Did you Know?

1. Gdańsk is known and has been known as Danzig, Gdania, Gyddanyzc, Kdanzk, Gdanzc, Danceke, Danzc, Danczk, Danczik, Danczig and Gdąnsk amongst others!

2. Gdańsk was the birthplace of the Solidarity movement which, under the leadership of political activist Lech Wałęsa, played a major role in bringing an end to Communist rule across Central Europe.

3. Gdańsk has been around a long time. It was founded in 997.

4 Sopot Pier is the longest in the Baltic at 640 metres.

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5. The area around Gdansk is famous for Amber which is also known by many other names such as: jantar, good stone, sacred stone, gold of the north, Baltic gold, and electron. Amber is also a mineral of many colours. Depending on the age amber nuggets range from nearly white, through all shades of yellow and orange, to dark, almost cherry-like red.

6. Gdansk is the sixth-largest city in Poland.

7. The Gdańsk Crane (a popular tourist attraction) was the largest port crane in Medieval Europe.

8. Gdańsk is situated at the mouth of the Motława River, connected to the Leniwka, a branch in the delta of the nearby Vistula River, whose waterway system supplies 60% of the area of Poland and connects Gdańsk to the national capital in Warsaw.

9. The city's name is thought to originate from the Gdania River, the original name of the Motława branch on which the city is situated.

10. For much of its history, the majority of the city's inhabitants were German-speakers, who called it Danzig. This name was also used in English until the end of World War II, and is still used in historical contexts. Other former English spellings of the name include Dantzig, Dantsic and Dantzic.

 

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