After my last post I was encouraged by two of
my friends to write more about Gdansk churches. And since I like both gothic
and baroque architecture and art I may indulge my friends and myself one day. Today, however, after getting
curious how many churches are in the neighbourhood and finding out the number I
lost enthusiasm for a while. I counted 69 churches just in Gdansk not in the
whole Tricity. I guess that at least 20 of them would have historical value and
be worth while writing about. Suddenly I felt like after eating too much
sweets, a bit queasy after that much goodness. So I will leave the subject for
some later time when I am less focused on the number of the churches in Gdansk.
From 1358, Gdansk/Danzig belonged to the
Hanseatic League, a commercial and defensive confederation of northern European
merchants guilds and towns.
Walking the streets of Gdansk memories of Lubeck,
Bremen or Amsterdam may spring to mind. Old northern European merchant towns have
similar looks as they had similar function. Names of the streets remind us of
occupations of their citizens : Long Market, Coal Market, Fish Market, Wood
Market, Beer Street or Amber Street.
It was a long period from the twelfth to the
sixteenth century when Danzig was an important and prosperous trading centre. This
was reflected in the buildings of the town. Majority of remaining buildings in
the Old Town come from the sixteenth, seventeenth
and eighteenth century.
One of my favourite places is The Crane –Zuraw.
It is one of the oldest buildings which current shape comes from the 15th
century. It was used to load cargo and and place masts on ships. Whenever I am
in the Old Town I make a little detour, if needed, to have a look at this
proud, heavy and very Gdansk monument of its Hanseatic past.
Another favourite of mine is the Neptune Fountain. It is standing in the
middle of the Long Market and is considered to be a symbol of Gdansk. Certainly,
the most popular place to take a photo while sightseeing in the Old Town. I
have several photos of my own taken over the years in front of the fountain. And
I still have a leather card case with the image of the Gdansk Neptune. Ach,
memories...
As I was writing in my previous post, another favourite of mine is St
Mary’s Basilica. If you put together my favourite historical beauty spots in
Gdansk, it looks like a top list from a
tourist guide. Not too original, I am afraid, but and it does not matter or even
means that everybody visiting Gdansk should see the places and I can guarantee no disappointment.
