Gdansk City Center part 3 - Old Town
 STARE MIASTO, CENTRAL STATION, ST CATHERINES CHURCH, NEW TOWN HALL, GREAT MILL, JAN HEWELIUS STATUE, RADUNIA CANAL, JACEK TOWER


Gdansk's Old Town (Stare Miasto) occupies the most important part of the West and North parts of the city center (Sródmiescie) of this Hanseatic city. Despite its name, this is not where you find most of the historic buildings, you find them in the Main Town (Glowne Miasto, often confused to be the Old Town). Here you will find some historic buildings, like the Central Station and St Catherine's Church but also the few modern highrises in the city center and a brand new mall (Madison).

Just like many other Eastern European cities there is a big contrast between the Old Town and the rest of the city; in the Old Town you will find almost only historical buildings and most facilites are made for tourists like restaurants, hotels, museums and souvenir shops, it is very beautiful but also mostly flat while the rest of the city is much more modern, more hilly and filled with shopping malls, grey highrises, rundown buildings and highways, and less attractive. In the Old Town you will find mostly tourists, while the Central Station and the outskirts is where you find the citizens of Gdansk.

 

"JAN HEWELIUSZ" SQUARE:

The square/park around the Jan Hewelius sculpture has no official name, but is filled with beautiful historical buildings.


Great Mill (Wielki Mlyn) is a former mill in a historic building that has been concerted into a small shopping galleria. It was built by the Teutonic Knights in 1350 and in 1356 the Radunia Canal was built, that flows just next to and below the edifice, that is the grandest civil construction in the city. The only remnant from the past inside is a small exhibition of old equipment from the mill (dating from 1400) at the entrance to the shopping center. In the background is St Catherine's Church.

 
Great Mill, small exhibition of old equipment from the from 1400   We shopped several times in this small convenience store in the Great Mill   The interior of the historic Wielki Mlyn, Great Mill, is an impersonal shopping center.

In 1356 the Radunia Canal was built. A narrow part of it flows through a sink right next to the Great Mill. The height differences create a small waterfall.

  

Radunia Canal waterfall at the Great Mill.Radunia Canal waterfall at the Great Mill.

A modern waterfall at Jan Hevelius square. At night it is illuminated in very nice colours!

 

Playful fountain at Jan Hevelius square that makes a performance of colour and water at night.Artificial waterfall at Jan Hevelius square.

Jan Heweliusz (Johannes Hevelius, 1611-1687) was a distinguished astronomer born in the city, for a time also Gdansk's mayor.


Astronoical paintings about Hevelius astronomy, Kamienica przy ul Bednarska 2

  

Jan Hevelius statue, Great Mill and St Catherine's Church Hevelius statue in front of the Old Town Hall (Ratusz Starumiejski).

St Catherine's Church (Kosciol sw. Katarzyny) is the oldest church in Gdansk. It was a protestant church between 1545 and 1945, but now it is roman catholic. Jan Hevelius is buried here. In 2006 a great fire occured, that destroyed the ceiling and parts of the church! It took years to restore the church. The 76m baroque tower is open to public summertime.


Jacek Tower (Baszta Jacek) from year 1400 is 36 m tall and features a photo studio inside. To the left of it is the market hall Hala Targowa that has a very high ceiling.

 

Jacek Tower from below.Jacek Tower (Baszta Jacek) from 1400



Radunia Canal, view towards St Catherine's Church (red brick tower) and Dwor Mlynarzy (half-timbered house).

 
Old Town Hall (Ratusz Starumiejski)   The square/park around the Jan Hewelius sculpture has no official name, but is filled with beautiful historical buildings.   St Catherine's Church and Great Mill

 
The "Jan Heweliusz" square at night (click on photo to visit Gdansk by night)   The "Jan Heweliusz" square at night (click on photo to visit Gdansk by night)   The "Jan Heweliusz" square at night (click on photo to visit Gdansk by night)

St Catherine's Church, Prorem Tower, St Bartholomew's Church, and Mercure Hevelius Hotel seen from St Mary's Church.

  

Radunia Canal at the Great Mill and Hevelius Hotel (left)

Prorem Tower (left) and Mercure Hevelius Hotel (right)

 

WALY JAGIELLNSKIE AND THE CENTRAL STATION:

Waly Jagiellonskie is the busy road that passes the historic city center to the west. The Main railway station (Gdansk Glówny), the New City Hall and the Coal Market are situated here. When it passes the Central Station it changes name to Podwale Grodzkie.


The Central Station (Gdansk Glowny) is situated just next to the small city center, and was the place were we got off after taking the bus from the airport. The station opened in the year 1900. From here you can take regional trains (SKM) to the bordering cities Gdynia and Sopot, or intercity trains to Polish or other European cities (PKP). Large parts of the station are situated underground in tunnels, and there are a lot of stores and restaurants in the station complex. The station has 5 platforms. Before World War II, the station was called Danzig Hauptbahnhof, but was demolished by Russian, and later rebuilt. The station has the same design as the Colmar Station in Alsace, France!

Sculpture outside the Central Station, dedicated to the Jewish children that had to be rescued from the Nazis in the free city of Danzig in 1939. They left for Britain so their lifes could be saved. This sculpture was one of the first thing we saw when we arrived in Gdansk by the bus from the airport.

  

Jewish Children Sculpture, Central StationJewish Children Sculpture, Central Station. Note the railway track below them.

 
Cinema City Krewetka is a multi-storey cinema complex at the Station square.   First impressions of Gdansk - Hair Podwale Grodzkie road, Zieleniak Business Center and Scandic Hotel   First impressions of Gdansk - cinema complex and the tallest highrises

 
First impressions of Gdansk - Central Station in the early September evening.   Central Station (Gdansk Glowny) at sunset.   KFC at the station, the first "attraction" we visited after arriving in Gdansk.

New Town Hall (Nowy Ratusz), seen from the road Waly Jagiellonskie near the Central station.

  

Waly Jagiellonskie roadWaly Jagiellonskie(Podwale Grodzkie) towards the Central station.

 
Waly Jagiellonskie road   Waly Jagiellonskie road with the typical Polish red/white local bus   The busy Waly Jagiellonskie road and a hill above the flat city center.

 
The busy Waly Jagiellonskie road and a hill above the flat city center.   The busy Waly Jagiellonskie road and a hill above the flat city center.   The busy Podwale Grodzkie road

Jan Sobieski III sculpture, Targ Drzewny, a square park near the old town, in the west end of the old town.

 

Jan Sobieski III sculpture, Targ Drzewny.Mirrors of old buildings in a modern glass building, Targ Drzewny.

 
Monument of Swietopelk II the Great at Szeroka square.   Hair dresser in the West part of the city center   Red brick buildings are very common in Gdansk's city center

 

PLAC OBRONCÓW POCZTY POLSKIEJ (Place of the Defenders of the Polish Post Office):

This is a square park in the Northeast end of the city center, near Motlawa River, where you find the Post Office building, and the impressive sculpture that is dedicated to the people who defended it from the Germans. The invation of Gdansk was the main cause of the start of World War II.

Monument to the Defenders of the Polish Post Office (Pomnik Obrońcom Poczty Polskiej). On September 1 in 1939 the postmen at the post office defended the building from the Nazis, who later sentenced them to death! This event was one of the first events that led to World War II.

  

Monument to the Defenders of the Polish Post Office

Monument to the Defenders of the Polish Post Office

Monument to the Defenders of the Polish Post Office (Pomnik Obrońcom Poczty Polskiej).

  

Monument to the Defenders of the Polish Post Office

Virtuti Militari, Poland's highest decoration of heroism.

 


Mercure Hotel Hevelius, the tallest hotel in Gdansk and the 3rd tallest skyscraper (70m). It has 19 floors and was built in 1979, but the facade has been modernized. In the background is the 10m taller Prorem Tower seen, the tallest highrise in Gdansk.

 

Mercure Hotel Hevelius is a 4-star hotel.

Rundown residential building next to the hotel

 
Prorem Tower, Gdansk's tallest building (80m, 20 floors), was built in 1975 and renovated in 2000, but is stil very ugly. It is here seen from Ulica Heweliusza.   Radunica Canal is flowing through the North part of the city center   Common residential area near the city center.

 
St James Church (Kosciol sw. Jakuba). The church was completed in 1437 and contained sand from Jerusalem.   St James Church seen from Lagniewniki street   St Bartholomew Church and Mercure

 
St Bartholomew Church (Kosciol sw. Bartlomieja), a Greek-Ukrainian Catholic Church. Originally completed in 1380 and rebuilt twice after fires.   St Bartholomew Church and Prorem Tower   St Bartholomew Church became a cathedral in 2001. Behind is the Prorem Tower.

Galeria Handlowa Madison is a shopping mall near the central station, that covers 18 000m2, 5 minutes from the Old Town.

  

Madison Mall has 4 floors.

Madison Mall

 
Scandic Hotel and Zieleniak Business Center   Outdoor shopping center underground and cinema complex at the square opposite the station   The typical Polish red and white buses and a police bus

 
Old fashioned van at the outdoor shopping center   Podwale Grodzkie   A bit fun to see a sign that says "Stockholm" in Poland (ferry)

 
Zieleniak Business Cente, 2nd tallest highrise in Gdansk. 17 floors, 72m. 1967 very ugly exterior, covered with advertizement.   "Roads to freedom" monument and one of the modern trams.   Nikolai Copernicus Building and High School (Budynek I Liceum Ogólnokształcacego im. Mikołaja Kopernik)

 


Millennium Cross Monument is situated on a hill high above the Central Station and the city center.