Pomerania Province – sea, sand, castles, monuments, architecture

daria

25 May 2020

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Pomerania Province – sea, sand, castles, monuments, architecture

Pomerania Province is a region with Baltic sea, white sandy beaches, amazing castles, stunning monuments and historical architecture. Let me introduce you 8 the best places which you must see in Pomerania Province.

#1 GDAŃSK - CITY OF HOPE

The biggest city in Pomerania Province and capital city of the Province. One of the most beautiful cities in Poland. The city’s history is rich and a bit complicated but interesting. Periods of Polish, Prussian and German rule and periods of self-rule as a free city state made a big impact for the present look of Gdańsk.

You will find most tourist attractions in a Main Town along the pedestrian thoroughfare flanked at both ends by elaborate city gates. This part of the city is sometimes referred to as the Royal Route.

Gdańsk is also a cradle of Solidarity and independence. Lech Wałęsa lived here and fought for freedom in the eighties of 20th century. You can visit European Solidarity Center to learn about history of Solidarity and Poland’s path to freedom.Gdańsk was alway a city of hope for better life… for merchants, tradersman, sailors from middle ages till Poles in comunism times.

Gdańsk Long Market

photo: www.pixabay.com

#2 GDYNIA - WHITE CITY

The youngest city in Tricity (metropolitan area consisting three cities: Gdańsk, Gdynia, Sopot and towns in the vicinity) was granted city rights in 1926 with 12000 inhabitants. Gdynia was small farming and fishing village. When Poland regained independence in 1918 a decision was made to built a seaport in Gdynia. The works began in 1921 and in 1923 first ship arrived to the seaport. In 1938 seaport in Gdynia was the largest and the most modern on the Baltic Sea. By 1939 the population had grown to over 120000!

You can admire very uniqe modernist architecture reffering to sea and ships. The idea was to make a pure form of buildings and make them very functional for human. They are geometric in form with large windows and spacious interiors. Almost all of the buildings were white in colour. Gdynia even got a nickname of “White City”.

Grab a map of a Gdynia’s Modernist Trail and discover history of the city and stunning buildings. Don’t forget to hop on to trolleybus and have a tour 🙂

Gdynia's modernist building

photo: www.werandaweekend.pl

# 3 SOPOT - A PLACE TO BE

It is the smallest city in Tricity but one of the most famuous cities in Poland. Sopot is a major Spa and health resort and tourist destination. It has the longest wooden pier in Europe, at 515.5 metres, stretching out into the Bay of Gdańsk.

In 1823 Dr. Jean Georg Haffner, a former medic of the French army, financed a new bath complex that gained significant popularity. First sanatorium was opened to the public in 1824. Spa and health resort continued to develop. Nowadays Sopot is one of the most famuous health resort in Poland and the place where you can meet up a lot of celebrieties!

Sopot promenade

photo: www.fotopolska.travel.pl

# 4 HEL - AT THE END OF THE WORLD

Hel is located on the tip of the Hel Peninsula, some 33 kilometres (21 miles) from the Polish mainland.

In 1896 the fishing village was granted the status of a sea-side resort with tourists from Gdańsk and Sopot. After the World War I new facilities and villas were built for tourists. The village became one of the two main naval bases of the Polish Navy. The harbour was expanded and in 1936 the president declared the peninsula a “Fortified Area” under jurisdiction of the Polish Army.  After a long time of Hel beeing army area in 1963 city rights were reintroduced and area opened for civils. Since then the tourist industry started to recover and several hotels, guest houses and pensions were built.

Nowadays the harbour is a yacht marina. However there are some fishing boats and ferries to Tricity. Hel houses a seal sanctuary (the Fokarium). You can visit the seal sanctuary and participate in a seal’s training. It is worth to walk all the way around the peninsula which looks like the end of the world. You can also visit museums and remainings of military base.

Hel peninsula, the end of the world 🙂

photo: www.triverna.pl

# 5 MALBORK - TEUTONIC CASTLE

Malbork Castle is the most complete and elaborate example of a Gothic brick-built castle complex in the characteristic and unique style of the Teutonic Order. The Castle is on the UNESCO Heritage List. Unesco says that the Malbork Castle is an „architectural work of unique character. It is also a „symbol of power and cultural tradition, is the most important monument to the monastic state of the Teutonic Order, a unique phenomenon in the history of Western civilization”. It is a unique, perfectly planned architectural creation, with no equivalent in Gothic architecture”.

You can visit the Castle and have a guided tour. Click here for more info.

Malbork Castle

# 6 KASHUBIA - EXTRAORDINARY LANGUAGE AND NATURAL AREA

Kashubs speak the Kashubian language, which is classified either as a separate language closely related to Polish, or as a Polish dialekt. According to the law Kashubian language is used on the street signs, at schools and in the offices.

Very important for Kashubs is also a tradition especially very uniqe embroidery.The art of embroidery was spread by noblewomen who were studying in one of the cloister schools. The colors of the Kashubian embroidery have a certain symbolism. Green is a symbol of forests and meadows, three shades of blue symbolize the sea, sky and lakes. Yellow stands for sand and amber, red for blood, and black for fertile soil and slavery. Gold and silver thread are also in use.

The best place to visit and learn more about Kashubia is open air museum in Wdzydze Kiszewskie.

Kashubian embroidery

photo: www.wikiwand.com

# 7 TUCHOLA FOREST NATIONAL PARK

Tuchola Forest National Park is a large forest near the town of Tuchola which lies between the Brda and Wda Rivers. It contains the Tuchola Forest National Park, which is at the core of the Tuchola Forest Biosphere Reserve, designated by UNESCO in 2010. The area and is covered with low hills and more than 900 lakes. The Tuchola Forest contains mainly  spruces and pines, the area is one of the biggest forests in Poland and Central Europe.

Tuchola Forest National Park offers a lot of activities. You can feel the nature and the atmosphere of very ancient forest. You can find foot trails, bike trails and of course lakes and river where you can rent a kayak and explore the nature from the water.

Tuchola Forest

photo: www.fotopolska.travel.pl

# 8 ŁEBA - POLISH SAHARA

The Słowiński National Park was created to protect the unchanged beauty of the system of seaside lakes, swamps, peat bogs, coastal forests. Above all to protect the dune belt of the spit with unique moving dunes in Europe.

Moving dunes are a unique natural attraction. They are located between Łebsko Lake and the sea. They have been moving east and south-east at a speed of 1.2-1.6 m per year. Formed from the accumulation of sand washed ostst by sea waves. Moving sands create a beautiful desert landscape, unique in Europe, often called the Polish Sahara.

Słowiński National Park, moving dunes

photo: www.fotopolska.travel.pl

All of those beautiful places you can visit as a one day tour but we recommend you to stay longer and explore more. Region is worth to discover. You can soak the nature and touch the soul of the cities. Contact us and we will prepare an itinerary for you 🙂