Misplaced Pages

#887112

95-704: The Isle of Innisfree is the only one of her class. She was ordered by the Belgian state-owned Regie voor Maritiem Transport in response to the anticipated opening of the Channel Tunnel . She was launched as the Prins Filip in 1991 for the company's Ostend-Dover operations. The ship is 163.4 m (536.1 ft) long by 27.6 m (90.6 ft) wide with a 6.2 m (20.3 ft) draught, and has some 1,745 lane metres of cargo space for cars, lorries and other vehicles, with three decks accessible to passengers. Uniquely,

190-459: A fishing smack offshore between Ruytingen and Dunkirk . Princesse Henriette struck Comtesse de Flandre on the starboard side, just abaft the paddle box, nearly slicing the vessel in half. The inrush of water caused a boiler explosion, and the Comtesse de Flandre sank with a loss of 15 lives, of whom four were passengers. Princesse Henriette rescued 32 survivors, including 19 passengers. Among

285-457: A free and secure access to the sea"), the Poles hoped the city's harbour would also become part of Poland. However, in the end – since Germans formed a majority in the city, with Poles being a minority (in the 1923 census 7,896 people out of 335,921 gave Polish, Kashubian, or Masurian as their native language) – the city was not placed under Polish sovereignty. Instead, in accordance with the terms of

380-576: A non-aggression pact with the Soviet Union. The German attack began in Danzig, with a bombardment of Polish positions at Westerplatte by the German battleship Schleswig-Holstein , and the landing of German infantry on the peninsula. Outnumbered Polish defenders at Westerplatte resisted for seven days before running out of ammunition. Meanwhile, after a fierce day-long fight (1 September 1939), defenders of

475-403: A partnership with Sally Line and traded as Oostende Lines. Its UK port was switched to Ramsgate until RMT's operations ceased in 1997. On 14 September 1994, an accident resulted in 6 deaths when a linkspan collapsed. Foot passengers were boarding the Prins Filip at Ramsgate. All publicity at the time was focused on Sally Line and Thanet District Council , the port owners, and not RMT or

570-663: A result of increased exports of grain (especially wheat), timber, potash , tar, and other goods of forestry from Prussia and Poland via the Vistula River trading routes , although after its capture, the Teutonic Knights tried to actively reduce the economic significance of the town. While under the control of the Teutonic Order German migration increased. The Order's religious networks helped to develop Danzig's literary culture. A new war broke out in 1409, culminating in

665-772: A steamer's aft deck and offloaded again using a quay crane. Service was greatly improved in 1936 when the turbine steamer Ville de Liège was renovated as a roll on-roll off car ferry and renamed London-Istanbul . After the fall of Belgium and France in June 1940, vessels of RMT were taken into the Royal Navy for use in the landing ship infantry role. These included the steamers Prince Charles (270 troops), Prince Leopold (255 troops), Princesse Astrid (247 troops), Princesse Josephine Charlotte (210 troops), Prince Baudouin (384 troops), Prins Albert (350 troops), and Prince Philippe (350 troops). An older steamer, Princesse Marie José ,

760-532: A supplement was payable. However, these services were prone to cancellation in bad weather, with passengers re-directed to the car ferry. In response to the announcement of the Channel Tunnel project, RMT ordered one of the first cross-channel super ferries. At 28,828 gross register tons , the Prins Filip was the largest ferry operating on the short sea routes of the English Channel from 1991 to 2001 (with

855-466: Is a matter of expanding our Lebensraum in the east", adding that there will be no repeat of the Czech situation, and Germany will attack Poland at first opportunity, after isolating the country from its Western Allies. After the German proposals to solve the three main issues peacefully were refused, German-Polish relations rapidly deteriorated. Germany attacked Poland on 1 September after having signed

950-647: Is named Côte D’Opale , or in English, Opal Coast . The vessel was delivered in May 2021, entering service on 4 August 2021 after sea trials in April, and a lengthy delivery voyage from Weihai , China, where she was built. On the same day as the Côte d'Opale was phased into service, the Calais Seaways was retired from DFDS service. Shortly afterwards she sailed to Dunkerque East, where she

1045-552: Is served by Gdańsk Lech Wałęsa Airport , the country's third busiest airport and the most important international airport in northern Poland. Gdańsk is among the most visited cities in Poland, having received 3.4 million tourists according to data collected in 2019. The city also hosts St. Dominic's Fair , which dates back to 1260, and is regarded as one of the biggest trade and cultural events in Europe. Gdańsk has also topped rankings for

SECTION 10

#1733085971888

1140-541: Is the vita of Saint Adalbert . Written in 999, it describes how in 997 Saint Adalbert of Prague baptised the inhabitants of urbs Gyddannyzc , "which separated the great realm of the duke [i.e., Bolesław the Brave of Poland] from the sea." No further written sources exist for the 10th and 11th centuries. Based on the date in Adalbert's vita , the city celebrated its millennial anniversary in 1997. Archaeological evidence for

1235-680: The Battle of Grunwald (1410), and the city came under the control of the Kingdom of Poland . A year later, with the First Peace of Thorn , it returned to the Teutonic Order. In 1440, the city participated in the foundation of the Prussian Confederation which was an organisation opposed to the rule of the Teutonic Knights. The organisation in its complaint of 1453 mentioned repeated cases in which

1330-540: The Danzig gulden . With the growth of Nazism among Germans, anti-Polish sentiment increased and both Germanisation and segregation policies intensified, in the 1930s the rights of local Poles were commonly violated and limited by the local administration. Polish children were refused admission to public Polish-language schools, premises were not allowed to be rented to Polish schools and preschools. Due to such policies, only eight Polish-language public schools existed in

1425-605: The Great Privilege , the town was granted full autonomy and protection by the King of Poland. The privilege removed tariffs and taxes on trade within Poland, Lithuania, and Ruthenia (present day Belarus and Ukraine ), and conferred on the town independent jurisdiction, legislation and administration of her territory, as well as the right to mint its own coin. Furthermore, the privilege united Old Town , Osiek , and Main Town , and legalised

1520-481: The Kashubian language the city is called Gduńsk . Although some Kashubians may also use the name "Our Capital City Gduńsk" ( Nasz Stoleczny Gard Gduńsk ) or "Our (regional) Capital City Gduńsk" ( Stoleczny Kaszëbsczi Gard Gduńsk ), the cultural and historical connections between the city and the region of Kashubia are debatable and use of such names raises controversy among Kashubians. The oldest evidence found for

1615-621: The Kingdom of Prussia in 1793, in the Second Partition of Poland . Both the Polish and the German-speaking population largely opposed the Prussian annexation and wished the city to remain part of Poland. The mayor of the city stepped down from his office due to the annexation. The notable city councilor Jan (Johann) Uphagen, historian and art collector, also resigned as a sign of protest against

1710-613: The Kristallnacht riots in November 1938, the community decided to organize its emigration and in March 1939 a first transport to Palestine started. By September 1939 barely 1,700 mostly elderly Jews remained. In early 1941, just 600 Jews were still living in Danzig, most of whom were later murdered in the Holocaust . Out of the 2,938 Jewish community in the city, 1,227 were able to escape from

1805-669: The Mediterranean Sea , began this service following P&O's withdrawal from it the previous month. In June 2006, Norman Spirit was re-flagged to the British registry from the Italian second registry. She was now registered in Southampton rather than Genoa , although when she entered service with LD Lines she was registered in Dover. In September 2009, LD Lines announced that from November 2009

1900-931: The National Museum , the Gdańsk Shakespeare Theatre , the Museum of the Second World War , the Polish Baltic Philharmonic , the Polish Space Agency and the European Solidarity Centre . Among Gdańsk's most notable historical landmarks are the Town Hall , the Green Gate , Artus Court , Neptune's Fountain , and St. Mary's Church , one of the largest brick churches in the world. The city

1995-754: The November and January uprisings and refugees from the Russian Partition of Poland fleeing conscription into the Russian Army, and insurgents of the November Uprising were also imprisoned in Biskupia Górka ( Bischofsberg ). In May–June 1832 and November 1833, more than 1,000 Polish insurgents departed partitioned Poland through the city's port, boarding ships bound for France , the United Kingdom and

SECTION 20

#1733085971888

2090-661: The Old Town was equipped with city rights as well. In 1380, the New Town was founded as the third, independent settlement. After a series of Polish-Teutonic Wars , in the Treaty of Kalisz (1343) the Order had to acknowledge that it would hold Pomerelia as a fief from the Polish Crown . Although it left the legal basis of the Order's possession of the province in some doubt, the city thrived as

2185-603: The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth , the city inhabitants largely became bi-cultural sharing both Polish and German culture and were strongly attached to the traditions of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. The city suffered a last great plague and a slow economic decline due to the wars of the 18th century. After peace was restored in 1721, Danzig experienced steady economic recovery. As a stronghold of Stanisław Leszczyński 's supporters during

2280-546: The Prins Filip . Following a lay-up in Dunkirk , she was acquired by Stena Line in 1998, renamed Stena Royal and initially used on freight services between Dover and Zeebrugge on charter to P&O Stena Line . In 1999, P&O Stena Line decided to extend the charter and transferred the ship to its Dover- Calais route. Stena Royal was extensively refurbished to include the P&;O Stena 'Brand World' concept and entered service on

2375-449: The Sealink consortium, Regie voor Maritiem Transport connected Oostende railway station with Dover Western Docks (the Sealink and Southern Region of British Rail ) terminal. At Ostend, direct international rail connections ran daily as far as Cologne , Berlin , Vienna , Copenhagen and Moscow . The UK arm of Sealink was privatized in 1984, and disagreements with the new owners of

2470-581: The Sicherheitsdienst camp Stutthof some 50 km (30 mi) from Danzig, and murdered. Many Poles living in Danzig were deported to Stutthof or executed in the Piaśnica forest . During the war, Germany operated a prison in the city, an Einsatzgruppen -operated penal camp, a camp for Romani people , two subcamps of the Stalag XX-B prisoner-of-war camp for Allied POWs, and several subcamps of

2565-760: The Stutthof concentration camp within the present-day city limits. In 1941, Hitler ordered the invasion of the Soviet Union , eventually causing the fortunes of war to turn against Germany. As the Soviet Army advanced in 1944, German populations in Central and Eastern Europe took flight, resulting in the beginning of a great population shift. After the final Soviet offensives began in January 1945, hundreds of thousands of German refugees converged on Danzig, many of whom had fled on foot from East Prussia , some tried to escape through

2660-614: The United States (see Great Emigration ). The city's longest serving mayor was Robert von Blumenthal, who held office from 1841, through the revolutions of 1848 , until 1863. With the unification of Germany in 1871 under Prussian hegemony , the city became part of the German Empire and remained so until 1919, after Germany's defeat in World War I . Starting from the 1850s, long-established Danzig families often felt marginalized by

2755-709: The Versailles Treaty , it became the Free City of Danzig , an independent quasi-state under the auspices of the League of Nations with its external affairs largely under Polish control. Poland's rights also included free use of the harbour, a Polish post office, a Polish garrison in Westerplatte district, and customs union with Poland. The Free City had its own constitution, national anthem , parliament , and government ( Senat ). It issued its own stamps as well as its currency,

2850-721: The War of the Polish Succession , it was taken by the Russians after the Siege of Danzig in 1734. In the 1740s and 1750s Danzig was restored and Danzig port was again the most significant grain exporting ports in the Baltic region . The Danzig Research Society , which became defunct in 1936, was founded in 1743. In 1772, the First Partition of Poland took place and Prussia annexed almost all of

2945-405: The diacritic over the "n" is frequently omitted) the usual pronunciation is / ɡ ə ˈ d æ n s k / or / ɡ ə ˈ d ɑː n s k / . The German name, Danzig , is usually pronounced [ˈdantsɪç] , or alternatively [ˈdantsɪk] in more Southern German-speaking areas. The city's Latin name may be given as either Gedania , Gedanum , or Dantiscum ;

MS Isle of Innisfree (2021) - Misplaced Pages Continue

3040-715: The first clash of World War II at Westerplatte . The contemporary city was shaped by extensive border changes , expulsions and new settlement after 1945. In the 1980s, Gdańsk was the birthplace of the Solidarity movement, which helped precipitate the collapse of the Eastern Bloc , the fall of the Berlin Wall and the dissolution of the Warsaw Pact . Gdańsk is home to the University of Gdańsk , Gdańsk University of Technology ,

3135-528: The 10th century have been found in archaeological excavations of the city. The site was ruled as a duchy of Poland by the Samborides . It consisted of a settlement at the modern Long Market, settlements of craftsmen along the Old Ditch, German merchant settlements around St Nicholas' Church and the old Piast stronghold. In 1215, the ducal stronghold became the centre of a Pomerelian splinter duchy . At that time

3230-410: The 14th century, after the takeover of the city by the Teutonic Knights. At latest in 1263 Pomerelian duke, Swietopelk II granted city rights under Lübeck law to the emerging market settlement. It was an autonomy charter similar to that of Lübeck, which was also the primary origin of many settlers. In a document of 1271 the Pomerelian duke Mestwin II addressed the Lübeck merchants settled in

3325-535: The Belgian state closed an important and historical period concerning transport of passengers from and to the UK. The first official crossing ever under the Belgian state took place in 1846, a history spanning 151 years. Service was inaugurated between Ostend and Dover on 4 March 1846, by the paddle steamer Chemin de Fer , which was later renamed Diamant . Owing to the great competition with lines serving Calais , Dunkirk , Zeebrugge , Antwerp , Rotterdam and Hook of Holland , RMT upgraded their fleet through

3420-459: The Brandenburgians left the town. Subsequently, the city was taken by Danish princes in 1301. In 1308, the town was taken by Brandenburg and the Teutonic Knights restored order. Subsequently, the Knights took over control of the town. Primary sources record a massacre carried out by the Teutonic Knights against the local population, of 10,000 people, but the exact number killed is subject of dispute in modern scholarship. Multiple authors accept

3515-480: The Calais route as the POSL Aquitaine , following the naming pattern for P&O Stena Line vessels. In 2000, the POSL Aquitaine failed to stop whilst berthing at Calais due to a propeller fault. The crash caused many injuries and extensive damage to both the ship and berth. On 9 October 2002, a crew member died in a chute during a routine raft evacuation trial. P&O Stena Line was a short-lived venture, ending in 2002 when P&O acquired Stena Line's share in

3610-466: The Dover-Calais route. Following the merger between the two companies in February 2013, and a technical stop for fifteen days in shipyard Gdańsk , Poland, to redevelop the passenger reception, the Norman Spirit made her return to the port of Calais on 17 March 2013, sporting a new name Calais Seaways , and a new colour. In 2018, DFDS announced an order for an E-Flexer class ferry from Stena RoRo in order to replace Calais Seaways . The new vessel

3705-434: The German influx on the general outlook of the city. Boosted by heavy investment in the development of its port and three major shipyards for Soviet ambitions in the Baltic region , Gdańsk became the major shipping and industrial centre of the People's Republic of Poland . In December 1970, Gdańsk was the scene of anti-regime demonstrations , which led to the downfall of Poland's communist leader Władysław Gomułka . During

3800-459: The King during the incorporation in March 1454 in Kraków , and the city again solemnly pledged allegiance to the King in June 1454 in Elbląg , recognizing the prior Teutonic annexation and rule as unlawful. On 25 May 1457 the city gained its rights as an autonomous city. On 15 May 1457, Casimir IV of Poland granted the town the Great Privilege , after he had been invited by the town's council and had already stayed in town for five weeks. With

3895-518: The Nazis before the outbreak of war. Nazi secret police had been observing Polish minority communities in the city since 1936, compiling information, which in 1939 served to prepare lists of Poles to be captured in Operation Tannenberg . On the first day of the war, approximately 1,500 ethnic Poles were arrested, some because of their participation in social and economic life, others because they were activists and members of various Polish organisations. On 2 September 1939, 150 of them were deported to

MS Isle of Innisfree (2021) - Misplaced Pages Continue

3990-424: The Polish Post office were tried and executed then buried on the spot in the Danzig quarter of Zaspa in October 1939. In 1998 a German court overturned their conviction and sentence. The city was officially annexed by Nazi Germany and incorporated into the Reichsgau Danzig-West Prussia . About 50 percent of members of the Jewish community had left the city within a year after a pogrom in October 1937. After

4085-446: The Polish press. German students attacked and expelled Polish students from the technical university. Dozens of Polish surnames were forcibly Germanized, while Polish symbols that reminded that for centuries Gdańsk was part of Poland were removed from the city's landmarks, such as the Artus Court and the Neptune's Fountain . From 1937, the employment of Poles by German companies was prohibited, and already employed Poles were fired,

4180-418: The Polish province of Royal Prussia , and later also of the Greater Poland Province . The city was visited by Nicolaus Copernicus in 1504 and 1526, and Narratio Prima , the first printed abstract of his heliocentric theory , was published there in 1540. After the Union of Lublin between Poland and Lithuania in 1569 the city continued to enjoy a large degree of internal autonomy (cf. Danzig law ). Being

4275-403: The Soviet Army, which captured the heavily damaged city on 30 March 1945 , followed by large-scale rape and looting. In line with the decisions made by the Allies at the Yalta and Potsdam conferences, the city became again part of Poland, although with a Soviet-installed communist regime, which stayed in power until the Fall of Communism in the 1980s. The remaining German residents of

4370-437: The Teutonic Knights imprisoned or murdered local patricians and mayors without a court verdict. On the request of the organisation King Casimir IV of Poland reincorporated the territory to the Kingdom of Poland in 1454. This led to the Thirteen Years' War between Poland and the State of the Teutonic Order (1454–1466). Since 1454, the city was authorized by the King to mint Polish coins. The local mayor pledged allegiance to

4465-423: The UK operation led to RMT leaving the consortium. Between 1985 and 1990, RMT operated in partnership with European Ferries under the Townsend Thoresen and P&O badges, and subsequently independently, as Oostende Lines. In 1993, RMT went into partnership with Sally Line transferring its UK terminal from the Port of Dover to the Port of Ramsgate . However, inferior road and rail connections did not help

4560-407: The addition of the morpheme ń / ni and the suffix -sk . The name of the settlement was recorded after St. Adalbert's death in 997 CE as urbs Gyddanyzc and it was later written as Kdanzk in 1148, Gdanzc in 1188, Danceke in 1228, Gdańsk in 1236, Danzc in 1263, Danczk in 1311, Danczik in 1399, Danczig in 1414, and Gdąnsk in 1656. In Polish documents, the form Gdańsk

4655-411: The annexation. His house exemplifies Baroque in Poland and is now a museum, known as Uphagen's House . An attempted student uprising against Prussia led by Gottfried Benjamin Bartholdi was crushed quickly by the authorities in 1797. During the Napoleonic Wars , in 1807, the city was besieged and captured by a coalition of French , Polish , Italian , Saxon , and Baden forces. Afterwards, it

4750-440: The area of the later city included various villages. In 1224/25, merchants from Lübeck were invited as hospites (immigrants with specific privileges) but were soon (in 1238) forced to leave by Swietopelk II of the Samborides during a war between Swietopelk and the Teutonic Knights , during which Lübeck supported the latter. Migration of merchants to the town resumed in 1257. Significant German influence did not reappear until

4845-406: The city as his loyal citizens from Germany. In 1300, the town had an estimated population of 2,000. While overall the town was far from an important trade centre at that time, it had some relevance in the trade with Eastern Europe . Low on funds, the Samborides lent the settlement to Brandenburg, although they planned to take the city back and give it to Poland. Poland threatened to intervene, and

SECTION 50

#1733085971888

4940-499: The city of Gdynia and the resort town of Sopot ; these form a metropolitan area called the Tricity ( Trójmiasto ), with a population of approximately 1.5 million. The city has a complex history, having had periods of Polish, German and self rule. An important shipbuilding and trade port since the Middle Ages , in 1361 it became a member of the Hanseatic League which influenced its economic, demographic and urban landscape . It also served as Poland's principal seaport, and

5035-422: The city was home to a large number of Polish-speaking Poles, Jewish Poles, Latvian-speaking Kursenieki , Flemings , and Dutch . In addition, a number of Scots took refuge or migrated to and received citizenship in the city, with first Scots arriving in 1380. During the Protestant Reformation , most German-speaking inhabitants adopted Lutheranism . Due to the special status of the city and significance within

5130-419: The city who had survived the war fled or were expelled to postwar Germany. The city was repopulated by ethnic Poles ; up to 18 percent (1948) of them had been deported by the Soviets in two major waves from pre-war eastern Polish areas annexed by the Soviet Union . In 1946, the communists executed 17-year-old Danuta Siedzikówna and 42-year-old Feliks Selmanowicz , known Polish resistance members, in

5225-409: The city's port in a large-scale evacuation involving hundreds of German cargo and passenger ships. Some of the ships were sunk by the Soviets, including the Wilhelm Gustloff after an evacuation was attempted at neighbouring Gdynia . In the process, tens of thousands of refugees were killed. The city also endured heavy Allied and Soviet air raids. Those who survived and could not escape had to face

5320-747: The city, and Poles managed to organize seven more private Polish schools. In the early 1930s, the local Nazi Party capitalised on pro-German sentiments and in 1933 garnered 50% of vote in the parliament. Thereafter, the Nazis under Gauleiter Albert Forster achieved dominance in the city government, which was still nominally overseen by the League of Nations' High Commissioner . In 1937, Poles who sent their children to private Polish schools were required to transfer children to German schools, under threat of police intervention, and attacks were carried out on Polish schools and Polish youth. German militias carried out numerous beatings of Polish activists, scouts and even postal workers, as "punishment" for distributing

5415-529: The city, encouraged by the secret support of Denmark and Emperor Maximilian , shut its gates against Stephen. After the Siege of Danzig , lasting six months, the city's army of 5,000 mercenaries was utterly defeated in a field battle on 16 December 1577. However, since Stephen's armies were unable to take the city by force, a compromise was reached: Stephen Báthory confirmed the city's special status and her Danzig law privileges granted by earlier Polish kings . The city recognised him as ruler of Poland and paid

5510-436: The company's financial position and contributed to its financial losses and eventual closure. Gda%C5%84sk Gdańsk is a city on the Baltic coast of northern Poland , and the capital of the Pomeranian Voivodeship . With a population of 486,492, it is Poland's sixth-largest city and principal seaport . Gdańsk lies at the mouth of the Motława River and is situated at the southern edge of Gdańsk Bay , close to

5605-410: The decision to close the company in 1997. Many of the assets were sold to Transeuropa Ferries which revived the route between Ramsgate and Ostend, first as a freight-only service, and subsequently taking passengers and cars. However, this itself closed in 2013 and since P&O Ferries closed their Hull-Zeebrugge service in 2021 there is currently no car ferry between the U.K. and Belgium. As part of

5700-418: The demolition of New Town , which had sided with the Teutonic Knights . By 1457, New Town was demolished completely, no buildings remained. Gaining free and privileged access to Polish markets, the seaport prospered while simultaneously trading with the other Hanseatic cities. After the Second Peace of Thorn (1466) between Poland and the Teutonic Order the warfare ended permanently; Gdańsk became part of

5795-399: The end of the 18th century, Gdańsk was still one of the most economically integrated cities in Poland. It was well-connected and traded actively with German cities , while other Polish cities became less well-integrated towards the end of the century, mostly due to greater risks for long-distance trade , given the number of violent conflicts along the trade routes. Danzig was annexed by

SECTION 60

#1733085971888

5890-400: The enormous sum of 200,000 guldens in gold as payoff ("apology"). During the Polish–Swedish War of 1626–1629 , in 1627, the naval Battle of Oliwa was fought near the city, and it is one of the greatest victories in the history of the Polish Navy . During the Swedish invasion of Poland of 1655–1660, commonly known as the Deluge , the city was unsuccessfully besieged by Sweden . In 1660,

5985-512: The existence of a settlement on the lands of what is now Gdańsk comes from the Bronze Age (which is estimated to be from 2500–1700 BCE). The settlement that is now known as Gdańsk began in the 9th century, being mostly an agriculture and fishing -dependent village. In the beginning of the 10th century, it began becoming an important centre for trade (especially between the Pomeranians ) until its annexation in c. 975 by Mieszko I . The first written record thought to refer to Gdańsk

6080-404: The fall of Antwerp . One RMT paddle steamer, Flandre , fell into German hands and was employed by them as a depot ship. Flandre was scuttled at Ostend upon the withdrawal of German troops in October 1918. The paddle steamer Marie Henriette was wrecked on 24 October 1914 on rocks while attempting to enter Barfleur with 650 wounded military personnel on board. The accident was attributed to

6175-450: The fire was overcome by crew members. European Seaway Regie voor Maritiem Transport Regie voor Maritiem Transport ( RMT ) was the Belgian state-owned ferry service and operated ferries on the Ostend - Dover route under the name Oostende Lines . For the last few years until its demise in February 1997, the ferries from Ostend went to Ramsgate instead of Dover in partnership with Sally Line . On 28 February 1997

6270-408: The former Royal Prussia, which became the Province of West Prussia . However, Gdańsk remained a part of Poland as an exclave separated from the rest of the country. The Prussian king cut off Danzig with a military controlled barrier, also blocking shipping links to foreign ports, on the pretense that a cattle plague may otherwise break out. Danzig declined in its economic significance. However, by

6365-415: The harbour lights having been unexpectedly extinguished. Later, the paddle steamer Princesse Clementine and turbine steamer Princesse Elisabeth were employed as fast military transports between Dover and ports in Flanders , whilst the paddle steamer Rapide and turbine steamer Stad Antwerpen saw service as hospital ships . The company's newest vessel at the time, the turbine steamer Ville de Liège ,

6460-405: The introduction in the latter year of the Seafrance Rodin ). Nonetheless, the opening of the Channel Tunnel in 1994 led to shorter transit times across the Channel for cars and freight, while new high-speed Eurostar services running directly between London and Brussels rendered traditional rail-sea-rail journeys obsolete. Unable to stem heavy financial losses, the Belgian government took

6555-421: The largest and one of the most influential cities of Poland, it enjoyed voting rights during the royal election period in Poland. In the 1560s and 1570s, a large Mennonite community started growing in the city, gaining significant popularity. In the 1575 election to the Polish throne, Danzig supported Maximilian II in his struggle against Stephen Báthory . It was the latter who eventually became monarch but

6650-409: The local prison. The port of Gdańsk was one of the three Polish ports through which Greeks and Macedonians , refugees of the Greek Civil War , reached Poland. In 1949, four transports of Greek and Macedonian refugees arrived at the port of Gdańsk, from where they were transported to new homes in Poland. Parts of the historic old city of Gdańsk, which had suffered large-scale destruction during

6745-402: The morning, arriving in Dover after anchoring off Calais and awaiting a harbour pilot just outside of Dover. The ship then started service the next morning for Irish Ferries, with the first commercial passengers sailing on 16 December. In June 2024, Isle of Innisfree was displaced from the Dover-Calais routing by Oscar Wilde . After being docked at Falmouth Harbour for maintenance work, it

6840-542: The new town elite originating from mainland Germany. This situation caused the Polish to allege that the Danzig people were oppressed by German rule and for this reason allegedly failed to articulate their natural desire for strong ties with Poland. When Poland regained its independence after World War I with access to the sea as promised by the Allies on the basis of Woodrow Wilson 's " Fourteen Points " (point 13 called for "an independent Polish state", "which should be assured

6935-439: The number given in the original sources, while others consider 10,000 to have been a medieval exaggeration, although scholarly consensus is that a massacre of some magnitude did take place. The events were used by the Polish crown to condemn the Teutonic Knights in a subsequent papal lawsuit. The knights colonized the area, replacing local Kashubians and Poles with German settlers. In 1308, they founded Osiek Hakelwerk near

7030-523: The operation. However, the POSL Aquitaine remained in service, initially under the name PO Aquitaine , then as the Pride of Aquitaine from early 2003 until May 2005 when she was withdrawn following the introduction of two new P&O ferries. In October 2005, she began sailing on the route between Portsmouth and Le Havre as Norman Spirit . LD Lines , a French-owned company with existing ferry operations on

7125-583: The origins of the town was retrieved mostly after World War II had laid 90   percent of the city centre in ruins, enabling excavations. The oldest seventeen settlement levels were dated to between 980 and 1308. Mieszko I of Poland erected a stronghold on the site in the 980s, thereby connecting the Polish state ruled by the Piast dynasty with the trade routes of the Baltic Sea . Traces of buildings and housing from

7220-472: The quality of life, safety and living standards worldwide, and its historic city centre has been listed as one of Poland's national monuments . The name of the city was most likely derived from Gdania , a river presently known as Motława on which the city is situated. Other linguists also argue that the name stems from the Proto-Slavic adjective / prefix gъd- , which meant ' wet ' or ' moist ' with

7315-476: The return of Danzig to Germany along with an extraterritorial (meaning under German jurisdiction ) highway through the area of the Polish Corridor for land-based access from the rest of Germany. Hitler used the issue of the status of the city as a pretext for attacking Poland and in May 1939, during a high-level meeting of German military officials explained to them: "It is not Danzig that is at stake. For us it

7410-500: The ship had a bow door on the starboard (right) for the upper vehicle deck for side loading and unloading in Ostend. Dunkirk West also had this port facility. However, after 1997 the door was sealed shut. The Prins Filip was built for Belgian operator Regie voor Maritiem Transport (RMT) in 1991, entering service in 1992 on its route between Ostend and Dover . In 1994 the RMT entered into

7505-638: The ship will be renamed to Isle of Innisfree . Shortly after the purchase, the ship was reflagged from Le Havre in France to Limassol , Cyprus, in line with the Irish Ferries fleet. On 17 November she was moved into a floating dry dock at Damen Shiprepair Dunkerque for works before entry into service in December 2021, complementing the Isle of Inishmore . The Innisfree then departed Damen Dunkerque on 14 December early in

7600-521: The survivors was Jerome Napoleon Bonaparte II . A major shift in propulsion took place in 1905 with the construction of RMT's first turbine steamer, Princesse Elisabeth . RMT ferries saw use in both world wars. Early in the First World War , the turbine steamer Jan Breydel evacuated Elisabeth of Bavaria, Queen of Belgium and the royal children on 28 August 1914. Later, vessels of the line evacuated diplomats, troops and important officials before

7695-626: The town, initially as a Slavic fishing settlement. In 1340, the Teutonic Knights constructed a large fortress, which became the seat of the knights' Komtur . In 1346 they changed the Town Law of the city, which then consisted only of the Rechtstadt , to Kulm law . In 1358, Danzig joined the Hanseatic League , and became an active member in 1361. It maintained relations with the trade centres Bruges , Novgorod , Lisboa , and Sevilla . Around 1377,

7790-407: The use of Polish in public places was banned and Poles were not allowed to enter several restaurants, in particular those owned by Germans. In 1939, before the German invasion of Poland and outbreak of World War II , local Polish railwaymen were victims of beatings, and after the invasion, they were also imprisoned and murdered in concentration camps . The German government officially demanded

7885-553: The variety of Latin and German names typically reflects the difficulty of pronunciation of the Polish/Slavonic city's name, all German- and Latin/Romance-speaking populations always encounter in trying to pronounce the difficult and complex Polish/Slavonic words. On special occasions, the city is also referred to as "The Royal Polish City of Gdańsk" (Polish: Królewskie Polskie Miasto Gdańsk , Latin: Regia Civitas Polonica Gedanensis , Kashubian: Królewsczi Pòlsczi Gard Gduńsk ). In

7980-465: The vessel from LD Lines to operate on its Dover-Dunkerque service. This was to help alleviate unexpected traffic pressure on the route caused by the announcement that SeaFrance was going into administration. At 13:00 on 17 February 2012, the Norman Spirit was 'relaunched' by model and actress Kelly Brook to start a new service for DFDS Seaways and LD Lines, with up to five return crossings per day on

8075-436: The vessel would be used on its service between Boulogne-sur-Mer and Dover. In March 2010 the Norman Spirit was chartered by TransEuropa Ferries . In a joint service between TransEuropa Ferries and LD Lines , the ship was renamed Ostende Spirit and began sailing between Ostend and Ramsgate . After changing the vessel name back to Norman Spirit , it was announced on 28 November 2011 that DFDS Seaways would charter

8170-440: The war was ended with the Treaty of Oliwa , signed in the present-day district of Oliwa . In 1677, a Polish-Swedish alliance was signed in the city. Around 1640, Johannes Hevelius established his astronomical observatory in the Old Town . Polish King John III Sobieski regularly visited Hevelius numerous times. Beside a majority of German-speakers, whose elites sometimes distinguished their German dialect as Pomerelian ,

8265-473: The war, were rebuilt during the 1950s and 1960s. The reconstruction sought to dilute the "German character" of the city, and set it back to how it supposedly looked like before the annexation to Prussia in 1793. Nineteenth-century transformations were ignored as "ideologically malignant" by post-war administrations, or regarded as "Prussian barbarism" worthy of demolition, while Flemish/Dutch, Italian and French influences were emphasized in order to "neutralize"

8360-402: The years, from paddle steamers to turbine steamers, diesel motor vessels , and finally high speed ferries. Many of the line's ships were built at Antwerp by the shipyard of SA John Cockerill . A rare accident for the company occurred when the RMT paddle steamers Princesse Henriette and Comtesse de Flandre collided in heavy fog on 29 March 1889 when both attempt to avoid collision with

8455-563: Was a free city from 1807 to 1814, when it was captured by combined Prussian-Russian forces. In 1815, after France's defeat in the Napoleonic Wars , it again became part of Prussia and became the capital of Regierungsbezirk Danzig within the province of West Prussia . Since the 1820s, the Wisłoujście Fortress served as a prison, mainly for Polish political prisoners, including resistance members , protesters, insurgents of

8550-444: Was always used. The German form Danzig developed later, simplifying the consonant clusters to something easier for German speakers to pronounce. The cluster "gd" became "d" ( Danzc from 1263), the combination "ns" became "nts" ( Danczk from 1311)., and finally an epenthetical "i" broke up the final cluster ( Danczik from 1399). In Polish, the modern name of the city is pronounced [ɡdaj̃sk] . In English (where

8645-690: Was employed as an auxiliary patrol vessel. HMS Prince Philippe was lost in a collision on 15 July 1941, whilst HMS Prince Leopold was sunk by a U-boat on 29 July 1944. After the war, the surviving ships were returned to RMT. In 1949 the company took delivery of the motor vessel Prinses Josephine Charlotte , the first of a series of car ferries. The standard timetable for most of the 1980s and 90s saw six crossings per day in each direction. In addition to traditional car ferries, RMT also operated two Boeing Jetfoils (for foot-passengers only) that reduced crossing times from 4 hours to 100 minutes. They were popular with connecting rail passengers, and

8740-450: Was laid up. Shortly after the Calais Seaways was laid up, speculation and rumours started circling that the ship was sold to Irish Ferries and was to be renamed Isle of Innisfree . Speculation continued throughout August, September and October and into early November without confirmation. However, the speculation came to a close when on 4 November 2021 Irish Continental Group announced the ship's purchase from DFDS, alongside confirming

8835-592: Was redeloyed to the Rosslare - Pembroke Dock service, freeing up fleetmate James Joyce to be diagrammed onto other services within the Irish Ferries network. Fire in the English Channel On 3 March 2023 a fire broke out in the engine room while the ship was sailing from Dover to Calais with 183 people on board, consisting of 94 passengers and 89 crew members. A French tugboat and three British lifeboats were dispatched to assist. No injuries were reported and

8930-458: Was the largest city of Poland in the 15th-17th centuries. In 1793, within the Partitions of Poland , the city became part of Prussia , and thus a part of the German Empire from 1871 after the unification of Germany . Following World War I and the Treaty of Versailles , it was a Free City under the protection of the League of Nations from 1920 to 1939. On 1 September 1939 it was the scene of

9025-617: Was used as a fast evacuation transport (technically not a hospital ship, as the steamer was armed and painted in dazzle camouflage ). Owing to its lower speed, the line's oldest vessel at the time, the paddle steamer Belgique (built in 1862) was employed during the war in more militarily protected waters as an ammunition transport between Southampton and Le Havre . After augmenting the fleet postwar with additional turbine ferries, RMT received its first diesel ferry, Prince Baudouin , in 1934. When RMT began transporting automobiles and lorries as well as passengers, cars had to be loaded onto

#887112