POLAND - Gdańsk - travel vlog (plus Malbork Castle, Sopot, Solidarnosc) 15 Degrees North

Описание: 15° North are travelling again! This time we are in Poland in its famous port city, Gdansk, as well nearby Sopot and the world’s biggest castle, Malbork. There we visit: River Vistula, Long Street, Long Market, Solidarnosc, Westerplatte
Jérémy and Ben here again! We love to travel and to satisfy our wanderlust, we are on a worldwide odyssey exploring the best places for a break around the world. We love to escape Britain to experience the best culture, cuisine and attractions that the globe has to offer. If you’re a tourist like us and just need a good itinerary for what to do and how to do it when you’re in Gdansk, we will show you the best things to put on your itinerary.
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Gdansk is a port city on the northern coast of Poland, sitting on the Baltic Sea. The fourth biggest in the country, this city has had a tumultuous past due to its key strategic position. The port itself is huge, but the city’s centre and its old town are situated a couple of miles inland on the banks of the River Vistula. The river links Warsaw to the sea, so the fate of Gdansk has long been tied to the fate of the nation’s capital. The city is built entirely on trade, so just like all the other key Baltic cities, this was a member of the Hanseatic League before being incorporated into the Kingdom of Poland. But then it became part of Prussia and eventually Germany in the nineteenth century. The town is riddled with historic architecture, mostly crowded along the riverbank and around roads called Long Street and Long Market.
Gdansk, just like Warsaw, is one of the world’s greatest restoration projects. And by “restoration” we mean “rebuilding”. By the end of World War Two, Gdansk had been absolutely smashed to bits by Russian artillery. In fact, 90% of the city was completely flattened. So once the war was over, the decision was made to completely reconstruct the city’s historic centre based on archival plans and photographs.
Gdansk has hit international headlines several times over the last century, with some major world events happening here. The most recent of these happened in 1980, when the workers of Gdansk shipyard started to strike against their then communist government demanding labour reform and civil rights. This struggle is memorialised at a fantastic museum in the city. Though there had been strikes at the shipyard before, this one was led by electrician called Lech Walesa, who inspired people up and down the country to join him in a general strike against the government. This strike galvanised into the Solidarity Movement, known as Solidarnosc, and this became a political party, which formed in opposition to the ruling communists.
Gdansk’s second big headline-grabbing moment happened here, at Westerplatte. It was here that on 1st September 1939 the very first shots of World War Two were fired when Germany invaded Poland. This had been an extremely prosperous city for the German Empire before it was returned to Poland at the end of World War One. So when Hitler began his mission to recapture all of the historic German lands, Danzig was right at the top of his list.
Sopot became a tourist destination in the nineteenth century when it was transformed from a sleepy fishing village into a health destination. With baths, promenade and theatre, this became the premiere destination on the Baltic Sea. Subsequently they built a real whopper of a pier, which remains the longest wooden pier in Europe to this day. People would come from the industrial cities of Gdansk, Warsaw and Berlin to come and take the sea air away from the smog of their homes. Today, it retains its seaside grandeur, even if it is bracing on that pier in February!
When you’re in Gdansk, you’ve really got to make the effort to hop on a train and go to Malbork. Why? Well only because it contains the biggest castle IN THE ENTIRE WORLD! Built in the thirteenth century, the Guinness Book Of World Records states that Malbork Castle is the largest castle in the world measured by land area. It is also a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Constructed by the Teutonic Knights, it’s a castle that was really intent on not being captured. Hence why it’s a fortress inside a fortress inside a fortress inside a fortress!