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The North
Formerly known as Danzig, the important Baltic port of Gdansk has had a troubled history. The Order of Teutonic Knights took it from the Poles in the 14th century and later lost it to the Prussians. In the 20th century, it lost its status as a free city when it was attacked and occupied by Nazi Germany in 1939. Its Lenin Shipyards were the birthplace of Solidarnosc (Solidarity) and thus of today’s democratic Poland. Almost the entire city was destroyed in World War II, but was restored to its former glory. The city is now a provincial capital at the mouth of the Wisla (Vistula) and Motlawa rivers and a commercial, industrial and scientific centre. The city has the largest Gothic church in Poland – and possibly the largest brick building in the world – the Church of the Virgin Mary (Kosciol Mariacki). The 17th-century Golden Gate and the Court of the Fraternity of St George can be viewed along the spectacular Royal Way, one of Gdansk’s most historic streets. The National Art Museum has an excellent collection of Gothic art and sculpture. The beach resort at nearby Sopot has Europe’s longest pier (500m/1640ft). Within easy reach are the forested Hel Peninsula, the Kashubian Lakeland, and the Teutonic castles at Malbork (Marienburg), Gniew and elsewhere. There is also a narrow-gauge railway that runs along the Vistula Spit offering an attractive way to see part of the Baltic coast.
Spread across the northeast is Mazuria, a huge, thinly populated area of lakes, dense forests and swamps. It is rich in wildlife, including wild bison and Europe’s largest herd of elks, and offers every form of outdoor pursuit – sailing, canoeing, camping – even mushroom-picking. In the heart of the Mazurian forest, at Ketrzyn (Rastenburg), is the site of Hitler’s ‘Eagle’s Nest’, the concrete bunker where members of his High Staff attempted to assassinate him in August 1944. The medieval walled town of Torun, a UNESCO World Heritage Site on the banks of the River Wisla (Vistula) south of Gdansk, was the birthplace of the astronomer Copernicus (Mikolaj Kopernik). The most notable historic sites include St Mary’s Church, St John’s Church (where Copernicus was baptised); the striking Gothic Town Hall and the Granaries (which helped to make Torun a prosperous trade town). Important museums are the Town Museum with the wonderful stained glass for which the town was known, the Copernicus Museum, and the Ethnographic Museum. Szczecin, 60km (37 miles) upstream from the mouth of the River Oder, is the largest port on the Baltic Sea. Formerly known as Stettin, it was the capital of Pomerania and its sights include the Pomeranian princes’ 14th-century Palace and the 12th-century Cathedral. The city was largely rebuilt in the last century taking Paris as a model, and has a spacious feel to it with many wide, tree-lined boulevards. It is easy to escape the cities of the north for the beach resorts of the Pomeranian coast, such as Kolobrzeg (large and fashionable) or Leba (a quiet resort with a beach of fabulous white sand), or the beech woods and islands of the Wolin National Park. Slowinski National Park is known for its giant ‘wandering sand dunes’ which can shift several metres each year.
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