Gdańsk and Baltic Coast

Gdańsk, the Polish maritime capital with apopulation nearing half a million people, is a thousand-year-old city with a Hanseatic tradition. Throughout history, it has played a major role in the commercial relationships between Northern and Western Europe as well as the countries of Central and Eastern Europe and heavily contributed to Poland's economic and political development. For centuries, Gdańsk stood as a silent witness to the complex relationship between Germany and Poland. In the 17^th century, Gdańsk was one of the wealthiest cities in Europe and remains a unique historical phenomenon: a city of German language and culture that nevertheless maintained strong ties with Poland. It was a real melting pot of various cultures and ethnic groups, with an air of tolerance and wealth built on trade. All of those factors allowed culture, science and art to flourish, including the specific trade of amber processing, giving Gdańsk the name of the world's capital of amber. During the interwar period, the city enjoyed the specific status of a city-state.  In the twentieth century, events in Gdańsk changed the course of European history twice: World War II began here, and decades later, the Solidarność trade union was founded here, contributing to the collapse of the communist system in Eastern Europe. 

Another reason to visit Gdańsk is the opportunity to explore Malbork Castle, the largest medieval castle complex in Europe, and the beautiful cathedral in Frombork on the Vistula Lagoon, where the astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus lived, died and was buried.
The Gdańsk region also includes the neighbouring cities of Sopot, one of Europe’s oldest seaside resorts and home to Poland’s longest wooden pier, and Gdynia, a modern city and port built from the ground up on the site of a small fishing settlement on Gdańsk Bay. Gdynia later developed into one of the largest ports and cities on the Baltic Sea. Together, they form the Tri-City ("Trójmiasto" in Polish). The region also offers the beautiful landscapes of Kashubia, sometimes called the "Kashubian Switzerland", and the broad sandy beaches of the Hel Peninsula, among the most attractive on the Baltic coast.