European Ribbon

🎬 Introduction

Gdynia is a rapidly developing city, forming an urban agglomeration with Gdańsk and 🔗 Sopot, known as the Tricity. For curious tourists, it might be surprising why cities with such well-developed port infrastructures, seemingly duplicating functions, are located so close to each other. This observation is quite valid, and the situation is a result of a series of events, where the repeated loss of Gdańsk led to the growth of Gdynia.

📖  Access to the sea

In 1918, after the end of World War I, Poland regained its independence after 150 years of partitions. The Treaty of Versailles restored the country to the world map and defined its new borders. These borders were different from today, and Poland had only a small stretch of coastline. This created the need to establish access to the sea from scratch. In 1920, engineer Tadeusz Wenda was tasked with finding the best location for building a port, as well as designing and supervising its construction. He found this location on a plain between Gdynia and Oksywie, just 16 km from the borders of the Free City of Danzig, near the already functioning New Port.

Initially, a naval port was built here, but just a few years later, the parliament passed a law to construct a public port. This ambitious project, fueled by the dreams of the newly reborn country, progressed rapidly. It became one of the largest investments of that period, supported by the parliament thanks to the efforts of Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Treasury, Industry, and Trade, Eugeniusz Kwiatkowski. Along with the construction of Gdynia, Poland was opening a new window to the world.

Thanks to the vision and dedication of both Kwiatkowski and Wenda, Gdynia became a modern Polish port, and both men were honored as the city’s founding fathers, receiving honorary citizenship.

Polish pride

The dynamic growth of the city began with the completion of the port. In 1926, Gdynia was granted city rights, and that same year, the railway station was opened. By 1930, the first regular passenger line to New York was launched. By 1934, Gdynia had become the largest port on the Baltic Sea in terms of cargo handling and one of the most modern ports in Europe.

WWII

In just 15 years, which were brutally interrupted by the outbreak of World War II, Gdynia transformed from a fishing village into a metropolis with nearly 130,000 inhabitants. It’s no surprise, then, that the wartime bombings focused mainly on the port and shipyards, which suffered the most damage. Under Nazi occupation, the city was renamed Gotenhafen, meaning “Port of the Goths,” a name that had no Slavic ring to it. In September 1939, when the Germans occupied the city, a period of occupation and the eradication of all things Polish began. This was accompanied by mass arrests, deportations, and sending residents to concentration camps. It is estimated that nearly 50,000 residents were displaced in the first two months of the war, with another 30,000 displaced in the following year. During this time, the city also became an important base for the German submarine fleet, and toward the end of the war, it served as an evacuation point for the military and civilians fleeing westward from the advancing Red Army.

Post-war Poland

After the war, in March 1945, Poles, including those from lost cities like Vilnius and Lviv and from war-torn Warsaw, began returning to these areas. They contributed to the city’s reconstruction. In September 1945, ships once again began arriving in Gdynia, and in 1951, the first new ship, “Melitopol,” was launched.

In the post-war period, the People’s Republic of Poland became a country subordinate to the Soviet Union, controlled from Moscow. It was in Gdynia and neighboring Gdańsk that the first workers’ protests began, brutally suppressed by the state apparatus. Today, monuments dedicated to their bravery and the tragedy of December 1970 remind us of these events—the Monument to the Victims of December 1970 near the Gdynia Shipyard and the 23-meter cross near the City Hall.

Modern Gdynia is home to nearly a quarter of a million residents. The city is still considered a rapidly developing center, inhabited by open-minded and enterprising people.

The City Name and Early History

Gdynia derives from the ancient Slavic word gъd, meaning wet, damp, and overgrown. The exact beginnings of the village are unknown, though the first mentions appeared in church documents as early as the mid-13th century. From the late 14th century, for the next 400 years, this area was owned by the Carthusian monastery. After the First Partition of Poland in 1772, these lands fell under Prussian rule. In 1870, a railway line connecting Gdańsk and Szczecin was brought to the edge of the village, though no station was established in Gdynia. At the beginning of the 20th century, the village had a recreational character

Visiting Gdynia

Gdynia is well-connected with the rest of the country. The A1 highway, 🚘 also known as the Amber Highway, leads to Gdańsk, and the entire Tricity area is surrounded by a ring road. The railway 🚊connections are also good, and Gdynia Główna station is within walking distance from the seaside promenade. The Fast Urban Railway (SKM) 🚃runs in a loop, stopping at many stations between Gdynia and Gdańsk, and also goes to the Lech Wałęsa International Airport 🛫in Gdańsk.

🚌 Public Transportation

Using public transportation in Gdynia is very convenient. An additional attraction is that Gdynia is one of the few cities in Poland where trolleybuses can still be found. Public bus services in Gdynia are provided by ZKM Gdynia. Below are the key rules for using public transportation:

• Single-ride tickets are valid for one journey on regular, express, or night lines of ZTM in Gdańsk, ZKM in Gdynia, or MZK in Wejherowo.
  • The metropolitan ticket can be purchased via mobile apps (such as SkyCash, moBILET, MPay). Validating the ticket involves entering the vehicle’s line number into the app.
  • A paper ticket must be validated upon boarding the vehicle.
• The 75-minute metropolitan ticket (available only via the app) is valid for 75 minutes from the time of validation, and you must enter the line of the first vehicle you board.
• 24-hour or 72-hour tickets can be in paper or electronic form. These tickets may also cover train rides with one, two, or all carriers.

In Gdynia, single-ride tickets can also be purchased from bus drivers, either with cash or cashless payment using FALA system machines installed on the buses.