Top 10 unusual places to visit in Gdansk

Gdansk is a beautiful port town in Poland, which is full of various sights and great places to visit.

But, there are crowds of tourists near most of them, and some are completely unknown.

The unusual sights and places to visit in Gdansk, which are not so well known, will be discussed today.

Name of Gdansk

According to the most plausible theory, the city of Gdansk was named after a river called Gdania, a branch of Motława river, which still flows near the city.

Video about the main places to visit in Gdansk

Here is a great video about main attractions in Gdansk, after that I will tell you about some places in the city that are less popular, but not less interesting.

10 Unusual places to visit in Gdansk

Gradova Hill

The first little-known and unusual sight of Gdansk I will tell about, will be Gradowa hill in the east of the city, behind the railway station, also an interesting landmark, which I’ll talk about later.

Gradowa hill is 50 meters high, here in the 19th century a fort to protect Gdansk from the west was built. In the 20th century, it was called the Jerusalem Bastion. On the top of it, there is a large red cross, which was placed in 2000 and was called «millennial». At night, the cross is also illuminated.

On the hill, there are still various rooms that were used for military purposes, and now are museums of the activities that were conducted in them.

In addition to them, there is an interactive science center called Hawelianum Center, in honor of the famous Polish astronomer.

Gradowa hill is not only an interesting place to visit and an unusual sight of Gdansk, interesting for its historical past. It is also an excellent panoramic point from which you can see the whole city and maybe even the nearby Gdynia.

Basilica Mariacka

The second unusual place to visit in Gdansk is the Mariacka basilica, or the Church of St. Mary. This is a huge Gothic church in the center of Gdansk, which can fit up to 25,000 people, as well as the tallest building in the city. In addition, until 1945 it was the largest Lutheran church in the world.

From the city gates to the church leads the beautiful Mariacka Street, which is also in my list.

The church is very beautiful outside, but quite simple inside. In addition to watching it, you can climb to the very top of the church, from where you can see a beautiful panoramic view of other attractions of Gdansk. 409 steps lead to the very top of it, a real test for a traveler (but a great exercise for use before Norwegian mountains), but the sight is worth it.

It is interesting that despite the huge size of the structure, the observation deck of the Church of St. Mary is very small. A dozen of people could hardly fit there.

Official website of the basilica: http://bazylikamariacka.gdansk.pl/

Żuraw Crane

Another interesting sight of Gdansk that is unlikely to be seen in other Polish cities, but being one of the main attractions of Gdansk, is the Żuraw Crane.

The «Żuraw» crane is also an old gate to Gdansk, which was also used to lift cargo from ships. The port used to be in the historical center of Gdansk. Now, instead of cargo ships there are boats for tourist, about one of which I will tell you later.

Now, the port is located away from the center of Gdansk, thanks to which the city does not look as industrial as many other port cities.

The construction was built in the 15th century, but unfortunately, the original of the building has not survived to this day. Its wooden part was burned down in 1945, and then restored. To date, Żuraw Crane is a branch of the Maritime Museum of Gdansk.

The building looks inclined, as it consists of several floors, each of which was a warehouse with coils and 4 people lifting loads.

Official website: http://www.nmm.pl/zuraw

“Amber Sky” Ferris Wheel

This attraction is very close to the previous one, on the other side of the bay, but is much newer. The new wheel was built this year.

The Ferris wheel is now on the Warehouse Island and looks rather luxury.

The 50-meter structure rises near the historical center, so you can observe other sights of Gdansk from a height.

The place quickly became popular, the Ferris wheel even has its own page on Facebook with almost exclusively positive reviews.

European Solidarity Center

Another lesser-known place to visit in Gdansk is the European Solidarity Center. It was built in Gdansk, because it was here that the Solidarity oppositional movement began.

The center is both a museum and a library. Its unusual, kind of rusty appearance, was created to symbolize the hulls of ships built in the port of Gdansk.

Inside the building also looks unusual. There are trees growing here, and the interior color is amber-brown.

This museum is worth a visit to learn about the recent history of Poland.

Official website of the European Solidarity Center: http://www.ecs.gda.pl/

Museum of the Second World War in Gdansk

The next item in my list is another museum, museum of the Second World War. Unusual exterior design, as well as a lot of interesting historical information of the museum attracts many tourists.

It was opened only recently, on March 23, 2017. In addition to the permanent exhibition, temporary ones are held, and various scientific researches are carried out in the Second World War museum.

Official site of the museum: http://www.muzeum1939.pl/

Energa Stadium

Gdansk Energa Stadium, formerly known as the PGE Arena, is another unusual sight in the city. It is the home stadium of Gdansk football club «Lechia».

This stadium was built in 2011 before the European Football Championship held in Poland and Ukraine. Matches with the participation of Spain, Italy, Ireland, Croatia, Greece and Germany were held here.

The stadium is one of the most beautiful in Poland, outside it looks like created from a gold tile. In addition, it is the largest stadium in the Polish football major league. It can fit 44 thousand people. Another interesting place to visit in Gdansk.

Official site of the stadium: http://www.arenagdansk.com/

Train Station

To see one of Gdansk’s interesting sights, you do not need to go far from your train, it’s worth staying near the building of the train station itself, one of the most beautiful in Poland (and the 3rd one among those that I saw after Ghent in Belgium and New York, US ? ).

It was built in 1900. Before that, there was a small building serving the same purposes on its place.

Pirate ship

The pirate ship on the Gdansk embankment is one of the favorite touristic places to take pictures in Gdansk. Nearby, there are beautiful red houses in Dutch style, cozy cafes, on the other side of the bay there is the above-mentioned Ferris wheel. What place could be better for photography?!

The ship sails along the picturesque Gdansk Bay, and people on board sit at tables like in a restaurant. Near the ship, there is usually a man dressed as a pirate, inviting everyone to the deck. Excellent place to visit traveling to Gdansk. And, the prices do not bite at all. The trip costs 35 PLN (9 EUR) for an adult and 25 PLN (6 EUR) for a child.

Official site of the Pirate ship in Gdansk: http://www.statekpirat.pl

Mariacka Street

Gdansk can be proud not just of its great and unusual sights, but also its beautiful streets, which you want to walk along endlessly. Perhaps, the most beautiful, as well as not crowded with tourists, is the Mariacka street.

This street is in the old city center and leads from the promenade to the Mariacka Basilica. Unusually beautiful staircases with handrails lead to the entry of each house. In most of the buildings on Mariacka Street, there are galleries with amber, the trading value of which can be seen everywhere in Gdansk: both the Ferris wheel, numerous souvenirs, and even the color of some buildings. Mandatory stop for a tourist visiting Gdansk.

Check one-day trips from Gdansk

This was my list of 10 unusual places to visit in Gdansk. There are more of them, but these are the most interesting places that are worth visiting. You can also read about my 1 day in Gdansk and find out, what you should visit in this beautiful city having one day. Have a great trip!

Some pictures and information were taken from NaszeMiasto and Wikipedia websites.