ 1-8|editor2-last = Gliński|editor-last = Śliwiński|editor-first = Błażej|editor2-first = Mirosław|editor3-last = Mykowski|editor3-first = Jarosław|isbn = 978-83-929932-5-4}}</ref> It received further damage during and immediately after the Siege of Danzig in the spring of 1945.<ref>{{Cite journal|url = http://www.ceeol.com/aspx/getdocument.aspx?logid=5&id=a7d27790-0d88-4cb4-925a-015429f23d03|title = W cieniu wyzwolenia – Gdańsk 1945|last = Kowalski|first = Waldemar|date = 2005|journal = Biuletyn Instytutu Pamięci Narodowej|access-date = 2015-06-27|trans-title = In the Shadow of the Liberation – Gdańsk 1945|publisher = Instytut Pamięci Narodowej|issue = 5–06/2005|pages = 128–143|oclc = 51104599|issn = 1641-9561|editor-last = Ruman|editor-first = Jan M.}}</ref> Altogether, approximately 90% of all buildings in the Main City were destroyed.<ref>{{Cite book|title = Gdańsk w latach 1945-1948: odbudowa organizmu miejskiego|publisher = Zakład Narodowy im. Ossolińskich|date = 1981|isbn = 978-83-04-01025-3|language = pl|first = Michał|last = Stryczyński|pages = 23–28}}</ref><ref name=":3">{{Cite book|title = Leksykon miast polskich|publisher = Sport i Turystyka|isbn = 978-83-7079-926-7|language = pl|first1 = Jerzy|last1 = Kwiatek|first2 = Teofil|last2 = Lijewski|year = 1998|chapter = Gdańsk|page = 164}}</ref> Despite serious opposition to the idea,<ref name=":2" /> in 1949 Polish authorities decided to rebuild the Main City, with most of its historical landmarks.<ref name=":1" />
However, instead of reconstructing the city to the way it looked immediately before World War II, various landmarks were restored to historical and quasi-historical forms alluding to their renaissance look,<ref name=":3" /> in order to underline the city's ties with Poland,<ref name=":1" /><ref name=":4">{{Cite book|title = Neue Stadt in altem Gewand|publisher = Böhlau-Verlag|date = 2010-10-01|location = Köln|isbn = 978-3-412-20312-2|language = de|first = Jacek|last = Friedrich|trans-title = A new city in ancient clothing|pages = 34, 102}}</ref> but also to emphasize Gdańsk's rich multi-cultural tradition, with Flemish, Italian and French influences.<ref name=":4" /> In addition, Polish architects got rid of the largely mediaeval dense urban fabric and reconstructed mostly the façades along the main streets, while annexes, second and third rows of houses with their courtyards were replaced by larger open spaces, in line with contemporary understanding of urban planning.<ref name=":2" />
== References == <references />
== See also == {{commons category|Główne Miasto}} * History of Gdańsk * Warsaw Old Town
{{Gdańsk}}
Category:Districts of Gdańsk Category:History of Gdańsk Category:Tourist attractions in Gdańsk