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Pomorskie has some very diverse cultures. It includes the Tri-City conurbation with Gdansk, a city with a thousand year old history, modern and enterprising Gdynia, and Sopot, the most popular Polish seaside resort.

The Old City of Gdansk with a wealth of historic sites, including the Crane, the Royal Route and Arthur’s Court, is a UNESCO world heritage site. Mariacka Street, one of Gdansk’s most beautiful streets, is a gem with its unique terraces, and the gothic St. Mary’s Church, Europe’s largest brick church, and Długie Pobrzeże, the former port by the Motława River. Gdansk’s theatres, exhibitions, museums and concert halls are the centres of cultural life in the North Poland.

The nearby forests, morainal hills, the Bay of Gdansk and sport and recreation facilities in the city provide excellent conditions for active tourism and sport.

The Dominican Fair is an inherent feature of Gdansk, with its 740 year-old tradition following its establishment under a papal bull in 1260 issued by Alexander II. The Fair is organised every year at the beginning of August on St Dominic’s Day. As the three weeks of the Fair are filled with cultural, entertainment and sport events, life in Gdansk becomes one great celebration and a festival attracting hundreds of thousands of Gdansk inhabitants and tourists, and many more over the weekend. The Fair programme comprises more than 30 events, including the Bread Festival, the Carillon Festival and the Amber Festival.

Gdynia is the youngest part of the Tri-City. This modern port town was established at the beginning of the 20th century as the ‘Polish window on the world’ to provide Poland with access to the Baltic Sea. Its maritime character is apparent at every step. Gdynia is considered one of Poland’s best towns to live in.

There is something for everyone in Gdynia’s rich cultural offer. Theatre goers can visit the Musical Theatre and Witold Gombrowicz City Theatre, with its Summer Stage on the beach adjacent to the picturesque Orłowski Cliff. The Film Festival is held at the Musical Theatre in Gdynia every autumn, an event that has been around for over 30 years.

The city is also known for its popular music events, such as the Gdynia Summer Jazz Days Festival and Open’er Festival, attracting thousands of music fans every year. There are plenty of places in Gdynia where you can enjoy a good shanty and some sea songs.

Sopot, the most popular Polish sea resort, is an outstanding place for recreation and entertainment. It is called Poland’s summer capital for a reason. Beautifully located between the sea and hills covered with forests, in the very centre of the most attractive Polish conurbation, Sopot is visited by more than two million tourists and holidaymakers every year.

Sopot’s tourist attractions include the Forest Opera, recognised by experts as the most beautiful amphitheatre with the best acoustics in Europe. Another feature of this most popular Polish resort is the longest wooden pier in Europe (511.5m long) and Bohaterów Monte Cassino Street, so-called Monciak, the most popular Polish promenade with its many pubs and galleries.

The town takes great pride in its annual Sopot Festival. It has been held at the Forest Opera every September for more than 40 years and has always attracted the attention of all of Poland. Between June and July it plays host to the Top Trendy Festival, featuring Poland’s most popular musicians and promising young artists.

Sopot’s theatres, Kameralny and Atelier, offer a light and entertaining repertoire, and in the summer the town plays host to the National Festival of Polish Radio and Television Theatre, ‘Two Theatres’.

Another important city of the region is Słupsk, located in the middle of Pomorskie, with a very rich history dating back to the ninth century. The city thrived in the 14th and 16th centuries, when Słupsk was the residence of the Gryfów family and a duchy capital. Most monuments come from that period, including the gothic Holy Virgin Church from the 16th century, fragments of city walls with two gates, the Mill Gate and the New Gate from the 16th century, and the Witch Tower built in 1410-1415, the Castle of Pomeranian Dukes from the 16th century and the Castle Mill. Some of the later monuments include the Town Hall from 1901 and a complex of tenement houses from the 18th and 19th centuries. Art connoisseurs and art lovers should visit the Museum of Middle Pomerania and the Baltic Gallery of Modern Art.

Słupsk organ concerts are music feasts both for the local music lovers and for Polish and foreign tourists. The State Puppet Theatre ‘Rainbow’ is one of the oldest, most renowned, award-winning puppet theatres in Poland.

Other attractions prepared for the residents and tourists of Słupsk include the Polish Piano Festival, concerts by the State Chamber Orchestra, the National Competition of Ballroom Dancing and the Jazz Rondo Festival.

The project „Regions of Poland” was realized in cooperation with the Offices of the Presidents of the 16 regions of Poland.

Design, coordination, realization – Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Poland

Contents – Offices of the Presidents of the Regions

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