Gdansk is one of the oldest towns in Poland, with incedible history situated in borderland of cultures German and Polish. The town was build in 10th century by Polish ruler Mieszko I. Thanks to its location on the north of Poland at the mouth of the Vistula River. Gdansk quickly became a powerful port city. There was a noticible conflict of interest between Poles and Germans. In 1308 the town was annexed by Order of Brothers of the German House of Saint Mary in Jerusalem and it remained in its borders until 1454 when it became a part of Poland again and remained in its borders until Second Partition of the Commonwealth in 1793. In this time- Gdansk was one of the most important port cities in Europe, in theese times Polish trade was focused mainly on grain exports. In the times of Napoleon wars, Gdansk was a free city for 6 years, until 1814 when the City was annexed by Germans one again. In 1920-1939 Gdansk was a free city once more, and it remained under the supervision of league of nations.D uring World War II, Gdańsk was fully occupied by the Third Reich until 1945, then returned to the borders of the Polish People’s Republic until its transformation to the Republic of Poland. Since then, Gdansk remains in Polish borders.
Gdańsk from the beginning of its existence was 726 years within Polish borders, 270 years within German borders and for 25 years was a free city.
Well, whose Gdansk is finally, German or Polish?
The “first” Gdansk was Polish. Polish language was spoken at the courts.However in the 13th century, German laws were in force, and a high level of German immigration was noticed. For nearly 150 Gdańsk was under Teutonic rule for years, but when Poland annexed it back Gdansk was going through moments of greatest splendor. In the 17th century, 80,000 people lived here for e.g. in the capital – Krakow 20,000. The townspeople of Gdańsk were rich, prosperity prevailed in the city. Gdańsk despite his multi-ethnic and multicultural character, he was very tolerant because the residents of Gdańsk did not have a strong cultural and national consciousness. It was said that there was a “Gdansk patriotism” In the nineteenth century there was a rise of national and individual tendences, it began to create national consciousness: German and Polish. In the pre-war period, most in the city residents declared themselves as Germans and the German language was spoken on the agenda. Some historians believe, that this is possible, that people only declared themselves as Germans for safety reasons and they wanted to avoid repressions, in the event of the outbreak of war, although earlier Poles constituted only 19% of the population of Gdansk. Germans believe, that Gdansk is a German-speaking city that, existed in the Polish – Lithuanian country for 400 years and acted as an intermediary, between the cultures of Poland, Germany and Lithuania. Today in the city, you can see elements of both cultures and hear both languages, it is said to be a shared city, German and Polish.
Wiktor Majkowski, История Гданьска ! польский или немецкий? Historia Gdańska – niemiecki czy polski?, студент I курса Русской филологии Гданьского университета, бакалавриат