LET'S EXPLORE POLAND

Copyright 1996 by the AngloPol Corporation

This series will take us through the cities, towns, villages and countryside of Poland, 
as well as give us insights into the rich history and culture of the nation.

Part 10

HANSEATIC TOWNS (Continued)

DARLOWO

The town of Darlowo remained in a close relationship with the Hansa since 1362. Situated on the Slovincian sea-coast, the town rapidly developed due to the vigorous trade with Scandinavia. The old town area is particularly attractive; on one side of it stands a 14th century St. Mary's Church with a 60 m high tower, its crypts contain a tomb of the last great Baltic Sea pirate, a notorious Duke of Pomerania, Erik, King of Denmark, Sweden and Norway. He lived out his last years of exile here and died in 1459. A castle from the 13th-14th centuries with a mighty gate tower and its own system of fortifications erected in the Wieprza river bifurcation reminds of both the times of the Baltic Sea pirates and the Hanseatic rule.

KOSZALIN

Another town on the Slovincian sea-coast is Koszalin, lying 10 kilometers inland. The population of this old Slav stronghold was Christianized during the reign of King Boleslaus the Brave. After joining the Hanseatic League, Koszalin soon became one of the most prosperous and powerful towns of Pomerania. Despite bad war time damage some medieval monuments remained. They include the Gothic Cathedral of St. Mary (14th century), which contains a Gothic 14th century cross, some late-Gothic sculptures of saints and an early-Gothic font. An octagonal Gothic chapel of St. Gertrude was erected in 1383 for the population of the town's outskirts. Visitors can also admire the fragments of defensive walls, old burgher houses, and a reconstructed headsman's house (18th century) which now harbors the "Dialog" Theater.

SLAWNO

The Hanseatic route brings us to Slawno, a small town situated 30 kilometers east of Koszalin, at the mouth of River Moszczenica which is a tributary of River Wieprza. Much destroyed during World War II, Slawno was carefully reconstructed. The historical buildings of Slawno include a Gothic St. Mary's Church from the 15th century with a big tower reconstructed after the last war and two town gates, Slupska and Koszalinska, from the 15th century. Numerous burgher houses in the market place testify to Slawno's former prosperity: it was famous for its linen trade.

SLUPSK

Slupsk lies in the mid-way between Kolobrzeg and Gdansk. Although the town is not sited directly on the sea-coast, it played an important role as a member of the Hansa, too. The local burghers were actively engaged in the maritime trade using for that purpose their own port of Ustka. Slupsk was very well-known for its locally manufactured goods, especially made of amber.

The town's defensive walls from the 15th century can still be seen along the banks of River Slupia. The Witches' Tower is particularly interesting--its top is decorated with a picture of a witch riding its broom. Architecturally interesting is the Gothic ducal castle founded by Duke Boguslaus X in the early 14th century. Today the castle shelters a Museum of Central Pomerania and hosts festivals of Polish piano music.

ELBLAG

The Hanseatic town of Elblag is found close to the Wisla Lagoon; it was established in the vicinity of the old Prussian port of Truso, at the foot of a castle built by the Teutonic Knights. The urban rights were granted to the settlement lying under the castle walls in 1246. The town rapidly developed due to its convenient situation in the Wisla river basin. Elblag handled much of the Polish grain and forest products trade thanks to its natural links with the Polish provinces, especially with those of Mazowsze and Chelmno. Economic development of the region was so effective that the Teutonic Knights established a so-called New City of Elblag outside the old city walls. In the 15th century two new town quarters were founded, Mlynskie and Malborskie, and a separate quarter of granaries, later called the Island of Granaries. Getting under Poland's sovereignty in 1466, Elblag was granted a right to possess its own land estates.

The characteristic feature of the present Elblag's old town urban layout is its historical street pattern: they cross each other perpendicularly. The Elblag townspeople pulled down the Teutonic Knights' castle in 1454; a spared part of it houses a museum now. An interesting Holy Ghost monastery complex erected in the late 13th century is the seat of the voivodship library today. Worth a visit are the former Dominican church, now an "EL" art gallery, and St. Nicholas' Church, the oldest building in the old town area. The Elblag's beautiful Baiantarnia park, crossed by numerous streams, is the favorite recreation area for the city's inhabitants.

BRANIEW

Belonging to the group of less important Hanseatic towns is Braniew, although it is sited upon River Pasleka, near the Wisla Lagoon. Formerly the area hosted an old Prussian stronghold, later on it became a seat of the Warmia bishops. The trade started to develop in 1342, after the foundation of the so-called New Town on the right bank of River Pasleka. It handled grain trade in the area and rivaled Frombork. The town, has a Gothic St. Catherine's parish church (14th century), fragments of medieval defensive city walls with turrets and the Duke's Tower, as well as the remains of the former bishops' castle.

CHELMNO

Chelmno is one of those Hanseatic inland towns on the Polish territories that is surely worth a visit. In the 14th century, this capital of the Chelmno Province and a member of the Hanseatic League became famous for its excellent handicrafts, especially for its woollen cloth of good quality. Chelmno was also an important center of grain trade thanks to the local fertile soils.

Visitors can stroll along medieval streets admiring a number of monuments including a late Renaissance town hall and long sections of defensive city walls from the 13th-14th centuries. They may enter numerous churches such as the hall-shaped Franciscan church, a Gothic Dominican church, another Gothic church of St. Mary, and the Cisterician nuns church and convent.

TURON

Turon joined the Hanseatic League around 1280. The town quickly developed handling much of the trade of Poland`s goods and crops rafted down the Wisla river towards Gdansk. In the 14th century Torun rivaled Gdansk as an important trading center of the Baltic Sea and Central Europe. It thrived with business activities directly cooperating with Bremen and Lubeck, controlling the main trading routes to Gniezno, Poznan, Krakow, and farther on to Silesia, Hungary and Ruthenia. In the mid-14th century Torun numbered ten thousand inhabitants and was one of the largest agglomerations in medieval Europe.

The architectural monuments of contemporary Torun bear the best witness to the city's past glory. They include the Old Town and New Town Market Squares, the Town Hall, St. John's Church, with chapels and star-like vaulting, St. James' Church, and the whole urban layout of the town's center which dates back to the 14th century. In the Hanseatic period Torun was an important cultural center, too. It attracted painters, wood-carvers and artists making splendid stained-glass panels. The best representative of Torun's rich scientific life is Nicolaus Copernicus, the world-famed astronomer who was born and educated in Torun.

WROCLAW

Wroclaw was also an important member of the Hanseatic League, although it does not exclusively owe its European career to the union. This old Slav stronghold, a capital city of Lower Silesia, was an administrative and cultural center whose influence reached far beyond the boundaries of the region. Its economic development was due to its propitious situation at the crossroads of the trading routes leading from the North to the South and from the West to the East. In the 14th and 15th centuries Wroclaw was one of the biggest cities of Central and Eastern Europe. The majority of its sacral and lay buildings were erected at that time. Some of them have been preserved until the present day. Wroclaw's late medieval Town Hall is considered to be one of Europe's most beautiful buildings of that type. The burgher houses in the Old Town area and the sacral and defensive complex of churches and other buildings on the Ostrow Tumski island belong to the vestiges of the past that are simply a must on any visitor's list.

KRAKOW

Krakow holds a special place among the Polish towns which were members of the Hanseatic league. The splendor it enjoyed in the late medieval period was not only due to its membership in the union--Krakow of that time was above all the capital and the main administrative center of Poland. However, as a Hanseatic town, Krakow could participate in the European trade exchange and let its own burghers prosper.

Economic development of the city allowed for the construction of its magnificent Old Town with Market Square, where stand the Cloth Hall and St. Mary's Church, captivating any visitor's attention with their exceptional beauty. St. Mary's Church interior decorations include one of the jewels of medieval wood-carving--the altarpiece by Wit Stwosz.

It is difficult to say which of the medieval monuments of Krakow are more beautiful and noteworthy--those of the Old Town erected by the town's burghers or the Royal Castle of Wawel, Poland's most majestic castle complex. This way or another, Krakow is definitely one of Europe's most beautiful towns, and almost every single house and square within its historical boundaries is of particular value for both Polish and world's cultures. It was justly confirmed by the UNESCO which put Krakow's Old Town with Kazimierz and Stradom quarters on its list of the world's cultural heritage.

Many traces of the Hanseatic period have remained. Admiring them may become a fascinating adventure and unforgettable experience for those tourists who are interested in the European culture. It may also be an opportunity to visit unique monuments, in many cases almost unspoiled by the passage of time.