Culture of Gdansk. Places to visit - old town, temples, theaters, museums and palaces

» St. Mary’s Church, also known as the Basilica of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, had been built for 160 years (1343-1502). The church building is huge. The inside area is 190,000 square metres. It can fit 25,000 people. The temple is the second-largest by area, the first being the cathedral in Cologne.
»  Although the strict, dark-brick building has rather a gloomy appearance, it’s bright and spacious inside. Tall, slender columns go up to the vaulted ceiling.
»  During wartime, the main relics of the basilica were hidden in different parts of the city. During the restoration of the damaged building, they were brought back to their places.
»  The main valuables found in the basilica are an elegant altar (1510-1517) made by German architect Michael Schwartz, a statue of the Virgin Mary (1410), triptych The Last Judgment (1472) painted by medieval artist Hans Memling. Today, the temple possesses a good copy of the painting, while the original is kept in the National Museum in Gdańsk.
»  St. Mary’s Church is also famous for another unique rarity. It is a clock mechanism (1464-1470) displaying dates and lunar phases on the dial. Besides, at noon, it’s demonstrating the figures of the twelve apostles, three kings, Adam and Eve, and the symbol of death – as a reminder of the transience of life.
»  Visitors and tourists can climb 400 steps to the top of the bell tower to relish the view of the city.

» The Oliwa Cathedral dedicated to the Holy Trinity, Blessed Virgin Mary, and St. Bernard was part of the monastery founded by Cistercian monks in 1186. It was often robbed and set on fire by the Prussians.
»  In 1350, a new stone cathedral was built. It was considered the major one in Pomerania. Local noble people were buried here.
»  Its size makes it the longest cathedral in the world. The facade of the church is made up of two high thin towers, between which there is a strict 1688 portal.
»  Inside, the church is decorated with 23 marble altars. The main one was made in 1605. 83 years later, it was replaced by another one.
»  The church has another valuable – an old organ (1763-1788) made by monk Johann Wulff. It consists of 7,896 pipes and 110 registers.
»  It has a distinctive feature: when it plays, the cherubic figures adorning the organ begin to move. The organ can play the murmur of water, human voices, and animal sounds. Since 1957, the Oliwa Cathedral has hosted the International Organ Music Festival, which the best organists take part in.
»  The cathedral has a museum exhibiting religious objects of the 14th-16th centuries.

» St. Catherine’s Church was built during the reign of King Casimir the Great. In 1363, the building was expanded.
»  It was partly designed by artists Anton Möller, who painted several pictures (1585-1587) for the main altar, and Isaak van den Blocke, who presented the cathedral with a series of paintings (1611-1614). They had been preserved until 1945, when the altar burnt down during battles.
»  Johannes Hevelius, the famous Polish astronomer, was buried in the church in 1687. He designed telescopes and was the first to create a map of the moon.
»  In 2006, the church was caught on fire, which damaged the inside of the church badly. Besides, the roof and bell tower collapsed. The church is still being restored today.
»  Nowadays, there’s a branch of the city’s Historical Museum inside the church.

» The National Museum is located in the old Franciscan monastery (1422-1522). The museum’s collection consists of art objects granted by noble families from Gdansk and Pomerania.
»  For example, there’s Jacob Kabrun’s (1759-1814) collection bequeathed to the city. It had thousands of paintings, prints, and drawings by European artists of the 15th to 19th centuries.
»  There is also a collection of paintings by Gdansk artist Anton Möller (1563-1611).
»  The Last Judgment, a triptych by Hans Memling (approx. 1472), which originally adorned the altar in St. Mary’s Church, returned to the Gdansk Museum only in the 1950s. First, the French stole the triptych and sent it to the Louvre; during the German occupation, it ended up in Germany; then it was taken away to the Soviet Union, where it was kept in the Hermitage until it was brought back to its homeland.
»  The museum has seven sections – from ancient to modern art – displaying paintings, ceramics, and sculptures.

» The Amber Museum was opened not so long ago, in 2006. It is located in an old fortress. It served as medieval jail once.
»  The first exhibition stands the visitors see displays pieces of rough amber found at different times. It is a natural material of different colors. Some exhibits include pieces of insects and plants.
»  Then, the visitors enter the hall that houses old amber items made by masters of that time (crockery, caskets, and accessories).
»  As for contemporary exhibits, you can see fashionable jewels, stylish accessories, and other unique items.
»  The last exclusive exhibit is the inclusion of a lizard in the amber gum. It was found by a local resident in 1997 at the beach. It is named “Gierłowska Lizard” after Gabriela Gierlowska, an amber master. It is a rare specimen, the first in Poland and the second in the world.