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Location: Blogs Simon and Melody's Blog |
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| Posted by: supersi |
Friday, June 06, 2008 |
Today we docked in Poland to visit the town of Gdansk. I knew absolutely nothing about Poland before this trip. I even have to admit that I had little desire of visiting. But I came away with such a great appreciation for this people. The hardships they have been through in the past century is staggering.
Gdansk is the site where World War II started – September 1, 1939 when a Nazi warship opened fire on the harbour. Those were the first shots fired in a war that was to claim more lives than any other in history. The Poles had been allowed to fortify their spot in the harbour with a maximum of 80 armed men, but by disguising themselves as construction workers they were able to sneak in an extra 140 soldiers.
When the attack began, the Polish army told them they were alone and not to expect reinforcements. However, the barracks buildings housing the soldiers in the harbour had been fortified with steel. The Nazis expected the battle for the harbour to last an hour. It lasted 7 days. Only 16 Polish soldiers lost their lives in that battle. Although they lost the harbour, they were cheered by the news that Britain had declared war on Germany.
At the end of WWII the Russian army liberated Gdansk. By that time it was almost fully populated with German citizens and had even been renamed Danzig (a German name). The Russians considered it a German city, so during their liberation they looted and burned it. The whole town was left in ruins.
Life got worse for the Poles after the war. The Communist party came to power and ruled the country with an iron fist for 54 years. We visited a museum about the effects of Communism on Poland (and other countries in Europe). It was heart-wrenching to learn about the brutality and economic ruin the people lived with for all those years. It was the Solidarnosc (“solidarity”) movement in 1980 which initiated the fall of communism in Poland and across Europe.
Today the Old Town of Gdansk has been completely rebuilt. Originally the idea had been to leave the town in ruins as a reminder about the effects of war. However, the decision was made in 1948 to reconstruct it. More than 30,000 paintings were recovered to determine how to rebuild the city. Since most of the paintings were from the 1700’s, the facades on the buildings were all redone in that style – down to minute details. It is now a really beautiful place to walk around.
We visited the Church of St. Mary which is the world’s largest brick church. Inside, the guide showed us how great the acoustics were. She clapped her hands and claimed the sound could be heard for almost 12 seconds. It was exactly at this moment that Arwyn sat up in her stroller and let out a hearty screech. Just to test things for herself I guess. I wonder if babies have a secret rating system to rank the world’s best places to belch or scream.
Another interesting thing about Gdansk is that 85% of Baltic amber is made here. Gdansk in turn makes 75% of the world’s amber. A recent problem has been the rise in the amount of fake amber made from plastic. Our guide explained that one way to tell real amber from fake, is the very distinct smell that real amber makes when burned. So ladies, if you’re in the market for some amber, just remember to bring your kitchen blow torch with you to the store. Before you buy anything, burn it with the torch. If it makes the amber smell then it was indeed genuine; and if not, it’s a guaranteed fake so don’t waste your money. You get that tip for free!
In all a very enjoyable day in Poland. The Gdansk Old Town is a beautiful place and I have such an appreciation for what this people has endured.
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