“This Baltic port grew so rich on Hanseatic trade that its merchants built a giant medieval crane that doubled as a city gate.”
About Main Town
Gdansk flourished from the Middle Ages as a powerful Hanseatic port, its wealth built on the grain and timber trade flowing down the Vistula. The Main Town's merchant houses, churches and the iconic Crane reflect that prosperity. The city was largely destroyed in 1945 but rebuilt with great care, and it later gained fame as the birthplace of the Solidarity movement that helped end communism.
The Main Town of Gdansk is the historic heart of the great Baltic port, a showcase of tall, ornate merchant houses, Gothic churches and a famous medieval crane, strung along the Motlawa River. Once one of the wealthiest cities of the Hanseatic League, Gdansk built a townscape of brick Gothic and gabled mansions that, though largely rebuilt after the war, dazzles visitors today.
The Main Town of Gdansk is the historic heart of the great Baltic port, a showcase of tall, ornate merchant houses, Gothic churches and a famous medieval crane, strung along the Motlawa River.
A Hanseatic Powerhouse on the Baltic
Gdansk grew rich in the Middle Ages as a leading Hanseatic trading city, exporting grain and timber across the Baltic and beyond. Its merchants lined Long Market and the riverfront with richly decorated houses, and built the towering brick Crane, a medieval port crane and city gate that became the symbol of the city. Devastated in 1945, the Main Town was rebuilt to recapture its former splendour.
The Experience
Strolling the long, handsome streets of Long Market and Long Lane, past colourful gabled houses and the ornate Neptune Fountain and Artus Court, then reach the riverfront and the great wooden Crane on the Motlawa. Atmospheric Mariacka Street, lined with amber shops and terraced stoops, leads to St Mary's, one of the largest brick churches in the world. The townscape is rich and rewarding to explore on foot.
Why It Matters
The Main Town of Gdansk is a magnificent reconstruction of one of the Baltic's great Hanseatic cities and a centre of Polish history, from medieval trade to the birth of Solidarity. Its restored architecture and riverfront make it one of the most beautiful and historically significant urban centres in Poland.
The Main Town of Gdansk is a magnificent reconstruction of one of the Baltic's great Hanseatic cities and a centre of Polish history, from medieval trade to the birth of Solidarity.
Why Visit
The splendid restored heart of the Hanseatic port of Gdansk, with ornate merchant houses, the great medieval Crane and one of the world's largest brick churches.
✦ Insider Tips
- 1
Walk Long Market past the Neptune Fountain and Artus Court.
- 2
See the great medieval Crane on the Motlawa riverfront.
- 3
Climb St Mary's tower, one of the world's largest brick churches.
