History of Gdańsk

Common card · No. 426327

Gdańsk (German: Danzig; Kashubian: Gduńsk) is one of the oldest cities in Poland. Its history begins with an early medieval settlement at the mouth of the Vistula River. A fortified center had been established by the late 10th century, possibly during the expansion of the Piast state under Mieszko I. The city remained part of the Piast state, either directly or as a fief, until the early 13th century, when it came under the rule of the Samborides, who governed Pomerelia as autonomous dukes from 1227. In 1308 the city became part of the Monastic State of the Teutonic Knights until 1454. Thereafter it became part of Poland again, although with increasing autonomy. A vital naval city for Polish grain trade, it attracted people from all over the European continent. After a period of decline, the city was taken over by Prussia during the Second Partition of Poland in 1793 and subsequently regained its importance as a trading port. Briefly becoming a free city during the Napoleonic Wars, it became...

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