History

The timeline below presents the key events in the history of Gdańsk.

On the left there is a title and brief summary of the event, while on the right there is the year and the political entity that administered the city at that time. The length of the vertical line roughly corresponds to the duration between events.

• First record of GYDDANYZC
  997

  Mostly Pomerelian dukes
• City rights granted
  1263

  Pomerelian dukes
• Danzig massacre

  Teutonic Order helps to relieve Danzing from a siege, but the ally quickly turns into an enemy and takes over the city.
  1308

  Teutonic Order
• Battle of Grunwald

  Danzig pays homage to Polish King, but returns to Teutonic control a couple months after
  1410

  Teutonic Order
• Danzig rebellion

  Danzig rebels against the Teutonic Order and soon after supports Polish king in the Thirteen Years' War.
  1454

  Poland
• Second Partition of Poland

  The annexation of Polish territories by Russia and Prussia occurs as a result of the lost Russo-Polish war a year earlier. The citizens of Gdańsk try to resist the new Prussian authorities, but they are quickly suppressed.
  1793

  Prussia
• Siege of Danzig

  Napoleon's Grande Armee captures Danzig and establishes the Free City of Danzig as a semi-autonomous state under French protection.
  1807

  Free City (Napoleonic)
• Siege of Danzig

  The Siege of Danzig (1813-1814) ends with the surrender of the French garrison, and the city returns to Prussian rule.
  1814

  Prussia
• Unification of Germany

  King of Prussia is proclaimed German Emperor
  1871

  German Empire
• Weimar Republic is established

  The German Empire collapses in the aftermath of World War I
  1918

  Weimar Republic
• Treaty of Versailles

  After two years of debate over Danzig's fate, the Free City of Danzig is established. It is self-governing but placed under the protection of the League of Nations.
  1920

  Free City (Versailles)
• Invasion of Poland
  1939

  Nazi Germany
• Liberation of Danzig
  1945

  Poland

Old German street, district and valley names

Many of Gdańsk geographic features have old German names from the not-so-distant past when the city was mostly German-speaking. It's interesting to see some of them translated directly to current Polish names while others changed meaning completely. The map below shows old German names overlaying today's map of Gdańsk.