Gdansk/temp
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- For alternative meanings of Gdansk and Danzig, see Gdansk (disambiguation) and Danzig (disambiguation)
Gdansk (Polish: Gdańsk, Kashubian: Gduńsk German: Danzig) is a Baltic Sea city with a long and colorful history. Gdańsk is the 6th largest city in Poland, its principal seaport, and the capital of the Pomeranian Voivodship.
The city lies on the southern coast of the Gdansk Bay (of the Baltic Sea), in a conurbation with the spa town of Sopot, the city of Gdynia and suburban communities, which together form a metropolitan area called the Tricity (Trójmiato) with a population of over a million people. Gdańsk is, with a population of 460,000 (2002), the largest city in the historical province of Eastern Pomerania.
Gdańsk is situated at the mouth of the Motława River, a branch in the delta of the Vistula, whose waterway system connects 60% of the area of Poland, giving the city a unique advantage as the center of Poland's sea trade. In the past, Gdańsk made the most of this advantage holding the position as Poland's largest city until 1770.
A major regional port since the 14th century and subsequently a principal shipbuilding centre, today's Gdańsk remains an important industrial centre despite the development in the 1920s of the nearby port of Gdynia.
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Names
The underlined sentence is currently the most disputed one - especially the naming convention for the 1454-1793 period. See: Talk:Gdansk.
The city has been known under various names during its history. In the local Kashubian language it is known as Gduńsk and the Latin name for it is Gedania. However, the German and Polish versions are most common in English usage. The German name, Danzig, is usually used when talking about the period from 1308 until 1945 during which the city was in German hands or had a predominantly German population. The Polish name, Gdańsk, is used for earlier as well as for modern times.
The name of Gdańsk is usually interpreted as a town located on the Gdania River, which is thought to be the original name of the Motława branch the city is situated on. The territory was recorded as Scandza ("Gothic coast") by Jordanes, who recorded the Germanic tribes at the Vistula and the Prussian tribes of the Vidivaria, Ulmigeri and Aesti next to the Germanic tribes at the mouth of the Vistula River. The area was again recorded after 997 in the Vita Adalbertis, the life of Saint Adalbert of Prague, when it was mentioned as Gdańsk City (urbs Gyddanyzc), the fortress of the King Boleslaus I of Poland.
The name of a settlement was recorded after St. Adalbert's demise in 997 A.D. as urbs Gyddanyzc and later was written as Kdanzk (1148), Gdanzc (1188), Gdansk (1236), Danzc (1263), Danczk (1311, 1399, 1410, 1414–1438), Danczik (1399, 1410, 1414), Danczig (1414), Gdansk (1454, 1468, 1484), Gdansk (1590), Gdąnsk (1636) and in Latin documents Gedanum or Dantiscum. These early recordings show the Pomeranian name Gduńsk, the Polish name Gdańsk and a simplified German name Danzig (reflecting the presence over many centuries of a German-speaking population).
Alternative spellings from medieval and early modern documents are Gyddanyzc, Kdansk, Gdanzc, Dantzk, Dantzig, Dantzigk, Dantiscum and Gedanum. The official Latin name of Gedanum was used simultaneously.
The municipal community received a seal of 1224 stated as follows: SIGILLUM BURGENSIUM DANTZIKE. After World War I, the city was officially called Freistadt Danzig (the Free City of Danzig), until its annexation by Germany in 1939.
Sources:
- Gdańsk, in: Kazimierz Rymut, Nazwy Miast Polski, Ossolineum, Wrocław 1987
- Gdańsk, in: Hubert Gurnowicz, Nazwy miast Pomorza Gdańskiego, Ossolineum, Wrocław 1978
Administrations of Gdansk
The contemporary Gdansk is the capital of the Pomeranian voivodship and one of the major centres of economic and administrative life in Poland. Many vital agencies of the state and local government levels have their main offices here: the Provincial Administration Office, Provincial Government, Ministerial Agency of the State Treasury, and the Agency for Consumer and Competition Protection, National Insurance regional office, Court of Appeal, and High Administrative Court.
See also Administrations of Danzig 1862-1945 and Administrations of Gdansk since 1945
Economy
Main article: Economy of Gdansk
The city's industrial caleidoscope is dominated by traditional lines of shipbuilding, petrochemical and chemical industry as well as fishing and food processing. Yet, the share of the know-how-based sectors such as electronics, telecommunications, IT engineering, or cosmetics and pharmaceuticals is on the rise. Amber processing so specific for the local economy is also prominent.
See also: Ports of the Baltic Sea
Education
There are 10 universities located in Gdansk. The number of students reached 60,436 in 2001 while the number of graduates reached 10,439. This makes Gdansk one of the most important academical centres of Poland.
The most important Universities in Gdansk are:
- Gdansk University of Technology (http://www.pg.gda.pl/eng.html)
- University of Gdansk (http://www2.univ.gda.pl/main_eng.html)
- Medical University of Gdansk (http://www.ed.amg.gda.pl/main.html)
- Physical Education Academy of Gdansk (http://www.awf.gda.pl/index.php3)
History
See also:
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