Early mediaeval Gdansk
painting by Wieslaw Matuszek, after archaeological research by Andrzej Zbierski. Photo by Ewa Meksiak
In 997 Adalbert, Bishop of Prague, came to Gdansk on his way to Prussia. His missionary action was described by a chronicler Joannes Canaparius in what is considered to be the oldest written information on Gdansk. The town at that time was situated on an island at the mouth of Motlawa River, close to the place where Vistula entered the Baltic Sea, having two separate harbours: one for the stronghold and one for the borough.
The capture of Gdansk by the Teutonic Knights in 1308 meant large changes in the organisation of social and economic life of the city. The so-called Main Town was located on the left bank of the Motlawa River, in some distance south of the Old Town. The structure of this town remains in fact the same nowadays: the main streets end on the river with gates. In the 14th century new wharves were situated at the gates, while the burgher houses between the gates created a kind of a defensive wall on the bank of the river.
The mediaeval port on the Motlawa River.
Model by Miroslaw Brucki and Krzysztof Bogacki, Model Conservation Workshop of the Polish Maritime Museum, Gdansk. Photo by Ewa Meksiak
Port of Gdansk in the 17th cent.
by Wojciech Gerson. From the collections of the Muzeum Narodowe, Poznan
Involvement in the export of Polish agricultural and forestry products became the basis of the economic and cultural expansion of Gdansk - the main seaport of the Republic at the close of 15th century. The 16th and 17th centuries in the history of Gdansk are called the "Golden Age" of the city. Increasing numbers of ships of various flags - primarily Dutch - called at Gdansk to pick up Polish products each year. E.g., 2 229 ships called at Gdansk in 1593. To receive all of them, new quays were fitted out, extending for 3 km.
New Port (before 1939)
on a postcard from the collections of the Polish Maritime Museum, Gdansk
The dimensions of ships had increased. Heavier cargoes required a different infrastructure on the quays. Granaries became insufficient and deepening the water channels damaged the old quay structures, which had shallow foundations. Thus it was decided in 19th century to build a port in the area of the former “outer port”, near the Wisloujscie fortress, called New Port (Neufahrwasser). The large area of the new port’s grounds attracted many industrial plants working also directly for the town and using the waterway for the supply of raw materials and the shipment of finished products. A network of railway tracks was built.