page_title: Gdańsk
section_title: Architecture
hierarchical_section_title: Gdańsk / Main sights / Architecture
caption_attribution_description: English: Bazylika Mariacka w Gdańsku
context_page_description: Gdańsk is a city on the Baltic coast of northern Poland. With a population of 470,907, Gdańsk is the capital and largest city of the Pomeranian Voivodeship and one of the most prominent cities within the cultural and geographical region of Kashubia. It is Poland's principal seaport and the centre of the country's fourth-largest metropolitan area.
  The city is situated on the southern edge of Gdańsk Bay on the Baltic Sea, in a conurbation with the city of Gdynia, the resort town of Sopot, and suburban communities; these form a metropolitan area called the Tricity, with a population approaching 1.4 million. Gdańsk lies at the mouth of the Motława River, connected to the Leniwka, a branch in the delta of the nearby Vistula River, which drains 60 percent of Poland and connects Gdańsk with the Polish capital, Warsaw. Together with the nearby port of Gdynia, Gdańsk is also a notable industrial centre.
  The city's history is complex, with periods of Polish, Prussian and German rule, and periods of autonomy or self-rule as a free city state. In the early-modern age, Gdańsk was a royal city of Poland.
context_section_description: The city has some buildings surviving from the time of the Hanseatic League. Most tourist attractions are located along or near Ulica Długa (Long Street) and Długi Targ (Long Market), a pedestrian thoroughfare surrounded by buildings reconstructed in historical (primarily during the 17th century) style and flanked at both ends by elaborate city gates. This part of the city is sometimes referred to as the Royal Route, since it was once the former path of processions for visiting Kings of Poland.
  Walking from end to end, sites encountered on or near the Royal Route include:
  Highland Gate (Brama Wyżynna), which marks the beginning of the Royal Route
  Torture House (Katownia) and Prison Tower (Wieża więzienna), now housing the Amber Museum (Muzeum Bursztynu)
  Mansion of the Society of Saint George (Dwór Bractwa św. Jerzego)
  Golden Gate (Złota Brama)
  Ulica Długa ("Long Lane"), filled with picturesque tenements
  Uphagen's House (Dom Uphagena), branch of the Museum of Gdańsk
  Lion's Castle (Lwi Zamek)
  Main Town Hall (Ratusz Głównego Miasta, built 1378–1492)
  Długi Targ ("Long Market")
  Artus' Court (Dwór Artusa)
  Neptune's Fountain (Fontanna Neptuna), a masterpiece by architect Abraham van den Blocke, 1617.
  New Jury House (Nowy Dom Ławy), in which the seemigly 17th-century Maiden in the Window appears every day during the tourist season, referring to a popular novel Panienka z okienka ("Maiden in the Window") by Jadwiga Łuszczewska, set in 17th-century Gdańsk
  Golden House (Złota Kamienica), a distinctive Renaissance townhouse from the early 17th century, decorated with numerous reliefs and sculptures
  Green Gate (Zielona Brama), a Mannerist gate, built as a formal residence of Polish kings, now housing a branch of the National Museum in Gdańsk
  Gdańsk has a number of historical churches, including St. Catherine's Church and St. Mary's Church (Bazylika Mariacka). This latter is a municipal church built during the 15th century, and is the largest brick church in the world.
  The city's 17th-century fortifications represent one of Poland's official national Historic Monuments (Pomnik historii), as designated on 16 September 1994 and tracked by the National Heritage Board of Poland.
  Other main sights in the historical city centre include:
  Royal Chapel of the Polish King John III Sobieski
  Żuraw – medieval port crane
  Gradowa Hill
  Granaries on the Ołowianka and Granary Islands
  Great Armoury
  John III Sobieski Monument
  Old Town Hall
  Jan Heweliusz Monument
  Great Mill (1350)
  Small Mill
  House of Research Society
  Polish Post Office, site of the 1939 battle
  brick gothic town gates, i.e. Mariacka Gate, Straganiarska Gate, Cow Gate
  Main sights outside the historical city centre include:
  Abbot's Palace in the Oliwa Park
  Lighthouse in Nowy Port
  Oliwa Cathedral
  Pachołek Hill – an observation point in Oliwa
  Pier in Brzeźno
  Medieval city walls
  Westerplatte
  Wisłoujście Fortress
  Gdańsk Zoo
caption: St. Mary's Church – the largest brick church in the world
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