PastVu Series #2: Gdańsk, Poland
After exploring Russia’s Valaam in a similar post, I have decided to make this a short series using PastVu, turning my attention to Gdańsk, Poland.
Gdańsk, with its layered history and striking contrasts, is a natural fit for the kind of visual time travel I've been exploring. Using the PastVu platform to locate archival images, I recently visited these locations to see what has endured, what has changed, and what those transformations can tell us. Today, the city is filled with tourists and vibrant architecture, making it easy to forget that Gdańsk has lived through destruction and rebirth more than once. Its streets bear the marks of each chapter, and it will tell you a story if you look. This project is not only about capturing those visual shifts but also about understanding the deeper story they reveal.
A Brief History
Gdańsk's origins date back to the early Middle Ages. By 1224, it had received town rights and soon grew into a key trade center. The Teutonic Knights seized the city in 1308, bringing Germanic cultural influence. In 1454, during the Thirteen Years' War, Gdańsk rejoined the Polish state. The 16th and early 17th centuries marked Gdańsk's golden age. As the wealthiest city in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, it dominated grain exports and became a major European port.
In the 18th century, the First Partition of Poland resulted in Gdańsk being placed under Prussian control. Briefly a Free City under Napoleon, it was absorbed into the German Empire by 1871. From this period onward, the city became widely known by its German name, Danzig. At the same time, Poles continued to refer to it as Gdańsk, a reflection of the city's dual identity and contested heritage. By the late 19th century, it had become a provincial German port with significant growth in shipbuilding and industrial activity.
After World War I, the Treaty of Versailles established the Free City of Danzig as a city-state under the supervision of the League of Nations. The Free City was not a traditional protectorate but a semi-autonomous entity formally independent of both Germany and Poland. However, Poland was granted significant economic rights. On September 1, 1939, World War II began in Gdańsk with the German attack on Westerplatte. Nazi Germany soon annexed Danzig, and its Polish minority faced brutal persecution. By 1945, the Soviet siege of Gdańsk left the city in ruins.
Postwar debates over rebuilding led to a consensus by 1947 to restore the historic core with an emphasis on Polish heritage. Key buildings were reconstructed in styles reflecting the city's earlier pre-German character, creating a symbolic rebirth of Gdańsk as a proud Polish Baltic city.
By the 1970s and 1980s, Gdańsk was a central industrial hub and the birthplace of the solidarity movement. It became central to Poland's efforts to establish democracy.
The Research Society and the Observatory
Separated by more than 80 years, these two images capture the same street. In the first, taken between 1939 and 1940, the observatory tower of the former Danzig Research Society rises at the end of a narrow, shadowed alleyway. The surrounding buildings press in closely, their aging facades framing the tower like a hidden relic tucked deep within the city. The tram tracks set into the cobblestones hint at the rhythm of daily life before the reality of war disrupted it. In the years that followed, much of this area was damaged or destroyed during the heavy fighting and bombardment that engulfed the city in the final stages of World War II.
In the present-day photo, taken from nearly the same vantage point, the tower still stands, but the city around it has opened up. Now part of the Archaeological Museum in Gdańsk, the reconstructed building and observatory tower were carefully rebuilt in the postwar years to honor the architectural heritage that was nearly lost. The buildings that once lined the right side of the alley are gone due to the cost of conflict, replaced by a small park and café seating. This shift dramatically changes the feel of the space. Light fills the frame, and trees soften the once-severe geometry of stone and brick. While the observatory tower remains the visual anchor, the scene today tells a different story. It speaks to how cities adapt and reinterpret their histories over time.
Motława River and Embankment
Seen side by side, these two images of the Motława River, one from the 1860s and the other from 2025, tell a story of endurance, transformation, and the city's deep connection to water. In the 19th-century photograph, the waterfront is a tightly packed working harbor, with masts rising where modern pedestrians now stroll. The Danzig Research Society building and observatory tower stood prominently even then, nestled among dense, angular rooftops. At the same time, the medieval Old Crane Gate dominates the right side of the frame. In this era, Gdańsk was a bustling port in the Kingdom of Prussia, a vital node in the Baltic maritime trade. The river was lined with warehouses, shipyards, and merchant activity.
The 2025 image captures a waterfront reborn. Some of the architectural landmarks remain, carefully restored after wartime devastation, but the setting has been dramatically reimagined. What was once a site of labor is now a place of leisure. The embankment is open and sunlit, drawing locals and tourists to its cafes and walkways. The original image is moody and packed with purpose, while the modern one breathes with light and movement. Gdańsk has preserved its architectural memory but reshaped its relationship to the river, turning a historic lifeline into a living, open-air gallery.
City Hall Clock Tower
These two photographs, taken from the tower of St. Mary's Basilica, offer a striking perspective on the city's changing face over nearly a century. In the first image, captured between 1939 and 1940, the old Main Town Hall's clock tower dominates the frame, its gothic silhouette rising over a sea of steeply pitched rooftops and dense urban fabric. Beyond the tower, rows of gabled granaries line the waterfront of the Motława River. The photo captures a town frozen in time before the ravages of wartime. There is a certain stillness to the scene. Although the city remains intact, the looming finality of war will soon alter this landscape dramatically.
In my 2025 photograph, the same clock tower stands tall, now restored with a brilliant copper-green and intricate gold accents that catch the sunlight. The surrounding area has changed considerably. Many of the granaries along the riverbank remain, some of which have been restored. At the same time, modern residential and commercial buildings have filled the skyline behind them. Red-roofed townhouses and green tree canopies soften the urban density of the foreground, creating a more balanced and livable atmosphere. Where the older photo feels heavy with history and formality, the modern image conveys vitality and openness. The composition remains rooted in the city's past. Still, the new elements reveal how Gdańsk has embraced both preservation and growth, telling a story of resilience through design and time.
The Great Armory
These photos of the Great Armory tell a powerful story of devastation and revival. In the older photo, taken sometime between 1945 and 1953, the building stands partially in ruins, its intricate facade surrounded by scaffolding, debris, and workers laboring among piles of stone and timber. Horses pull carts through what was once a grand plaza, now transformed into a construction site. The image captures the city in a moment of resilience as Gdańsk began the long and careful process of rebuilding after the widespread destruction of World War II.
In contrast, the 2025 photo shows the Armory fully restored, its red and white details gleaming in the afternoon sun, with every statue and tower brought back to life. The square is now clean, calm, and alive with pedestrians, framed by cafes and the rhythm of everyday city life. The first image conveys grit and determination, depicting a city rising from the rubble. The second captures the result of that effort, a scene filled with color, symmetry, and a sense of wholeness. It serves as a reminder of how photography can preserve not just what is beautiful but also what it took to achieve it.
The Upland Gate
Here we have two images of the city's Upland Gate, taken nearly 150 years apart, that offer a vivid reflection of how time reshapes both architecture and the way we move through urban space. In the 1876 photograph, the gate appears monumental and imposing, fronted by a wooden bridge that spans a deep defensive trench. The scene is quiet and sparse, with only a few figures visible, giving the gate an air of solemn formality. Built in the late 16th century, the Upland Gate once served as the entrance to the city, part of a larger system of walls and fortifications that signaled Gdańsk's importance and independence. Its stone carvings and sculptures were already prominent then, presenting symbols of power and identity to all who passed through.
In the newer picture, the same gate still stands proudly, but its surroundings have undergone dramatic changes. The wooden bridge is gone, replaced by a modern road bustling with life. The trench that it once crossed now contains an underground walkway that connects to the plaza on the other side of the road from the gate. Pedestrians move freely around the gate, often unaware that it was once a guarded entry point. Today, the gate no longer serves a defensive role. Instead, it houses a visitor center and gift shop separated from the outside by modern glass doors and windows, welcoming rather than warning those who pass beneath its arches. The transformation from the fortified gateway to a tourist-friendly landmark is striking. The contrast between the stillness of the past and the motion of the present reveals how spaces evolve while still retaining their historical roots.
Mariacka Street and St. Mary's Gate
These photographs of Mariacka Street, both looking toward St. Mary's Gate, capture a transformation in the mood and rhythm of this historic street. In the picture taken sometime between 1939 and 1940, the scene feels quiet and shaded, with large trees casting dappled light over the cobblestones. The street is lined with decorative staircases and stone details, giving it a stately, almost private feel. At that time, Mariacka was a more residential area tucked away from the busier parts of the city, with the gate serving as both an entrance and a protective boundary.
In the modern photograph, the atmosphere is entirely different. The trees are gone, and sunlight floods the street, bringing every surface and detail into sharp relief. The once-quiet lane is now filled with visitors, market stalls, and displays of amber jewelry, turning the space into a lively open-air gallery. Some of the same stone elements remain, but now they are part of the charm that draws people to the street.
St. Mary's Gate, fully restored, still anchors the end of the street. It now feels like a backdrop to the activity happening around it. The space has shifted from a quiet corner of the city to one of its most vibrant and photographed destinations, showing how time can turn a place of passage into a place where people choose to linger.
Długa
Taken 82 years apart, these shots of Długa Street illustrate how one of the city's most iconic thoroughfares has evolved from a war-era street into a vibrant pedestrian hub. In the 1943 photograph, the scene feels tense and shadowed. The street is lined with darkened shopfronts, and tram tracks run down the center, hinting at a time when the city was still functioning under wartime pressure. People appear as silhouettes, walking with purpose under the weight of uncertainty. At the end of the street stands the Main Town Hall, its towering spire rising above, a structure that dates back to the 14th century and has long served as a symbol of the city's civic pride and resilience.
In my later image, that same street is transformed. The tracks are gone, replaced by clean stonework and open walkways filled with life. Cafes spill onto the sidewalks, offering outdoor seating, and the crowd is relaxed, comprising both locals and visitors. The atmosphere is warm and colorful, with flags and shop signs decorating the facades. The Town Hall still commands the view at the end of the street, now fully restored, its clock and tower gleaming against a bright blue sky. What once looked like a corridor of shadows now feels open, welcoming, and alive. These changes reflect urban design but also a more profound shift in how the city has reclaimed its spaces and turned a historic route into a place for gathering, memory, and everyday joy.
Conclusion
Exploring Gdańsk through PastVu brought the city's layered history into sharp focus, transforming familiar streets into stories waiting to be uncovered. Photography in this context becomes more than mere documentation; it becomes a way of seeing time, space, and memory converge. Gdańsk's resilience, beauty, and complexity come alive in these comparisons as the city tells its story. I recommend putting the city on your travel list. Exploring these spaces through photographs is great, but being there is the experience.
If you are interested in using photography to explore history, I recommend spending time on PastVu. It is an outstanding resource for uncovering visual connections to the past. Once again, explore the work of Ilya Varlamov and Alexey Duk. Their efforts, along with the contributions of so many others, make this kind of historical storytelling accessible, engaging, educational, and advantageous.
Sources:
“A History of the Free City of Danzig (Now Gdansk),” thecollector.com, 2024
“A Walk Around Gdańsk for Physicists,” Andrzej Januszajtis, 2011.
“Gdańsk History,” inyourpocket.com, n.d.
“Gdańsk - Town Hall,” medievalheritage.eu, n.d.
“Gdańsk: Ulica Długa (Long Street),” gpsmycity.com, n.d.
“Gdańsk after the Post-War Reconstruction,” transparentcities.in.ua, 2022.
“Medieval Gdańsk,” Medievalists.net, 2010.
“Mariacka Street,” findingpoland.com, 2024.
“Partitioning of Poland,” ebsco.com, 2023.
“PastVu,” PastVu, n.d.
“Poland’s Solidarity Movement: 1980–1989,” Maciej Bartkowski, 2019.
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“The role of Riga, Königsberg, and Gdansk in the trade of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania,” ldkistorija.lt, n.d.
“St. Mary's Gate: A Portal to Gdańsk's Rich History,” evendo.com, n.d.
“Section XI.—Free City of Danzig (Art. 100 to 108),” history.state.gov, n.d.
“The Great Armoury,” zabytek.pl, n.d.
“The Upland Gate,” zabytek.pl, n.d.