|
|
Article: Gdansk, top of the Hanseatic League; The Baltic merchants' city bombed so badly that bricks melted is buzzing again.(Features)
- Article from:
- The Mail on Sunday (London, England)
- Article date:
- September 13, 2009
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2009 Solo Syndication Limited. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
|
Byline: Dymphna Byrne
IT HAS it all - a tumultuous 1,000-year history with warring kings and Teutonic Knights, some superb buildings and one of the Baltic's best sandy beaches on its doorstep. In the 16th Century, Gdansk, a member of the Hanseatic League, one of the most powerful trading clubs in Europe, was 'the biggest, the mightiest and the most stubborn city in Poland'.
Four centuries later, it was again mighty and celebrated throughout Europe. In June 1989, non-communists standing in the general election for the first time swept to victory.
Solidarity, the independent trade union formed in the Gdansk shipyards with Lech Walesa as its ...