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Article: Glorious Gdansk.(Travel)
- Article from:
- The Washington Times (Washington, DC)
- Article date:
- April 26, 1998
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1998 News World Communications, Inc. 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)
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GDANSK, Poland - Virtually every landmark building and museum in this historic port was refurbished for last year's 1,000th birthday celebration. And surely Gdansk has a past to remember, if not always to celebrate.
From the mid-15th century to the 17th century when it was a Hanseatic port, it was one of the richest cities on the Baltic Sea. In this century, when it was the free city of Danzig, it was the place where, on Sept. 1, 1939, a German battleship opened fire and World War II began.
Three decades later, in December 1970, it was in Gdansk that the communist government slaughtered 27 shipyard workers in a protest over food shortages. That act ...