Our Family: Gdansk, Poland

Gdańsk, Poland

I seriously LOVE these buildings! Just some random street to walk down.

The Front of the Armory (Zbrojownia) in all it's Dutch Renaissance architecture glory.

I don't know if you can zoom in or not but at the very top of the turrets there are exploding cannonballs made out of stone.

In order to visit the city of Gdańsk you had to pass through this ... The Torture House (Wieża Więzienna) and the Prison Tower (Katownia). The walls are 15 feet thick!

Inside the Torture House courtyard. It is now an Amber Museum.

Again, the courtyard of the Torture House.

The Golden Gate (Złota Brama), which is more pretty than defensive. The four women on the top represent Peace, Freedom, Prosperity and Fame. These four virtues are what the people of Gdańsk are suppose to exhibit toward outsiders.

This is the backside of the Golden Gate, from the picture above. It's completely different, huh? The four women on top now represent Wisdom, Piety, Justice, and Concord.

Turning away from the Golden Gate and heading down the street ... this is your view, amazing right?!

This is the "Long Street", Ulica Długa. During WWII this city was in ruins, first by the Nazi's and second by the Soviets.

The blue one on the right is from the 19th century, and it is one of the few homes on this street to actually survive WWII. Check out the giant heads at the top? There are three but you can only see two, sorry.

These next several pictures are taken in the long square, the Długi Targ.

The statue of Nepture - god of the sea - fitting because Gdańsk was built up around the prosperity it received from the sea.

We just so happened to be present during a festival. What are the chances? I love it!

The building facades remind me of Amsterdam so much, tall and skinny.

At the end of the "Long Street" is another gate, the Green Gate (Zielona Brama).

This gate was built to be a residence for visiting kings.

A side street from off the river, I'm pretty sure is is Mariacka street. These 'vendors' are selling Amber, which is sold all over the place. Right above the stairs right before you enter the front door are gargoyles, I love gargoyles.

Just some of the beautiful Amber being sold

Riverfront Embankment, where the wealth began.

This is the Motława River.

But first check out what it looks like on the other side. Before WWII there used to be 400 granaries here, its name is Granary Island (Spichrze). Sadly, it is still in ruins today.

Here is the Crane (Żuraw)! It is from the 15th century and was used for "loading ships, picking up small crafts for repairs, and uprighting masts". I was fascinated by this!

This is how they operated the crane. Think of a hamster running around in his wheel, and that is exactly what grown men did to lift all those heavy shipments.