Wrzeszcz
Encyclopedia
Wrzeszcz is one of the boroughs of the Northern Polish
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
city of Gdańsk
Gdansk
Gdańsk is a Polish city on the Baltic coast, at the centre of the country's fourth-largest metropolitan area.The city lies on the southern edge of Gdańsk Bay , in a conurbation with the city of Gdynia, spa town of Sopot, and suburban communities, which together form a metropolitan area called the...
. With a population of more than 65,000 in an area of 9.9 km² (population density 6,622), Wrzeszcz is the most populous part of Gdańsk.
History
The current name Wrzeszcz comes from the old name of the area – Wrzost, which derives from wrzos, a Polish word for heatherEricaceae
The Ericaceae, commonly known as the heath or heather family, is a group of mostly calcifuge flowering plants. The family is large, with roughly 4000 species spread across 126 genera, making it the 14th most speciose family of flowering plants...
. The area of modern Wrzeszcz used to be forest and fields of heather.
Historical sources mention Vriezst in 1263 AD and Vriest 1283 as a place of a mill and by the end of the 13th century the Cistercian Monks of Oliwa
Oliwa
Oliwa, also Oliva is one of the quarters of Gdańsk. From east it borders Przymorze and Żabianka, from the north Sopot and from the south with the districts of Strzyża, VII Dwór and Brętowo, while from the west with Matarnia and Osowa...
owned four or five water mills on the Strieß (Strzyża
Strzyza
Strzyza is one of the quarters of the city of Gdańsk, Poland, named after a creek. It is a part of the Wrzeszcz borough. Most of it is covered by small family houses.-External links:*...
), the creek running through Wrzeszcz. Vriest is Low German as well as Dutch language word meaning frost.
In 1412 AD, this suburban village was granted to Danzig city councillor Gerd von der Beke, an ally of the Teutonic Knights
Teutonic Knights
The Order of Brothers of the German House of Saint Mary in Jerusalem , commonly the Teutonic Order , is a German medieval military order, in modern times a purely religious Catholic order...
. The place was known as Langfuhr in German language.
Early area landowners included the Bischof
Bischof
Bischof is a surname, and may refer to:* Gustav Bischof, German chemist* Hugo Bischof , German politician* Norbert Bischof , psychologist* Frank-Peter Bischof , German canoeist* Werner Bischof , Swiss photographer...
family, who held the increasingly residential settlement in the late 16th century and early 17th century, and the Köhne family, which started acquiring possessions in the Langfuhr area in 1616 AD. Danzig patrician Zacharias Zappio acquired most of the land between today's Slowackiego and Do Studzienki streets and built a palace there. When King John III Sobieski
John III Sobieski
John III Sobieski was one of the most notable monarchs of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, from 1674 until his death King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania. Sobieski's 22-year-reign was marked by a period of the Commonwealth's stabilization, much needed after the turmoil of the Deluge and...
visited the palace in 1677 AD, the little valley where the palace was located was renamed Königstal (Dolina Krolewska), or King's Valley, to commemorate the occasion. Strictly speaking, in the 17th century the name Langfuhr referred only to a small market square, 130 m by 35 m, on what today is known as Aleja Grunwaldzka (Grunwald
Grunwald
Grunwald may refer to:* Battle of Grunwald, a decisive battle fought in 1410 in what is now northern Poland* Grunwald, Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship, a village near the site of the battle* Gmina Grunwald, a municipality containing the village of Grunwald...
Avenue).
Mayor
In many countries, a Mayor is the highest ranking officer in the municipal government of a town or a large urban city....
Daniel Gralath
Daniel Gralath
Daniel Gralath was a German physicist and Bürgermeister of Danzig.Gralath was born in Danzig in Poland of a well-to-do trade family. He had studied law and philosophy in Halle, then in Leyden and Marburg from 1728 to 1734. Later he became Ratsherr and, in 1763, Bürgermeister of Danzig...
made a personal project of turning the two kilometers of old road between Langfuhr and Danzig proper into the four-lane, tree-lined Grand Avenue, as it was then renamed. Each lane of the avenue was lined by 350 trees imported from the Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
, and the entire cost of the project was the immense sum (for the time) of 100,000 guilders.
In the 18th century, residential construction aimed at the wealthy city folk took precedence. The erected residences were mostly classical style with beautiful gardens and the obligatory tree-lined driveways. By 1804, Langfuhr had about 900 residents, most of them working in breweries, distilleries, retailers, and factories making a kind of ash used to bleach cloth.
On 6 December 1807, under French occupation, the Danzig-Prussian convention made the town part of the Free City of Danzig (Napoleonic)
Free City of Danzig (Napoleonic)
The Free City of Danzig, sometimes referred to as the Republic of Danzig, was a semi-independent state established by Napoleon on September 9, 1807, during the time of the Napoleonic Wars following the capture of the city in the siege of Danzig in May...
. After the Congress of Vienna of 1814/5, Danzig was reincorporated into Prussia
Prussia
Prussia was a German kingdom and historic state originating out of the Duchy of Prussia and the Margraviate of Brandenburg. For centuries, the House of Hohenzollern ruled Prussia, successfully expanding its size by way of an unusually well-organized and effective army. Prussia shaped the history...
.
From the mid-19th century onwards, Langfuhr grew to become a fashionable and wealthy borough with beautifully decorated city villas for wealthier residents and even spacious accommodation for local labourers. In 1872, Langfuhr was joined to Danzig by a horse-drawn tram
Tram
A tram is a passenger rail vehicle which runs on tracks along public urban streets and also sometimes on separate rights of way. It may also run between cities and/or towns , and/or partially grade separated even in the cities...
along the Grand Avenue.
In 1904, the Königliche Technische Hochschule zu Danzig
Gdansk University of Technology
The Gdańsk University of Technology is a technical university in Gdańsk-Wrzeszcz, and one of the oldest universities in Poland. It has nine faculties and more than 24 thousand undergraduate, as well as about 400 doctoral students...
Grand Hall was built, soon followed by the city hospital, which is now the medical academy.
Until 1919 Langfuhr was the garrison of the 1st Life Hussar Regiment (since 1901 Brigade) with large barracks built in the 1890s. In 1910 the first airfield of Danzig was established on the hussar's parade ground. After World War I Erhard Milch
Erhard Milch
Erhard Milch was a German Field Marshal who oversaw the development of the Luftwaffe as part of the re-armament of Germany following World War I, and served as founding Director of Deutsche Luft Hansa...
's "Danziger Luftpost GmbH" (Danzig Airmail) and the "Lloyd Ostflug" were located at Langfuhr.
Effects of World War II
After World War IIWorld War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
the town was put under Polish administration according to the Potsdam Conference
Potsdam Conference
The Potsdam Conference was held at Cecilienhof, the home of Crown Prince Wilhelm Hohenzollern, in Potsdam, occupied Germany, from 16 July to 2 August 1945. Participants were the Soviet Union, the United Kingdom, and the United States...
and renamed to the Polish Wrzeszcz. Its German inhabitants either fled before the advancing Red Army or were expelled
Expulsion of Germans after World War II
The later stages of World War II, and the period after the end of that war, saw the forced migration of millions of German nationals and ethnic Germans from various European states and territories, mostly into the areas which would become post-war Germany and post-war Austria...
. The renaming was based on medieval records but caused the protests of the arriving Polish settlers as it was regarded unpronounceable and has a similarity to the Polish term "wrzeszczec" (bellow). The preservation of its German history had low priority. Owners were evicted and their houses separated into tiny apartments which were then leased to people.
Buildings that survived in good repair include the consulates of Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
, and several other countries.
Present
The airport was replaced by the Gdańsk Lech Wałęsa Airport in 1974 and large housing complexes have been built on the former airport area.The borough is now developing rapidly. A great deal of commercial activity (particularly banking and shopping) now takes place in Wrzeszcz. A number of international firms such as Citibank
Citibank
Citibank, a major international bank, is the consumer banking arm of financial services giant Citigroup. Citibank was founded in 1812 as the City Bank of New York, later First National City Bank of New York...
, ING Bank, Fortis Bank, and Shell have chosen to locate their offices there rather than in the Gdansk city center, large shopping centers such as Galeria Bałtycka and Centrum Handlowe Manhattan are opening along Grunwaldzka Street, and extensive military properties have been sold to housing developers.
Famous people
- German author Günter GrassGünter GrassGünter Wilhelm Grass is a Nobel Prize-winning German author, poet, playwright, sculptor and artist.He was born in the Free City of Danzig...
was born in 1927 when the area, part of the Free City of DanzigFree City of DanzigThe Free City of Danzig was a semi-autonomous city-state that existed between 1920 and 1939, consisting of the Baltic Sea port of Danzig and surrounding areas....
, still retained its German name, Langfuhr. It is the setting of two of his early novels of the Danziger Trilogie, "The Tin DrumThe Tin DrumThe Tin Drum is a 1959 novel by Günter Grass. The novel is the first book of Grass's .- Plot summary :The story revolves around the life of Oskar Matzerath, as narrated by himself when confined in a mental hospital during the years 1952-1954...
" (1959) and "Dog Years" (1963). - Polish priest Bronisław Komorowski (1889-1940), leader of Polish community in Free City of Danzig, murdered by Germans in Stutthof concentration campStutthof concentration campStutthof was the first Nazi concentration camp built outside of 1937 German borders.Completed on September 2, 1939, it was located in a secluded, wet, and wooded area west of the small town of Sztutowo . The town is located in the former territory of the Free City of Danzig, 34 km east of...
during World War IIWorld War IIWorld War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis... - Hermann BalckHermann BalckHermann Balck was a career German army officer who served in both World War I and World War II, rising to the rank of General der Panzertruppe. He was a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves, Swords and Diamonds...
(1893–1982), general - German actors Eddi ArentEddi ArentEddi Arent is a German actor, cabaret artist and comedian. He has appeared in nearly 100 films since 1956.He was born in Danzig, Free City of Danzig, today Poland.-Selected filmography:...
(* 1925) and Wolfgang VölzWolfgang VölzWolfgang Völz is a German actor. He is known for his roles in theatre plays, feature films Wolfgang Völz (* 16 August 1930 in Danzig) is a German actor. He is known for his roles in theatre plays, feature films Wolfgang Völz (* 16 August 1930 in Danzig) is a German actor. He is known for his roles...
(* 1930) were born in the same house in Langfuhr.
Points of interest
- Technical University of Gdansk
- Medical University of Gdańsk
- Opera Bałtycka Opera Bałtycka
- Centrum Handlowe Manhattan shopping center
- Galeria Bałtycka shopping center
- Gdańsk Wrzeszcz (PKP station)Gdansk Wrzeszcz (PKP station)Gdańsk Wrzeszcz is a railway station in Gdańsk, Poland. The station is localised in the Wrzeszcz quarter of the city.-General information:The station operates two platforms, of which one is operating as the SKM stop Gdańsk Wrzeszcz. Access to the platforms is made through two underground passages....
Train station - Forest Theatre (Teatr Leśny)
- Johannes Gutenberg monument, founded 22 June 1890 at Gutenberghain http://sabaoth.infoserve.pl/danzig-online/post/langfuhr/wrzeszcze4.html
- New Synagogue