Gdansk Audio Tours

Gdansk was first documented in 997 AD when Saint Adalbert of Prague passed through a settlement at the Baltic coast. It became one of the great Hanseatic ports, exporting grain and timber through the Middle Ages at a scale that made it one of the wealthiest cities in northern Europe. Then history took turns that few other cities have experienced as intensely: Prussian annexation in 1793, then the Free City of Danzig under League of Nations oversight from 1920, then the German invasion on September 1, 1939, which began at the Westerplatte military transit depot at the city's harbour. World War II started here, at a garrison that held out for seven days before surrendering.

By March 1945, 90 percent of the city centre had been destroyed.

The Poles who moved in after the war rebuilt the old town brick by brick from 17th-century engravings, creating a reconstruction so complete that visitors often assume the Long Lane, the Artus Court, and the massive Gothic facade of St Mary's Church are original. St Mary's is one of the largest brick churches in the world, capable of holding 25,000 people. The Medieval crane on the waterfront, the Zuraw, was rebuilt and still works. Neptune's Fountain in the Long Market is original.