Go beyond Old Town Gdansk

The Gdansk district of Wrzeszcz, birthplace of Nobel Prize winner Gunter Grass, now offers a view of pre-war Gdansk, a good choice of cool bars and eateries and the increasingly fashionable Garnizon complex, once home to the Black Hussars but now a hub for young professional Gdanskians.

Around 4km north of Gdansk old town, straight along al. Zwyciestwa (Victory Avenue), you’ll find yourself in the heart of Wrzeszcz. After decades of neglect Wrzeszcz is truly on the up and is these days far more of a commercial centre than the centre of Gdansk itself. While nowhere near as picturesque as Gdansk old town, the area is not without its attractions and points of interest. A growing number of decent cafes, bars and restaurants are also worth further investigation if you feel like getting away from the madding crowds of the historic centre.

The first thing that stands out about Wrzeszcz (pronounced v-zeh-sh-ch) is the name – surely a word with that many ‘z’s and so few vowels can’t be spelt correctly? Granted it was easier to pronounce when it was known by the German Langfuhr, but the name actually comes from the Polish word ‘wrzos’ meaning heather.

First written mention of the area dates to 1261 when a settlement known as Vrieszt was to be found here. In 1412 the district was awarded to Gerd von der Beke, an ally of the Teutonic Knights, before moving into the hands of the Bischof family in the second half of the 16th century. By the 17th century local tycoon Zachariasz Zappio had acquired much of the property between what is today ul. Do Studzienki and Slowackiego, building a palace there that proved grand enough for Polish king Jan III Sobieski to stay in back in 1677. It’s for this reason you’ll find nearby streets with regal connotations (Dolina Królewska - Royal Valley, and Królewski Potok - Royal Brook). You won’t find remains of the residence, though one legacy that survives to this day is the profusion of linden trees. It was the Bürgermeister Daniel Gralath who can claim credit for this, having commissioned the planting of four lanes of linden trees over a two kilometre stretch flanking what was then called Grosse Allee (Great Avenue), today’s Al. Zwyciestwa. The project, which was realized between 1767 and 1770, set him back 100,000 guldens, which we can only imagine to be a rather tidy pile of coins.

The 18th century saw intense construction occur, predominantly two storey manor houses. In 1872, a tramline connecting the district to Gdansk was added, while the early 20th century saw the construction of the Technische Hochschule (today Gdansk Polytechnic) and the municipal hospital (now the medical academy).

During the Free City of Danzig days Wrzeszcz’s population soared to 40,000 and it continued to serve as a home to the middle-classes, as well as a unit of the Prussian ‘Hussars of Death’. It was during this period that Nobel-prize winning writer Gunter Grass was born here. His work was often based on the Langfuhr and Danzig of his childhood and his most famous work, The Tin Drum, is set in the district around the time he was growing up.

While central Gdansk was flattened by the end of the war, Wrzeszcz escaped lightly in comparison. The postwar years, however, saw Wrzeszcz gradually slip into obscurity, its once grand houses left to rot. Today many of the buildings and the older streets, such as ul. Wajdeloty, are being returned to their former glories thanks to public investment and the arrival of a younger, professional class.

GARNIZON RE-BORN

In another example of the continuing revitalization of the Gdansk district of Wrzeszcz, what for many years was a closed military zone is being redeveloped for public use. The Garnizon (Garrison) district, close to the main road between the airport and the city, is gradually being turned into a residential and entertainment district.

The area was originally developed at the beginning of the 20th century as a home for the German Leibhusaren Brigade (Hussar Brigade), which included the 2nd Hussar Regiment Queen Victoria of Prussia, notable for being named in honour of the daughter of Britain’s Queen Victoria, wife of German Kaiser Friedrich III and whose emblem was the skull and crossbones which gained them the popular name of the ‘Death’s Head Hussars’. Home at one stage to nearly 2,000 men, the garrison (then on what was called Hochstrieß in Langfuhr) was taken over by the Free City of Danzig police force following Germany’s defeat in WWI and then in turn by the Polish army following WWII (Hochstrieß is now Al. Żołnierzy Wyklętych).

The area had fallen into decline until the ambitious re-development began which has seen 10 of the old red brick buildings modernised and gradually being turned over to new uses such as cafes and restaurants, a concert venue, offices, hotel and eventually a cinema and theatre. The bulk of the development consists of modern offices and apartments and it promises to breathe new life into a square of land that has lain empty for years.

Your main reasons to visit are the Stary Maneż, a great concert venue which is already attracting some top international names; the Browar Spółdzielczy (Cooperative Brewery), a Multi-tap bar; the Blok Fit climbing walls or any of the new restaurants and cafes which have sprung up, of which Sztuka Wyboru, Lula, Eliksir, Kucharia, Ping Pong and Pobite Gary and have already all impressed.

The old buildings particularly worth looking out for are the former officers’ mess at the Galeria Bałtycka end of Al. Żołnierzy Wyklętych (set to become a theatre); the Stary Maneż restaurant and concert venue, which was formerly the Manège (French for riding academy apparently) and the beautifully modernised building which today houses the Elixir bar/restaurant, the building which formerly was home to the garrison’s commanding officer.

Wrzeszcz: WHAT TO DO AND SEE

CHURCH OF THE SACRED HEART OF JESUS

Consecrated in April 1911 having taken under 2 years to build and designed as a basilica with a rib-like structure over the naves and with a steeple reaching 66 metres. From 1906 for nearly forty years the parish priest was Father Walter Wienke, who was the priest who christened Gunter Grass. The church was badly damaged during WWII and many records etc were lost.QF‐4, ul. ks. Józefa Zator Przytockiego 3, Gdańsk, tel. (+48) 58 341 01 41, www. nsjwrzeszcz.pl. Open 06:00 - 08:30, 18:30 - 20:00, Sun 06:30 - 14:00, 18:30 - 20:00.

ULICA WAJDELOTY

For many years the district of Wrzeszcz remained rather rundown with families having to live in poor conditions with shared toilet facilities, a fact which prompted Gunter Grass to object to a statue of himself being commissioned (his already created statue thus spent many years under dust sheets). Probably no other street in the district has the character and atmosphere of ulica Wajdeloty (formerly Marienstrasse) with its late 19th century tenements and even a manor house dating to Napoleonic times. With the introduction of traffic calming measures, the renovation of the old buildings, new pavements and cobbled street and the sprouting of cafes, bars and restaurants this is one of the newly fashionable streets in the city.QF‐4,

GDAŃSK UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY

This impressive building was built as a technical university (Technische Hochschule) by the Germans between 1900 and 1904 as Danzig was an important port city which required trained technicians plus it was also considered the perfect place to educate local Danzigers in a German atmosphere and to create a bastion of ‘Germaness’ in the east. The 200,000 m 3 development was opened in the presence of Kaiser Wilhelm II on the 6th of October 1904 and its official title was Königliche Preussische Technische Hochschule (Royal Prussian Techinical University). In 1945 it was turned into a field hospital of 3,000 beds and despite surviving most of the war unscathed, was severely damaged by the Red Army on their arrival when 60% of the buildings were destroyed including a valuable collection of books in the library.QH‐5, ul. Narutowicza 11/12, Gdańsk, tel. (+48) 58 347 11 00, www.pg.edu.pl.

NEW SYNAGOGUE

Built in 1927 by the Berlin architects Imberg and Friedman and opened formally with the bringing in of the Torah on September 25 of the same year, Gdańsk’s New Synagogue in the district of Wrzeszcz, was primarily used by Jewish refugees from Russia and Wielkopolska, but also served a small number of Gdańsk Jews as well. Damaged by guess who in 1938 the Jewish community sold the property to the city of Danzig in a bid to stave off further destruction. Although it was promptly turned into a furniture warehouse the ploy did save the building from the fiery fate suffered by most of the region’s synagogues. Amazingly the Torah scrolls survived the war and it was handed back to Gdańsk’s surviving Jewish population following the war. Today it serves as a base for the Jewish Community and along with a small prayer room, there is a small but fascinating exhibition dedicated to the history of Jews in 20th century Gdansk/Danzig. Officially open from 11:00 most days, you’ll probably have to bang hard on the door and ask to be let in.QG‐3, ul. Partyzantów 7, Gdańsk, tel. (+48) 58 344 06 02, gdansk.jewish.org.pl.