Editing Gdańsk

{{short description|City in Pomeranian Voivodeship, Poland}}
{{redirect2|Gdansk|Danzig||Gdańsk (disambiguation)|and|Danzig (disambiguation)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2020}}
{{Infobox settlement
| name = Gdańsk
| type = [[City with powiat rights|City county]]
| image_skyline = {{multiple image
| total_width = 280
| border = infobox
| perrow = 1/2/2/2/1
| caption_align = center
| image1 = Calle Dlugie Pobrzeze, Gdansk, Polonia, 2013-05-20, DD 06.jpg
| alt1 = Motława River
| caption1 = [[Motława|Motława River]]
| image2 = Corte Artus, Gdansk, Polonia, 2013-05-20, DD 03.jpg
| alt2 = Artus Court
| caption2 = [[Artus Court]]
| image3 = Gdansk Kosciol mariacki5.jpg
| alt3 = St. Mary's Church and Main Town Hall
| caption3 = [[St. Mary's Church, Gdańsk|Mary Ch.]], [[Gdańsk Town Hall|Town Hall]]
| image4 = Gran Armería, Gdansk, Polonia, 2013-05-20, DD 08.jpg
| alt4 = Mannerist Great Armoury
| caption4 = [[Northern Mannerism|Mannerist]] Armoury
| image5 = 7629vik Gdańsk, fontanna Neptuna. Foto Barbara Maliszewska.jpg
| alt5 = ''Długi Targ'' (Long Market) and Neptune's Fountain
| caption5 = [[Neptune's Fountain, Gdańsk|Neptune's Fountain]]
| image6 = Museum WWII 2.jpg
| alt6 = World War II Museum
| caption6 = [[Museum of the Second World War|World War II Museum]]
| image7 = Memorial to Defenders - Westerplatte - Gdansk - Poland - 01 (27474123574).jpg
| alt7 = Westerplatte Monument
| caption7 = [[Westerplatte Monument|Westerplatte Monu.]]
}}
| image_shield = POL Gdańsk COA (grand).svg
| motto = ''[[Nec temere, nec timide]]'' <br />(Neither rashly, nor timidly)
| pushpin_map_alt = 
| pushpin_map = Poland
| pushpin_label = 
| pushpin_label_position = right
| coordinates = {{Coord|54|20|51|N|18|38|43|E|region:PL_type:city(750,000)|display=title,inline}}
| subdivision_type = [[List of sovereign states|Country]]
| subdivision_name = {{POL}}
| subdivision_type1 = [[Voivodeships of Poland|Voivodeship]]
| subdivision_type2 = [[List of counties of Poland|County]]
| subdivision_name1 = [[Pomeranian Voivodeship|Pomeranian]]
| subdivision_name2 = ''city county''
| established_title = Established
| established_date = 10th century
| established_title3 = City rights
| established_date3 = 1263
| leader_title = [[List of city mayors of Gdańsk|City mayor]]
| leader_name = [[Aleksandra Dulkiewicz]] [[Independent politician|(Ind.)]]
| governing_body = [[Gdańsk City Council]]
| area_total_km2 = 683
| area_urban_km2 = 414.81
| area_footnotes = <ref>{{cite web|access-date=2023-08-31|date=27 July 2023|title=Największe miasta w Polsce. Warszawa wyprzedzona, jest nowy lider|url=https://tvn24.pl/biznes/z-kraju/gdansk-wyprzedzil-warszawe-najwieksze-miasta-w-polsce-pod-wzgledem-powierzchni-zmiany-w-przepisach-7264170|website=[[TVN24]]}}<!-- auto-translated by Module:CS1 translator --></ref><ref>{{cite web|access-date=2023-08-31|date=20 July 2023|title=Powierzchnia i ludność w przekroju terytorialnym w 2023 roku|url=https://stat.gov.pl/obszary-tematyczne/ludnosc/ludnosc/powierzchnia-i-ludnosc-w-przekroju-terytorialnym-w-2023-roku,7,20.html|website=[[Główny Urząd Statystyczny]]}}<!-- auto-translated by Module:CS1 translator --></ref>
| population_total = 486,492 ([[List of cities and towns in Poland|6th]])<ref>[https://demografia.stat.gov.pl/BazaDemografia/Tables.aspx] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230201103446/https://demografia.stat.gov.pl/BazaDemografia/Tables.aspx}} (in Polish)</ref>
| population_as_of = 30 June 2023
| population_density_km2 = 1800
| population_urban = 749,786
| population_metro = 1,080,700
| demographics_type2 = GDP
| demographics2_footnotes = <ref>{{Cite web|url=https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/met_10r_3gdp/default/table?lang=en|title=Gross domestic product (GDP) at current market prices by metropolitan regions|last=|first=|date=|website=ec.europa.eu|access-date=}}</ref>
| demographics2_title1 = Urban
| demographics2_info1 = €20.529 billion (2020)
| postal_code_type = Postal code
| postal_code = 80-008 to 80–958
| area_code = +48 58
| website = {{URL|https://www.gdansk.pl|gdansk.pl}}
| timezone = [[Central European Time|CET]]
| utc_offset = +1
| timezone_DST = [[Central European Summer Time|CEST]]
| utc_offset_DST = +2
| blank_name = [[Vehicle registration plates of Poland|Car plates]]
| blank_info = GD
| elevation_max_m = 180
| image_flag = POL Gdańsk flag.svg
| footnotes = {{designation list|embed=yes
| designation1 = Historic Monument of Poland
| designation1_offname = Gdańsk – city within the 17th-century fortifications
| designation1_date = 1994-09-08
| designation1_number = M.P., 1994, vol. 50, No. 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>}}
}}

'''Gdańsk'''{{Efn|
* Pronunciation:
** English: {{IPAc-en|UK|ɡ|ə|ˈ|d|æ|n|s|k}} {{respell|gə|DANSK}}, {{IPAc-en|US|ɡ|ə|ˈ|d|ɑː|n|s|k}} {{respell|gə|DAHNSK}}<ref>{{cite web |title=the definition of gdansk |url=http://www.dictionary.com/browse/gdansk |website=Dictionary.com}}</ref>
** {{IPA|pl|ˈɡdaj̃sk|audio=LL-Q809 (pol)-Olaf-Gdańsk.wav|lang|small=no}}, {{IPA|pl|ˈɡdaɲsk|label=sometimes|small=no|audio=Pl-Gdańsk.ogg}}.
* Other names:
** {{langx|csb|Gduńsk}}, {{IPA|csb|ɡduɲsk|pron|small=no}}<ref name="Stefan Ramułt 1893">Stefan Ramułt, ''Słownik języka pomorskiego, czyli kaszubskiego'', Kraków 1893, Gdańsk 2003, ISBN 83-87408-64-6.</ref>
** {{langx|de|Danzig}}, {{IPA|de|ˈdantsɪç|pron|small=no|De-Danzig2.ogg}} {{IPA|de|ˈdantsɪk||De-Danzig3.ogg|label=or|small=no}}
** {{langx|la|Gedania}}, {{Langx|la|Gedanium|label=none}} or {{Langx|la|Dantiscum|label=none}}.<ref name="Johann Georg Theodor Grässe 1861, p. 71, 237">Johann Georg Theodor Grässe, ''Orbis latinus oder Verzeichniss der lateinischen Benennungen der bekanntesten Städte etc., Meere, Seen, Berge und Flüsse in allen Theilen der Erde nebst einem deutsch-lateinischen Register derselben''. T. Ein Supplement zu jedem lateinischen und geographischen Wörterbuche. Dresden: G. Schönfeld's Buchhandlung (C. A. Werner), 1861, p. 71, 237.</ref>}} is a city on the [[Baltic Sea|Baltic]] coast of northern [[Poland]], and the capital of the [[Pomeranian Voivodeship]]. With a population of 486,492,<ref name="population">{{cite web |url=https://bdl.stat.gov.pl/BDL/dane/teryt/jednostka |title=Local Data Bank |access-date=18 July 2022 |publisher=Statistics Poland }} Data for territorial unit 2261000.</ref> it is Poland's sixth-largest city and principal [[seaport]].<ref name="lvhmzm">{{cite web |url=http://world-gazetteer.com/wg.php?x=&men=gcis&lng=en&des=gamelan&geo=-173&srt=npan&col=abcdefghinoq&msz=1500&pt=a&va=&srt=pnan |title=Poland – largest cities (per geographical entity) |publisher=World Gazetteer |access-date=5 May 2009}}{{dead link|date=July 2021|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref><ref name="Johann Georg Theodor Grässe 1861, p. 71, 237"/> Gdańsk lies at the mouth of the [[Motława]] River and is situated at the southern edge of [[Gdańsk Bay]], close to the city of [[Gdynia]] and the [[resort town]] of [[Sopot]]; these form a [[metropolitan area]] called the [[Tricity, Poland|Tricity]] (''Trójmiasto''), with a population of approximately 1.5&nbsp;million.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://gdansk.stat.gov.pl/vademecum/vademecum_pomorskie/portret_obszaru_metropolitalnego/obszar_metropolitalny_gda%C5%84sk-gdynia-sopot.pdf |title=Obszar Metropolitalny Gdańsk-Gdynia-Sopot |access-date=17 April 2021 |archive-date=17 April 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210417124953/https://gdansk.stat.gov.pl/vademecum/vademecum_pomorskie/portret_obszaru_metropolitalnego/obszar_metropolitalny_gda%C5%84sk-gdynia-sopot.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref>

The city has a complex history, having had periods of Polish, German and self rule. An important shipbuilding and trade port since the [[Middle Ages]], in 1361 it became a member of the [[Hanseatic League]] which influenced its economic, demographic and [[#Architecture|urban landscape]]. It also served as Poland's principal seaport and largest city in the 15th-17th centuries. With the [[Partitions of Poland]], the city was annexed of [[Kingdom of Prussia|Prussia]] in 1793, and became a part of the [[German Empire]] in [[Unification of Germany|1871]]. In [[Free City of Danzig (Napoleonic)|1807–1814]] and [[Free City of Danzig|1920–1939]] it was a free city. On 1 September 1939 it was the scene of a [[Battle of Westerplatte|military clash]] at [[Westerplatte]], one of the first which initiated [[World War II]]. In the 1980s, Gdańsk was the birthplace of the Polish [[Solidarity (Polish trade union)|Solidarity]] movement, which helped precipitate the collapse of the [[Eastern Bloc]], the [[fall of the Berlin Wall]] and the dissolution of the [[Warsaw Pact]].

Gdańsk is home to the [[University of Gdańsk]], [[Gdańsk University of Technology]], the [[National Museum, Gdańsk|National Museum]], the [[Gdańsk Shakespeare Theatre]], the [[Museum of World War II in Gdańsk|Museum of the Second World War]], the [[Polish Baltic Philharmonic]], the [[Polish Space Agency]] and the [[European Solidarity Centre]]. Among Gdańsk's most notable historical landmarks are the [[Gdańsk Town Hall|Town Hall]], the [[Green Gate]], [[Artus Court]], [[Neptune's Fountain, Gdańsk|Neptune's Fountain]], and [[St. Mary's Church, Gdańsk|St. Mary's Church]], one of the largest brick churches in the world. The city is served by [[Gdańsk Lech Wałęsa Airport]], the country's [[List of airports in Poland|third busiest airport]] and the most important international airport in northern Poland.

Gdańsk is among the most visited cities in Poland, having received 3.4 million tourists according to data collected in 2019.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.gdansk.pl/wiadomosci/Ile-turystow-Gdansk-2019-rok-turystyka-co-zwiedzic-w-gdansku,a,164557 |language=pl |title=Wszystkie Strony Miasta. Rok 2019 rekordowy w gdańskiej turystyce - 3,4 mln gości |website=gdansk.pl |access-date=17 December 2022}}</ref> The city also hosts [[St. Dominic's Fair]], which dates back to 1260,<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.thefirstnews.com/article/saint-dominics-fair-is-760-years-old-14619 |title=Saint Dominic's Fair is 760 years old! |access-date=5 August 2020 |archive-date=29 September 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200929035944/https://www.thefirstnews.com/article/saint-dominics-fair-is-760-years-old-14619 |url-status=live }}</ref> and is regarded as one of the biggest trade and cultural events in Europe.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.pap.pl/en/news-/news,621550,millions-at-gdansks-st-dominics-fair.html |website=www.pap.pl |title=Millions at Gdansk's St. Dominic's Fair |date=21 August 2016 |access-date=30 December 2016 <!--Article copied to [https://polska.pl/economy/investments-projects/millions-gdansks-st-dominics-fair/ polska.pl]-->}}</ref> Gdańsk has also topped rankings for the quality of life, safety and living standards worldwide, and its historic city centre has been listed as one of Poland's [[List of Historic Monuments (Poland)|national monuments]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.nid.pl/pl/Informacje_ogolne/Zabytki_w_Polsce/Pomniki_historii/Lista_miejsc/ |title=Pomniki historii |date=n.d. |website=nid.pl |publisher=Narodowy Instytut Dziedzictwa |access-date=11 October 2021 |archive-date=11 October 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211011072200/https://www.nid.pl/pl/Informacje_ogolne/Zabytki_w_Polsce/Pomniki_historii/Lista_miejsc/ |url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.numbeo.com/quality-of-life/rankings.jsp |title=Quality of Life Index by City 2019 Mid-Year |website=www.numbeo.com |access-date=20 September 2019 |archive-date=12 June 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190612070505/https://www.numbeo.com/quality-of-life/rankings.jsp |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=http://trojmiasto.wyborcza.pl/trojmiasto/7,35612,24341452,gdansk-najlepiej-ocenionym-polskim-miastem-w-miedzynarodowym.html?disableRedirects=true |title=Wyborcza.pl |website=trojmiasto.wyborcza.pl |access-date=20 September 2019 |archive-date=12 March 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200312090719/https://trojmiasto.wyborcza.pl/trojmiasto/7,35612,24341452,gdansk-najlepiej-ocenionym-polskim-miastem-w-miedzynarodowym.html?disableRedirects=true |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=https://en.ug.edu.pl/media/aktualnosci/85193/gdansk_high_quality_life_index |title=Gdańsk high in Quality of Life Index |website=en.ug.edu.pl |access-date=20 September 2019 |archive-date=20 September 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190920145542/https://en.ug.edu.pl/media/aktualnosci/85193/gdansk_high_quality_life_index |url-status=dead}}</ref>

== Names==
=== Origin===
The name of the city was most likely derived from ''Gdania'', a river presently known as [[Motława]] on which the city is situated.<ref>{{cite book |last=Breza |first=Edward |date=2002 |title=Nazwiska Pomorzan. Pochodzenie i zmiany |volume=2 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=aEQrAQAAIAAJ&q=gda%C5%84sk%20gdania%20rzeki%20nazwa |location=Gdańsk |publisher=Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Gdańskiego |page=90 |isbn=9788373260573 |oclc=643402493 |access-date=1 November 2021 |archive-date=1 February 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220201032225/https://www.google.com.au/books/edition/Nazwiska_Pomorzan/aEQrAQAAIAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=0&bsq=gda%C5%84sk+gdania+rzeki+nazwa |url-status=live }}</ref> Other linguists also argue that the name stems from the [[Proto-Slavic language|Proto-Slavic]] [[adjective]]/[[prefix]] ''gъd-'', which meant '[[wetness|wet]]' or '[[moisture|moist]]' with the addition of the [[morpheme]] ''[[ń]]''/''ni'' and the [[suffix]] ''-sk''.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://historiagdanska.pl/roznosci/gdansk/ |title=Gdańsk. Skąd wzięła się nazwa miasta |last=Mamok |first=Szymon |date=8 October 2020 |website=Historia Gdańska |publisher= |access-date=31 October 2021 |quote= |archive-date=31 October 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211031164243/https://historiagdanska.pl/roznosci/gdansk/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

=== History===
[[File:Johannes Canaparius (Jan Kanapariusz) Gyddanyzc Gdańsk Danzig.jpg|thumb|left|upright=1.5|A manuscript fragment featuring ''gydda<sup>n</sup>yzc'']]
The name of the settlement was recorded after [[Adalbert of Prague|St. Adalbert's]] death in 997 CE as ''urbs Gyddanyzc'' and it was later written as ''Kdanzk'' in 1148, ''Gdanzc'' in 1188, ''Danceke''<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VfEeAAAAMAAJ&q=Zwantepolc |first=Marian |last=Gumowski |title=Handbuch der polnischen Siegelkunde |year=1966 |language=de |access-date=11 February 2016 |archive-date=8 October 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211008134300/https://books.google.com/books?id=VfEeAAAAMAAJ&q=Zwantepolc |url-status=live }}</ref> in 1228, ''Gdańsk'' in 1236,{{efn|Also in 1454, 1468, 1484, and 1590}} ''Danzc'' in 1263, ''Danczk'' in 1311,{{efn|Also in 1399, 1410, and 1414–1438}} ''Danczik'' in 1399,{{efn|Also in 1410, 1414}} ''Danczig'' in 1414, and ''Gdąnsk'' in 1656.<ref>{{cite book |first=Carl |last=Tighe |title=Gdańsk: national identity in the Polish-German borderlands |publisher=[[Pluto Press]] |year=1990 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MkBpAAAAMAAJ&q=Gyddanyzc |isbn=9780745303468 |access-date=11 February 2016 |archive-date=8 October 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211008115634/https://books.google.com/books?id=MkBpAAAAMAAJ&q=Gyddanyzc |url-status=live }}</ref>

In Polish documents, the form Gdańsk was always used. The Germanised form ''Danzig'' developed later, simplifying the consonant clusters to something easier for German speakers to pronounce.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Treder |first=Jerzy |date=2007 |title=Historyk o nazwach "Gdańsk" i "Gdania" |journal=Acta Cassubiana |volume=9 |pages=48}}</ref> The cluster "gd" became "d" (''Danzc'' from 1263),{{Sfn|Śliwiński|2006|p=12}} the combination "ns" became "nts" (''Danczk'' from 1311),{{Sfn|Śliwiński|2006|p=12}} and finally an [[epenthesis|epenthetical]] "i" broke up the final cluster (''Danczik'' from 1399).{{Sfn|Śliwiński|2006|p=12}}

In Polish, the modern name of the city is pronounced {{IPA|pl|ɡdaj̃sk||LL-Q809 (pol)-Olaf-Gdańsk.wav}}. In English (where the [[Polish alphabet|diacritic]] over the "n" is frequently omitted) the usual pronunciation is {{IPAc-en|ɡ|ə|ˈ|d|æ|n|s|k}} or {{IPAc-en|ɡ|ə|ˈ|d|ɑː|n|s|k}}. The Germanised name, ''Danzig'', is usually pronounced {{IPA|de|ˈdantsɪç||De-Danzig2.ogg}}, or alternatively {{IPA|de|ˈdantsɪk||De-Danzig3.ogg}} in more Southern German-speaking areas. The city's [[Latin]] name may be given as either ''Gedania'', ''Gedanum'', or ''Dantiscum''; the variety of Latin and German names typically reflects the difficulty of pronunciation of the original Polish city's name, all German- and Latin/Romance-speaking populations always encounter in trying to pronounce the difficult and complex Polish/[[Lechitic languages|Lechitic]] words.

===Ceremonial names===
In the [[Kashubian language]] the city is called {{lang|csb|Gduńsk}}. On special occasions, the city is also referred to as "The Royal Polish City of Gdańsk" ({{langx|pl|Królewskie Polskie Miasto Gdańsk|links=no}}; {{langx|la|Regia Civitas Polonica Gedanensis|links=no}}; {{langx|csb|Królewsczi Pòlsczi Gard Gduńsk|links=no}}).<ref>Gdańsk, in: Kazimierz Rymut, ''Nazwy Miast Polski'', [[Ossolineum]], Wrocław 1987</ref><ref>Hubert Gurnowicz, ''Gdańsk'', in: ''Nazwy must Pomorza Gdańskiego'', [[Ossolineum]], Wrocław 1978</ref><ref>''Baedeker's Northern Germany'', [[Baedeker|Karl Baedeker Publishing]], Leipzig 1904</ref> Although some Kashubians may also use the name "Our Capital City Gduńsk" ({{lang|csb|Nasz Stoleczny Gard Gduńsk}}) or "Our [regional] Capital City Gduńsk" ({{lang|csb|Stoleczny Kaszëbsczi Gard Gduńsk}}), the cultural and historical connections between the city and the region of [[Kashubia]] are debatable and use of such names raises controversy among Kashubians.<ref>{{cite magazine |last=Labuda |first=Aleksander |date= |title=Gduńsk, nasz stoleczny gard |url=http://strona.kaszebsko.nazwa.pl/uploads/symbole/Gdu%C5%84sk,%20nasz%20stoleczny%20gard.pdf |magazine=Zrzesz Kaszëbskô |location= |publisher= |access-date=10 December 2022 |archive-date=8 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220308190400/http://strona.kaszebsko.nazwa.pl/uploads/symbole/Gdu%C5%84sk,%20nasz%20stoleczny%20gard.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref>

==History==
{{Main|History of Gdańsk}}
{{For timeline}}

===Ancient history===
The oldest evidence found for the existence of a settlement on the lands of what is now Gdańsk comes from the [[Bronze Age]] (which is estimated to be from 2500&ndash;1700 BC). The settlement that is now known as Gdańsk began in the 9th century, being mostly an [[agriculture]] and [[fishing]]-dependent village.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://historia.trojmiasto.pl/historia-gdanska.html |title=Gdańsk na przestrzeni dziejów |website=Trójmiasto.pl Historia |publisher=Trójmiasto |access-date=15 December 2021 |quote= |archive-date=15 December 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211215162949/https://historia.trojmiasto.pl/historia-gdanska.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://polskatampabay.com/2018/04/09/gdansk-jedno-z-najstarszych-polskich-miast/ |title=Gdańsk – jedno z najstarszych polskich miast |date=9 April 2018 |website=Polska Tampa Bay |publisher= |access-date=15 December 2021 |quote= |archive-date=15 December 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211215180000/http://polskatampabay.com/2018/04/09/gdansk-jedno-z-najstarszych-polskich-miast/ |url-status=usurped }}</ref> In the beginning of the 10th century, it began becoming an important centre for [[trade]] (especially between the [[Pomeranians (tribe)|Pomeranians]]) until its annexation in {{circa}} 975 by [[Mieszko I]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.gedanopedia.pl/gdansk/?title=GDA%C5%83SK_%E2%80%93_POCZ%C4%84TKI_MIASTA |title=GDAŃSK – POCZĄTKI MIASTA |date=25 December 2019 |website=Gedanopedia |publisher=Gdańsk Foundation |access-date=15 December 2021 |quote= |archive-date=9 June 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200609183651/https://www.gedanopedia.pl/gdansk/?title=GDA%C5%83SK_%E2%80%93_POCZ%C4%84TKI_MIASTA |url-status=dead}}</ref>

===Early Poland===
[[File:Brama Zuraw W Gdansku (153003103).jpeg|thumb|The world's largest medieval port crane, situated over the river [[Motława]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://en.nmm.pl/crane/the-crane-past-and-present |title=The Crane: past and present – Crane – National Maritime Museum in Gdańsk |website=en.nmm.pl |access-date=16 April 2019 |archive-date=16 April 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190416081538/https://en.nmm.pl/crane/the-crane-past-and-present |url-status=live }}</ref>]]

The first written record thought to refer to Gdańsk is the ''vita'' of [[Adalbert (Archbishop of Magdeburg)|Saint Adalbert]]. Written in 999, it describes how in 997 Saint [[Adalbert of Prague]] baptised the inhabitants of ''urbs Gyddannyzc'', "which separated the great realm of the duke [i.e., [[Bolesław I Chrobry|Bolesław the Brave]] of Poland] from the sea."<ref name=Loew24>Loew, Peter Oliver: Danzig. Biographie einer Stadt, Munich 2011, p. 24.</ref> No further written sources exist for the 10th and 11th centuries.<ref name=Loew24/> Based on the date in Adalbert's ''vita'', the city celebrated its millennial anniversary in 1997.<ref name=Waznyetal>Wazny, Tomasz; Paner, Henryk; Golebiewski, Andrzej; Koscinski, Bogdan: Early medieval Gdańsk/Danzig revisited (EuroDendro 2004), Rendsburg 2004, [http://www.bfafh.de/eurodendro2004/abstracts_inet.pdf pdf-abstract] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130909224137/http://www.bfafh.de/eurodendro2004/abstracts_inet.pdf |date=9 September 2013 }}.</ref>

Archaeological evidence for the origins of the town was retrieved mostly after [[World War II]] had laid 90{{nbsp}}percent of the city centre in ruins, enabling excavations.<ref name=LoewWazny>Loew (2011), p. 24; Wazny et al. (2004), [http://www.bfafh.de/eurodendro2004/abstracts_inet.pdf abstract] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130909224137/http://www.bfafh.de/eurodendro2004/abstracts_inet.pdf|date=9 September 2013 }}.</ref> The oldest seventeen settlement levels were dated to between 980 and 1308.<ref name=Waznyetal/> [[Mieszko I of Poland]] erected a stronghold on the site in the 980s, thereby connecting the [[History of Poland (966–1385)|Polish state]] ruled by the [[Piast dynasty]] with the trade routes of the [[Baltic Sea]].<ref name=Hess39>{{cite book |title=Danziger Wohnkultur in der frühen Neuzeit |first=Corina |last=Hess |publisher=LIT Verlag |location=Berlin-Hamburg-Münster |year=2007 |isbn=978-3-8258-8711-7 |page=39}}</ref> Traces of buildings and housing from the 10th century have been found in archaeological excavations of the city.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://archeologia.pl/en/exhibitions/permanent/95-1000-lat-gdanska-w-swietle-wykopalisk |title=1000 LAT GDAŃSKA W ŚWIETLE WYKOPALISK |last=((admin2)) |access-date=18 March 2017 |archive-date=20 February 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170220013801/http://archeologia.pl/en/exhibitions/permanent/95-1000-lat-gdanska-w-swietle-wykopalisk |url-status=live }}</ref>

===Pomeranian Poland===
[[File: Hala Targowa w Gdańsku podziemia.jpg|thumb|Excavated remains of 12th-century buildings in Gdańsk]]

The site was ruled as a [[Duke|duchy]] of Poland by the [[Samborides]]. It consisted of a settlement at the modern Long Market, settlements of craftsmen along the Old Ditch, German merchant settlements around [[Basilica of St. Nicholas, Gdańsk|St Nicholas' Church]] and the old Piast stronghold.<ref name=Hess40>{{cite book |title=Danziger Wohnkultur in der frühen Neuzeit |first=Corina |last=Hess |publisher=LIT Verlag |location=Berlin-Hamburg-Münster |year=2007 |isbn=978-3-8258-8711-7 |page=40}}</ref> In 1215, the ducal stronghold became the centre of a [[Pomeranian duchies and dukes#Duchy of Pomerelia|Pomerelian splinter duchy]]. At that time the area of the later city included various villages.

In 1224/25, merchants from [[Lübeck]] were invited as ''hospites'' (immigrants with specific privileges) but were soon (in 1238) forced to leave by [[Świętopełk II, Duke of Pomerania|Świętopełk II]] of the Samborides during a war between Świętopełk and the [[Teutonic Order]], during which Lübeck supported the latter. Migration of merchants to the town resumed in 1257.<ref name="zbierski">{{cite book |title=Struktura zawodowa, spoleczna i etnicza ludnosci. In Historia Gdanska, Vol. 1 |publisher=Wydawnictwo Morskie |author=Zbierski, Andrzej |year=1978 |pages=228–9 |isbn=978-83-86557-00-4}}</ref> Significant German influence did not reappear until the 14th century, after the takeover of the city by the Teutonic Order.<ref name="turnock">{{cite book |title=The Making of Eastern Europe: From the Earliest Times to 1815 |publisher=Routledge |author=Turnock, David |year=1988 |page=180 |isbn=978-0-415-01267-6}}</ref>

At latest in 1263 [[Pomerelia]]n duke, Świętopełk II granted city rights under [[Lübeck law]] to the emerging market settlement.<ref name="ReferenceA">{{cite book |title=Stadtanlage und Befestigung von Danzig (zur Zeit des Deutschen Ordens) |publisher=GRIN Verlag |author=Harlander, Christa |year=2004 |page=2 |isbn=978-3-638-75010-3}}</ref> It was an [[German town law|autonomy charter]] similar to that of Lübeck, which was also the primary origin of many settlers.<ref name=Hess40/> In a document of 1271 the [[Pomerelia]]n duke [[Mestwin II, Duke of Pomerania|Mestwin II]] addressed the Lübeck merchants settled in the city as his loyal citizens from Germany.<ref name="lingenberg">{{cite book |title=Die Anfänge des Klosters Oliva und die Entstehung der deutschen Stadt Danzig: die frühe Geschichte der beiden Gemeinwesen bis 1308/10 |publisher=Klett-Cotta |author=Lingenberg, Heinz |year=1982 |page=292 |isbn=978-3-129-14900-3}}</ref><ref>'The Slippery Memory of Men': The Place of Pomerania in the Medieval Kingdom of Poland by Paul Milliman p. 73, 2013</ref>

In 1300, the town had an estimated population of 2,000. While overall the town was far from an important trade centre at that time, it had some relevance in the trade with [[Eastern Europe]]. Low on funds, the Samborides lent the settlement to Brandenburg, although they planned to take the city back and give it to Poland. Poland threatened to intervene, and the Brandenburgians left the town. Subsequently, the city was taken by Danish princes in 1301.<ref>{{cite book |title=Danziger Wohnkultur in der frühen Neuzeit |first=Corina |last=Hess |publisher=LIT Verlag |location=Berlin-Hamburg-Münster |year=2007 |isbn=978-3-8258-8711-7 |pages=40–41}}</ref>

===Teutonic Order===
[[File:Gdanskmemorial.jpg|thumb|upright|Monument to defenders of Polish Gdańsk also commemorates the victims of the 1308 massacre carried out by the Teutonic Order.]]
{{main|Teutonic takeover of Danzig (Gdańsk)}}
In 1308, the town was taken by [[Margraviate of Brandenburg|Brandenburg]] and the Teutonic Knights restored order. Subsequently, the Order took over control of the town. Primary sources record a [[Teutonic takeover of Danzig (Gdańsk)|massacre]] carried out by the Teutonic Order against the local population,<ref name=Hess41>{{cite book |title=Danziger Wohnkultur in der frühen Neuzeit |first=Corina |last=Hess |publisher=LIT Verlag |location=Berlin-Hamburg-Münster |year=2007 |isbn=978-3-8258-8711-7 |page=41}}</ref> of 10,000 people, but the exact number killed is subject of dispute in modern scholarship.<ref name=Boockmann158>[[Hartmut Boockmann]], ''Ostpreußen und Westpreußen'', Siedler, 2002, p. 158, {{ISBN|3-88680-212-4}}</ref> Multiple authors accept the number given in the original sources,<ref name="p.376">James Minahan, One Europe, Many Nations: A Historical Dictionary of European National Groups, Greenwood Publishing Group, 2000, {{ISBN|0-313-30984-1}}, [https://books.google.com/books?id=NwvoM-ZFoAgC&dq=1308+Gdansk+massacre&pg=PA376 p. 376 Google Books] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201102110148/https://books.google.com/books?id=NwvoM-ZFoAgC&pg=PA376&dq=1308+Gdansk+massacre&as_brr=3&ei=cilQSPHSMom2iwGE8JU0&sig=OR_a7-g10jIZsYOJGkmBe5ZwfSY |date=2 November 2020 }}</ref> while others consider 10,000 to have been a medieval exaggeration, although scholarly consensus is that a massacre of some magnitude did take place.<ref name=Boockmann158/> The events were used by the Polish crown to condemn the Teutonic Order in a subsequent papal lawsuit.<ref name=Boockmann158/><ref name="Thomas Urban">[[Thomas Urban]]: "[http://www.thomas-urban.pl/gdansk.php Rezydencja książąt Pomorskich]". {{in lang|pl}} {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050825225724/http://www.thomas-urban.pl/gdansk.php |date=25 August 2005 }}</ref>

The knights colonized the area, replacing local [[Kashubians]] and Poles with German settlers.<ref name="p.376"/> In 1308, they founded ''Osiek Hakelwerk'' near the town, initially as a [[Lechites|Lechitic]] fishing settlement.<ref name=Hess41/> In 1340, the Teutonic Order constructed a large fortress, which became the seat of the knights' [[Komtur]].<ref name=Hess4142>{{cite book |title=Danziger Wohnkultur in der frühen Neuzeit |first=Corina |last=Hess |publisher=LIT Verlag |location=Berlin-Hamburg-Münster |year=2007 |isbn=978-3-8258-8711-7 |pages=41–42}}</ref> In 1346 they changed the Town Law of the city, which then consisted only of the ''[[Rechtstadt]]'', to [[Kulm law]].<ref name=frankot>{{cite book |title='Of Laws of Ships and Shipmen': Medieval Maritime Law and its Practice in Urban Northern Europe |first=Edda |last=Frankot |publisher=Edinburgh University Press |location=Edinburgh |year=2012 |isbn=978-0-7486-4624-1 |page=100}}</ref> In 1358, Danzig joined the [[Hanseatic League]], and became an active member in 1361.<ref name=Hess42>{{cite book |title=Danziger Wohnkultur in der frühen Neuzeit |first=Corina |last=Hess |publisher=LIT Verlag |location=Berlin-Hamburg-Münster |year=2007 |isbn=978-3-8258-8711-7 |page=42}}</ref> It maintained relations with the trade centres [[Bruges]], [[Veliky Novgorod|Novgorod]], [[Lisbon|Lisboa]], and [[Seville|Sevilla]].<ref name=Hess42/> Around 1377, the [[Old Town (Gdańsk)|Old Town]] was equipped with city rights as well.<ref name=Loew>{{cite book |title=Danzig: Biographie einer Stadt |first=Peter O. |last=Loew |publisher=C.H. Beck |location=München |year=2011 |isbn=978-3-406-60587-1 |page=43}}</ref> In 1380, the ''New Town'' was founded as the third, independent settlement.<ref name=Hess41/>

After a series of [[Polish–Teutonic Wars|Polish-Teutonic Wars]], in the [[Treaty of Kalisz (1343)]] the Order had to acknowledge that it would hold Pomerelia as a [[fief]] from the [[Crown of the Kingdom of Poland|Polish Crown]]. Although it left the legal basis of the Order's possession of the province in some doubt, the city thrived as a result of increased exports of grain (especially wheat), timber, [[potash]], tar, and other goods of forestry from Prussia and Poland via the [[Vistula]] River [[trade route|trading routes]], although after its capture, the Teutonic Order tried to actively reduce the economic significance of the town. While under the control of the Teutonic Order German migration increased. The Order's religious networks helped to develop Danzig's literary culture.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Sobecki |first1=Sebastian |title=Europe: A Literary History, 1348–1418, ed. David Wallace |date=2016 |pages=635–41 |url=https://global.oup.com/academic/product/europe-9780198735359?cc=nl&lang=en& |isbn=9780198735359 |publisher=Oxford University Press |access-date=2 June 2016 |archive-date=20 December 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161220183041/https://global.oup.com/academic/product/europe-9780198735359?cc=nl&lang=en& |url-status=live }}</ref> A new war broke out in 1409, culminating in the [[Battle of Grunwald]] (1410), and the city came under the control of the [[Poland during the Jagiellon dynasty|Kingdom of Poland]]. A year later, with the [[Peace of Thorn (1411)|First Peace of Thorn]], it returned to the Teutonic Order.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.mgdansk.pl/ii-pokoj-torunski-i-przylaczenie-gdanska-do-rzeczpospolitej,10.html |title=II Pokój Toruński i przyłączenie Gdańska do Rzeczpospolitej |work=mgdansk.pl |access-date=16 September 2014 |archive-date=19 October 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141019234200/http://www.mgdansk.pl/ii-pokoj-torunski-i-przylaczenie-gdanska-do-rzeczpospolitej,10.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

===Kingdom of Poland===
[[File:Allegory of Gdańsk trade.jpg|thumb|left|upright|''[[Apotheosis]] of Gdańsk'' by Izaak van den Blocke. The [[Vistula]]-borne trade of goods in Poland was the main source of prosperity during the city's Golden Age.]]

In 1440, the city participated in the foundation of the [[Prussian Confederation]] which was an organisation opposed to the rule of the Teutonic Order. The organisation in its complaint of 1453 mentioned repeated cases in which the Teutonic Order imprisoned or murdered local patricians and mayors without a court verdict.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Górski|first=Karol|title=Związek Pruski i poddanie się Prus Polsce: zbiór tekstów źródłowych|year=1949|publisher=Instytut Zachodni|location=Poznań|language=pl|pages=16, 18}}</ref> On the request of the organisation King [[Casimir IV Jagiellon|Casimir IV of Poland]] reincorporated the territory to the Kingdom of Poland in 1454.<ref>Górski, pp. 51, 56</ref> This led to the [[Thirteen Years' War (1454–1466)|Thirteen Years' War]] between Poland and the [[State of the Teutonic Order]] (1454–1466). Since 1454, the city was authorized by the King to mint Polish coins.<ref>Górski, p. 63</ref> The local mayor pledged allegiance to the King during the incorporation in March 1454 in [[Kraków]],<ref>Górski, pp. 71–72</ref> and the city again solemnly pledged allegiance to the King in June 1454 in [[Elbląg]], recognizing the prior Teutonic annexation and rule as unlawful.<ref>Górski, pp. 79–80</ref> On 25 May 1457 the city gained its rights as an autonomous city.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.geocities.com/CapitolHill/Rotunda/2209/Gdańsk.html |title=Danzig – Gdańsk until 1920}}{{Dead link|date=April 2021|bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>

On 15 May 1457, [[Casimir IV Jagiellon|Casimir IV of Poland]] granted the town the Great Privilege, after he had been invited by the town's council and had already stayed in town for five weeks.<ref name=Hess45>{{cite book |title=Danziger Wohnkultur in der frühen Neuzeit |first=Corina |last=Hess |publisher=LIT Verlag |location=Berlin-Hamburg-Münster |year=2007 |isbn=978-3-8258-8711-7 |page=45}}</ref> With the Great Privilege, the town was granted full autonomy and protection by the King of Poland.<ref name=Hess45A>{{cite book |title=Danziger Wohnkultur in der frühen Neuzeit |first=Corina |last=Hess |publisher=LIT Verlag |location=Berlin-Hamburg-Münster |year=2007 |isbn=978-3-8258-8711-7 |page=45}}: "Geben wir und verlehen unnsir Stadt Danczk das sie zcu ewigen geczeiten nymands for eynem herrn halden noc gehorsam zcu weszen seyn sullen in weltlichen sachen."</ref> The privilege removed tariffs and taxes on trade within Poland, Lithuania, and Ruthenia (present day [[Belarus]] and [[Ukraine]]), and conferred on the town independent jurisdiction, legislation and administration of her territory, as well as the right to mint her own coin.<ref name=Hess45/> Furthermore, the privilege united Old Town, Osiek, and Main Town, and legalised the demolition of New Town, which had sided with the Teutonic Order.<ref name=Hess45/> By 1457, New Town was demolished completely, no buildings remained.<ref name=Hess41/>

Gaining free and privileged access to Polish markets, the seaport prospered while simultaneously trading with the other Hanseatic cities. After the [[Second Peace of Thorn (1466)]] between Poland and the Teutonic Order the warfare ended permanently; Gdańsk became part of the Polish province of [[Royal Prussia]], and later also of the [[Greater Poland Province, Crown of the Kingdom of Poland|Greater Poland Province]]. The city was visited by [[Nicolaus Copernicus]] in 1504 and 1526, and ''[[Narratio Prima]]'', the first printed abstract of his [[heliocentric theory]], was published there in 1540.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://szlakkopernikowski.pl/pl/gdansk|title=Gdańsk|website=Szlak Kopernikowski|access-date=11 January 2024|language=pl}}</ref> After the [[Union of Lublin]] between Poland and Lithuania in 1569 the city continued to enjoy a large degree of internal autonomy (cf. [[Danzig law]]). Being the largest and one of the most influential cities of Poland, it enjoyed voting rights during the [[Royal elections in Poland|royal election]] period in Poland.

In the 1560s and 1570s, a large [[Mennonite]] community started growing in the city, gaining significant popularity.<ref>{{cite book |last=de Graaf |first=Tjeerd |author-link= |date=2004 |title= The Status of an Ethnic Minority in Eurasia: The Mennonites and Their Relation with the Netherlands, Germany and Russia |url= |location= |publisher= |page= |isbn=}}</ref> In the 1575 election to the Polish throne, Danzig supported [[Maximilian II, Holy Roman Emperor|Maximilian II]] in his struggle against [[Stephen Báthory of Poland|Stephen Báthory]]. It was the latter who eventually became monarch but the city, encouraged by the secret support of [[Denmark]] and [[Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor|Emperor Maximilian]], shut its gates against Stephen. After the [[Siege of Danzig (1577)|Siege of Danzig]], lasting six months, the city's army of 5,000 mercenaries was utterly defeated in a field battle on 16 December 1577. However, since Stephen's armies were unable to take the city by force, a compromise was reached: [[Stephen Báthory of Poland|Stephen Báthory]] confirmed the city's special status and her [[Danzig law]] privileges granted by earlier [[List of Polish monarchs|Polish kings]]. The city recognised him as ruler of Poland and paid the enormous sum of 200,000 [[Guilder|guldens]] in gold as payoff ("apology").<ref>{{cite web |url=https://historykon.pl/bitwa-pod-lubieszowem-w-swietle-wybranych-zrodel-pisanych/ |title=Bitwa pod Lubieszowem w świetle wybranych źródeł pisanych |last=Włusek |first=Andrzej |date=23 May 2017 |website=HistoryKon |publisher= |access-date= |quote=}}</ref>

During the [[Polish–Swedish War (1626–1629)|Polish–Swedish War of 1626–1629]], in 1627, the naval [[Battle of Oliwa]] was fought near the city, and it is one of the greatest victories in the history of the [[Polish Navy]]. During the Swedish invasion of Poland of 1655–1660, commonly known as the [[Deluge (history)|Deluge]], the city was unsuccessfully [[Siege of Danzig (1655–1660)|besieged by Sweden]]. In 1660, the war was ended with the [[Treaty of Oliwa]], signed in the present-day district of [[Oliwa]].<ref>{{cite book |title=Wojny na Bałtyku X - XIX wiek |last=Kosiarz |first=Edmund |publisher=Wydawnictwo Morskie |location=Gdańsk |year=1978|page=}}</ref> In 1677, a Polish-Swedish alliance was signed in the city.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Jonasson|first=Gustav|year=1980|title=Polska i Szwecja za czasów Jana III Sobieskiego|journal=Śląski Kwartalnik Historyczny Sobótka|publisher=[[Zakład Narodowy im. Ossolińskich]], Wydawnictwo [[Polish Academy of Sciences|Polskiej Akademii Nauk]]|location=Wrocław|language=pl|volume=XXXV|issue=2|page=240|issn=0037-7511}}</ref> Around 1640, [[Johannes Hevelius]] established his [[:pl:Obserwatorium Astronomiczne Jana Heweliusza w Gdańsku|astronomical observatory]] in the [[Old Town (Gdańsk)|Old Town]]. Polish King [[John III Sobieski]] regularly visited Hevelius numerous times.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://culture.pl/pl/tworca/jan-heweliusz |title=Jan Heweliusz - życie i twórczość |last= |first= |date= |website=Culture.pl |publisher=[[Ministry of Culture and National Heritage (Poland)|Ministry of Culture and National Heritage]] |access-date=10 December 2022 |quote=}}</ref>

Beside a majority of German-speakers,<ref name=Zamoyski>{{cite book |last=Zamoyski |first=Adam |year=2015 |title=Poland. A History |publisher=William Collins |isbn=978-0007556212 |pages=26, 92}}</ref> whose elites sometimes distinguished their German dialect as [[Pomerelia]]n,<ref>Bömelburg, Hans-Jürgen, ''Zwischen polnischer Ständegesellschaft und preußischem Obrigkeitsstaat: vom Königlichen Preußen zu Westpreußen (1756–1806)'', München: Oldenbourg, 1995, (Schriften des Bundesinstituts für Ostdeutsche Kultur und Geschichte (Oldenburg); 5), zugl.: Mainz, Johannes Gutenberg-Univ., Diss., 1993, p. 549</ref> the city was home to a large number of Polish-speaking Poles, Jewish Poles, [[Latvian language|Latvian-speaking]] [[Kursenieki]], [[Flemish people in Poland|Flemings]], and [[Dutch people|Dutch]]. In addition, a number of [[Scots in Poland|Scots]] took refuge or migrated to and received citizenship in the city, with first Scots arriving in 1380,<ref>{{cite book|last=Wijaczka|first=Jacek|editor-last1=Kopczyński|editor-first1=Michał|editor-last2=Tygielski|editor-first2=Wojciech|year=2010|title=Pod wspólnym niebem. Narody dawnej Rzeczypospolitej|language=pl|location=Warszawa|publisher=Muzeum Historii Polski, Bellona|chapter=Szkoci|page=201|isbn=978-83-11-11724-2}}</ref> and a [[French people in Poland|French]] [[Huguenot]] commune was founded in 1686.<ref>{{cite book|last=Muret|first=Eduard|title=Geschichte der Französischen Kolonie in Brandenburg-Preußen, unter besonderer Berücksichtigung der Berliner Gemeinde. Aus Veranlassung der Zweihundertjährigen Jubelfeier am 29. Oktober 1885|year=1885|location=Berlin |publisher=H. Scherer |page=211}}</ref> During the [[Protestant Reformation]], most German-speaking inhabitants adopted [[Lutheranism]]. Due to the special status of the city and significance within the [[Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth]], the city inhabitants largely became bi-cultural sharing both Polish and German culture and were strongly attached to the traditions of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth.<ref name=Chwalba>Historia Polski 1795–1815 [[Andrzej Chwalba]] Kraków 2000, p. 441</ref>

[[File:Brama św. Jakuba w Gdańsku.jpg|thumb|Old Town in the 1770s with the Saint James church on the left and Saint Bartholomew church on the right]]

The city suffered a [[The plague during the Great Northern War|last great plague]] and a slow economic decline due to the wars of the 18th century. After peace was restored in 1721, Danzig experienced steady economic recovery. As a stronghold of [[Stanisław Leszczyński]]'s supporters during the [[War of the Polish Succession]], it was taken by the [[Russian Empire|Russians]] after the [[Siege of Danzig (1734)|Siege of Danzig]] in 1734.  In the 1740s and 1750s Danzig was restored and Danzig port was again the most significant grain exporting ports in the [[Baltic region]].<ref>{{Cite book|title= The Rise of Prussia 1700-1830 | author1=Philip G. Dwyer  |publisher=  Taylor & Francis |year=2014 |isbn=9781317887034 | pages=134}}</ref> The [[Danzig Research Society]], which became defunct in 1936, was founded in 1743.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://staff-www.uni-marburg.de/~gornig/danzig/geschichte.htm |title=Geschichte der Danziger Naturforschenden Gesellschaft |last=Letkemann |first=Peter |date=2000 |website=uni-marburg.de |publisher=[[University of Marburg]] |access-date=10 December 2022 |quote= |archive-date=31 January 2005 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050131091324/http://staff-www.uni-marburg.de/~gornig/danzig/geschichte.htm |url-status=dead}}</ref>

[[File:Karte_von_Danzig_(1792).tif|thumb|Map of Gdańsk (1792)]]

In 1772, the [[First Partition of Poland]] took place and [[Kingdom of Prussia|Prussia]] annexed almost all of the former Royal Prussia, which became the [[Province of West Prussia]]. However, Gdańsk remained a part of Poland as an [[exclave]] separated from the rest of the country. The [[List of monarchs of Prussia|Prussian king]] cut off Danzig with a military controlled barrier, also blocking shipping links to foreign ports, on the pretense that a [[cattle plague]] may otherwise break out. Danzig declined in its economic significance. However, by the end of the 18th century, Gdańsk was still one of the most economically integrated cities in Poland. It was well-connected and traded actively with [[German cities]], while other [[Polish cities]] became less well-integrated towards the end of the century, mostly due to greater risks for long-distance [[trade]], given the number of [[Violence|violent]] conflicts along the trade routes.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Baten |first1=Jörg |last2=Wallusch |first2=Jacek |date=2005 |title=Market Integration and Disintegration of Poland and Germany in the 18th Century |journal=Economies et Sociétés}}</ref>

===Prussia and Germany===
Danzig was annexed by the [[Kingdom of Prussia]] in 1793,<ref name="lonelyplanet.com">{{cite web |url=http://www.lonelyplanet.com/poland/pomerania/gdansk/history |title=History of Gdańsk – Lonely Planet Travel Information |first=Lonely |last=Planet |work=lonelyplanet.com |access-date=29 July 2016 |archive-date=21 August 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160821171335/http://www.lonelyplanet.com/poland/pomerania/gdansk/history |url-status=live }}</ref> in the [[Second Partition of Poland]]. Both the Polish and the German-speaking population largely opposed the Prussian annexation and wanted the city to remain part of Poland.<ref>Górski, p. XVI</ref> The mayor of the city stepped down from his office due to the annexation.<ref>Andrzej Januszajtis, ''Karol Fryderyk von Conradi'', "Nasz Gdańsk", 11 (196)/2017, p. 3 (in Polish)</ref> The notable city councilor Jan (Johann) Uphagen, historian and art collector, also resigned as a sign of protest against the annexation. His house exemplifies [[Baroque in Poland]] and is now a museum, known as [[Uphagen's House]].<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.gait.pl/patron-cpt/jan-uphagen/ |title=Jan Uphagen |website=Gdańskie Autobusy i Tramwaje |access-date=1 April 2020 |language=pl |archive-date=19 February 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190219130048/https://www.gait.pl/patron-cpt/jan-uphagen/ |url-status=dead}}</ref> An attempted student uprising against Prussia led by Gottfried Benjamin Bartholdi was crushed quickly by the authorities in 1797.<ref>''Dzieje Gdańska'' Edmund Cieślak, Czesław Biernat Wydawn. Morskie, 1969 p. 370</ref><ref>''Dzieje Polski w datach Jerzy Borowiec'', Halina Niemiec p. 161</ref><ref>''Polska, losy państwa i narodu'' Henryk Samsonowicz 1992 Iskry p. 282</ref>

During the [[Napoleonic Wars]], in 1807, the city was [[Siege of Danzig (1807)|besieged and captured]] by a coalition of [[First French Empire|French]], [[Polish Legions (Napoleonic period)|Polish]], [[Kingdom of Italy (Napoleonic)|Italian]], [[Kingdom of Saxony|Saxon]], and [[Grand Duchy of Baden|Baden]] forces. Afterwards, it was a [[Free City of Danzig (Napoleonic)|free city]] from 1807 to 1814, when it was [[Siege of Danzig (1813)|captured]] by combined Prussian-Russian forces.

[[File:Danzig Partie am Krahnthor (1890-1900).jpg|thumb|Colorized photo, {{circa}} 1900, showing prewar roof of the ''Krantor'' crane (''Brama Żuraw'').]]
In 1815, after France's defeat in the [[Napoleonic Wars]], it again became part of Prussia and became the capital of {{lang|de|[[Danzig (region)|Regierungsbezirk Danzig]]}} within the province of [[West Prussia]]. Since the 1820s, the [[Wisłoujście Fortress]] served as a prison, mainly for Polish political prisoners, including [[Resistance movements in partitioned Poland (1795–1918)|resistance members]], protesters, insurgents of the [[November Uprising|November]] and [[January Uprising|January]] uprisings and refugees from the [[Russian Partition]] of Poland fleeing conscription into the Russian Army,<ref>{{cite journal |last=Kubus| first=Radosław| year=2019|title=Ucieczki z twierdzy Wisłoujście w I połowie XIX wieku|journal=Vade Nobiscum|location=Łódź| publisher=Wydawnictwo [[University of Łódź|Uniwersytetu Łódzkiego]]|language=pl| volume=XX|pages=154–155}}</ref> and insurgents of the November Uprising were also imprisoned in [[Biskupia Górka]] (''Bischofsberg'').<ref>{{cite book|last=Kasparek|first=Norbert|editor-last=Katafiasz|editor-first=Tomasz| year=2014|title=Na tułaczym szlaku... Powstańcy Listopadowi na Pomorzu| language=pl| location=Koszalin|publisher=Muzeum w Koszalinie, Archiwum Państwowe w Koszalinie|page=177| chapter=Żołnierze polscy w Prusach po upadku powstania listopadowego. Powroty do kraju i wyjazdy na emigrację}}</ref> In May–June 1832 and November 1833, more than 1,000 Polish insurgents departed partitioned Poland through the city's port, boarding ships bound for [[France]], the [[United Kingdom]] and the [[United States]] (see ''[[Great Emigration]]'').<ref>Kasparek, pp. 175–176, 178–179</ref><ref>{{cite magazine|author=|date=6 July 1832| title=Rozmaite wiadomości| magazine=Gazeta Wielkiego Xięstwa Poznańskiego|location=Poznań| language=pl|issue=155|page=852}}</ref>

The city's longest serving mayor was Robert von Blumenthal, who held office from 1841, through the [[Revolutions of 1848 in the German states|revolutions of 1848]], until 1863. With the [[unification of Germany]] in 1871 under Prussian [[hegemony]], the city became part of the [[German Empire]] and remained so until 1919, after Germany's defeat in [[World War I]].<ref name="lonelyplanet.com"/> Starting from the 1850s, long-established Danzig families often felt marginalized by the new town elite originating from mainland Germany. This situation caused the Polish to allege that the Danzig people were oppressed by German rule and for this reason allegedly failed to articulate their natural desire for strong ties with Poland.<ref>{{cite journal|journal=Germanoslavica Zeitschrift für germano-slawische Studien|publisher=Verlag Georg Olms|volume =28|issue=1–2|year=207|place=Hildesheim|first=Peter Oliver|last=Loew|title=Danzig oder das verlorene Paradies. Vom Herausgeben und vom Hineinerzählen|pages=109–122}}</ref>

===Free City of Danzig and World War II===
{{main|Free City of Danzig}}
[[File:Danzig NARA-68155011.jpg|thumb|An aerial view of the historic city centre around 1920]]
When Poland regained its independence after [[World War I]] with access to the sea as promised by the [[Allies of World War I|Allies]] on the basis of [[Woodrow Wilson]]'s "[[Fourteen Points]]" (point 13 called for "an independent Polish state", "which should be assured a free and secure access to the sea"), the Poles hoped the city's harbour would also become part of Poland.<ref name="Amtliche">{{cite book |date=1920 |title=Amtliche Urkunden zur Konvention zwischen Danzig und Polen vom 15. November 1920 : zusammegestellt und mit Begleitbericht versehen von der nach Paris entsandten Delegation der Freien Stadt Danzig |url=https://kpbc.umk.pl/dlibra/publication/221530/edition/235125/content |publication-place=Danzig |publisher=Biblioteka Uniwersytecka w Toruniu |page= |isbn=}}</ref> However, in the end – since Germans formed a majority in the city, with Poles being a minority (in the 1923 census 7,896 people out of 335,921 gave Polish, Kashubian, or [[Masurian dialects|Masurian]] as their native language)<ref>{{cite book |title=Ergebnisse der Volks- und Berufszählung vom 1. November 1923 in der Freien Stadt Danzig |publisher=Verlag des Statistischen Landesamtes der Freien Stadt Danzig |year=1926 |language=de}}. Polish estimates of the Polish minority during the interwar era, however, range from 37,000 to 100,000 (9%–34%). Studia historica Slavo-Germanica, Tomy 18–20page 220 Uniwersytet Adama Mickiewicza w Poznaniu. Instytut Historii Wydawnictwo Naukowe imienia. Adama Mickiewicza, 1994.</ref> – the city was not placed under Polish sovereignty. Instead, in accordance with the terms of the [[Treaty of Versailles|Versailles Treaty]], it became the [[Free City of Danzig]], an independent quasi-state under the auspices of the [[League of Nations]] with its external affairs largely under Polish control.<ref name="auto">{{cite book|last=Wardzyńska|first=Maria|year=2009|title=Był rok 1939. Operacja niemieckiej policji bezpieczeństwa w Polsce. Intelligenzaktion|language=pl|location=Warszawa|publisher=[[Institute of National Remembrance|IPN]]|page=37}}</ref> Poland's rights also included free use of the harbour, a Polish post office, a Polish garrison in Westerplatte district, and customs union with Poland.<ref name="auto"/> The Free City had its own constitution, [[national anthem]], [[Volkstag|parliament]], and government ({{lang|de|Senat}}). It issued its own stamps as well as its currency, the [[Danzig gulden]].<ref name="Amtliche" />

With the growth of [[Nazism]] among Germans, [[anti-Polish sentiment]] increased and both [[Germanisation]] and [[Racial segregation|segregation]] policies intensified, in the 1930s the rights of local Poles were commonly violated and limited by the local administration.<ref name="auto"/> Polish children were refused admission to public Polish-language schools, premises were not allowed to be rented to Polish schools and preschools.<ref name=mw40>Wardzyńska, p. 40</ref> Due to such policies, only eight Polish-language public schools existed in the city, and Poles managed to organize seven more private Polish schools.<ref name=mw40/>

In the early 1930s, the local [[Nazi Party]] capitalised on pro-German sentiments and in 1933 garnered 50% of vote in the parliament. Thereafter, the Nazis under [[Gauleiter]] [[Albert Forster]] achieved dominance in the city government, which was still nominally overseen by the League of Nations' [[High Commissioner]].

In 1937, Poles who sent their children to private Polish schools were required to transfer children to German schools, under threat of police intervention, and attacks were carried out on Polish schools and Polish youth.<ref name=mw40/> German militias carried out numerous beatings of Polish activists, scouts and even postal workers, as "punishment" for distributing the Polish press.<ref name=mw41>Wardzyńska, p. 41</ref> German students attacked and expelled Polish students from the technical university.<ref name=mw41/> Dozens of Polish surnames were forcibly Germanized,<ref name=mw41/> while Polish symbols and monuments that reminded that for centuries Gdańsk was part of Poland were removed from the city's landmarks, such as the [[Artus Court]]<ref>{{cite book|last=Jakrzewska-Śnieżko|first=Zofia|title=Dwór Artusa w Gdańsku|year=1972|publisher=[[Państwowe Wydawnictwo Naukowe]]|language=pl|page=19}}</ref> and the [[Neptune's Fountain, Gdańsk|Neptune's Fountain]].<ref name=mw42>Wardzyńska, p. 42</ref>

From 1937, the employment of Poles by German companies was prohibited, and already employed Poles were fired, the use of Polish in public places was banned and Poles were not allowed to enter several restaurants, in particular those owned by Germans.<ref name=mw42/> In 1939, before the German [[invasion of Poland]] and outbreak of [[World War II]], local Polish railwaymen were victims of beatings, and after the invasion, they were also imprisoned and murdered in [[Nazi concentration camps|concentration camps]].<ref>Wardzyńska, pp. 39-40, 85</ref>

[[NSDAP|The German government]] officially demanded the return of Danzig to Germany along with an extraterritorial (meaning under German [[jurisdiction]]) highway through the area of the [[Polish Corridor]] for land-based access from the rest of Germany. Hitler used the issue of the status of the city as a pretext for attacking Poland and in May 1939, during a high-level meeting of German military officials explained to them: "It is not Danzig that is at stake. For us it is a matter of expanding our [[Lebensraum]] in the east", adding that there will be no repeat of the Czech situation, and Germany will attack Poland at first opportunity, after isolating the country from its Western Allies.<ref>''The history of the German resistance, 1933–1945'' Peter Hoffmann p. 37 McGill-Queen's University Press 1996</ref><ref>''Hitler'' Joachim C. Fest p. 586 Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2002</ref><ref>''Blitzkrieg w Polsce wrzesien 1939'' Richard Hargreaves p. 84 Bellona, 2009</ref><ref>''A military history of Germany, from the eighteenth century to the present day''Martin Kitchen p. 305 Weidenfeld and Nicolson, 1975</ref><ref>International history of the twentieth century and beyond Antony Best p. 181 Routledge; 2 edition (30 July 2008)</ref>

After the German proposals to solve the three main issues peacefully were refused, German-Polish relations rapidly deteriorated. Germany [[Invasion of Poland|attacked Poland]] on 1 September after having signed [[Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact|a non-aggression pact]] with the Soviet Union.<ref name="Reduta">{{cite book |last=Drzycimski |first=Andrzej |author-link= |date=2014 |title=Reduta Westerplatte |url= |location= |publisher=Oficyna Gdańska |page= |isbn=978-8364180187}}</ref>

[[File:The Nazi-soviet Invasion of Poland, 1939 HU106374.jpg|thumb|The German battleship {{SMS|Schleswig-Holstein}} firing at the Polish Military Transit Depot during the [[Battle of Westerplatte]] in September 1939]]
The German attack began in Danzig, with a bombardment of Polish positions at [[Westerplatte]] by the German battleship {{SMS|Schleswig-Holstein||2}}, and the landing of German infantry on the peninsula. Outnumbered Polish defenders at Westerplatte [[Battle of Westerplatte|resisted]] for seven days before running out of ammunition. Meanwhile, after a fierce day-long [[Defence of the Polish Post Office in Danzig|fight]] (1 September 1939), defenders of the Polish Post office were tried and executed then buried on the spot in the Danzig quarter of [[Zaspa]] in October 1939. In 1998 a German court overturned their conviction and sentence.<ref name="Reduta" /> The city was officially annexed by [[Nazi Germany]] and incorporated into the [[Reichsgau Danzig-West Prussia]].

About 50 percent of members of the [[History of the Jews in Gdańsk|Jewish community]] had left the city within a year after a [[pogrom]] in October 1937.<ref name=JVL>{{cite web |url=https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/judaica/ejud_0002_0007_0_07105.html |title=Gdansk |access-date=18 March 2017 |archive-date=13 January 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170113051709/https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/judaica/ejud_0002_0007_0_07105.html |url-status=live }}</ref> After the [[Kristallnacht]] riots in November 1938, the community decided to organize its emigration<ref name=Bauer>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WOd3rLul-LcC&q=jewish+danzig&pg=PA145 |title=American Jewry and the Holocaust |first1=Yehuda |last1=Bauer |publisher=Wayne State University Press |year=1981 |isbn=978-0-8143-1672-6 |page=145 |access-date=11 February 2016 |archive-date=1 February 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220201032226/https://books.google.com/books?id=WOd3rLul-LcC&q=jewish+danzig&pg=PA145 |url-status=live }}</ref> and in March 1939 a first transport to [[Mandatory Palestine|Palestine]] started.<ref name=shoa>{{cite web |url=http://www.shoa.de/holocaust/deportations-und-vernichtungspraxis/763.html |website=www.shoa.de |language=de |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110629204011/http://www.shoa.de/holocaust/deportations-und-vernichtungspraxis/763.html |archive-date=29 June 2011 |title=Die "Lösung der Judenfrage" in der Freien Stadt Danzig |date=30 November 2018}}</ref> By September 1939 barely 1,700 mostly elderly Jews remained. In early 1941, just 600 Jews were still living in Danzig, most of whom were later murdered in the [[Holocaust]].<ref name=JVL/><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.jewishgen.org/yizkor/pinkas_poland/pol6_00033.html |title=Gdansk, Poland |work=jewishgen.org |access-date=27 January 2018 |archive-date=28 January 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180128021208/https://www.jewishgen.org/yizkor/pinkas_poland/pol6_00033.html |url-status=live }}</ref> Out of the 2,938 [[Kehilla (modern)|Jewish community]] in the city, 1,227 were able to escape from the Nazis before the outbreak of war.<ref>''Żydzi na terenie Wolnego Miasta Gdańska w latach 1920–1945:działalność kulturalna, polityczna i socjalna''Grzegorz Berendt Gdańskie Tow. Nauk., Wydz. I Nauk Społecznych i Humanistycznych, 1997 p. 245</ref>

[[Gestapo|Nazi secret police]] had been observing Polish minority communities in the city since 1936, compiling information, which in 1939 served to prepare lists of Poles to be captured in [[Operation Tannenberg]]. On the first day of the war, approximately 1,500 [[Polish people|ethnic Poles]] were arrested, some because of their participation in social and economic life, others because they were activists and members of various Polish organisations. On 2 September 1939, 150 of them were deported to the [[Stutthof concentration camp|Sicherheitsdienst camp Stutthof]] some {{cvt|30|mi|km|-1|order=flip}} from Danzig, and murdered.<ref>[http://www.kki.net.pl/~museum/museums.htm Museums Stutthof in Sztutowo] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050824163259/http://www.kki.net.pl/~museum/museums.htm |date=24 August 2005 }}. Retrieved 31 January 2007.</ref> Many Poles living in Danzig were deported to Stutthof or executed in the [[Massacres in Piaśnica|Piaśnica forest]].<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.kki.net.pl/~museum/museums.htm |title=Museums Stutthof |access-date=16 January 2006 |archive-date=24 August 2005 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050824163259/http://www.kki.net.pl/~museum/museums.htm |url-status=dead }}</ref>

During the war, Germany operated a prison in the city,<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.bundesarchiv.de/zwangsarbeit/haftstaetten/index.php?action=2.2&tab=7&id=1516 |title=Schweres NS-Gefängnis Danzig, Neugarten 27 |website=Bundesarchiv.de |access-date=18 September 2021 |language=de |archive-date=18 September 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210918124617/https://www.bundesarchiv.de/zwangsarbeit/haftstaetten/index.php?action=2.2&tab=7&id=1516 |url-status=live }}</ref> an ''[[Einsatzgruppen]]''-operated penal camp,<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.bundesarchiv.de/zwangsarbeit/haftstaetten/index.php?action=2.2&tab=7&id=1515 |title=Einsatzgruppen-Straflager in der Danziger Holzgasse |website=Bundesarchiv.de |access-date=18 September 2021 |language=de |archive-date=18 September 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210918124616/https://www.bundesarchiv.de/zwangsarbeit/haftstaetten/index.php?action=2.2&tab=7&id=1515 |url-status=live }}</ref> a camp for [[Romani people]],<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.bundesarchiv.de/zwangsarbeit/haftstaetten/index.php?action=2.2&tab=7&id=1018 |title=Zigeunerlager Danzig |website=Bundesarchiv.de |access-date=18 September 2021 |language=de |archive-date=18 September 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210918124615/https://www.bundesarchiv.de/zwangsarbeit/haftstaetten/index.php?action=2.2&tab=7&id=1018 |url-status=live }}</ref> two subcamps of the [[Stalag XX-B]] [[German prisoner-of-war camps in World War II|prisoner-of-war camp]] for [[Allies of World War II|Allied]] POWs,<ref>{{cite book|last=Niklas|first=Tomasz|editor-last=Grudziecka|editor-first=Beata|title=Stalag XX B: historia nieopowiedziana|language=pl|location=Malbork|publisher=Muzeum Miasta Malborka|page=29|chapter=Polscy jeńcy w Stalagu XX B Marienburg|date=23 August 2023 |isbn=978-83-950992-2-9}}</ref> and several subcamps of the [[Stutthof concentration camp]] within the present-day city limits.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Gliński |first=Mirosław |title=Podobozy i większe komanda zewnętrzne obozu Stutthof (1939–1945) |journal=Stutthof. Zeszyty Muzeum |language=pl |volume=3 |pages=165, 167–168, 175–176, 179 |issn=0137-5377}}</ref>

In 1941, [[Hitler]] ordered the [[Operation Barbarossa|invasion of the Soviet Union]], eventually causing the fortunes of war to turn against Germany. As the [[Red Army|Soviet Army]] advanced in 1944, German populations in [[Central Europe]] took flight, resulting in the beginning of a great population shift. After the [[East Pomeranian Offensive|final Soviet offensives]] began in January 1945, hundreds of thousands of German refugees converged on Danzig, many of whom had fled on foot from [[East Prussia]], some tried to escape through the city's port in a large-scale evacuation involving hundreds of German cargo and passenger ships. Some of the ships were sunk by the Soviets, including the {{MV|Wilhelm Gustloff||2}} after an evacuation was attempted at neighbouring [[Gdynia]]. In the process, tens of thousands of refugees were killed.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://wiekdwudziesty.pl/bitwa-o-gdansk-1945/ |title=Bitwa o Gdańsk 1945 |last=Voellner |first=Heinz |date=31 August 2020 |website=wiekdwudziesty.pl |publisher= |access-date=9 August 2021 |quote=}}</ref>

The city also endured heavy Allied and Soviet air raids. The city was [[Siege of Danzig (1945)|captured]] by [[1st Warsaw Armoured Brigade|Polish]]<ref>{{cite book|last=Jakrzewska-Śnieżko|first=Zofia|title=Dwór Artusa w Gdańsku|year=1972|publisher=[[Państwowe Wydawnictwo Naukowe]]|language=pl|page=31}}</ref> and [[Red Army|Soviet]] troops in March 1945. The city was heavily damaged and Soviet soldiers and German saboteurs set fire to houses.<ref name="Baziur"/> Soviet soldiers committed large-scale [[Rape during the liberation of Poland|rape]] and [[Looting of Poland in World War II|looting]], especially of the port, shipyard and factories.<ref name="Baziur">{{cite journal |title=Armia Czerwona na Pomorzu Gdańskim 1945–1947 (Red Army in Gdańsk Pomerania 1945–1947) |author=Grzegorz Baziur, OBEP [[Institute of National Remembrance|IPN]] [[Kraków]] |journal=Biuletyn Instytutu Pamięci Narodowej (Institute of National Remembrance Bulletin) |year=2002 |volume=7 |publisher=IPN|language=pl|pages=35–38}}</ref><ref>Biskupski, Mieczysław B. ''The History of Poland''. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, p. 97.</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Tighe|first=Carl|title=Gdańsk: National Identity in the Polish-German Borderlands|location=London|publisher=Palgrave Macmillan|page=199}}</ref>

In line with the decisions made by the Allies at the [[Yalta Conference|Yalta]] and [[Potsdam Conference|Potsdam]] conferences, the city became again part of Poland, although with a Soviet-installed communist regime, which stayed in power until the [[Fall of Communism]] in the 1980s. The remaining German residents of the city who had survived the war [[Flight and expulsion of Germans from Poland during and after World War II|fled or were expelled]] to postwar Germany. The city was repopulated by ethnic [[Polish people|Poles]]; up to 18 percent (1948) of them had been [[Polish population transfers (1944–1946)|deported by the Soviets]] in [[Repatriation of Poles (1955–1959)|two major waves]] from pre-war eastern [[Territories of Poland annexed by the Soviet Union|Polish areas annexed by the Soviet Union]].<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9ifeo6zdSMcC&q=3200 |title=Danzig – Biographie einer Stadt |first1=Peter Oliver |last1=Loew |publisher=C.H. Beck |year=2011 |isbn=978-3-406-60587-1 |page=232 |language=de |access-date=11 February 2016 |archive-date=1 February 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220201032302/https://books.google.com/books?id=9ifeo6zdSMcC&q=3200 |url-status=live }}</ref>

===Post World War II (1945–1989)===

In 1946, the communists executed 17-year-old [[Danuta Siedzikówna]] and 42-year-old [[:pl:Feliks Selmanowicz|Feliks Selmanowicz]], known [[Polish resistance movement in World War II|Polish resistance]] members, in the local prison.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://europeremembers.com/destination/inka-monument/ |title=Inka Monument |website=Europe Remembers |access-date=18 September 2021 |archive-date=18 September 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210918152908/https://europeremembers.com/destination/inka-monument/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name=mkidn>{{cite web |url=http://mkidn.gov.pl/pages/posts/panstwowy-pogrzeb-zolnierzy-niezlomnych---bdquoinkirdquo-i-bdquozagonczykardquo-6535.php |title=Państwowy pogrzeb Żołnierzy Niezłomnych - "Inki" i "Zagończyka" |website=Ministerstwo Kultury i Dziedzictwa Narodowego |access-date=18 September 2021 |archive-date=18 September 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210918152908/http://mkidn.gov.pl/pages/posts/panstwowy-pogrzeb-zolnierzy-niezlomnych---bdquoinkirdquo-i-bdquozagonczykardquo-6535.php |url-status=live }}</ref> The port of Gdańsk was one of the three Polish ports through which [[Greeks]] and [[Macedonians (ethnic group)|Macedonians]], [[refugees of the Greek Civil War]], reached Poland.<ref name=ik>{{cite book |last=Kubasiewicz |first=Izabela |editor-last1=Dworaczek |editor-first1=Kamil |editor-last2=Kamiński |editor-first2=Łukasz |year=2013 |title=Letnia Szkoła Historii Najnowszej 2012. Referaty |language=pl |location=Warszawa |publisher=IPN |pages=114 |chapter=Emigranci z Grecji w Polsce Ludowej. Wybrane aspekty z życia mniejszości}}</ref> In 1949, four transports of Greek and Macedonian refugees arrived at the port of Gdańsk, from where they were transported to new homes in Poland.<ref name=ik/>

[[File:Strajk sierpniowy w Stoczni Gdańskiej im. Lenina 07.jpg|thumb|left|The [[Gdańsk Shipyard]] strike in 1980]]

Parts of the historic old city of Gdańsk, which had suffered large-scale destruction during the war, were rebuilt during the 1950s and 1960s. The reconstruction sought to dilute the "German character" of the city, and set it back to how it supposedly looked like before the annexation to Prussia in 1793.<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=j5IU6r6cFkAC&q=+Danzig&pg=PA80 |title=Die Schleifung – Zerstörung und Wiederaufbau historischer Bauten in Deutschland und Polen |first1=Bogdana |last1=Kozinska |first2=Dieter |last2=Bingen |publisher=Deutsches Polen-Institut |year=2005 |isbn=978-3-447-05096-8 |page=67 |language=de |access-date=11 February 2016 |archive-date=1 February 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220201032225/https://books.google.com/books?id=j5IU6r6cFkAC&q=+Danzig&pg=PA80 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9ifeo6zdSMcC&q=Wiederaufbau |title=Danzig – Biographie einer Stadt |first1=Peter Oliver |last1=Loew |publisher=C.H. Beck |year=2011 |isbn=978-3-406-60587-1 |page=146 |language=de |access-date=17 October 2020 |archive-date=1 February 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220201032232/https://books.google.com/books?id=9ifeo6zdSMcC&q=Wiederaufbau |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=j5IU6r6cFkAC&q=+Danzig&pg=PA80 |title=Die Schleifung – Zerstörung und Wiederaufbau historischer Bauten in Deutschland und Polen |first1=Konstanty |last1=Kalinowski |first2=Dieter |last2=Bingen |publisher=Deutsches Polen-Institut |year=2005 |isbn=978-3-447-05096-8 |page=89 |language=de |access-date=11 February 2016 |archive-date=1 February 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220201032225/https://books.google.com/books?id=j5IU6r6cFkAC&q=+Danzig&pg=PA80 |url-status=live }}</ref> Nineteenth-century transformations were ignored as "ideologically malignant" by post-war administrations, or regarded as "Prussian barbarism" worthy of demolition,<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LMuuwvSxrj4C&q=Barbarei |title=Neue Stadt in altem Glanz – Der Wiederaufbau Danzigs 1945–1960 |first1=Jacek |last1=Friedrich |publisher=Böhlau |year=2010 |isbn=978-3-412-20312-2 |pages=30, 40 |language=de |access-date=17 October 2020 |archive-date=1 February 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220201032230/https://books.google.com/books?id=LMuuwvSxrj4C&q=Barbarei |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ztVJLYq9WtoC&q=reconstruction+gdansk&pg=PA82 |title=Cultural landscapes of post-socialist cities: representation of powers and needs |first1=Mariusz |last1=Czepczynski |publisher=Ashgate publ. |year=2008 |isbn=978-0-7546-7022-3 |page=82 |access-date=17 October 2020 |archive-date=1 February 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220201032226/https://books.google.com/books?id=ztVJLYq9WtoC&q=reconstruction+gdansk&pg=PA82 |url-status=live }}</ref> while Flemish/Dutch, Italian and French influences were emphasized in order to "neutralize" the German influx on the general outlook of the city.<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LMuuwvSxrj4C&q=italienische |title=Neue Stadt in altem Glanz – Der Wiederaufbau Danzigs 1945–1960 |first1=Jacek |last1=Friedrich |publisher=Böhlau |year=2010 |isbn=978-3-412-20312-2 |pages=34, 102 |language=de |access-date=17 October 2020 |archive-date=8 October 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211008143038/https://books.google.com/books?id=LMuuwvSxrj4C&q=italienische |url-status=live }}</ref>

Boosted by heavy investment in the development of its port and three major shipyards for Soviet ambitions in the [[Baltic region]], Gdańsk became the major shipping and industrial centre of the [[People's Republic of Poland]]. In December 1970, Gdańsk was the scene of [[Polish 1970 protests|anti-regime demonstrations]], which led to the downfall of Poland's communist leader [[Władysław Gomułka]]. During the demonstrations in Gdańsk and Gdynia, military as well as the police opened fire on the demonstrators causing several dozen deaths. Ten years later, in August 1980, [[Gdańsk Shipyard]] was the birthplace of the [[Solidarity (Polish trade union)|Solidarity]] trade union movement.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://isj.org.uk/the-rise-of-solidarnosc/ |title=The rise of Solidarnosc |last=Barker |first=Colin |date=17 October 2005 |website=International Socialism |access-date=10 December 2022 |quote=}}</ref>

In September 1981, to deter Solidarity, Soviet Union launched [[Exercise Zapad-81]], the largest military exercise in history, during which amphibious landings were conducted near Gdańsk. Meanwhile, the Solidarity held its first national congress in [[Hala Olivia]], Gdańsk in which more than 800 deputies participated. Its opposition to the Communist regime led to the end of Communist Party rule in 1989, and sparked a series of protests that overthrew the Communist regimes of the former [[Eastern Bloc]].<ref name="Onet.pl">{{cite news |url=http://wiadomosci.onet.pl/trojmiasto/w-gdansku-otwarto-europejskie-centrum-solidarnosci |title=W Gdańsku otwarto Europejskie Centrum Solidarności |publisher=Onet.pl |date=31 August 2014 |access-date=7 August 2015 |language=pl |archive-date=13 December 2015 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20151213151647/http://wiadomosci.onet.pl/trojmiasto/w-gdansku-otwarto-europejskie-centrum-solidarnosci |url-status=dead }}</ref>

===Contemporary history (1990–present)===
Solidarity's leader, [[Lech Wałęsa]], became [[President of Poland]] in 1990. In 2014 the [[European Solidarity Centre]], a museum and library devoted to the history of the movement, opened in Gdańsk.<ref name="Onet.pl"/>

On 9 July 2001, the city was flooded, with 200 million [[Polish złoty|zł]] being estimated in damage, 4 people killed, and 304 evacuated. As a result, the city has built 50 reservoirs, the number of which is rising.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://dziennikbaltycki.pl/powodz-w-gdansku-9-lipca-2001-r-gwaltowna-ulewa-zatopila-czesc-miasta-18-rocznica-tragicznych-wydarzen-archiwalne-zdjecia/ar/c1-14259993 |title=Powódź w Gdańsku. 9 lipca 2001 r. gwałtowna ulewa zatopiła część miasta. 18 rocznica tragicznych wydarzeń [archiwalne zdjęcia] |last=Bednarz |first=Beata |date=9 July 2019 |publisher=Dziennik Bałtycki |access-date=16 October 2022 |quote=}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://wiadomosci.onet.pl/trojmiasto/gdansk-mija-20-lat-od-tragicznej-powodzi-zdjecia/68zqwqh |title=Gdańsk. Mija 20 lat od tragicznej w skutkach powodzi [ZDJĘCIA] |last=Olejarczyk |first=Piotr |date=9 July 2021 |publisher=[[Onet.pl]] |access-date=16 October 2022 |quote=}}</ref>

[[File:Spain vs Italy (7381934294).jpg|thumb|[[UEFA Euro 2012]] in Gdańsk]]
Gdańsk native [[Donald Tusk]] is [[Prime Minister of Poland]] from 2007 to 2014 and again from 2023 to present and was [[President of the European Council]] from 2014 to 2019.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-28989875 |title=Italy's Mogherini and Poland's Tusk get top EU jobs |publisher=BBC |date=30 August 2014 |access-date=8 August 2015 |archive-date=31 August 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140831010253/http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-28989875 |url-status=live }}</ref> In 2014, the remains of [[Danuta Siedzikówna]] and Feliks Selmanowicz were found at the local Garrison Cemetery, and then their state burial was held in Gdańsk in 2016, with the participation of thousands of people from all over Poland and the highest Polish authorities.<ref name=mkidn/>

In January 2019, the Mayor of Gdańsk, [[Paweł Adamowicz]], was [[Assassination of Paweł Adamowicz|assassinated]] by a man who had just been released from prison for violent crimes. After stabbing the mayor in the abdomen near the heart, the man claimed that the mayor's political party had been responsible for imprisoning him. Though Adamowicz underwent a multi-hour surgery, he died the next day.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://edition.cnn.com/2019/01/14/europe/pawel-adamowicz-gdansk-mayor-stabbed-poland-intl/index.html |title=Gdansk mayor Pawel Adamowicz dies after being stabbed in heart on stage | publisher=CNN|date=14 January 2019 |access-date=14 January 2019 |archive-date=14 January 2019 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190114150906/https://edition.cnn.com/2019/01/14/europe/pawel-adamowicz-gdansk-mayor-stabbed-poland-intl/index.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/mayor-of-polish-city-dies-after-stabbing-at-charity-event/ar-BBSeqqz?ocid=chromentpshop |title=Mayor of Polish city dies after stabbing at charity event | publisher=www.msn.com |access-date=16 April 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190115023117/https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/mayor-of-polish-city-dies-after-stabbing-at-charity-event/ar-BBSeqqz?ocid=chromentpshop |archive-date=15 January 2019 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

In October 2019, the City of Gdańsk was awarded the [[Princess of Asturias Awards|Princess of Asturias Award]] in the Concord category as a recognition of the fact that "the past and present in Gdańsk are sensitive to solidarity, the defense of freedom and human rights, as well as to the preservation of peace".<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.thefirstnews.com/article/polish-city-of-gdansk-wins-princess-of-asturias-award-8170 |title=Polish city of Gdansk wins Princess of Asturias Award |access-date=19 October 2019 |archive-date=19 October 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191019135303/https://www.thefirstnews.com/article/polish-city-of-gdansk-wins-princess-of-asturias-award-8170 |url-status=live }}</ref>

In a 2023 Report on the Quality of Life in European Cities compiled by the [[European Commission]], Gdańsk was named as the fourth best city to live in Europe alongside [[Leipzig]], [[Stockholm]] and [[Geneva]].<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://ec.europa.eu/regional_policy/sources/reports/qol2023/2023_quality_life_european_cities_en.pdf |title=Report on the quality of life in European cities, 2023 |website=ec.europa.eu |access-date=18 January 2024}}</ref>

==Geography==
Gdańsk lies at the mouth of the [[Motława]] river to the [[Martwa Wisła]], a branch of the [[Vistula]]. It is located on the border between different [[physiographic region]]s: [[Vistula Spit]] (waterside part of the city), [[Vistula Fens]] (eastern part of the city), [[Kashubian Coastland]] (north-western part of the city) and [[Kashubian Lake District]] (western part of the city).

===Climate===
{{climate chart
|Gdańsk
|−3.8|1.4|28.7
|−3.1|2.3|22.5
|−0.7|6.1|27.9
|3.1|11.4|31.2
|7.9|16.7|54.8
|11.1|19.6|68
|13.6|22.6|68.4
|13.2|22.9|69.2
|9.9|17.7|63.9
|5.6|12.6|49.3
|1.2|6.1|46.4
|−2.2|2.5|38.8

|float=right
|source=[http://worldweather.wmo.int/en/city.html?cityId=25 World Meteorological Organisation]
}}
Gdańsk has a climate with both oceanic and continental influences. According to some categorizations, it has an [[oceanic climate]] (Cfb), while others classify it as belonging to the [[humid continental climate]] (Dfb).<ref>"[https://www.britannica.com/media/full/276210/206711 Köppen climate classification] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180214202852/https://www.britannica.com/media/full/276210/206711 |date=14 February 2018 }}". ''Britannica''. Retrieved 14 February 2018</ref> It actually depends on whether the mean reference temperature for the coldest winter month is set at {{cvt|-3|C|F}} or {{cvt|0|C|F}}. Gdańsk's dry winters and the precipitation maximum in summer are indicators of continentality. However seasonal extremes are less pronounced than those in inland Poland.<ref name = Weatherbase>[http://www.weatherbase.com/weather/weather-summary.php3?s=5121&cityname=Gdansk%2C+Pomeranian+Voivodeship%2C+Poland&units= Gdansk] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181106230835/http://www.weatherbase.com/weather/weather-summary.php3?s=5121&cityname=Gdansk%2C+Pomeranian+Voivodeship%2C+Poland&units= |date=6 November 2018 }}". ''Weatherbase.com''. Retrieved 14 February 2018.</ref>

The city has moderately cold and cloudy winters with mean temperature in January and February near or below {{cvt|0|C|F}} and mild summers with frequent showers and thunderstorms. Average temperatures range from {{cvt|-1.0|to|17.2|C|F|0}} and average monthly rainfall varies {{cvt|17.9|to|66.7|mm|in|0}} per month with a rather low annual total of {{cvt|507.3|mm|in|0}}. In general, the weather is damp, variable, and mild.<ref name = Weatherbase />

The seasons are clearly differentiated. Spring starts in March and is initially cold and windy, later becoming pleasantly warm and often increasingly sunny. Summer, which begins in June, is predominantly warm but hot at times with temperature reaching as high as {{cvt|30|to|35|C|F|0}} at least couple times a year with plenty of sunshine interspersed with heavy rain. Gdańsk averages 1,700 hours of sunshine per year. July and August are the warmest months. Autumn comes in September and is at first warm and usually sunny, turning cold, damp, and foggy in November. Winter lasts from December to March and includes periods of snow. January and February are the coldest months with the temperature sometimes dropping as low as {{cvt|-15|C|0}}.<ref name = Weatherbase />

{{Weather box|location= Gdańsk (1991–2020)
|width= auto
|metric first= y
|single line= y
|Jan record high C = 13.4
|Feb record high C = 18.1
|Mar record high C = 24.5
|Apr record high C = 30.6
|May record high C = 32.3
|Jun record high C = 34.6
|Jul record high C = 36.0
|Aug record high C = 35.8
|Sep record high C = 31.7
|Oct record high C = 28.1
|Nov record high C = 21.1
|Dec record high C = 13.7
| Jan avg record high C = 7.6
| Feb avg record high C = 8.4
| Mar avg record high C = 14.9
| Apr avg record high C = 22.1
| May avg record high C = 25.9
| Jun avg record high C = 28.9
| Jul avg record high C = 30.0
| Aug avg record high C = 29.9
| Sep avg record high C = 24.8
| Oct avg record high C = 19.2
| Nov avg record high C = 11.8
| Dec avg record high C = 8.4
|year avg record high C = 31.8
|Jan high C = 1.7
|Feb high C = 2.9
|Mar high C = 6.6
|Apr high C = 12.1
|May high C = 16.8
|Jun high C = 20.4
|Jul high C = 22.6
|Aug high C = 22.9
|Sep high C = 18.5
|Oct high C = 12.7
|Nov high C = 6.7
|Dec high C = 3.1
|year high C = 12.3
| Jan mean C = -1.4
| Feb mean C = -0.8
| Mar mean C = 1.8
| Apr mean C = 6.9
| May mean C = 11.9
| Jun mean C = 15.5
| Jul mean C = 17.7
| Aug mean C = 17.3
| Sep mean C = 12.9
| Oct mean C = 8.0
| Nov mean C = 3.4
| Dec mean C = 0.1
| year mean C = 7.7
|Jan low C = -3.3
|Feb low C = -2.7
|Mar low C = -0.4
|Apr low C = 3.6
|May low C = 8.1
|Jun low C = 11.6
|Jul low C = 14.2
|Aug low C = 13.9
|Sep low C = 10.4
|Oct low C = 5.8
|Nov low C = 1.9
|Dec low C = -1.6
|year low C = 5.1
| Jan avg record low C = -15.6
| Feb avg record low C = -13.5
| Mar avg record low C = -9.7
| Apr avg record low C = -3.8
| May avg record low C = 0.0
| Jun avg record low C = 4.3
| Jul avg record low C = 7.5
| Aug avg record low C = 7.2
| Sep avg record low C = 3.0
| Oct avg record low C = -2.2
| Nov avg record low C = -6.3
| Dec avg record low C = -11.3
|year avg record low C = -19.1
|Jan record low C = -27.4
|Feb record low C = -29.8
|Mar record low C = -22.8
|Apr record low C = -7.7
|May record low C = -4.3
|Jun record low C = -0.5
|Jul record low C = 2.1
|Aug record low C = 4.4
|Sep record low C = -1.9
|Oct record low C = -7.0
|Nov record low C = -16.9
|Dec record low C = -23.3
|year record low C = 
|precipitation colour = green
|Jan precipitation mm = 28.5
|Feb precipitation mm = 23.7
|Mar precipitation mm = 27.5
|Apr precipitation mm = 32.0
|May precipitation mm = 53.3
|Jun precipitation mm = 58.8
|Jul precipitation mm = 79.4
|Aug precipitation mm = 70.0
|Sep precipitation mm = 64.5
|Oct precipitation mm = 54.8
|Nov precipitation mm = 42.6
|Dec precipitation mm = 36.0
|year precipitation mm = 571.0
|unit precipitation days = 0.1 mm
|Jan precipitation days = 16.67
|Feb precipitation days = 14.25
|Mar precipitation days = 14.03
|Apr precipitation days = 11.43
|May precipitation days = 13.07
|Jun precipitation days = 14.03
|Jul precipitation days = 13.43
|Aug precipitation days = 14.03
|Sep precipitation days = 12.40
|Oct precipitation days = 15.27
|Nov precipitation days = 15.93
|Dec precipitation days = 17.97
|year precipitation days = 172.51
| Jan humidity = 87.7
| Feb humidity = 85.9
| Mar humidity = 82.5
| Apr humidity = 75.5
| May humidity = 71.6
| Jun humidity = 72.2
| Jul humidity = 74.7
| Aug humidity = 78.1
| Sep humidity = 82.6
| Oct humidity = 84.6
| Nov humidity = 89.1
| Dec humidity = 89.8
| year humidity = 
|Jan sun = 39
|Feb sun = 70
|Mar sun = 134
|Apr sun = 163
|May sun = 244
|Jun sun = 259
|Jul sun = 236
|Aug sun = 225
|Sep sun = 174
|Oct sun = 105
|Nov sun = 45
|Dec sun = 32
|year sun = 1726
| Jan uv  =1
| Feb uv  =2
| Mar uv  =2
| Apr uv  =4
| May uv  =4
| Jun uv  =5
| Jul uv  =5
| Aug uv  =4
| Sep uv  =4
| Oct uv  =3
| Nov uv  =1
| Dec uv  =1
| Jan dew point C = -3
| Feb dew point C = -3
| Mar dew point C = -1
| Apr dew point C = 2
| May dew point C = 6
| Jun dew point C = 10
| Jul dew point C = 13
| Aug dew point C = 12
| Sep dew point C = 9
| Oct dew point C = 6
| Nov dew point C = 2
| Dec dew point C = -1
|source 1 = Institute of Meteorology and Water Management<ref name=IMGWtavg>{{cite web
| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20211203115527/https://klimat.imgw.pl/pl/climate-normals/TSR_AVE
| archive-date = 3 December 2021
| url = https://klimat.imgw.pl/pl/climate-normals/TSR_AVE
| title = Średnia dobowa temperatura powietrza
| work = Normy klimatyczne 1991-2020
| publisher = Institute of Meteorology and Water Management
| language = pl
| access-date = 31 January 2022
| url-status = live
}}</ref><ref name=IMGWtmin>{{cite web
| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20220115043924/https://klimat.imgw.pl/pl/climate-normals/TMIN_AVE
| archive-date = 15 January 2022
| url = https://klimat.imgw.pl/pl/climate-normals/TMIN_AVE
| title = Średnia minimalna temperatura powietrza
| work = Normy klimatyczne 1991-2020
| publisher = Institute of Meteorology and Water Management
| language = pl
| access-date = 31 January 2022
| url-status = live
}}</ref><ref name=IMGWtmax>{{cite web
| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20220115044916/https://klimat.imgw.pl/pl/climate-normals/TMAX_AVE
| archive-date = 15 January 2022
| url = https://klimat.imgw.pl/pl/climate-normals/TMAX_AVE
| title = Średnia maksymalna temperatura powietrza
| work = Normy klimatyczne 1991-2020
| publisher = Institute of Meteorology and Water Management
| language = pl
| access-date = 31 January 2022
| url-status = live
}}</ref><ref name=IMGWprecip>{{cite web
| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20220109045820/https://klimat.imgw.pl/pl/climate-normals/OPAD_SUMA
| archive-date = 9 January 2022
| url = https://klimat.imgw.pl/pl/climate-normals/OPAD_SUMA
| title = Miesięczna suma opadu
| work = Normy klimatyczne 1991-2020
| publisher = Institute of Meteorology and Water Management
| language = pl
| access-date = 31 January 2022
| url-status = live
}}</ref><ref name=IMGWprecipdays>{{cite web
| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20220115051112/https://klimat.imgw.pl/pl/climate-normals/OPAD_01
| archive-date = 15 January 2022
| url = https://klimat.imgw.pl/pl/climate-normals/OPAD_01
| title = Liczba dni z opadem >= 0,1 mm
| work = Normy klimatyczne 1991-2020
| publisher = Institute of Meteorology and Water Management
| language = pl
| access-date = 31 January 2022
| url-status = live
}}</ref><ref name=IMGWsnowdepth>{{cite web
| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20220115054936/https://klimat.imgw.pl/pl/climate-normals/SNIEG_SR_GRUB
| archive-date = 15 January 2022
| url = https://klimat.imgw.pl/pl/climate-normals/SNIEG_SR_GRUB
| title = Średnia grubość pokrywy śnieżnej
| work = Normy klimatyczne 1991-2020
| publisher = Institute of Meteorology and Water Management
| language = pl
| access-date = 31 January 2022
| url-status = live
}}</ref><ref name=IMGWsnowdays>{{cite web
| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20220121044246/https://klimat.imgw.pl/pl/climate-normals/SNIEG_0
| archive-date = 21 January 2022
| url = https://klimat.imgw.pl/pl/climate-normals/SNIEG_0
| title = Liczba dni z pokrywą śnieżna > 0 cm
| work = Normy klimatyczne 1991-2020
| publisher = Institute of Meteorology and Water Management
| language = pl
| access-date = 31 January 2022
| url-status = live
}}</ref><ref name=IMGWsun>{{cite web
| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20220115055331/https://klimat.imgw.pl/pl/climate-normals/USL
| archive-date = 15 January 2022
| url = https://klimat.imgw.pl/pl/climate-normals/USL
| title = Średnia suma usłonecznienia (h)
| work = Normy klimatyczne 1991-2020
| publisher = Institute of Meteorology and Water Management
| language = pl
| access-date = 31 January 2022
| url-status = live
}}</ref>
|source 2= meteomodel.pl,{{efn|Record temperatures are from all Gdańsk stations.}}<ref>{{cite web |url=https://meteomodel.pl/dane/srednie-miesieczne/?imgwid=354180155&par=tmax&max_empty=3 |title=Gdańsk Średnie i sumy miesięczne |date=6 April 2018 |publisher=meteomodel.pl |access-date=14 January 2020 |archive-date=9 March 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200309021457/https://meteomodel.pl/dane/srednie-miesieczne/?imgwid=354180155&par=tmax&max_empty=3 |url-status=live }}</ref> Weather Atlas (UV),<ref>{{cite web
| url = https://www.weather-atlas.com/en/poland/gdansk-climate
| title = Gdańsk, Poland – Detailed climate information and monthly weather forecast
| publisher = Weather Atlas
| access-date = 1 August 2022}}</ref> Time and Date (dewpoints, 2005–2015)<ref>{{cite web
| url = https://www.timeanddate.com/weather/poland/gdansk/climate
| title = Climate & Weather Averages in Gdańsk
| publisher = Time and Date
| access-date = 31 July 2022}}</ref>
| date = October 2015
}}

==Economy==
[[File:GdanskShipyard2009.jpg|thumb|[[Gdańsk Shipyard]] in 2009]]

The industrial sections of the city are dominated by shipbuilding, petrochemical, and chemical industries, as well as food processing. The share of high-tech sectors such as electronics, telecommunications, IT engineering, cosmetics, and pharmaceuticals is on the rise. [[Amber]] processing is also an important part of the local economy, as the majority of the world's amber deposits lie along the [[Baltic Sea|Baltic]] coast.<ref name = "biznes">{{cite web |url=https://businessinsider.com.pl/firmy/8-biznesowych-rzeczy-ktorych-nie-wiedziales-o-gdansku/7yhqcfl |title=Gdańsk – dobry klimat dla interesów. 8 biznesowych rzeczy, których nie wiedziałeś o Gdańsku |date=13 July 2020 |website=Business Insider |publisher=[[Onet]] |access-date=31 October 2021 |quote= |archive-date=31 October 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211031101856/https://businessinsider.com.pl/firmy/8-biznesowych-rzeczy-ktorych-nie-wiedziales-o-gdansku/7yhqcfl |url-status=live }}</ref>

Major companies based in Gdańsk include multinational clothing company [[LPP (company)|LPP]], [[Energa]], [[Remontowa]], the [[Gdańsk Shipyard]], Ziaja, and [[BreakThru Films]]. The city also served as a major base for [[Grupa Lotos]], with the [[Gdańsk Refinery]] having been the second-largest in Poland, with a capacity of {{convert|210000|oilbbl/d|m3/d|abbr=on}}.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.lotos.pl/en/869/this_is_lotos/lotos_group/history |title=LOTOS Group History |website=lotos.pl |publisher=Grupa Lotos |access-date=9 August 2024}}</ref><ref name = "biznes" /> Gdańsk also hosts the biennial BALTEXPO International Maritime Fair and Conference, the largest fair dedicated to the [[maritime industry]] in Poland.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.polandatsea.com/baltexpo-international-maritime-fair-and-conference-2023-is-coming-soon/ |title=Baltexpo International Maritime Fair and Conference 2023 is coming soon! |website=polandatsea.com |date=31 March 2023 |access-date=4 April 2024}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=https://baltexpo.eu/en/ |title=BALTEXPO will return in 2025! |website=baltexpo.com |access-date=4 April 2024}}</ref>

The largest shopping center located in the city is [[Forum Gdańsk]],<ref>{{cite web|url=https://pomorskie-prestige.eu/en/shoppinglifestyle-en/shopping-inspirations/forum-gdansk-the-new-face-of-the-city/ |title=Forum Gdańsk. The new face of the city |last= |first= |date=9 June 2018 |website=pomorskie-prestige.eu |publisher= |access-date=4 April 2024 |quote=}}</ref> which covers a large plot in the city centre.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.archdaily.com/909887/forum-gdansk-sud-polska |title=Forum Gdańsk / SUD Polska |last= |first= |date= 16 August 2019|website=archdaily.com |publisher=[[ArchDaily]] |access-date=9 September 2021 |quote=}}</ref> In 2021, the registered unemployment rate in the city was estimated at 3.6%.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://stat.gov.pl/obszary-tematyczne/rynek-pracy/bezrobocie-rejestrowane/bezrobotni-zarejestrowani-i-stopa-bezrobocia-stan-w-koncu-lipca-2021-r-,2,108.html |language=pl |title=Bezrobotni zarejestrowani i stopa bezrobocia. Stan w końcu lipca 2021 r. |website=stat.gov.pl |access-date=4 April 2024}}</ref>

==Main sights==
{{Wide image|2012-08-30 pano gdansk sm2.jpg|900px|View of Gdańsk's Main Town from the [[Motława]] River (2012)}}{{Clear}}

===Architecture===
{{multiple image
| align = right
| caption_align = center
| perrow = 2
| total_width = 350
| header = Sights at the Royal Route
| image1 = Puerta Alta, Gdansk, Polonia, 2013-05-20, DD 02.jpg
| image2 = Gdańsk, Brama Złota (HB1).jpg
| image3 = Ayuntamiento Principal, Gdansk, Polonia, 2013-05-20, DD 01.jpg
| image4 = Corte Artus, Gdansk, Polonia, 2013-05-20, DD 03.jpg
| image5 = Gdańsk Złota Kamienica.jpg
| image6 = Monumento Neptuno, Gdansk, Polonia, 2013-05-20, DD 05.jpg
| caption1 = Highland Gate
| caption2 = Mansion of the Society of Saint George and [[Golden Gate (Gdańsk)|Golden Gate]]
| caption3 = ''[[Ulica Długa]]''
| caption4 = [[Artus Court]]
| caption5 = Sculptures at the top of the Golden House
| caption6 = [[Neptune's Fountain, Gdańsk|Neptune's Fountain]] and ''[[Długi Targ]]''
}}

The city has some buildings surviving from the time of the [[Hanseatic League]]. Most [[tourist attraction]]s are located in the area of the Main City of Gdańsk,<ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-05-25 |title=Główne i Stare Miasto Gdańsk |url=https://www.suerteprzewodnicy.pl/blog/glowne-i-stare-miasto-gdansk-odkrywamy-gdanska-starowke/ |access-date=2023-08-05 |website=suerteprzewodnicy.pl |language=pl-PL}}</ref> along or near Ulica Długa (''Long Street'') and Długi Targ (''Long Market''), a pedestrian thoroughfare surrounded by buildings reconstructed in historical (primarily during the 17th century) style and flanked at both ends by elaborate [[city gate]]s. This part of the city is sometimes referred to as the Royal Route, since it was once the path of processions for visiting Kings of Poland.<ref name="Richard Franks">{{Cite web |url=https://theculturetrip.com/europe/poland/articles/20-must-visit-attractions-in-gdansk-poland/ |title=Must-Visit Attractions in Gdańsk, Poland |website=theculturetrip.com |author=Richard Franks |date=15 November 2017 |access-date=2 December 2022}}</ref>

Walking from end to end, sites encountered on or near the Royal Route include:<ref name="Richard Franks" />

* Highland Gate (''[[:pl:Brama Wyżynna w Gdańsku|Brama Wyżynna]]''), which marks the beginning of the Royal Route
* Torture House (''Katownia'') and Prison Tower (''Wieża więzienna''), now housing the Amber Museum (''[[:pl:Muzeum Bursztynu w Gdańsku|Muzeum Bursztynu]]'')
* Mansion of the Society of Saint George (''[[:pl:Dwór Bractwa św. Jerzego w Gdańsku|Dwór Bractwa św. Jerzego]]'')
* [[Golden Gate (Gdańsk)|Golden Gate]] (''Złota Brama'')<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://its-poland.com/attraction/golden-gate-gdansk |title=Golden Gate, Gdańsk |access-date=2 December 2022}}</ref>
* ''[[Ulica Długa]]'' ("Long Lane"), filled with picturesque tenements
** [[Uphagen's House]] (''Dom Uphagena''), branch of the Museum of Gdańsk
** Lion's Castle (''[[:pl:Lwi Zamek|Lwi Zamek]]'')
** [[Gdańsk Town Hall|Main Town Hall]] (''Ratusz Głównego Miasta'', built 1378–1492)<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://visitgdansk.com/en/corobic/green-gate,a,16,7 |title=Classical Gdańsk. Main City Town Hall |access-date=2 December 2022 |archive-date=2 December 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221202154623/https://visitgdansk.com/en/corobic/green-gate,a,16,7 |url-status=dead }}</ref>
* ''[[Długi Targ]]'' ("Long Market")
** [[Artus Court|Artus' Court]] (''Dwór Artusa'')<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://visitgdansk.com/en/corobic/neptune-s-fountain,a,16,5 |title=Classical Gdańsk. Artus Court |access-date=2 December 2022 |archive-date=2 December 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221202155753/https://visitgdansk.com/en/corobic/neptune-s-fountain,a,16,5 |url-status=dead }}</ref>
** [[Neptune's Fountain, Gdańsk|Neptune's Fountain]] (''Fontanna Neptuna''), a masterpiece by architect [[Abraham van den Blocke]], 1617.<ref name="Sturgis">{{cite book |author1=Russell Sturgis |author2=Arthur Lincoln Frothingham |title=A history of architecture |year=1915 |page=[https://archive.org/details/ahistoryarchite01sturgoog/page/n315 293] |publisher=Baker & Taylor |url=https://archive.org/details/ahistoryarchite01sturgoog}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |author1=Paul Wagret |author2=Helga S. B. Harrison |title=Poland |year=1964 |page=302 |publisher=Nagel |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uXu0AAAAIAAJ |access-date=17 October 2020 |archive-date=10 October 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211010230031/https://books.google.com/books?id=uXu0AAAAIAAJ |url-status=live }}</ref> It is the oldest working fountain in Poland.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2022-12-16 |title=Fontanna Neptuna w Gdańsku |url=https://www.suerteprzewodnicy.pl/blog/fontanna-neptuna-w-gdansku/ |access-date=2023-08-05 |website=suerteprzewodnicy.pl |language=pl-PL}}</ref>
** New Jury House (''[[:pl:Nowy Dom Ławy w Gdańsku|Nowy Dom Ławy]]''), in which the seemingly 17th-century ''Maiden in the Window'' appears every day during the tourist season, referring to a popular novel ''Panienka z okienka'' ("Maiden in the Window") by [[Jadwiga Łuszczewska]], set in 17th-century Gdańsk<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://pomorskie.travel/en/-/nowy-dom-lawy-sien-gdanska- |title=The New Jury House (The Gdańsk Hall) |website=Pomorskie.travel |access-date=1 May 2020 |archive-date=1 February 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220201032307/https://pomorskie.travel/en/punkty-poi/nowy-dom-lawy-sien-gdanska/ |url-status=live }}</ref>
** Golden House (''[[:pl:Złota Kamienica w Gdańsku|Złota Kamienica]]''), a distinctive [[Renaissance in Poland|Renaissance]] townhouse from the early 17th century, decorated with numerous reliefs and sculptures<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://visitgdansk.com/en/corobic/golden-house,a,16,9 |title=Classical Gdańsk. Golden House |access-date=2 December 2022 |archive-date=2 December 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221202154656/https://visitgdansk.com/en/corobic/golden-house,a,16,9 |url-status=dead }}</ref>
* [[Green Gate]] (''Zielona Brama''), a [[Mannerist architecture and sculpture in Poland|Mannerist]] gate, built as a formal residence of Polish kings, now housing a branch of the [[National Museum, Gdańsk|National Museum in Gdańsk]]<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://visitgdansk.com/en/corobic/Green-Gate,a,16,8 |title=Classical Gdańsk. Green Gate |access-date=2 December 2022 |archive-date=2 December 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221202154610/https://visitgdansk.com/en/corobic/Green-Gate,a,16,8 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

Gdańsk has a number of historical churches, including [[St Catherine's Church, Gdańsk|St. Catherine's Church]], [[Basilica of St. Nicholas, Gdańsk|St. Nicholas' Church]] and [[St. Mary's Church, Gdańsk|St. Mary's Church]] (''Bazylika Mariacka''). The St. Mary's Church is a municipal church built during the 15th century, and is one of the largest brick churches in the world.<ref name="Richard Franks"/> The city center within 17th-century fortifications represent one of Poland's official national [[List of Historical Monuments (Poland)|Historic Monuments]] (''[[Pomnik historii]]''), as designated on 16 September 1994 and tracked by the [[Narodowy Instytut Dziedzictwa|National Heritage Board of Poland]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nid.pl/pl/Informacje_ogolne/Zabytki_w_Polsce/Pomniki_historii/Lista_miejsc/|title=Pomniki historii}}</ref>

Other main sights in the historical city centre include:<ref name="Richard Franks"/>

* Royal Chapel of the Polish King [[John III Sobieski]]
* ''Żuraw'' – medieval port crane<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://visitgdansk.com/en/corobic/the-crane,a,16,10 |title=Classical Gdańsk. The Crane |access-date=2 December 2022 |archive-date=2 December 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221202155757/https://visitgdansk.com/en/corobic/the-crane,a,16,10 |url-status=dead }}</ref>
* [[Mannerist architecture and sculpture in Poland|Mannerist]] Great Armoury
* Granaries on the [[Ołowianka]] and Granary Islands
* [[John III Sobieski Monument in Gdańsk|John III Sobieski Monument]]
* Old Town Hall<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://visitgdansk.com/en/corobic/town-hall-of-the-old-town,a,16,11 |title=Classical Gdańsk. Town Hall of the Old Town |access-date=2 December 2022 |archive-date=2 December 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221202155755/https://visitgdansk.com/en/corobic/town-hall-of-the-old-town,a,16,11 |url-status=dead }}</ref>
* Mariacka Street<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://visitgdansk.com/en/corobic/mariacka-street,a,16,12 |title=Classical Gdańsk. Mariacka Street |access-date=2 December 2022 |archive-date=2 December 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221202155749/https://visitgdansk.com/en/corobic/mariacka-street,a,16,12 |url-status=dead }}</ref>
* [[Polish Post Office (Danzig)|Polish Post Office]], site of the [[Defence of the Polish Post Office in Danzig|1939 battle]]
* Brick gothic town gates, i.e., Mariacka Gate, Straganiarska Gate, Cow Gate

Main sights outside the historical city centre include:<ref name="Richard Franks" />

* [[Abbot's Palace (Oliwa)|Abbot's Palace]] in the Oliwa Park
* [[Oliwa Cathedral]]
* [[Brzeźno Pier]]
* [[City walls of Gdańsk|Medieval city walls]]
* [[Westerplatte]]<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://muzeum1939.pl/historia-polwyspu-westerplatte-m2wswirtualnie/aktualnosci/3298.html |language=pl |title=HISTORIA PÓŁWYSPU WESTERPLATTE |access-date=2 December 2022}}</ref>
* [[Wisłoujście Fortress]]<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://podroze.onet.pl/ciekawe/twierdza-wisloujscie-jak-dojechac/mpc6ey5 |language=pl |title=Twierdza Wisłoujście - mało znana sąsiadka Westerplatte |website=onet.pl |date=24 December 2021 |access-date=2 December 2022}}</ref>
* [[Gdańsk Zoo]]<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://zoo.gda.pl/en/homepage/ |title=Zoo Gdansk|access-date=2 December 2022}}</ref>
* [[Olivia Business Centre]], a district made up of six buildings
** Olivia Star, the tallest building in Gdańsk and the rest of northern Poland. It was finished in 2018 and measures at {{convert|156|m|ft}}.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Olivia Star - The Skyscraper Center |url=https://www.skyscrapercenter.com/building/olivia-star/27585 |access-date=2023-04-30 |website=www.skyscrapercenter.com}}</ref>

<gallery widths="200" heights="135">
File:Gdansk Royal Chapel.jpg|Royal Chapel of the Polish King – [[John III Sobieski]] was built in [[baroque]] style between 1678 and 1681 by [[Tylman van Gameren]].<ref name="ROBiDZ">{{cite web |author=ROBiDZ w Gdańsku |url=http://www.wrotapomorza.pl/pl/kultura/zabytki/wybrane_zabytki/kosciol/krolewska |title=Kaplica Królewska w Gdańsku |work=www.wrotapomorza.pl |language=pl |access-date=29 December 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150210010543/http://www.wrotapomorza.pl/pl/kultura/zabytki/wybrane_zabytki/kosciol/krolewska |archive-date=10 February 2015}}</ref>
File:Bazylika Mariacka DSC01870.jpg|[[St. Mary's Church, Gdańsk|St. Mary's Church]] – one of the largest brick churches in the world
File:Gdańsk (DerHexer) 2010-07-15 091.jpg|[[Polish Post Office (Danzig)|Polish Post Office]], site of the [[Defence of the Polish Post Office in Danzig|1939 battle]]
</gallery>

===Museums===
[[File:Gdańsk, Brama Mariacka (WLZ14).jpg|thumb|Archeological Museum and Mariacka Gate]]

* [[National Museum, Gdańsk|National Museum]] (''Muzeum Narodowe'')<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://culture.pl/pl/miejsce/muzeum-narodowe-w-gdansku |language=pl |title=Muzeum Narodowe w Gdańsku |website=culture.pl |access-date=2 December 2022}}</ref>
** Department of Ancient Art – contains a number of important artworks, including [[Hans Memling]]'s ''[[The Last Judgment (Memling)|The Last Judgement]]''
** [[Green Gate]]
** Department of Modern Art – in the [[Abbot's Palace (Oliwa)|Abbot's Palace]] in Oliwa
** Ethnography Department – in the Abbot's Granary in Oliwa
** Gdańsk Photography Gallery
* Historical Museum (''[[:pl:Muzeum Historyczne Miasta Gdańska|Muzeum Historyczne Miasta Gdańska]]''):<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://culture.pl/en/place/historical-museum-of-the-city-of-gdansk |title=Historical Museum of the City of Gdansk |access-date=2 December 2022}}</ref>
** [[Gdańsk Town Hall|Main Town Hall]]
** [[Artus Court|Artus' Court]]
** [[Uphagen's House]]
** Amber Museum (''[[:pl:Muzeum Bursztynu w Gdańsku|Muzeum Bursztynu]]'')
** Museum of the Polish Post (''[[:pl:Muzeum Poczty Polskiej w Gdańsku|Muzeum Poczty Polskiej]]'')
** ''[[:pl:Wartownia nr 1 na Westerplatte|Wartownia nr 1 na Westerplatte]]''
** Museum of Tower Clocks (''[[:pl:Muzeum Zegarów Wieżowych|Muzeum Zegarów Wieżowych]]'')
** [[Wisłoujście Fortress]]
* [[National Maritime Museum, Gdańsk]] (''Narodowe Muzeum Morskie''):
** [[museum ship]] ''[[SS Sołdek]]'' is anchored on the [[Motława]] River and was the first ship built in post-war Poland.
* [[European Solidarity Centre]]. Museum and library dedicated to the history of the [[Solidarity (Polish trade union)|Solidarity]] movement.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://culture.pl/en/work/the-european-solidarity-centre |title=The European Solidarity Centre |website=culture.pl |access-date=2 December 2022}}</ref>
* Archdiocese Museum (''[[:pl:Muzeum Archidiecezjalne w Gdańsku|Muzeum Archidiecezjalne]]'')
* [[Museum of the Second World War]]<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.thefirstnews.com/article/gdansk-rising-the-cradle-of-the-second-world-war-defies-it-past-and-embraces-a-bold-future-7397 |title=Gdańsk rising: the cradle of the Second World War defies it past and embraces a bold future |website=thefirstnews.com |author=Alex Webber |access-date=2 December 2022}}</ref>

===Entertainment===
* [[Polish Baltic Philharmonic]]
* [[Baltic State Opera|Baltic Opera]]
* [[Gdańsk Shakespeare Theatre]] is a Shakespearean theatre built on the historical site of a 17th-century playhouse where English travelling players came to perform. The new theatre, completed in 2014, hosts the annual [[Gdańsk Shakespeare Festival]].<ref>{{cite news |title=Elizabethan playhouse in Poland to host work by Shakespeare's Globe |last=Snow |first=Georgia |url=http://www.thestage.co.uk/news/2014/09/elizabethan-playhouse-poland-host-work-shakespeares-globe/ |newspaper=[[The Stage]] |date=3 September 2014 |access-date=15 September 2014 |archive-date=12 September 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140912235038/http://www.thestage.co.uk/news/2014/09/elizabethan-playhouse-poland-host-work-shakespeares-globe/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

==Transport==
[[File:Port Lotniczy im Lecha Walesy Terminal 2.jpg|thumb|[[Gdańsk Lech Wałęsa Airport]] (2012, before the 2022 expansion)]]
[[File:Maersk Elba in Gdańsk.JPG|thumb|[[Maersk]] container ship in the [[Port of Gdańsk]]]]
[[File:Gdańsk Główny station 1.jpg|thumb|[[Gdańsk Główny railway station]]]]

The city's core transport infrastructure includes [[Gdańsk Lech Wałęsa Airport]], an international airport located in Gdańsk,<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.airport.gdansk.pl/airport/airport-history-p27.html |title=Airport History |access-date=2 December 2022}}</ref>
and the [[Szybka Kolej Miejska (Tricity)|Szybka Kolej Miejska]], (SKM)<ref name = "skmka">{{Cite web |url=https://www.skm.pkp.pl/o-nas/nasza-historia/ |language=pl |title=Nasza historia |access-date=2 December 2022 |archive-date=5 November 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221105140651/http://www.skm.pkp.pl/o-nas/nasza-historia |url-status=dead }}</ref> which functions as a [[rapid transit]] system for the Tricity area, including Gdańsk, [[Sopot]] and [[Gdynia]], operating frequent trains to 27 stations covering the Tricity.<ref>SKM Passenger Information, Map http://www.skm.pkp.pl/ {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141227081243/http://www.skm.pkp.pl/ |date=27 December 2014 }}</ref>

The principal station in Gdańsk is [[Gdańsk Główny railway station]], served by both [[Szybka Kolej Miejska (Tricity)|SKM]] local trains and [[Polskie Koleje Panstwowe|PKP]] long-distance trains. In addition, long-distance trains also stop at [[Gdańsk Oliwa railway station]], [[Gdańsk Wrzeszcz railway station]], [[Sopot railway station|Sopot]], and [[Gdynia Główna railway station|Gdynia]]. Gdańsk also has nine other railway stations, served by local [[Szybka Kolej Miejska (Tricity)|SKM]] trains;<ref name = "skmka" /> Long-distance trains are operated by [[PKP Intercity]] which provides connections with most major [[List of cities and towns in Poland|Polish cities]], including [[Warsaw]], [[Kraków]], [[Łódź]], [[Poznań]], [[Katowice]], [[Szczecin]],  [[Częstochowa]], and [[Wrocław]]. [[Polregio]] operates regional trains with the neighbouring [[Kashubian Lake District|Kashubian Lakes Region]] along with trains to [[Słupsk]], [[Hel, Poland|Hel]], [[Malbork]], and [[Elbląg]].<ref>{{cite web |url = http://www.rynek-kolejowy.pl/49466/bariera_300_km_h_nie_padla_na_koniec_testow_293_km_h.htm |title = Wszystko na temat branży kolejowej: PKP, Intercity, przewozy regionalne, koleje mazowieckie, rozkłady jazdy PKP, Kolej |website = Rynek-kolejowy.pl |access-date = 29 July 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url = https://rozklad-pkp.pl/ua/sq?ld=mobil&seqnr=2&ident=69.012318225.1650824103&time=14:20&input=5100009&boardType=dep&productsFilter=1111111&GUIREQProduct_0=on&GUIREQProduct_1=on&GUIREQProduct_2=on&GUIREQProduct_3=on&start=start |title = Departures from Gdańsk Glowny|access-date = 26 April 2025}}</ref>

Between 2011 and 2015, the rail route between Gdańsk, Gdynia, and Warsaw underwent a major upgrade, resulting in improvements in the railway's speed and critical infrastructure such as signalling systems, as well as the construction of the [[Pomorska Kolej Metropolitalna]], a major suburban railway, which was opened in 2015.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.trojmiasto.pl/wiadomosci/Pendolino-z-Trojmiasta-do-Warszawy-Wiecej-pytan-niz-odpowiedzi-n71010.html |title=Pendolino z Trójmiasta do Warszawy. Więcej pytań niż odpowiedzi |date=30 July 2013 |work=trojmiasto.pl |access-date=25 December 2014 |archive-date=28 July 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140728035932/http://www.trojmiasto.pl/wiadomosci/Pendolino-z-Trojmiasta-do-Warszawy-Wiecej-pytan-niz-odpowiedzi-n71010.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>';Jeszcze szybciej z Warszawy do Gdańska,' Kurier Kolejowy 9 January 2015 http://www.kurierkolejowy.eu/aktualnosci/22716/Jeszcze-szybciej-z-Warszawy-do-Gdanska.html {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150110043951/http://kurierkolejowy.eu/aktualnosci/22716/Jeszcze-szybciej-z-Warszawy-do-Gdanska.html |date=10 January 2015 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.pkm-sa.pl/2020/12/22/pkm-sa-podpisala-umowe-na-realizacje-tzw-bajpasu-kartuskiego-z-gdynska-firma-torhamer/ |title=PKM SA podpisała umowę na realizację tzw. "bajpasu kartuskiego" z gdyńską firmą Torhamer |date=22 December 2020 |website=PKM |language=pl }}</ref>

City buses and [[Trams in Gdańsk|trams]] are operated by ZTM Gdańsk (Zarząd Transportu Miejskiego w Gdańsku).<ref>{{cite magazine |last=Oleksy |first=Ewelina |date=21 June 2018 |title=W Gdańsku dzieci będą jeździć za darmo. Ale tylko z kartą |magazine=Naszemiasto.pl}}</ref> The [[Port of Gdańsk]] is a seaport located on the southern coast of [[Gdańsk Bay]], located within the city,<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.portgdansk.pl/en/about-port/investments-and-development/the-port-and-the-city/ |title=The port and the city |access-date=2 December 2022}}</ref> and the [[Obwodnica Trójmiejska]] and [[A1 autostrada (Poland)|A1 autostrada]] allow for automotive access to the city.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://historia.trojmiasto.pl/42-lata-temu-otwarto-Obwodnice-Trojmiasta-n140985.html |title=42 lata temu otwarto Obwodnicę Trójmiasta |last=Brancewicz |first=Michał |date=30 December 2019 |website=trojmiasto.pl |access-date=9 August 2024}}</ref> Additionally, Gdańsk is part of the [[Rail-2-Sea]] project. This project's objective is to connect the city with the Romanian [[Black Sea]] port of [[Constanța]] with a {{cvt|3,663|km|abbr=off}} long railway line passing through Poland, Slovakia, Hungary and Romania.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://universul.net/rail-2-sea-and-via-carpathia-the-us-backed-highway-and-rail-links-from-the-baltic-to-the-black-sea/ |title=Rail-2-Sea and Via Carpathia, the US-backed highway and rail links from the Baltic to the Black Sea |first=Alison |last=Mutler |newspaper=Universul.net |date=12 October 2020 |access-date=13 July 2021 |archive-date=10 November 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211110070034/https://universul.net/rail-2-sea-and-via-carpathia-the-us-backed-highway-and-rail-links-from-the-baltic-to-the-black-sea/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/347344614 |title=The Three Seas Initiative as a new model of regional cooperation in Central Europe: A Polish perspective |first=Łukasz |last=Lewkowicz |journal=UNISCI Journal |volume=18 |pages=177–194 |year=2020 |issue=54 |doi=10.31439/UNISCI-101 |doi-access=free |access-date=13 July 2021 |archive-date=1 February 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220201032231/https://www.researchgate.net/publication/347344614_The_Three_Seas_Initiative_as_a_new_model_of_regional_cooperation_in_Central_Europe_A_Polish_perspective |url-status=live }}</ref>

==Sport==
[[File:PGE Arena, Gdańsk, 2015-09-25 (Muri WG 2015-34).jpg|thumb|right|[[Stadion Miejski (Gdańsk)|Stadion Miejski]]]]

There are many popular professional sports teams in the Gdańsk and Tricity area. The city's professional [[Association football|football]] club is [[Lechia Gdańsk]].<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://worldfootballindex.com/2019/04/lechia-gdansk-history-rebirth-promotion-title-challenge/ |title=The Story of Lechia Gdansk |date=24 April 2019 |access-date=2 December 2022}}</ref> Founded in 1945, they play in the {{Lang|pl|[[Ekstraklasa]]|italic=no}}, Poland's top division. Their home stadium, [[Stadion Miejski (Gdańsk)|Stadion Miejski]],<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.e-architect.com/poland/stadion-energa-in-gdansk |title=Stadion Energa in Gdansk |date=3 August 2017 |access-date=2 December 2022}}</ref> was one of the four Polish stadiums to host the [[UEFA Euro 2012]] competition,<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.uefa.com/uefaeuro/history/news/0254-0d7c89050219-0fe6f9752206-1000--selection-of-host-cities-for-uefa-euro-2012tm/ |title=Selection of host cities for UEFA EURO 2012™ |date=12 May 2009 |access-date=2 December 2022}}</ref> as well as the host of the [[2021 UEFA Europa League Final]].<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.uefa.com/uefaeuropaleague/news/0245-0e98d40b6826-86b29d622244-1000--2021-final-gdansk/ |title=2021 UEFA Europa League final: Gdańsk |date=September 2020 |access-date=2 December 2022}}</ref> Other notable football clubs are [[Gedania 1922 Gdańsk]] and [[SKS Stoczniowiec Gdańsk]], which both played in the second tier in the past.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://gedania1922.pl/historia/ |title=Historia - Klub Sportowy Gedania 1922 |website=Gedania 1922 |publisher=Gedania 1922 Gdańsk |access-date=15 May 2024}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Grüne |first=Hardy |date=1996 |title=Vom Kronprinzen bis zur Bundesliga |publisher=Agon Sportverlag|isbn=3-928562-85-1}}</ref> Other notable clubs include speedway club [[Wybrzeże Gdańsk]],<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.wybrzezegdansk.pl/|title=Zdunek Wybrzeże Gdańsk|first=Wirtualna Polska|last=Media|website=sportowefakty.wp.pl}}</ref> rugby club [[RC Lechia Gdańsk|Lechia Gdańsk]],<ref>{{cite web |url=http://lechiarugby.pl/Zarys_50_lat_RC_Lechia.pdf |title=Zarys pięćdziesięcioletnich dziejów rugby w Gdańskiej Lechii |last=Bocheński |first=Damian |date=2007 |website=lechiarugby.pl |access-date=9 August 2024 |archive-date=4 March 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304033733/http://lechiarugby.pl/Zarys_50_lat_RC_Lechia.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref> ice hockey club [[Stoczniowiec Gdańsk]],<ref>{{cite web |url=https://sport.trojmiasto.pl/Gdansk-nie-bedzie-mial-druzyny-w-Polskiej-Hokej-Lidze-Stoczniowiec-wycofuje-sie-n153704.html |title=Gdańsk nie będzie miał drużyny w Polskiej Hokej Lidze. Stoczniowiec wycofuje się |last=Główczyński |first=Jacek |date=28 February 2021 |website=trojmiasto.pl|access-date=9 August 2024}}</ref> and volleyball club [[Trefl Gdańsk]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://sport.trojmiasto.pl/Mika-najlepszym-siatkarzem-Final-Four-Trefl-Gdansk-n89743.html |title=Lotos Trefl zdobył Puchar Polski! |date=19 April 2015 |website=trojmiasto.pl |access-date=9 August 2024}}</ref>

The city's [[Hala Olivia]] was a venue for the official [[2009 EuroBasket]],<ref>[https://archive.fiba.com/pages/eng/fa/event/p/sid/6328/_/index.html 2009 EuroBasket] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160807052744/http://www.fiba.com/pages/eng/fa/event/p/sid/6328/_/index.html |date=7 August 2016 }}, ARCHIVE.FIBA.com, Retrieved 5 June 2016.</ref> and the [[Ergo Arena]] was one of the [[2013 Men's European Volleyball Championship]], [[2014 FIVB Volleyball Men's World Championship]] and [[2014 IAAF World Indoor Championships]] venues.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.todor66.com/volleyball/Europe/Men_2013.html |title=Men's Volleyball XXVIII European Championship 2013 |website=Todor66 |access-date=15 May 2024}}</ref><ref>{{cite press release|url=http://fivb.com/en/FIVB/viewnews.asp?No=18145 |title=FIVB signs agreement for Men's 2014 Volleyball World Championship to be hosted in Poland |access-date=2008-04-06 |publisher=Federation Internationale de Volleyball |date=2010-09-08 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100924084519/http://fivb.com/EN/FIVB/viewNews.asp?No=18145 |archive-date=2010-09-24 }}</ref><ref>{{cite press release | url = http://pzla.pl/index.php?_a=1&kat_id=4&_id=5335 | title = HALOWE MŚ 2014 W SOPOCIE! |publisher =  Polski Związek Lekkiej Atletyki  | date=2011-11-18}}</ref>

==Politics and local government==
{{Main|Politics of Gdańsk}}
[[File:Gdansk Urzad Marszalkowski.jpg|thumb|Pomeranian Voivodeship Office in Gdańsk]]

Contemporary Gdańsk is one of the major centres of economic and administrative life in Poland. It has been the seat of a Polish central institution, the [[Polish Space Agency]],<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://scienceinpoland.pap.pl/en/news/news%2C403961%2Cpolish-space-agency-may-launch-operations-in-gdansk-in-early-march.html |title=Polish Space Agency may launch operations in Gdańsk in early March |access-date=2 December 2022}}</ref> several supra-regional branches of further central institutions,<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.ulc.gov.pl/pl/aktualnosci/5326-informacja-dla-klientow-delegatury-polnocno-zachodniej-w-gdansku |title=nformacja dla klientów Delegatur w Gdańsku i we Wrocławiu |date=15 December 2020 |website=ulc.gov.pl |access-date=10 August 2024}}</ref> as well as the supra-regional (appellate-level) institutions of justice.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://gdansk.sa.gov.pl/zasieg-terytorialny-apelacji-gdanskiej,m,m1,214,227 |title=Zasięg terytorialny apelacji gdańskiej |website=gdansk.sa.gov.pl |access-date=9 August 2024}}</ref> As the capital of the [[Pomeranian Voivodeship]] it has been the seat of the Pomeranian Voivodeship Office, the Sejmik, and the Marshall's Office of the Pomeranian Voivodeship and other voivodeship-level institutions.<ref>{{cite act |title=Ustawa z dnia 24 lipca 1998 r. |date=24 July 1998 |institution=[[Sejm]] |at=Dz.U. 1998 nr 96 poz. 603 |url=https://isap.sejm.gov.pl/isap.nsf/DocDetails.xsp?id=WDU19980960603 |access-date=9 August 2024}}</ref>

Legislative power in Gdańsk is vested in a unicameral [[Gdańsk City Council]] (Rada Miasta), which comprises 34 members. Council members are elected directly every four years. Like most legislative bodies, the City Council divides itself into committees, which have the oversight of various functions of the city government.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.gdansk.pl/wiadomosci/pelna-lista-radni-gdanska-prezydenci-przewodniczacy-1990-2020,a,171617 |title=30 lat samorządu terytorialnego. Zobacz pełną listę radnych, prezydentów i ich zastępców |date=25 May 2020 |website=gdansk.pl |access-date=15 May 2020 |quote=}}</ref>

===Districts===
Gdańsk is divided into 34 administrative divisions: 6 {{lang|pl|[[dzielnica]]s}} and 28 {{lang|pl|[[osiedle]]s}}. A full list can be found at [[Districts of Gdańsk]], but the largest include [[Śródmieście, Gdańsk|Śródmieście]], [[Przymorze Wielkie]], [[Chełm, Gdańsk|Chełm]], [[Wrzeszcz Dolny]], and [[Wrzeszcz Górny]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://bip.gdansk.pl/urzad-miejski/Podzial-administracyjny-Gdanska,a,647 |title=Podział administracyjny Gdańska |date=31 December 2023 |website=Biuletyn Informacji Publicznej |publisher=Gdańsk City Council |access-date=15 May 2024}}</ref>

==Education and science==
[[File:Gmach glowny politechnika.jpg|thumb|Gdańsk University of Technology]]

There are 15 higher schools in the city, including three universities. Notable educational institutions include the [[University of Gdańsk]], [[Gdańsk University of Technology]], and [[Gdańsk Medical University]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.studies-in-poland.pl/s/2333/57926-Studies-in-Poland/429-University-of-Gdansk.htm |title=University of Gdańsk (Uniwersytet Gdański), UG - Studies in Poland |website=Studies in Poland |access-date=15 May 2024}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.cdio.org/cdio-action/school-profiles/gdansk-university-technology-europe-region |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130131175603/http://www.cdio.org/cdio-action/school-profiles/gdansk-university-technology-europe-region |url-status=dead |archive-date=31 January 2013 |title=Gdansk University of Technology - Worldwide CDIO Initiative |website=CDIO |publisher=[[CDIO Initiative]] |access-date=15 May 2024 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://naukawpolsce.pl/aktualnosci/news%2C85430%2Ctrzy-gdanskie-szkoly-wyzsze-utworzyly-zwiazek-uczelni-im-daniela-fahrenheita |title=Trzy gdańskie szkoły wyższe utworzyły Związek Uczelni im. Daniela Fahrenheita|website=Nauka w Polsce|access-date=15 May 2024}}</ref> The city is also home to the [[Baltic Institute]].<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Grzechnik |first=Marta |date=2018 |title=Love of Wide Open Waters. The Polish Maritime Programme according to the Baltic and Western Institutes in the Aftermath of the Second World War (1945–ca. 1950) |journal=Acta Poloniae Historica |volume=117 |pages=195 |doi=10.12775/APH.2018.117.07 |issn=0001-6829|doi-access=free }}</ref>

==International relations==
===Consulates===
[[File:Gdansk dyrekcja stoczni 2024.jpg|thumb|Consulate General of Hungary]]

There are four consulates general in Gdańsk – [[China]], [[Germany]], [[Hungary]], [[Russia]], one consulate – [[Ukraine]], and 17 honorary consulates – [[Austria]], [[Bangladesh]], [[Bulgaria]], [[Estonia]], [[Ethiopia]], [[Kazakhstan]], [[Latvia]], [[Lithuania]], [[Mexico]], [[Moldova]], [[Netherlands]], [[Peru]], [[Seychelles]], [[Spain]], [[Sri Lanka]], [[Sweden]], [[Uruguay]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.gdansk.pl/turystyka-w-gdansku/konsulaty,a,3749|title=Wykaz konsulatów - informacja według stanu na 4 września 2024 r.|access-date=19 September 2024|language=pl}}</ref>

===Twin towns – sister cities===
{{See also|List of twin towns and sister cities in Poland}}

Gdańsk is [[Sister cities|twinned]] with:<ref name=twins>{{cite web |title=Twin Cities |url=https://www.gdansk.pl/urzad-miejski/biuro-prezydenta/miasta-partnerskie,a,1620 |website=gdansk.pl |publisher=Gdańsk |access-date=2024-04-04}}</ref>

{{div col|colwidth=20em}}
* {{Flagicon|DEN}} [[Helsingør]], Denmark
* {{Flagicon|GER}} [[Bremen]], Germany
* {{Flagicon|USA}} [[Cleveland, Ohio|Cleveland]], United States
* {{Flagicon|SWE}} [[Kalmar]], Sweden
<!--Marseille - not twinning-->
* {{Flagicon|FRA}} [[Nice]], France
* {{Flagicon|KAZ}} [[Astana]], Kazakhstan
<!--Odessa - not twinning-->
* {{Flagicon|NED}} [[Rotterdam]], Netherlands
* {{Flagicon|UK}} [[Metropolitan Borough of Sefton|Sefton]], United Kingdom
* {{Flagicon|FIN}} [[Turku]], Finland
* {{Flagicon|LTU}} [[Vilnius]], Lithuania
{{div col end}}

===Former twin towns===
* {{Flagicon|RUS}} [[Kaliningrad]], Russia
* {{Flagicon|RUS}} [[Saint Petersburg]], Russia

On 3 March 2022, Gdańsk City Council passed a unanimous resolution to terminate the cooperation with the Russian cities of Kaliningrad and Saint Petersburg as a response to the [[2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine|Russian invasion of Ukraine]].<ref>{{cite web| url = https://www.trojmiasto.pl/wiadomosci/Koniec-wspolpracy-Trojmiasta-z-Rosja-n164797.html |title=Trójmiasto zrywa współpracę z rosyjskimi miastami |date=3 March 2022 | access-date = 3 March 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite web| url = https://wiadomosci.wp.pl/trojmiasto/gdansk-zrywa-wspolprace-z-rosyjskimi-miastami-na-sali-byl-konsul-ukrainy-6743312033806944a |language = pl |title=Gdańsk zrywa współpracę z rosyjskimi miastami. Na sali był konsul Ukrainy |date = 3 March 2022 | access-date = 4 March 2022}}</ref>

===Partnerships and cooperation===
Gdańsk also cooperates with:<ref name=twins/>

* {{Flagicon|BEL}} [[Ghent]], Belgium<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.gdansk.pl/urzad-miejski/biuro-prezydenta/miasta-wspolpracujace,a,1621 |title=Miasta współpracujące |access-date=17 August 2020 |archive-date=18 September 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200918150542/https://www.gdansk.pl/urzad-miejski/biuro-prezydenta/miasta-wspolpracujace,a,1621 |url-status=live }}</ref>
* {{Flagicon|FRA}} [[Le Havre]], France<ref name="Le Havre twins">{{cite web |url=http://lehavre.fr/dossier/le-havre-ville-partenaire |title=Le Havre – Les villes jumelées |access-date=7 August 2013 |work=City of Le Havre |language=fr |trans-title=Le Havre – Twin towns |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130729215238/http://lehavre.fr/dossier/le-havre-ville-partenaire |archive-date=29 July 2013}}</ref>
* {{Flagicon|FRA}} [[Marseille]], France
* {{Flagicon|UKR}} [[Odesa]], Ukraine

==Demographics==
{{Further|Repatriation of Poles (1944–1946)|Repatriation of Poles (1955–1959)|Flight and expulsion of Germans from Poland during and after World War II}}
{{Historical populations
|1890|120338
|1910|170337
|1929|256403 
|1945|139078
|1946|117894
|1950|194633
|1960|286940
|1970|365600
|1978|442118|21=1988|22=464308|25=2002|26=461334|29=2011|30=460276|35=2021|36=486022|footnote=Sources:<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.polskawliczbach.pl/Gdansk | title=Gdańsk (Pomorskie) » mapy, nieruchomości, GUS, noclegi, szkoły, regon, atrakcje, kody pocztowe, wypadki drogowe, bezrobocie, wynagrodzenie, zarobki, tabele, edukacja, demografia }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Demographic and occupational structure and housing conditions of the urban population in 1978-1988|url=https://statlibr.stat.gov.pl/exlibris/aleph/a22_1/apache_media/RQ1U9XAX48KJJDQ54QSAFQKQ6AK6GS.pdf}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Statistics Poland - National Censuses|url=https://bdl.stat.gov.pl/bdl/dane/podgrup/temat/}}</ref>}}
[[File:Gdańsk population pyramid.svg|thumb|Gdańsk population pyramid in 2021]]

The 1923 census conducted in the Free City of Danzig indicated that of all inhabitants, 95% were German, and 3% were Polish and Kashubian. The end of [[World War II]] is a significant break in continuity with regard to the inhabitants of Gdańsk.<ref>{{cite book |last= |first= |author-link= |date=1923 |title=The Jews of the Free City of Danzig—census of 1923 and 1924 |url=https://www.ajcarchives.org/AJC_DATA/Files/1930_1931_8_StatSupplements.pdf |location= |publisher= |page= |isbn= |access-date=10 December 2022 |archive-date=10 December 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221210162154/https://www.ajcarchives.org/AJC_DATA/Files/1930_1931_8_StatSupplements.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref>

German citizens began to flee en masse as the Soviet [[Red Army]] advanced, composed of both spontaneous flights driven by rumors of [[Soviet war crimes|Soviet atrocities]], and organised evacuation starting in the summer of 1944 which continued into the spring of 1945.<ref name="Kacowicz100101">Arie Marcelo Kacowicz, Pawel Lutomski, ''Population resettlement in international conflicts: a comparative study'', Lexington Books, 2007, pp. 100, 101 {{ISBN|0-7391-1607-X}} [https://books.google.com/books?id=ovck_g0xwX0C&dq=expulsion+germans+poland&pg=PA100] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210308061435/https://books.google.de/books?id=ovck_g0xwX0C&pg=PA103&dq=expulsion+germans+poland&lr=&as_brr=3&redir_esc=y#PPA100,M1|date=8 March 2021}}</ref> Approximately 1% (100,000) of the German civilian population residing east of the [[Oder–Neisse line]] perished in the fighting prior to the surrender in May 1945.<ref>Spieler, Silke. ed. ''Vertreibung und Vertreibungsverbrechen 1945–1948''. Bericht des Bundesarchivs vom 28. Mai 1974. Archivalien und ausgewählte Erlebnisberichte. Bonn: Kulturstiftung der deutschen Vertriebenen. (1989). {{ISBN|3-88557-067-X}}. pp. 23–41</ref> German civilians were also sent as "reparations labour" to the [[Soviet Union]].<ref>Pavel Polian-''Against Their Will: The History and Geography of Forced Migrations in the USSR'' Central European University Press 2003 {{ISBN|963-9241-68-7}} pp. 286-293</ref>{{sfn|Kamusella|2004|p=28}}

Poles from other parts of Poland replaced the former German-speaking population, with the first settlers arriving in March 1945.<ref name=Curp42>{{cite book |title=A clean sweep?: the politics of ethnic cleansing in western Poland, 1945-1960 |first=T. David |last=Curp |publisher=Boydell & Brewer |year=2006 |isbn=1-58046-238-3 |page=42 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ARxnK1u_WOEC&pg=PA42 |access-date=2009-08-04 |archive-date=28 January 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150128133042/http://www.google.de/books?id=ARxnK1u_WOEC&pg=PA42 |url-status=live }}</ref> On 30 March 1945, the [[Gdańsk Voivodeship (1945–1975)|Gdańsk Voivodeship]] was established as the first administrative Polish unit in the [[Recovered Territories]].<ref>{{cite book |title=A history of modern Poland: from the foundation of the State in the First World War to the present day |first=Hans |last=Roos |publisher=Knopf |year=1966 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EfpoAAAAMAAJ&q=%22recovered+territories%22+gdansk+OR+danzig |access-date=2009-08-04 |archive-date=8 March 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130308120817/http://www.google.de/books?id=EfpoAAAAMAAJ&q=%22recovered+territories%22+gdansk+OR+danzig&dq=%22recovered+territories%22+gdansk+OR+danzig&lr= |url-status=live }}</ref> As of 1 November 1945, around 93,029 Germans remained within the city limits.<ref name=Byk>{{cite book |title=The Rehabilitation and Ethnic Vetting of the Polish Population in the Voivodship of Gdańsk after World War II |author=Sylwia Bykowska |publisher=Peter-Lang-Verlagsgruppe |page=116 |year=2020 |isbn=978-3-631-67940-1}}</ref> The locals of German descent who declared Polish nationality were permitted to remain; as of 1 January 1949, 13,424 persons who had received Polish citizenship in a post-war "ethnic vetting" process lived in Gdańsk.<ref>{{cite book |title=The Rehabilitation and Ethnic Vetting of the Polish Population in the Voivodship of Gdańsk after World War II |first=Sylwia |last=Bykowska |publisher=Peter Lang |page=239 |year=2020 |isbn=978-3-631-67940-1}}</ref>

The settlers can be grouped according to their background:

*Poles that had been freed from [[forced labor in Nazi Germany]]<ref name=Cordell168>Karl Cordell, Andrzej Antoszewski, ''Poland and the European Union'', 2000, p. 168, {{ISBN|0-415-23885-4}}, {{ISBN|978-0-415-23885-4}}: gives 4.55 million in the first years</ref><ref name=Hoffmann142/>
*[[Polish population transfers (1944–1946)|Repatriates]]: Poles expelled from the areas east of the new Polish-Soviet border. This included assimilated minorities such as [[Armenians in Poland|the Polish-Armenian community]]<ref name=Cordell168/><ref name=Hoffmann142>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Js8XWnqR6HMC&q=vertreibung+polen&pg=PA140 |title=Dierk Hoffmann, Michael Schwartz, ''Geglückte Integration?'', p. 142 |isbn=9783486645033 |last1=Hoffmann |first1=Dierk |last2=Schwartz |first2=Michael |year=1999 |publisher=Oldenbourg }}{{Dead link|date=February 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>
*Poles incl. [[Kashubians]] relocating from nearby villages and small towns<ref>{{cite web |url=http://kaszebsko.com/kaszubi-w-gdansku.html |title=Kaszubi w Gdańsku |last= |first= |date= |website=Kaszëbskô Jednota |publisher=[[Kashubian Association]] |access-date= |quote= |archive-date=10 December 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221210162155/http://kaszebsko.com/kaszubi-w-gdansku.html |url-status=dead }}</ref>
*Settlers from central Poland migrating voluntarily<ref name=Cordell168/>
*Non-Poles forcibly resettled during [[Operation Vistula]] in 1947. Large numbers of Ukrainians were forced to move from south-eastern Poland under a 1947 Polish government operation aimed at dispersing, and therefore assimilating, those Ukrainians who had not been expelled eastward already, throughout the newly acquired territories. Belarusians living around the area around Białystok were also pressured into relocating to the formerly German areas for the same reasons. This scattering of members of non-Polish ethnic groups throughout the country was an attempt by the Polish authorities to dissolve the unique ethnic identity of groups like the Ukrainians, Belarusians, and [[Lemkos]], and broke the proximity and communication necessary for strong communities to form.<ref>Thum, p. 129</ref>
*[[Jews|Jewish]] [[Holocaust]] survivors, most of them [[Polish population transfers (1944–1946)|Polish repatriates]] from the [[Eastern Borderlands]].<ref>Selwyn Ilan Troen, Benjamin Pinkus, Merkaz le-moreshet Ben-Guryon, ''Organizing Rescue: National Jewish Solidarity in the Modern Period'', pp. 283-284, 1992, {{ISBN|0-7146-3413-1}}, {{ISBN|978-0-7146-3413-5}}</ref>
*[[Greeks in Poland|Greeks]] and [[Macedonians (ethnic group)|Slav Macedonians]], [[refugees of the Greek Civil War]].<ref>{{cite book |editor1=Grzegorz Waligóra |editor2=Łukasz Kamiński |date=2010 |title=NSZZ Solidarność, 1980-1989: Wokół Solidarności |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=c_M-AQAAIAAJ&q=grecy%20do%20gda%C5%84ska%20%20wojn%C4%85%20domow%C4%85 |location=Warszawa (Warsaw) |publisher=Instytut Pamięci Narodowej, Komisja Ścigania Zbrodni Przeciwko Narodowi Polskiemu |page=463 |isbn=9788376291765 |language=pl |access-date=28 September 2021 |archive-date=1 February 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220201032230/https://www.google.com.au/books/edition/NSZZ_Solidarno%C5%9B%C4%87_1980_1989_Wok%C3%B3%C5%82_Sol/c_M-AQAAIAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=0&bsq=grecy+do+gda%C5%84ska++wojn%C4%85+domow%C4%85 |url-status=live }}</ref>

==People==
{{main|List of people from Gdańsk}}

==See also==
{{Portal|Poland|European Union}}
*[[Tourism in Poland]]
*[[List of honorary citizens of Gdańsk]]
*[[764 Gedania]] – a minor planet orbiting the Sun
*[[Danzig Highflyer]]
*[[Father Eugeniusz Dutkiewicz SAC Hospice]]
*[[Kashubians]]
*[[List of neighbourhoods of Gdańsk]]
*[[St. Mary's Church, Gdańsk]]
*[[Laznia Centre for Contemporary Art]]
*[[Ronald Reagan Park]]
*''[[Live in Gdańsk]]''
*[[Orunia Park]]

==Notes==
{{notelist}}

==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}

==Sources==
{{Refbegin}}
*{{citation |last=Kamusella |first=Tomasz |year=2004 |author-link=Tomasz Kamusella |url=http://cadmus.eui.eu/bitstream/handle/1814/2599/HEC04-01.pdf |title=The Expulsion of the Population Categorized as 'Germans' from the Post-1945 Poland |publisher=European University Institute, Florence. Department of History and Civilization |editor1=Steffen Prauser |editor2=Arfon Rees |work=The Expulsion of the 'German' Communities from Eastern Europe at the End of the Second World War |id=EUI Working Paper HEC No. 2004/1 |format=PDF direct download, 2.52 MB |access-date=August 17, 2012 |pages=21–30}}
*{{Cite book |last=Kimmich |first=Christoph M |title=The free city: Danzig and German foreign policy, 1919–1934 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-3VxQgAACAAJ |access-date=8 March 2010 |year=1968 |publisher=[[Yale University Press]], New Haven, Connecticut |ref=Kimmich68 }}{{Dead link|date=February 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}
*{{Cite book |last=Rudziński |first=Grzegorz |title=Gdańsk |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9AKfPQAACAAJ |access-date=26 February 2010 |date=1 March 2001 |publisher=Bonechi |isbn=978-88-476-0517-6 |ref=Rudziński69 |archive-date=11 October 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131011064134/http://books.google.com/books?id=9AKfPQAACAAJ |url-status=live }}
*{{Cite book |last=Simson |first=Paul |title=Geschichte Der Stadt Danzig |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DSmxtiBx4CoC |access-date=26 February 2010 |date=October 2009 |publisher=BiblioBazaar, LLC |isbn=978-1-115-53256-3 |ref=Simson70 |archive-date=11 October 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131011050903/http://books.google.com/books?id=DSmxtiBx4CoC |url-status=live }}
* {{Cite journal |last=Śliwiński |first=Błażej |date=2006 |title=O rzece 'Gdani' i początkach Gdańska. Uwagi historyka do ustaleń językoznawców |trans-title="About the river 'Gdania' and the beginnings of Gdańsk. Historian's comments on the findings of linguists" |journal=Acta Cassubiana |volume=8 |pages=11–23}}
{{Refend}}

== External links ==
{{Commons}}
{{Wikivoyage|Gdańsk}}
{{Wiktionary|Gdańsk}}
* {{Cite EB1911|wstitle=Danzig|noicon=1|short=1}}

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