Gdańsk

Gdansk is a city on the Baltic coast of northern Poland and capital of the Pomeranian Voivodeship, with a population of 486,492 making it Poland's sixth largest city and its major seaport. It lies at the mouth of the Motlawa River at the southern edge of Gdansk Bay, close to Gdynia and the resort town of Sopot, together forming the Tricity metropolitan area of about 1.5 million people. First mentioned in 997 as part of the Duchy of Poland, Gdansk grew into a trading town under the Piast and Samboride dynasties, later joined the Hanseatic League, and served with considerable autonomy as the Polish Crown's principal seaport and largest city until the early 18th century, before Prussia annexed it in 1793 during the Partitions of Poland; it was a free city from 1807 to 1814 and again from 1920 to 1939, and the German attack on its Westerplatte garrison on 1 September 1939 was one of the first events of the Second World War. In the 1980s Gdansk was the birthplace of the Solidarity trade union movement, which helped precipitate the collapse of communism in Europe, and the city is today home to the University of Gdansk, the Gdansk University of Technology, the European Solidarity Centre and landmarks including the Town Hall and St. Mary's Church, one of the largest brick churches in the world.