gdansk, poland 2009
TRANSCRIPT
Gdansk, Poland
October 2009
Monument of the Fallen Shipyard Workers
Located next to the shipyards where the Solidarity movement started in 1980. Here in 1970 the workers striked to protest the Communist government hiking up prices on everyday goods. The memorial remembers the 44 people who were killed when the police opened fire.
The former gate to the shipyards. Here the anti-Communist Solidarity movement was born as Polish shipyard workers, led by Lech Walesa, went on strike in 1980.
Monument inside the shipyard
The strikers’ 21 Points – their demands of the Communist government
Pieces of the Berlin Wall and the Gdansk shipyard wall built by police during the strike
Uphagen House – a typical medieval merchant’s home. Built deep and narrow, because homes were taxed based on their street frontage.
Medieval Gdansk
As a member of the Hanseatic League, with a government run by the merchants, Gdansk grew rich on a wide-reaching network of trade
Artus Court – meeting hall for the various business guilds of Gdansk
Granary Island – still in ruins from WW2
Motlawa River, looking towards the Maritime Museum
Office of Lech Walesa – leader of Solidarity and Poland’s first president after the fall of Communism
A 15th century crane, once used for loading ships.
St. Nicholas Church’s Baroque interior
St. Mary’s Church –Largest brick church in the world
Graves in the floor of St. Mary’s
Amber for sale
75% of the world’s amber is mined in Northern Poland
Resort town of Sopot – 20 minutes by commuter train from Gdansk
An art nouveau lighthouse on the Baltic Sea
Sopot’s Pier
The Baltic Sea!
A last blustery autumn evening in Gdansk