Meet Poland

Gdynia

Although the first written notes about its settlement primarily appeared in the 13th century, there is no doubt that Gdynia is one of the youngest towns of Poland. It was built almost from scratch, on the site of the small seaside village. The major reason for its foundation were the violent changes that took place after the World War I. Poland regained independence in 1918, though, it obtained only abridged plot of the Pomerania region without any bigger harbour centre and needed a wide window on the world.

Gdynia was designed as the port and shipbuilding centre and effectively fulfilled its function till September 1939 when the Nazis invaded Poland turning the town into a German navy base and renaming it to Gotenhafen. During wartime Gdynia witnessed several air raids by the Allies from 1943 and onwards, but the real destruction was actually made by the withdrawing German troops in 1945 (90 per cent of the buildings and equipment were destroyed). After the war, the town was completely reconstructed. The historic shipyard is still the its greatest domain despite some transitory financial problems.

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