This time Streets & Squares will visit Gdansk on the Baltic coast in northern Poland, and - more precisely - by the Gulf of Danzig. Danzig is the former German name of Gdansk. There is an interesting list of German streets names correlating with their Polish version in Your Pocket.
The Polish language is known for its rich consonants and a lack of vowels, so be prepared to tackle some pretty difficult words and names in this article. The city center of Gdansk is not by the coast but a bit south of it behind the river Martwa Wisla which flows through the city. Motlawa is the other major river in Gdansk.
You see a lot of history in this city. More recently, in the 1980s, it brought about the Solidarity movement, which helped with the ending the Eastern Bloc, the fall of the Berlin Wall and also the end of the Soviet Union. None of that goes unnoticed here.
As always, clicking on an address will take you to Google Maps, and clicking on a name to the person’s Wikipedia page.
So, some vocabulary here. Most street names don’t have the word street attached to them though: droga (road), most (bridge), park (park), plac (square), targ (market square), ulica (street).
ADAMA MICKIEWICZA - Adam Mickiewicz (1798-1855) Polish poet and a political activist who is regarded as national poet in Poland, Lithuania and Belarus. StreetView
GENERALA T. BORA-KOMOROWSKIEGO - Tadeusz Bór-Komorowski (1895-1977) Polish military leader/PM born in Khorobriv, Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria. StreetView
GDANSK LECH WALESA AIRPORT - Lech Walesa (1943) labor activist, the leader of the Solidarity movement and later President of Poland - Popowo, German-occupied Poland. StreetView
JANA HEWELIUSZA - Jan Heweliusz (1611-1687) astronomer and mayor of Danzig, born there when it was part of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. StreetView
JULIUSZA SLOWACKIEGO - Juliusz Słowacki (1809-1849) Polish poet and writer. A major figure in the Polish Romantic period, and the father of modern Polish drama. StreetView
KONRADA LECZKOWA - Conrad Letzkau (13xx-1412) was a Councilman and later a Mayor of Danzig. StreetView
MARII KONOPNICKIEJ - Maria Konopnicka (1842-1910) poet, writer and an activist for women’s rights and for Polish independence (achieved November 11th, 1918). StreetView
POPIELUSZKI - Jerzy Popieluszko (1947-1984) Roman Catholic priest associated with Solidarity who was murdered and later beatified. StreetView
SIENKIEWICZA - Henryk Sienkiewicz (1946-1916) was a journalist and novelist who received the Nobel Prize in literature in 1905. Author of Quo Vadis (1896). StreetView
TADEUSZA KOSCIUSZKI - Tadeusz Kościuszko (1746-1817) Polish-Lithuanian military engineer, statesman and military leader who even fought on the U.S. side in the American Revolutionary War. StreetView
A to Z FROM GDANSK
i.e. a list of people born in Gdansk. Just another fun way to know something more about the city. We pick a couple of people for each alphabet, if possible. The numbers you see at the end of each line indicate the year of birth. This list is updated from time to time. And last but not least: the flag of the city – see below!
A - Pawel Adamowicz* lawyer/politician/Mayor of Gdansk (1965)
D - Andreas Deja* German-American character animator (Walt Disney Animation Studios) (1957)
F - Magdalena Frąckowiak* model/jewelry designer (1984)
T - Donald Tusk* politician (1957)
Sources:
https://theculturetrip.com/europe/poland/articles/the-best-places-in-gdansk-to-visit-for-the-history-buff/
https://culture.pl/en/article/polands-most-popular-street-names-an-adventure-in-statistics
https://culture.pl/en/article/a-foreigners-guide-to-polish-names
https://www.inyourpocket.com/gdansk/danziggdansk-street-names_74676f
Updated 31.8.2022
