Oliwa Cathedral
Oliwa, a district to the northwest of Gdansk, was once the base of wealthy Cistercians, who built a cathedral and monastery here. The present cathedral, built in the 14th century in the Gothic style, replaced the original 13th-century Romanesque church that was destroyed by fire in 1350. While the exterior has survived without major alteration, the interior has been redecorated in the Baroque style. Its famous organ can be heard in recitals. The monastery buildings are now occupied by branches of the Diocesan, Ethnographical and Contemporary Art museums. Oliwa Park, with lakes and wooded
for a walk.
Tomb of the Kos Family
The tomb was cawed in around 1599, probably by the prominent Gdansk sculptor Willem van den Blocke.
Mannerist Stalls
The stalls in the chancel, decorated with bas-reliefs of the
Mannerist Stalls
The stalls in the chancel, decorated with bas-reliefs of the for a walk.
VISITORS' CHECKLIST
ul. Cystersow 10. Tel 058 552 47 65. V 6, 12, 15. @ 117, 122, 171, 179, 222, 627. £ # daily. Organ recitals Sep-May: noon Mon-Sat, 3pm Sun; Jun-Aug: 11am, noon, 1pm, 3pm, 4pm Mon-Sat, 3pm, 4pm, 5pm Sun.
Portrait Gallery
Portraits of Polish kings and Pomeranian du kes, thefounders and benefactors of the cathedral, hang in the presbytety. They were painted b]> Hermann Hahn in 1613.
Thought to be by Andreas Schlüter, it was decorated by Andreas Stech with images of the Virgin and St Bernard, patrons of he monastery at Oliwa.
- The Monument to the Defenders of Westerplatte
Westerplatte ©
@ 106, 158, 606. Ferries in summer season at Green Gate. Guardhouse No 1 Museum ul. Mjr. H.
Sucharskiego. Tel 058 343 69 72. # Apr-Nov: 9am-4pm daily (Jun-Sep: to 7pm).
It was at Westerplatte that the first shots of World War II were fired, on 1 September 1939. The German battleship Schleswig Holstein opened fire on Polish ammunition dumps in the Free City of Gdansk. The Germans expected the capture of the Westerplatte to take a matter of hours, but the 182-man garrison under Major Henryk Sucharski resisted for seven days, their heroism becoming a symbol of Polish resistance in the struggle against the Nazi invasion.
Today ruined barracks and concrete bunkers, together with a huge Monument to the Defenders of Westerplatte unveiled in 1966, bear witness to that struggle.
Wisloujscie Fortress ©
ul. Stara Twierdza.
Tel 058 343 14 05. @ 106, 606. | until 2007 for restoration.
Fortifications were first built on this strategic point at the mouth of the River Vistula in the time of the Teutonic Knights, Work on the construction of a brick tower began in 1482, From here, a duty was levied on passing ships using a simple enforcement method that was impossible to avoid - a chain was stretched across the river, preventing the ship's passage, and released only when the captain had made the required payment, Equipped with a brazier in which a fire was lit, the tower was also used as a lighthouse,
In 1562-3 the tower was surrounded by a system of defences, and afterwards was repeatedly fortified and refortified as military technology advanced, In 1586-7 the entire complex was reinforced by four bastions, designed by Antonis van Opbergen and Jan Strakowski, and an outer moat was added, This was followed by the addition of a ditch in 1624-6, Also in the 17th century, 15 tall barrack buildings were added around the now-ageing tower,
Over the following years, constant building, often by prominent fortification engineers of the time, steadily enlarged the fortress, It withstood several sieges and was often used to accommodate visiting royalty,
- Wisloujscie Fortress, which once defended the mouth of the River Vistula
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