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105-625: SS Cap Arcona , named after Cape Arkona on the island of Rügen , was a large German ocean liner , later a requisitioned auxiliary ship of the Kriegsmarine ( Nazi German War Navy), and finally a prison ship in the later months of World War II (1939–1945). A flagship of the Hamburg Südamerikanische Dampfschifffahrts-Gesellschaft ("Hamburg-South America Line"), she made her maiden voyage on 29 October 1927, carrying passengers and cargo between Germany and

210-466: A Metal-halide lamp . This, combined with the rotating triple optics, emits 3 flashes every 17 seconds. The old naval navigation tower (German: Peilturm ) was built in 1927 of brick and acted as a marine navigation beacon . From 1911 to 1925, attempts were made - which were ground-breaking for that time - to improve navigation for the Sassnitz-Trelleborg railway ferry, established in 1909, using

315-603: A daymark erected near the present-day steps during the Russo-Swedish War (1741–1743) in order to warn the population. Hence the spot was known as the Königssteig or "King's Climb". In 1833, for the arrival of the steamboat Hercules during its Imperial Russian chronometer expedition, the Prussian king, Frederick William III - Rügen was now Prussian - had a landing stage and flight of steps built. From this point in 1865,

420-620: A free city and put under the League of Nations , though Poland was given economic liberties and requisitioned for matters of foreign representation. The decision to build a major seaport at Gdynia village was made by the Polish government in winter 1920, in the midst of the Polish–Soviet War (1919–1920). The authorities and seaport workers of the Free City of Danzig felt Poland's economic rights in

525-458: A gyrocompass . Cap Arcona entered service in 1927, commencing her maiden voyage on Hamburg Süd's route to Buenos Aires 29 October. She joined the older liner Cap Polonio on the route, which had been Hamburg Süd's flagship until Cap Arcona ' s completion. Cap Polonio was laid up in 1931 and scrapped in 1935, leaving Cap Arcona as Hamburg Süd's sole prestige ship on its South American route. On 6 October 1932 Cap Arcona collided with

630-658: A German gendarme shot and killed two Polish boys who were collecting Polish books from the street, which were thrown out of the windows by new German settlers in the Oksywie district. The Germans renamed the city to Gotenhafen after the Goths , an ancient Germanic tribe, who had lived in the area. 10 Poles from Gdynia were also murdered by the Russians in the large Katyn massacre in April–May 1940. Some 50,000 Polish citizens were expelled to

735-589: A Kashubian nationality. Despite such circumstances, local Poles, including Kashubians, organized Polish resistance groups, Kashubian Griffin (later Pomeranian Griffin ), the exiled "Związek Pomorski" in the United Kingdom , and local units of the Home Army , Service for Poland's Victory and Gray Ranks . Activities included distribution of underground Polish press, smuggling data on German persecution of Poles and Jews to Western Europe, sabotage actions, espionage of

840-557: A Slavic tribe, which was dedicated to their god Svantevit . Located at the tip of the cape, it was protected on three sides by cliffs and from the land side by a 25-metre-high burgwall . The temple located within the ramparts grew in importance as a religious centre for the Slavs of Mecklenburg after the destruction of Rethra in 1068. In 1168, the Danish king Valdemar I conquered Rügen which then became Christian . Churches were established and

945-427: A full-size tennis court abaft her third funnel. The ship had at least 26 lifeboats , most of which were mounted in two tiers (see image). Cap Arcona had modern navigation and communication equipment. She was equipped for submarine signalling which allowed a ship to hear acoustic signals from aids to navigation. She also had wireless direction finding equipment, and from 1934 she had an echo sounding device and

1050-602: A mobilization of the town's population to vote for it on the Internet. An abandoned factory district in Gdynia was the scene for the survival series Man vs Wild , season 6, episode 12. The host, Bear Grylls , manages to escape the district after blowing up a door and crawling through miles of sewer. Ernst Stavro Blofeld , the supervillain in the James Bond novels , was born in Gdynia on 28 May 1908, according to Thunderball . Gdynia

1155-458: A pier for small trading ships. The first Kashubian mayor was Jan Radtke. It is estimated that around 1910 the population of Gdynia was 895 people. Following World War I , in 1918, Poland regained independence, and following the Treaty of Versailles , in 1920, Gdynia was re-integrated with the reborn Polish state. Simultaneously, the nearby city of Gdańsk ( Danzig ) and surrounding area was declared

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1260-567: A population of 250,000 was worked out by a special commission appointed by a government committee, in collaboration with the municipal authorities. By 1939 the population had grown to over 120,000. During the German invasion of Poland , which started World War II in September 1939, Gdynia was the site of fierce Polish defense . On 13 September 1939, the Germans carried out first arrests of local Poles in

1365-460: A rice processing factory) or started (such as a large cold store). Trans-shipments rose from 10,000 tons (1924) to 2,923,000 tons (1929). At this time Gdynia was the only transit and special seaport designed for coal exports. In the years 1931–1939 Gdynia harbour was further extended to become a universal seaport. In 1938 Gdynia was the largest and most modern seaport on the Baltic Sea, as well as

1470-606: A series of photographs on the Volksmarine . Just outside Putgarten is a large car park where all visitors to the cape have to park their cars or tour buses. From there the cape may be accessed on foot (1.8 km), by horse and carriage or on the Cape Arkona road train ( Kap-Arkona-Bahn ). The various sights may also be visited by bicycle. Since 1993 the Cape Arkona Train has provided services from Putgarten to Cape Arkona and

1575-452: A small fishing village. By the 20th-century it attracted visitors as a seaside resort town . In 1926, Gdynia was granted city rights after which it enjoyed demographic and urban development, with a modernist cityscape. It became a major seaport city of Poland. In 1970, protests in and around Gdynia contributed to the rise of the Solidarity movement in nearby Gdańsk . The port of Gdynia

1680-553: A small plaque in the ground in front of the tower. The navigation tower is used as an art museum and studio. On each tower there is a viewing platform from which there are unobstructed views of Rügen and especially the peninsula of Wittow. In clear weather you can even see as far as the Danish island of Møn . From the 9th to the 12th centuries, the Jaromarsburg was a cult site for the Rani ,

1785-634: A stand-in for RMS  Titanic during filming of the German-produced movie Titanic , directed by Herbert Selpin . The Germans set up an Einsatzgruppen -operated penal camp in the Grabówek district, a transit camp for Allied marine POWs, a forced labour subcamp of the Stalag XX-B POW camp for several hundred Allied POWs at the shipyard, and two subcamps of the Stutthof concentration camp ,

1890-632: A strike at Gdansk. To speed up the construction works, the Polish government in November 1924 signed a contract with the French-Polish Consortium for Gdynia Seaport Construction. By the end of 1925, they had built a small seven-metre-deep harbour, the south pier, part of the north pier, a railway, and had ordered the trans-shipment equipment. The works were going more slowly than expected, however. They accelerated only after May 1926, because of an increase in Polish exports by sea, economic prosperity,

1995-525: A total length of 96 km. The fleet is modern and consists of Solaris Trollino cars. There is also a historic line, connecting city centre with a district of Orłowo operated by five retro trolleybuses. In addition to that, Gdynia operates an extensive network of bus lines, connecting the city with the adjacent suburbs. The conurbation's main airport, Gdańsk Lech Wałęsa Airport , lays approximately 25 kilometres (16 mi) south-west of central Gdynia, and has connections to approximately 55 destinations. It

2100-526: A year to build. South of the remnants of the ramparts at Jaromarsburg are the Veilchentreppe ("Violet Staircase"), a descent to the beach that runs from Arkona to Vitt. The name comes from the violets that grow around the staircase in spring. There are two bunkers in the immediate neighbourhood of the two lighthouses. The smaller, older bunker dates from Wehrmacht times and, in GDR days, housed an outpost of

2205-534: Is PLO Building situated at 10 Lutego Street. The architecture of central Gdynia was inspired by the work of European architects such as Erich Mendelssohn and is sometimes compared to the White City of Tel Aviv . The center of Gdynia has become a symbol of modernity, but was included in the list of historical monuments of Poland and is a candidate for the UNESCO World Heritage List . Gdynia hosts

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2310-771: Is a city in northern Poland and a seaport on the Baltic Sea coast. With an estimated population of 257 000, it is the 12th-largest city in Poland and the second-largest in the Pomeranian Voivodeship after Gdańsk . Gdynia is part of a conurbation with the spa town of Sopot , the city of Gdańsk, and suburban communities, which together form a metropolitan area called the Tricity ( Trójmiasto ) with around one million inhabitants. Historically and culturally part of Kashubia and Eastern Pomerania , Gdynia for centuries remained

2415-418: Is a regular stopover on the cruising itinerary of luxury passenger ships and ferries travelling to Scandinavia . Gdynia's downtown , designated a historical monument of Poland in 2015, is an example of building an integrated European community and includes Functionalist architectural forms. It is also a candidate for the UNESCO World Heritage List . Its axis is based around 10 Lutego Street and connects

2520-655: Is a relatively modern city. Its architecture includes the 13th century St. Michael the Archangel's Church in Oksywie , the oldest building in Gdynia, and the 17th century neo-Gothic manor house located on Folwarczna Street in Orłowo. The surrounding hills and the coastline attract many nature lovers. A leisure pier and a cliff-like coastline in Kępa Redłowska , as well as the surrounding Nature Reserve, are also popular locations. In

2625-467: Is believed that important Nazis who have escaped from Berlin to Flensburg are onboard, and are fleeing to Norway or neutral countries". Equipped with lifejackets from locked storage compartments, most of the SS guards managed to jump overboard from S.S. Cap Arcona . German trawlers sent to rescue Cap Arcona ' s crew members and guards managed to save 16 sailors, 400 German SS men, and 20 SS women. Only 350 of

2730-565: Is not true. Approximately one kilometre to the north-west, there is a point on the steep coast , known as the Gellort , which is a little further north. Directly at the foot of the Gellort is a 165-ton glacial erratic boulder known as the Siebenschneiderstein ( Low German : Söbenschniedersteen ). The cape offers a view of the island, both from land or sea. The smaller of the two lighthouses

2835-453: Is sometimes called "Polish Roswell " due to the alleged UFO crash on 21 January 1959. Sport teams In 2007, 364,202 passengers, 17,025,000 tons of cargo and 614,373  TEU containers passed through the port. Regular car ferry service operates between Gdynia and Karlskrona, Sweden. Gdynia operates one of only three trolleybus systems in Poland, alongside Lublin and Tychy . Today there are 18 trolleybus lines in Gdynia with

2940-493: Is the third largest airport in Poland. A second General Aviation terminal was scheduled to be opened by May 2012, which will increase the airport's capacity to 5mln passengers per year. Another local airport, ( Gdynia-Kosakowo Airport ) is situated partly in the village of Kosakowo , just to the north of the city, and partly in Gdynia. This has been a military airport since the World War II, but it has been decided in 2006 that

3045-527: Is typical of the North Vorpommern coast. The average annual temperature is 8.9 °C (48.0 °F). Precipitation amounts to 547.8 mm (21.57 in) per year. Because of its proximity to the sea, its humidity is very high. The Cape Arkona weather station has recorded the following extreme values: On 26 December 2011, there was a major rock slide at Cape Arkona, which buried a ten-year-old girl and seriously injured her mother. A weeklong search for

3150-551: The Monopoly Here and Now World Edition board after being voted by fans through the Internet. Gdynia occupies the space traditionally held by Mediterranean Avenue , being the lowest voted city to make it onto the Monopoly Here and Now board, but also the smallest city to make it in the game. All of the other cities are large and widely known ones, the second smallest being Riga. The unexpected success of Gdynia can be attributed to

3255-560: The Volksmarine ("People's Navy") were on duty here for two to three days, three to four times a year, as part of naval exercises. The standard complement was four men. On 3 October 1990, the day of German reunification , the site was closed. The bunkers were purchased and successively renovated by the municipality of Putgarten. The Arkona Bunker now houses an art gallery and the NVA Bunker an exhibition of GDR fittings and equipment as well as

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3360-584: The 2nd Tactical Air Force . Through secret code-breaking of Ultra Intelligence, the Western Allies had become aware that most of the Nazi German SS leadership and former concentration camp commandants had gathered with Heinrich Himmler in Flensburg , hoping to contrive an escape northward to remaining German-occupied Norway . The western allies had intercepted orders from Hitler's designated successor with

3465-761: The 6th (Coastal) Border Brigade . It is generally called the Arkona Bunker . The larger, newer bunker was built from 1979 to 1986 and acted as a command post for the Sixth Flotilla , stationed on Bug , and the Baltic Fleet (VOF). Starting from a main central tunnel with two entrances, there are several autonomous individual bunkers with a total area of 2,000 square metres. They comprise three large bunkers (type FB-75) and nine small ones (type FB-3), made of prefabricated concrete elements (FB = prefabricated bunker). The FB-75 type bunker had an intermediate floor level, where

3570-450: The Baltic Sea on the route west. The ship Wilhelm Gustloff sank, taking about 9,400 people with her – the worst loss of life in a single sinking in maritime history. The seaport area was largely destroyed by withdrawing German troops and millions of encircled refugees in 1945 being bombarded by the Soviet military (90% of the buildings and equipment were destroyed) and the harbour entrance

3675-632: The Baltic Sea , which moderates the temperatures, compared to the interior of Poland . The climate is mild and there is a somewhat uniform precipitation throughout the year. Autumns are significantly warmer than springs because of the warming influence of the Baltic Sea. Nights on average are warmer than in the interior of the country. Typical of Northern Europe , there is little sunshine during late autumn, winter and early spring, but plenty during late spring and summer. Because of its northerly latitude, Gdynia has 17 hours of daylight in midsummer but only around 7 hours in midwinter. The lowest pressure in Poland

3780-578: The Deutschland had previously been intended as a hospital ship, and retained one white painted funnel with a red cross), and all prisoners were concealed below deck, so the pilots in the attacking force were unaware that they were laden with concentration camp survivors. Although Swedish and Swiss Red Cross officials had informed British intelligence on 2 May 1945 of the presence of large numbers of prisoners on ships at anchor in Lübeck Bay, this vital information

3885-825: The European Investment Bank , including track replacement, realignment of curves and relocation of sections of track to allow speeds up to 200 km/h (124 mph), modernization of stations, and installation of the most modern ETCS signalling system, which was completed in June 2015. In December 2014 new Alstom Pendolino high-speed trains were put into service between Gdynia, Warsaw and Kraków reducing rail travel times to Gdynia by 2 hours. Notable companies that have their headquarters or regional offices in Gdynia : Former : There are currently 8 universities and institutions of higher education based in Gdynia. Many students from Gdynia also attend universities located in

3990-581: The Gdynia Film Festival , the main Polish film festival. The International Random Film Festival was hosted in Gdynia in November 2014. Since 2003 Gdynia has been hosting the Open'er Festival , one of the biggest contemporary music festivals in Europe. The festival welcomes many foreign hip-hop , rock and electronic music artists every year. In record-high 2018 it was attended by over 140,000 people, who enjoyed

4095-514: The General Government (German-occupied central Poland) to make space for new German settlers in accordance with the Lebensraum policy. Local Kashubians who were suspected to support the Polish cause, particularly those with higher education, were also arrested and executed. The German gauleiter Albert Forster considered Kashubians of "low value" and did not support any attempts to create

4200-718: The Thirteen Years' War , the longest of all Polish-Teutonic wars, started. It ended in 1466, when the Teutonic Knights recognized the region as part of Poland. Administratively, Gdynia was located in the Pomeranian Voivodeship in the province of Royal Prussia in the Greater Poland Province of the Kingdom of Poland and later of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth . The present-day neighbourhood of Kolibki

4305-614: The Zamość region, by buying them from the Germans at the local train station. The harbour was transformed into a German naval base. The shipyard was expanded in 1940 and became a branch of the Kiel shipyard ( Deutsche Werke Kiel A.G. ). The city became an important base, due to its being relatively distant from the war theater , and many German large ships— battleships and heavy cruisers —were anchored there. During 1942, Dr Joseph Goebbels authorized relocation of Cap Arcona to Gotenhafen Harbour as

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4410-529: The main train station with the Southern Pier. The city is also known for holding the annual Gdynia Film Festival . In 2013, Gdynia was ranked by readers of The News as Poland's best city to live in, and topped the national rankings in the category of "general quality of life". In 2021, the city entered the UNESCO Creative Cities Network and was named UNESCO City of Film . The area of

4515-431: The unconditional surrender of the German troops in northwestern Germany at Lüneburg Heath to British Army commander Field Marshal Bernard Law Montgomery (1887–1976), S.S. Cap Arcona , S.S. Thielbek , and the passenger liner S.S. Deutschland were attacked as part of general strikes on shipping in the Baltic Sea by Royal Air Force (R.A.F.) Hawker Typhoon fighter warplanes of No. 83 Expeditionary Air Group of

4620-497: The 'Fast Urban Railway,' Szybka Kolej Miejska (Tricity) operating frequent trains covering the Tricity area including Gdańsk , Sopot and Gdynia. Long-distance trains from Warsaw via Gdańsk terminate at Gdynia, and there are direct trains to Szczecin , Poznań , Katowice , Lublin and other major cities. In 2011-2015 the Warsaw-Gdańsk-Gdynia route was undergoing a major upgrading costing $ 3 billion, partly funded by

4725-427: The 5,000 former concentration camp inmates aboard Cap Arcona survived. From 2,800 prisoners on board the S.S. Thielbek only 50 were saved; whereas all 2,000 prisoners on the S.S. Deutschland were safely taken off onto the S.S. Athen , before the Deutschland capsized. R.A.F. Pilot Allan Wyse of No. 193 Squadron recalled, "We used our cannon fire at the chaps in the water... we shot them up with 20 mm cannons in

4830-539: The City Center was drafted by Adam Kuncewicz and Roman Feliński in 1926. The central axis of Gdynia is built around 10 Lutego Street, Kosciuszka Square and the Southern Pier. The structure of the city is designed to emphasize the connection of Gdynia and Poland with the Baltic Sea. Examples of modernist architecture are the buildings of the Bank of Poland and many tenement houses ( kamienice ). Another good example of modernism

4935-655: The French cargo ship Agen in the North Sea off the Elbe 4 Lightship . Agen was beached, but later was refloated and escorted into Hamburg , Germany. In 1940 the Kriegsmarine (German Navy) requisitioned Cap Arcona , had her painted overall grey and used her in the Baltic Sea as an accommodation ship in Gotenhafen (now Gdynia ). In 1942 Cap Arcona was used as a stand-in for RMS  Titanic , supplying exterior locations for

5040-524: The German Baltic Sea coast after the Travemünde Lighthouse . The largest tower was built in 1901/02 right next to the old tower and entered service on 1 April 1905. It is 35 metres high and has a focal height of 75 m above NN . It is made of brick and stands on an octagonal granite base. For 90 years its light source was two arc lamps , but they were replaced in 1995 by

5145-593: The Germans near Starogard Gdański in September 1939. In October and November 1939, the Germans carried out public executions of 52 Poles, including activists, bank directors and priests, in various parts of the city. In November 1939, the occupiers also murdered hundreds of Poles from Gdynia during the massacres in Piaśnica committed nearby as part of the Intelligenzaktion . Among the victims were policemen, officials, civil defenders of Gdynia, judges, court employees,

5250-590: The Hamburg War Crimes Trial that he believed the ships were to be sunk by Kriegsmarine submarine U-boats or Luftwaffe aircraft. Eva Neurath, who was present in Neustadt, and whose husband survived the disaster, said she was told by a police officer that the ships held convicts and were going to be blown up. On 2 May 1945, the British Second Army discovered the empty camp at Neuengamme, and reached

5355-465: The Kriegsmarine reactivated her for Operation Hannibal , where she was used to transport 25,795 German soldiers and civilians from East Prussia to safer areas in western Germany. By then these trips were made very dangerous by mines and Soviet Navy submarines. On 30 January Wilhelm Gustloff , carrying around 10,000 passengers and crew, was torpedoed by the Soviet submarine  S-13 and sank in 40 minutes. An estimated 9,400 people died. Early on

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5460-447: The Neuengamme camp was systematically emptied of all its remaining prisoners, together with other groups of concentration camp inmates and Soviet P.O.W.s; with the intention that they would be relocated to a secret new camp, either on the Baltic Sea island of Fehmarn ; or at Mysen in German-occupied Norway where preparations were put in hand to house them under the control of concentration camp guards evacuated from Sachsenhausen . In

5565-403: The P-51) of the Allied United States Army Air Forces (USAAF)'s 18th / 161st Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron around 1700 hrs, shortly after the attack. On 4 May 1945, a British reconnaissance plane also took photos of the two wrecks, Thielbek and Cap Arcona , With the Bay of Neustadt being shallow. The capsized hulk of Cap Arcona later drifted ashore, and the remains of the beached wreck

5670-421: The Post Office were completed. The State railways extended their lines, built bridges and also constructed a group of houses for their employees. Within a few years houses were built along some 10 miles (16 km) of road leading northward from the Free City of Danzig to Gdynia and beyond. Public institutions and private employers helped their staff to build houses. In 1933 a plan of development providing for

5775-555: The Red Cross informed Major-General Roberts that 7,000 to 8,000 prisoners were aboard ships off-shore in the Bay of Lübeck. In the afternoon of 3 May 1945, the British 5th reconnaissance regiment advanced northwards to Neustadt, witnessing the ships burning off-shore in the bay and rescuing some severely emaciated prisoners on the beach at Neustadt, but otherwise finding mostly the bodies of women and children who had died that morning. On 3 May 1945, three days after Nazi German dictator Hitler's suicide in Berlin , and only one day before

5880-403: The advance of the Red Army . Cap Arcona ' s final use was as a prison ship. In May 1945 she was heavily laden with prisoners from Nazi concentration camps when the Royal Air Force bombed her in the western Baltic Sea, killing about 5,000 people; with more than 2,000 further casualties in the sinkings of the accompanying vessels of the prison fleet, Deutschland and Thielbek . This

5985-546: The airport will be used to serve civilians. Work was well in progress and was due to be ready for 2012 when the project collapsed following a February 2014 EU decision regarding Gdynia city funding as constituting unfair competition to Gdańsk airport. In March 2014, the airport management company filed for bankruptcy, this being formally announced in May that year. The fate of some PLN 100 million of public funds from Gdynia remain unaccounted for with documents not being released, despite repeated requests for such from residents to

6090-411: The anchored vessels; although, as the Cap Arcona refused to accept any more prisoners, over eight hundred were returned to the beach at Neustadt in the morning of 3 May, where around five hundred were killed in their barges by machine-gunning, or beaten to death on the beach, their German SS guards then seeking to make their escape unencumbered by "excess baggage". The order to transfer the prisoners to

6195-408: The cape there are two lighthouses , a navigation tower, two military bunker complexes, the Slavic temple fortress of Jaromarsburg and several tourist buildings (restaurants, pubs and souvenir shops). Because of its geology and the weathering that occurs here, there are frequent coastal collapses, especially in winter. Cape Arkona is often referred to as "the northernmost point of Rügen", which

6300-448: The case of the Neuengamme concentration camp) all evidence for the prisoners' former presence within the city and its industries. By early May however, any relocation plans had been scotched by the rapid British military advance to the Baltic; so the SS leadership, which had moved to Flensburg on 28 April, discussed scuttling the ships with the prisoners still captive aboard. Later, at a war crimes tribunal, Gauleiter Kaufmann claimed that

6405-422: The castle and its temple destroyed. At the tip of Arkona in recent centuries, the cliffs have repeatedly collapsed into the sea, with the result that only the ramparts of the Jaromarsburg are still visible today. Several metres west of Cape Arkona is the Königstreppe ("King's Staircase"), whose 230 steps climb up the 42-metre-high cliff 230. The Swedish king, Frederick I – Rügen then belonged to Sweden – had

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6510-672: The child was given up on 8 January 2012 and it was not until 31 January 2012 that the child's body was found at the foot of the cliff. The following ships have been named after Cape Arkona: An offshore wind farm called Arkona is in development 35 km north-east of the point, designed with 60 Siemens Wind Power 6 MW gearless turbines. 54°40′35″N 13°26′16″E  /  54.67639°N 13.43778°E  / 54.67639; 13.43778 Gdynia Gdynia ( Polish: [ˈɡdɨɲa] ; Kashubian : Gdiniô ; German : Gdingen [ˈɡdɪŋən] , 1939-45: Gotenhafen [ˈɡoːtn̩haːfn̩] )

6615-535: The city president, Wojciech Szczurek . Trasa Kwiatkowskiego links Port of Gdynia and the city with Obwodnica Trójmiejska , and therefore A1 motorway . National road 6 connects Tricity with Słupsk , Koszalin and Szczecin agglomeration . The principal station in Gdynia is Gdynia Główna railway station , the busiest railway station in the Tricity and northern Poland and sixth busiest in Poland overall, serving 13,41 mln passengers in 2022. Gdynia has eleven railway stations. Local train services are provided by

6720-435: The city were being misappropriated to help fight the war. German dockworkers went on strike, refusing to unload shipments of military supplies sent from the West to aid the Polish army, and Poland realized the need for a port city it was in complete control of, economically and politically. Construction of Gdynia seaport started in 1921 but, because of financial difficulties, it was conducted slowly and with interruptions. It

6825-425: The coastal towns of Lübeck and Wismar . No. 6 Commando , 1st Special Service Brigade commanded by Brigadier Derek Mills-Roberts , and the 11th Armoured Division , commanded by Major-General Philip Roberts , entered Lübeck without resistance. Lübeck contained a permanent International Red Cross and Red Crescent offices in its function as a Red Cross port , and Mr. De Blonay of the International Committee of

6930-433: The country as well as Poles from the cities of Wilno (now Vilnius ) and Lwów (now Lviv ) from the Soviet-annexed former eastern Poland . Also Greeks , refugees of the Greek Civil War , settled in the city. The port of Gdynia was one of the three Polish ports through which refugees of the Greek Civil War reached Poland. On 17 December 1970, worker demonstrations took place at Gdynia Shipyard. Workers were fired upon by

7035-426: The director and employees of the National Bank of Poland , merchants, priests, school principals, teachers, and students of local high schools. On the night of 10–11 November, the German security police carried out mass arrests of over 1,500 Poles in the Obłuże district, and then murdered 23 young men aged 16–20, in retaliation for breaking windows at the headquarters of the German security police. On 11 November,

7140-523: The east coast of South America, and for a brief period of time she was the largest and fastest ship on the route, until one month later she was surpassed on the same Europe-South America route by the Italian liner MS  Augustus . In 1940, the Kriegsmarine ( Nazi German War Navy) requisitioned the S.S. Cap Arcona as an accommodation ship . In 1942 she served as the set for the German propaganda feature film Titanic . In 1945 she evacuated almost 26,000 German civilian refugees from East Prussia before

7245-415: The emission of radio waves. The foundations of the associated radio operating facility inside the ramparts have survived to this day. The technical facilities of the navigation tower were destroyed, however, in 1945 All three towers were renovated in the early 1990s and are open to visitors. In the old lighthouse, there is now a museum and a branch of the registry office. Marriages may be commemorated here on

7350-442: The filming of the Nazi film version of the disaster in the harbour of Gotenhafen . The production was completed, although the first director, Herbert Selpin , was arrested for disparaging remarks he made about Kriegsmarine sailors. His later self-destructive interrogation at the hands of propaganda minister Joseph Goebbels all but sealed his fate. He was found the next day hanged in his cell by his suspenders. On 31 January 1945,

7455-402: The first telegraph cable was laid under the Baltic Sea to Sweden. With the rise of the island's coastal resorts, tourism at Cape Arkona grew. Many travelers came by excursion boats that moored at the pier at the foot of the steps. The landing stage was, however, completely destroyed by the storm flood of 1953. The new Königstreppe steps were completed in 1995 at the same historic spot, taking

7560-576: The first located in the Orłowo district in 1941–1942, the second, named Gotenhafen , located at the shipyard in 1944–1945. The seaport and the shipyard both witnessed several air raids by the Allies from 1943 onwards, but suffered little damage. Gdynia was used during winter 1944–45 to evacuate German troops and refugees trapped by the Red Army . Some of the ships were hit by torpedoes from Soviet submarines in

7665-496: The fishing village of Vitt. It does not run on rails as the name suggests, but is a road train that runs on wheels on normal roads. The train is hauled by a tractor designed to look like a steam locomotive but since 1996 has actually been powered by a more environmentally-friendly gas engine . Ships operated by the Reederei Ostsee-Tour also run daily from Binz and Sassnitz to Cape Arkona. The climate at Cape Arkona

7770-433: The freighter Thielbek , and the motor launch Athen  [ de ] . Since the steering motors were out of use in the S.S. Thielbek and the turbines were out of use on the S.S. Cap Arcona , so then the smaller S.S. Athen was used to transfer prisoners from Lübeck to the larger vessels and in between ships; they were locked below decks and in the holds, and denied food and medical attention. On 30 April 1945

7875-481: The harbour, there are two anchored museum ships , the destroyer ORP  Błyskawica and the tall ship frigate Dar Pomorza . A 1.5-kilometre (0.93 mi)-long promenade leads from the marina in the city center, to the beach in Redłowo . Most of Gdynia can be seen from Kamienna Góra (54 metres (177 feet) asl ) or the viewing point near Chwaszczyno. There are also two viewing towers, one at Góra Donas ,

7980-569: The interim, they were to be concealed from the advancing British and Canadian military forces from liberated Netherlands , along the North Sea coast, across northern Germany towards Denmark and the Baltic; and for this purpose the SS assembled a prison flotilla of decommissioned ships in the Bay of Lübeck , consisting of the requisitioned former civilian passenger ocean liners S.S. Cap Arcona and Deutschland ,

8085-500: The later city of Gdynia shared its history with Pomerelia (Eastern Pomerania). In prehistoric times, it was the center of Oksywie culture ; it was later populated by Slavs with some Baltic Prussian influences. In the late 10th century, the region was united with the emerging state of Poland by its first historic ruler Mieszko I . During the reign of Bolesław II , the region seceded from Poland and became independent, to be reunited with Poland in 1116/1121 by Bolesław III . In 1209,

8190-507: The lineup headlined by Bruno Mars , Gorillaz , Arctic Monkeys , and Depeche Mode . Another important summer event in Gdynia is the Viva Beach Party, which is a large two-day techno party made on Gdynia's Public Beach and a summer-welcoming concerts CudaWianki. Gdynia also hosts events for the annual Gdańsk Shakespeare Festival . In the summer of 2014 Gdynia hosted Red Bull Air Race World Championship . In 2008, Gdynia made it onto

8295-499: The local German industry, and facilitating escapes of endangered Polish resistance members and British and French prisoners of war who fled from German POW camps via the city's port to neutral Sweden . The Gestapo cracked down on the Polish resistance several times, with the Poles either killed or deported to the Stutthof and Ravensbrück concentration camps. In 1943, local Poles managed to save some kidnapped Polish children from

8400-710: The morning of 11 February, the same submarine torpedoed the 14,666  GRT General von Steuben on its way to Copenhagen with wounded and bed-ridden soldiers and civilian passengers, killing over 4,000 people. On 20 February, Cap Arcona ' s captain, Johannes Gertz, shot himself in his cabin while berthed in Copenhagen rather than face another trip back to Gotenhafen. On 30 March 1945, Cap Arcona finished her third and last trip between Gdynia and Copenhagen, carrying 9,000 soldiers and refugees. However, her turbines were completely worn out. They could only be partially repaired and her days of long-distance travel were over. She

8505-522: The other at Kolibki. In 2015 the Emigration Museum opened in the city. Other museums include the Gdynia Aquarium , Experyment Science Center, Abraham's house, Żeromski's house, Gdynia Automotive Museum, Naval Museum, and Gdynia City Museum. Gdynia holds many examples of early 20th-century architecture, especially monumentalism and early functionalism , and modernism . Historic Urban Layout of

8610-497: The outbreak of the German–Polish trade war which reverted most Polish international trade to sea routes, and thanks to the personal engagement of Eugeniusz Kwiatkowski , Polish Minister of Industry and Trade (also responsible for the construction of Centralny Okręg Przemysłowy ). By the end of 1930 docks, piers, breakwaters, and many auxiliary and industrial installations were constructed (such as depots, trans-shipment equipment, and

8715-471: The picture book Soldaten des Volkes ("Soldiers of the People"). The bunkers were uncamouflaged. How the photograph was allowed to appear in this book is not clear, but it was withdrawn from circulation again just three days after its publication. A later edition of the illustrated book was published with the aerial image omitted. Today, the original picture book is a collector's piece. From 1986, 50–70 soldiers of

8820-472: The police. Janek Wiśniewski was one of 40 killed, and was commemorated in a song by Mieczysław Cholewa , Pieśń o Janku z Gdyni . One of Gdynia's important streets is named after Janek Wiśniewski. The event was also portrayed in Andrzej Wajda 's movie Man of Iron . On 4 December 1999, a storm destroyed a huge crane in a shipyard. The climate of Gdynia is an oceanic climate owing to its position of

8925-451: The present-day district of Oksywie was first mentioned ( Oxhöft ). Following the fragmentation of Poland, the region became part of the Duchy of Pomerania (Eastern), which became separate from Poland in 1227, to be reunited in 1282. The first known mention of the name "Gdynia", as a Pomeranian ( Kashubian ) fishing village dates back to 1253. The first church on this part of the Baltic Sea coast

9030-607: The prison ships had come from Gauleiter Karl Kaufmann in Hamburg. Marc Buggeln has challenged Kaufmann's subsequent claim that he had been acting on orders from SS Headquarters in Berlin , arguing that the decision in fact resulted from political and business pressures from leading industrialists in Hamburg, who were already at this stage plotting with Kaufmann to hand the city over to approaching British forces undefended and unharmed, and who consequently wished to whitewash away (literally so in

9135-464: The prisoners were intended to be sent to Sweden, although, as none of the ships carried any exterior Red Cross hospital ship markings , nor were they even seaworthy, this was scarcely credible. Georg-Henning Graf von Bassewitz-Behr , Hamburg's last Higher SS and Police Leader (HSSPF), testified at the same trial that the prisoners were in fact to be killed "in compliance with Himmler's orders". Kurt Rickert, who had worked for Bassewitz-Behr, testified at

9240-453: The revealing Holocaust. The British R.A.F. military aircraft were from the units of No. 184 Squadron , No. 193 Squadron , No. 263 Squadron , No. 197 Squadron RAF , and No. 198 Squadron . Besides four 20 mm cannon , these Hawker Typhoon Mark 1B fighter-bombers carried either eight HE "60-lb" RP-3 unguided rockets or two 500 lb (230 kg) bombs. None of the prison flotilla were painted / marked with Red Cross symbols (although

9345-505: The rump Grand Admiral Karl Dönitz government, also at Flensburg , that the SS leadership were to be facilitated in escaping Allied capture – or otherwise issued with false Kriegsmarine naval uniforms to conceal their identities – as Admiral Dönitz sought, while surrendering, to maintain the fiction that his administration had been free from involvement in the concentration camps, or in Hitler's policies of genocide and

9450-471: The sleeping areas were located, and an emergency exit. Each individual shelter has a main corridor and two airlocks . Over the top is a 3-to-5-metre-high (9.8 to 16.4 ft) earth covering, from which protrude dozens of ventilation tubes. In 1985, on the 30th anniversary of the National People's Army (NVA) , an aerial photograph of Cape Arkona, with the bunker complex in the background, was publicised in

9555-740: The southern part of the city, while the Polish defense was still ongoing in the northern part. On 14 September 1939, the Germans captured the entire city, and then occupied it until 1945. On 15–16 September, the Germans carried out further mass arrests of 7,000 Poles, while Polish soldiers still fought in nearby Kępa Oksywska . The German police surrounded the city and carried out mass searches of weapons. Arrested Poles were held and interrogated in churches, cinemas and halls, and then around 3,000 people were released until 18 September. The occupiers established several prisons and camps for Polish people, who were afterwards either deported to concentration camps or executed. Some Poles from Gdynia were executed by

9660-623: The tenth biggest in Europe. The trans-shipments rose to 8.7 million tons, which was 46% of Polish foreign trade. In 1938 the Gdynia shipyard started to build its first full-sea ship, the Olza . The city was constructed later than the seaport. In 1925 a special committee was inaugurated to build the city; city expansion plans were designed and city rights were granted in 1926, and tax privileges were granted for investors in 1927. The city started to grow significantly after 1928. A new railway station and

9765-523: The two Swedish ships Magdalena and Lillie Matthiessen , previously employed as support vessels for the White Bus evacuations, made a final rescue trip to the Bay of Lübeck and back. Amongst the prisoners rescued were some transferred from the prison flotilla. On the evening of 2 May 1945 more prisoners, mainly women and children from the Stutthof and Mittelbau-Dora camps were loaded onto barges and brought out to

9870-524: The water. Horrible thing, but we were told to do it and we did it. That's war." Severely damaged and set on fire, the Cap Arcona eventually capsized. Photos of the burning ships, listed as Deutschland , Thielbek , and Cap Arcona , and of the emaciated prisoner survivors swimming in the very cold Baltic Sea waters, around 7 °C (45 °F), were taken on a reconnaissance mission over the Bay of Lübeck by F-6 Mustang (the photo- reconnaissance version of

9975-646: Was accelerated after the Sejm (Polish parliament) passed the Gdynia Seaport Construction Act on 23 September 1922. By 1923 a 550-metre pier, 175 metres (574 feet) of a wooden tide breaker, and a small harbour had been constructed. Ceremonial inauguration of Gdynia as a temporary military port and fishers' shelter took place on 23 April 1923. The first major seagoing ship, the French Line steamer Kentucky , arrived on 13 August 1923 after being diverted because of

10080-498: Was blocked by the German battleship Gneisenau that had been brought to Gotenhafen for major repairs. On 28 March 1945, the city was captured by the Soviets and restored to Poland. The Soviets installed a communist regime, which stayed in power until the Fall of Communism in 1989. The post-war period saw an influx of settlers from Warsaw which was destroyed by Germany , and other parts of

10185-477: Was built of brick in 1826/27 based on plans by Karl Friedrich Schinkel and taken into service in 1828. It is 19.3 metres high and has a focal height of 60 m above  sea level (NN) . The rooms of the three-storey tower are used as operating and storage rooms. It is also called the Schinkelturm ("Schinkel Tower"). On 31 March 1905 it was taken out of service. It is the second oldest lighthouse on

10290-666: Was built there. In 1309–1310, the Teutonic Order invaded and annexed the region from Poland. In 1380, the owner of the village which became Gdynia, Peter from Rusocin , gave the village to the Cistercian Order. In 1382, Gdynia became property of the Cistercian abbey in Oliwa . In 1454, King Casimir IV Jagiellon signed the act of reincorporation of the region to the Kingdom of Poland , and

10395-931: Was decommissioned, returned to her owners Hamburg-Süd and ordered out of Copenhagen Harbour to Neustadt Bay. During March and April 1945, concentration camp prisoners from Scandinavian countries had been transported from all over the German Reich to the Neuengamme concentration camp near Hamburg, in the White Bus programme coordinated through the Swedish Red Cross  – with prisoners of other nationalities displaced to make room for them. Eventually Heinrich Himmler agreed that these Scandinavians, and selected others regarded as less harmful to Germany, could be transported through German-occupied Denmark , north to freedom in neutral Sweden . Then between 16 and 28 April 1945,

10500-789: Was finally broken up and scrapped four years later in 1949. For weeks after the attack, bodies of victims washed ashore, where they were collected and buried in mass graves at Neustadt in Holstein , Scharbeutz and Timmendorfer Strand . Parts of skeletons washed ashore occasionally over the next 30 years, with the last casualty find occurring in 1971. The prisoners aboard the ships were of at least 30 different nationalities: American, Belarrussian, Belgian, Canadian, Czechoslovakian, Danish, Dutch, Estonian, Finnish, French, German, Greek, Hungarian, Italian, Latvian, Lithuanian, Luxembourger, Norwegian, Polish, Romanian, Russian, Serbian, Spanish, Swedish, Swiss, Ukrainian, and possibly others. Cape Arkona On

10605-413: Was not passed on. The R.A.F. commanders ordering the strike believed that a flotilla of ships was being prepared in Lübeck Bay, to accommodate leading SS personnel fleeing to German-controlled Norway in accordance with Admiral Dönitz's orders. "The ships are gathering in the area of Lübeck and Kiel. At S.H.A.E.F. (Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force, commanded by Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower ), it

10710-565: Was one of the largest single-incident maritime losses of life in the Second World War . Blohm+Voss in Hamburg built Cap Arcona , launching and completing her in 1927. She was 27,561  GRT , 205.90 m (675 ft 6 in) overall and a beam of 25.78 m (84 ft 7 in). She was driven by eight steam turbines , single-reduction geared to two propeller shafts. She had three funnels, and her passenger comforts included

10815-828: Was recorded in Gdynia - 960.2 hPa on January 17, 1931. Gdynia is divided into smaller divisions: dzielnicas and osiedles . Gdynia's dzielnicas include: Babie Doły, Chwarzno-Wiczlino, Chylonia , Cisowa , Dąbrowa, Działki Leśne, Grabówek , Kamienna Góra, Karwiny, Leszczynki, Mały Kack, Obłuże , Oksywie , Orłowo , Pogórze, Pustki Cisowskie-Demptowo, Redłowo , Śródmieście , Wielki Kack, Witomino-Leśniczówka, Witomino-Radiostacja, Wzgórze Św. Maksymiliana. Osiedles : Bernadowo, Brzozowa Góra, Chwarzno, Dąbrówka, Demptowo, Dębowa Góra, Fikakowo, Gołębiewo, Kacze Buki, Kolibki, Kolonia Chwaszczyno, Kolonia Rybacka, Krykulec, Marszewo, Międzytorze, Niemotowo, Osada Kolejowa, Osada Rybacka, Osiedle Bernadowo, Port, Pustki Cisowskie, Tasza, Wiczlino , Wielka Rola, Witomino, Wysoka, Zielenisz. Gdynia

10920-473: Was so small that it was not marked on many maps of the period: it was about halfway from Oksywie and Mały Kack, now districts of Gdynia. In 1871, the village became part of the German Empire . In the early 20th century Gdynia was not a poor fishing village as it is sometimes described; it had become a popular tourist spot with several guest houses, restaurants, cafés, several brick houses and a small harbour with

11025-626: Was the location of the Kolibki estate, purchased by King John III Sobieski in 1685. In 1772, Gdynia was annexed by the Kingdom of Prussia in the First Partition of Poland . Gdynia, under the Germanized name Gdingen , was included within the newly formed province of West Prussia and was expropriated from the Cistercian Order. In 1789, there were only 21 houses in Gdynia. Around that time Gdynia

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