- Roman fountains, Dutch architecture, Teutonic Knights, little churches in front of big churches, and one royal road.

Today, we're taking you to get curious about Gdansk, Poland.

(upbeat music) (upbeat music continues) "Curious Traveler" is made possible by the following.

(train rumbling) (call button ringing) (upbeat music) (bright music) This Polish city was shaped by the water.

As a thriving medieval trading port, it was influenced by the nations that it traded with, especially the Netherlands and Germany.

And then, thanks to the Age of Enlightenment, we also get these wonderful touches of Ancient Rome and Ancient Greece here.

(speaking foreign language) To Gdansk!

(tense music) The Baltic port city of Gdansk is in Northern Poland on the edge of the Gulf of Gdansk and the Baltic Sea, and at the mouth of the Vistula River.

All this water helped to shape its history.

It was founded by Mieszko I in the 10th century, making it one of the oldest cities in all of Poland.

By the 13th century, it was an important trading center and port.

In the 14th century, the city is captured by the German Teutonic Knights.

Then, in the 15th century, it was regained by Poland, and peaks during the Renaissance as the most prosperous Baltic port.

In the 18th century, it is ruled by Prussia, and after World War I, it becomes a free city, only to meet its horrific fate on September 1st, 1939, when Germany invades Poland at Gdansk's Westerplatte peninsula.

This invasion marked the beginning of World War II.

(bright music) (water splashing) So, here's what I'm curious about in Gdansk.

Who made big decisions inside this glorious hall?

What is Neptune doing up here, and these lions down here?

Where can you find the Royal Way?

Why does Gdansk look so much like the Netherlands?

When did these works of art make their way back home to this church?

And how in the world are intricate figures like these created from a special Baltic fossil?

Who, what, where, why, when, and how?

So much to be curious about in Gdansk!

So, to explore all those layers of history, let's begin our journey with a stroll through the delightful Old Town, where the first thing you'll notice is that instead of the typical market square, Gdansk has a long market, this wide and long street where market activities have taken place for centuries.

And then, you might notice something else.

As you explore the beautiful streets of the Old Town and you look around and you look up at the architecture, you might be saying to yourself, "Am I in Poland or am I in the Netherlands or Belgium?"

Because there's a lot of Dutch architecture here, and there's a reason for that.

Gdansk, of course, was a port city and a trading city.

And their biggest trading partners, especially in the 16th and 17th centuries, were places like Antwerp and Bruges and, of course, Amsterdam.

And with that trade also came the trade of ideas and of architecture.

So, that is where we get all this beautiful Dutch architecture from.

And the most splendiferous example of that Dutch architecture can be found right here at the Great Armoury, built in 1605.

Because it was the armory, we have the symbol of war, Minerva, the goddess herself, standing proudly at the center.

But we have many other symbols from other cultures here as well.

Back up at the top, we can see an Egyptian obelisk and some Egyptian sphinxes.

And then, back down a little bit closer to ground level above the doorway, we have those beautiful city coat of arms for Gdansk.

We have the two crosses referencing the Teutonic Knights, now with a Polish crown over top and the two lions protecting.

But my favorite symbol is a little bit closer to the top once again.

We see some dragons sticking out, acting like gargoyles to protect from evil spirits.

But these had a more practical purpose as well.

They also used to spout out water down into the streets below.

(upbeat music) And that watery theme continues all around the city with symbols chiseled onto the buildings, embedded into the streets, even found in these touristy galleon ships, a recreation of the ships used for trade all those centuries ago.

And that brings us to the formation of the city's street plan, created in the 14th century by the German Teutonic Knights.

(bright music) The Teutonic Knights were a Christian military order who conquered certain strategic ports along the Baltic Sea, and that's exactly what they did here in Gdansk.

And once they conquered this region, they laid out special paths leading to that prosperous port.

This Is Chlebnicka Street, which means Breadmakers Street.

And not only is it a great place to grab a cup of coffee and a donut, but of course, it has a curious history to it as well.

That is because this was one of the original nine streets, and this, one of the original nine gates built by the Teutonic Knights between the year 1300 and about the year 1450 when they were in charge around here.

Now, why did they build these nine roads and nine gates all leading towards the river, kind of like little teeth in a comb?

Well, because back then, the river was everything.

It was like their highway, and that is how they did their trade and made their fortunes.

And one last thing.

How do we know that this was one of the original gates and original roads?

Simply look up and you can see the symbol of those knights.

(bright music) And you can see that symbol all over town, up high on the buildings and down low on the sidewalks, and most importantly, flying proudly on Gdansk's flag.

Next, let's meet another important symbol of the city.

As we know, Gdansk made its fortune through its port and by trading on the sea.

So, it is no surprise that a very important symbol of the city would be Neptune.

And this is Neptune's Fountain.

Now, a simpler one was created long ago, but this one was carved and placed here in 1633, and this is that original sculpture.

So, of course, he continues to protect the town to this day.

But it's not just the symbol of Neptune.

It's the placement of the fountain that is important, because as you can see here, the fountain is right in front of City Hall and also in front of something called Artus Court, as in, named after King Arthur.

More on him in just a little bit.

But let's now look back up to the fountain.

Look at his head.

His head is bowing down.

The reason for that is he's bowing down to where the kings would stay when they visited the city.

The message here is quite clear.

Not even a Roman god is as important as a Polish king.

(water splashing) Speaking of kings, let's get to Artus Court, the building that Neptune is protecting.

Why is it named for the legendary King Arthur?

Well, because King Arthur's chivalry and bravery appealed to most of Europe, not just England.

So, many Artus Courts were established in his honor, including here in Poland for those knights, nobles, and aristocracy to convene in.

But as far as we know, Merlin has never magically appeared here.

(stately music) So, to search for some magic, let's head inside the main Town Hall, the other building that Neptune is protecting.

Dating back to 1327, the main Town Hall was partially rebuilt in the 16th century with Dutch influences, and it remains one of the most treasured landmarks of the city.

And inside, there is a special chamber with Roman, Greek, and mythological symbols all inspired by the Doge's Palace in Venice.

Next, please make your way down the spiral staircase and come on through the prettiest door you've ever seen, simply called the portal, into something that is not simple at all, the Great Council Hall.

And as you make your way inside, you will see why its nickname is the Red Hall with the beautiful red paneling throughout.

Now, this room was used by the city council, and is therefore considered the most important room in all of Town Hall.

It is all about the artwork here.

Everything you see was created in the 16th through the 17th centuries, including this massive and beautiful fireplace.

At the base, we have these two Atlases with these very cute-looking mustaches, here.

And they are holding up, of course, the city symbol of Gdansk with the two crosses and the crown and the two lions protecting.

Now, again, since this was the city council, they had a lot of duties here and a lot of responsibilities, and some important stuff to watch over.

That is why we have a vault here in the back.

Those would have the city treasures.

Not just money, but also important documents, and also city seals.

But back to that artwork.

It is all about the symbols of the divine power of Gdansk and how God was watching over the city.

Along the ceiling, here, we have nine panels.

Eight of them represent biblical scenes, but the most important one is right here in the center, the "Apotheosis of Gdansk".

At the very top, you will see the arm of God actually holding on to the tower of the city hall that we are standing in right now.

My favorite part is there's also a little rainbow that is connecting Gdansk with the rest of Poland.

But really, the most fascinating thing about all this art in this room is that for a time period, there was nothing in here, because all this beautiful artwork was taken down and hidden away during World War II.

It was not until the 1960s that everything was collected and very carefully put back up.

(stately music) The main Town Hall today is a history museum with wonderful exhibits and treasures to explore, including another fantastic chamber with curious symbols of the city.

This served as the royal throne room any time the king made an official visit here to Gdansk.

And up along the ceiling, of course, we have depictions of famous battles where, as you might imagine, Poland was always victorious.

Here along the walls, we have these larger-than-life collection of royal portraits depicting all of the important Polish kings.

And as we make our way around the room, you can see in the space here not only was it a space for the throne, but also for many ceremonies, and also, big court decisions were all made in this room.

What I love is on the opposite wall, here, this giant tapestry with the white eagle representing Poland at its center.

But if you look a little bit further down, we can also see the evolution of the symbol of the city.

One of the oldest ones was just a simple ship back when Gdansk was part of the Hanseatic League.

And the Hanseatic flag for Danzig, or Gdansk, looked like this, with the two crosses.

And as we've learned, these crosses are also a symbol of those German Teutonic Knights.

And then, many years later, once Poland took the city back, they put the Polish crown on top to say now they were in charge over the Teutonic Knights.

And this is still the symbol of the city today.

(bright music) Next, we visit the crown of Gdansk, St. Mary's Basilica.

Built in stages between 1343 and 1502, it is ginormous.

In fact, it is considered to be the largest brick temple in Europe.

It rises high out of the city skyline, and you can see it throughout most of the city.

And if you enter from this side, you will notice a beautiful baroque church blocking the view.

(water splashing) This is the Royal Chapel, a Catholic church built in the 17th century during a time when Gdansk was mostly Protestant.

So, the king spent lots of money building his Royal Chapel here for the Catholic minority.

Today, the entrance is adorned with the gorgeous Four Quarters Fountain, which represents the intersection of Gdansk's four historic neighborhoods, complete with four life-sized lions, the historic protectors of the city.

Things must be going pretty well, because these lions seem to be always taking a nap.

(water splashing) But no nap time for us.

It's time to stroll around the Royal Chapel and enter St. Mary's Basilica to explore all its wonderful treasures inside.

(stately music) And to tell us its curious history is local guide Greg Lipski.

First stop, the church's original altar, glorious in gold, built in the early 16th century.

- This is a scene showing us the coronation of Virgin Mary, for the mother of God.

So, she sits there, the middle seat, and the two angels are placing crown over her head.

So, this is symbolic.

- It's beautiful.

Then there is this glorious astronomical clock.

Built in the 1400s, this magnificent machine is more than 45 feet tall, tells the time of day, the position of the moon and sun, the signs of the zodiac, and the calendar of the saints.

This work of art is so precious that the original is stored here inside, where you can see two pretty important people at the top.

And I can see at the very, very top we have Adam and Eve overlooking, watching over everything.

- Exactly, so this is the apple tree, up there.

And every 15 minutes and every full hour, actually, they're banging the bell just to mark what time is it, because we have to remember the church was built when most of the people, they didn't had any watches- - Well, they don't have iPhones, and they didn't know what time it was.

(bells ringing) As you make your way around to the next work of art, make sure to look down, because you're actually walking on a work of art.

Down below us has something very important as well.

Again, it's a form of artwork, but it's a very unique kind.

What do we have, here?

- This is, we're walking over a huge graveyard.

You have all, yeah, you can see the names.

You can see the dates.

- Here, as with many basilicas and cathedrals, you are actually walking over a giant graveyard with hundreds of graves beneath the floor.

Here in Gdansk, is it the same as in other European major cities where it was only the noble families who could afford to be buried here?

- Exactly.

That's why we can see the coat of arms of the different families on the very top of each grave here, you see?

This was, of course, reserved only for the noble people, for the rich families, for the families of the local bishop, et cetera.

But it wouldn't be possible for the regular men to be buried here.

- And it's fascinating, you can see how a lot of it has been worn away.

(bright music) Next, from the floor to the ceilings, look up and around.

And once upon a time, there were beautiful, colorful frescoes along the walls.

But today, what I think is interesting is that we have this bright color and we have this gold, but it's really set off by all of this white.

Now, I'm speaking from an artistic point of view.

The reason why there's all the white on the columns and white on the ceilings has nothing to do with setting off the artwork.

There is a very important history to that.

Why is it so white in here?

- It's so white, this is specific, very specific city for the religious matters as well.

If you would visit such a big and important church somewhere south or center of Poland, which is fully Catholic, over the history of the country, you would see beautiful paintings all around.

But you see, this one, here, it's completely white.

And this is because it was taken by Lutherans.

Basically, Lutherans, I mean, this is long story short, but Lutherans, they want to have their churches very simple and with as less decorations as possible, so the God words is most important to them.

- [Christine] Today, of course, St. Mary's is a Catholic church once again, with its gorgeous artwork back on those white walls.

But the journey some of these treasures have made is a fascinating story.

- We have to refer to the history of World War II, and then, basically, the city was destroyed by March, 1945.

And literally, the Germans who used to rule the city during World War II, then basically, they evacuate most of the equipment of this church.

We were passing by the chapels all around us here and we can see small altars, paintings, epitaphs.

These are all original because it was all hidden on the countrysides.

- That's incredible!

But the part of the story that is really fascinating to me is, so, I think a lot of, or everybody knows a story about how people were hiding their artwork from the Germans, from the Nazis before and during World War II.

This was different.

This was the Germans hiding it from the Soviets.

- From the Soviets, because they knew the Soviet army was coming from East, and basically, they were destroying everything on their way.

- During that Soviet invasion of Gdansk in 1945, the city was bombed and the church specifically targeted.

The wooden roof was completely burned, and the ceiling fell in.

Vaults collapsed and windows were destroyed.

So, it's a bit of a miracle that these treasures were moved out in time.

A lot of what we see, that's how it survived.

- Yep, that's why, that's, yep.

It's beautiful, and it's a part of the equipment.

In my private opinion, well, every such a old and important church in history, it's like a time vehicle, really.

It's just like, it's not about the religion only, it's all about history.

- It's a history museum.

It's a history museum.

- Exactly.

(melancholy music) (water splashing) - Next, we continue our history lesson by going even farther back in time, back to the 15th century when Poland wasn't even a country yet, but instead, the Kingdom of Poland.

And for that history, we get to stroll down a street fit for a king.

In the Middle Ages, there was a road that connected Gdansk to the rest of Poland, and that road ran right through here.

But when the king would come to town, the people of Gdansk decided, "We need something a little fancier for him."

So, they built the Royal Way.

And the entrance to the Royal Way was this gate behind me.

This is the Upland Gate.

The king would come through here and then go down the Royal Way, and the people would cheer.

Now, you're probably noticing that there is yet another gate.

That is because it was decided that along the Royal Way, there would be several gates to greet the king, and again, the people would cheer as he went down.

Back to the Upland Gate, as I mentioned earlier, this was the first entrance to the town.

And right around here used to be the city wall.

And where all those noisy cars are, well, they would've been floating, because that's where the moat was.

(bright music) Once through the Upland Gate, the Royal Way continues through the Golden Gate and parades right down Long Street and Long Market, past our pal Neptune, and ends at the Green Gate here at the river.

The Green Gate is the largest of the gates, with four arches, and fits right in with our royal theme because this wasn't your typical gate or guardhouse.

In fact, it was built to be a palace all its own for the Polish kings and queens.

Our final stop takes us back in time once more.

I mean, really back in time, about 40 million years, because Gdansk is considered the world capital of amber.

Its nickname is the Gold of the North or the Gem of the Baltic.

And to explore the wonders of this rosy-colored resin, we visit the Museum of Amber, housed inside a former grain mill, and meet back up with our friend Greg Lipski.

I cannot believe these intricate little pieces all made of amber.

We've got some great symbols of the city.

- [Greg] There's a Basilica of St. Mary's and the artist court.

This is like, might be jewelry box.

And we have the coat of arms of Gdansk at the very top.

- But before all this art could be created, one of the world's largest amber deposits had to be discovered.

Amber is tree resin, which is a liquid the tree emits to heal its scratches and boo-boos.

And the Baltic region has the world's largest deposit of amber.

Scientists still don't know why there's so much amber here.

Maybe those prehistoric trees have lots of boo-boos.

What we do know is that all that resin contains a gold mine, or should we say amber mine, of scientific information through the fossilized insects, plants, and strands of DNA trapped inside the sticky amber.

We also know that it's really, really pretty, so once it was discovered, it became a very profitable raw material for jewelry, artwork, and even the occasional Ark of the Covenant.

- And then you see that we have, we can see so many different colors and shapes because it also, it depends on how old the amber is.

Because amber is just a resin, which makes it so unique because it's just natural jewelry.

Basically, every little, every single piece you're gonna get, it will be completely different.

- Gdansk became the center of amber art production from the 16th through the 18th centuries.

And these artists should be appreciated for their very unique skillset, which was needed to work with this unique material.

Because amber isn't hard like marble, but it's not soft like wax, either.

It's a material all its own.

Just look at this incredible detail.

First of all, our little friend Neptune up here, who's on the very top.

And then, at the bottom of this, the world's biggest beer stein, some real portly fellows.

Who do we have here?

(laughs) - These are like the local nobles here, because they're well known for overeating and over-drinking.

- Because when they're wealthy, they overeat and over-drink.

There are tiny little amber chess pieces, beautiful amber candelabras.

And if you think that's impressive, look at this beautiful triptych showing a medieval scene with beautiful details of the pages of a book, wooden carvings, deep expressions on the faces, and of course, touches of amber.

We have amber in here as well.

- As you can see, this was just imagination of one of the artists, creators of this little piece of art.

Basically, you see, amber can be used for any kind of decorations.

- I love it.

And then there is this seemingly innocent little amber tree, which is fitting, since trees produce amber.

But this frilly little fairytale forest has a quite surprising history.

I have a lot of favorites.

I love the chess piece.

This has probably the most interesting backstory, a little strange.

Tell us about this one.

- Exactly, this is a part of the history.

Well, this was the, it was created here in the city of Gdansk 1900, here.

And then, later on, it's supposed to go as a gift for Joseph Stalin.

For Joseph Stalin, for Stalin.

- [Christine] That's so strange.

- So, yeah.

And basically, it was already traveling to Russia, to the Soviet Union.

But then, across the border, the message came that Stalin passed away.

So, the transport stopped and then it returned to Gdansk so we can see it here today.

- And I'm glad it's back here where it was created.

- It's still here.

Place should be, really, you know?

- Yeah, yeah.

How curious!

(bright music) From a Polish city that looks like the Netherlands, full of beautiful mythology, from the God of the sea who protected King Arthur but had to bow down to the king of Poland, to a red room full of the city's treasures and divine symbols, and a white church full of artwork that finally made its way back home, to a Royal Way with a gate created for a king at one end and a palace created for a royal family at the other, to the legacy of a mighty trading port so valuable that battles and wars and upheavals have torn the city apart, which somehow rose again to its Renaissance glory and shines on through its golden artwork, Gdansk has so much to be curious about.

(water splashing) Thank you for joining us on our educational journey, and hopefully now you're even more curious about the who, what, where, why, when, and hows of beautiful Gdansk.

As they say here.

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