Gdansk, Poland is widely known as the city of glowing amber (of which I bought some) and Gothic cathedrals. It's lustre hardens back to medieval times when it was one of the most prosperous cities in the Hanseatic League (check your high school history), the mercantile powerhouse of the Baltic. The city's rich history is on display in the remarkable restored Old Town, a splendid mix of Gothic, Renaissance and baroque styles--from the royal residence of the Green Gate to the 15th-century Artus Court, a merchant's palace. Perhaps its most fascinating structure is the Gdansk treadwheel crane, a 14Th-century human-powered device that loaded and unloaded cargo.
The treadmill crane.
Some scenes from the restored downtown.
The downtown was completely destroyed by the Germans in WW II. It has been painstakingly restored. We both had a feeling that we were only shown the good part of the city. Our tour guide gave us a very deep description of the horrible persecution during the war by the Germans and the subsequent communist regime. It was heart-breaking to hear about the terrible living conditions and the "solidarity " movement that changed the country. This is a poor country, but they are free. They definitely have a two-tier system for health care and social benefits. As beautiful that everything looks, there still exists deep poverty. They have a negative birth rate and totally refuse to accept any immigrants.
Here are a few more photos...
The symbolic memorial for the solidarity movement at the shipyard, which now is a small fraction of its old self.
Yes....they have another unique manhole cover! I am really getting into collecting photos of them.
No idea who these guys are ...
St. Mary's Catholic Church ... the largest brick church in Europe .... still being restored. It was a Lutheran Church at one point.
And of course we did one geocache!
All for now. Sea day tomorrow...REST! Love to all...
Love that manhole cover !
ReplyDeleteSuch a history and in spite of it all they survive!
Thanks for sharing!