three contemporary examples of modern architecture in gdynia: the looming sea towers, PKO bank polski & the courtyard hotel.
after visiting gdańsk we had heard of another nearby city that promised the total opposite of the medieval/renaissance flair we encountered there. gdynia, which was greatly advertised as 'the city of modernism'. gdynia is a very young city ( it got the municipal law only in 1926 - a time when modern architecture began to fully become part of city landscapes with styles such as bauhaus, new objectivity and functionalism ). before that it had been a rather sleepy little spa village. the reason why it grew so quickly in such a short time was the prospect of work on poland's most modern harbour, which drew thousands of people to the place. in around 20 years time the city grew from 1,300 inhabitants in 1920 to 127,000 in 1939, which was a massive growth for that time! consequently they had to built tenements and housings quickly for the new population, and the possibilities and chances that the modern way of construction offered to this blooming city were thus utilized greatly! gdynia is one of those very rare cities in the world that have a great amount of early modern architecture still embedded in their architectural landscapes ( in the ranks of tel aviv and brasilia ), thanks to the lucky circumstance of not getting extensively bombed out during world war 2. along those examples you can also find post-war architecture ( especially that of the so-called socrealizm - socialist realism ) and of course contemporary and futuristic architecture as well.
i had imagined a plethora of gorgeously clean and space-y architecture all over the place, and while there was some of that, there was also another side to it, a more grimy and ugly one. the lack of historical-looking buildings didn't bother me so much, but the lack of appreciation for some of the modern buildings in gdynia did! though it did have a certain charm to see lovely functionalist buildings with peeling facade paint, sometimes it was on the verge of falling apart, which is always saddening to me. yeah, i kinda love abandoned buildings and structures, i also don't have anything against the occassional flakey wall paint or some slight disrepair, but when i see buildings that should be preserved and are advertised as 'a pearl of modernism' while falling apart basically, it really breaks my heart.
anyway, i still have to admit that i was quite enticed with gdynia, because it was definitely a special atmosphere with rarely a building older than 1920. and as a bauhaus/new objectivity lover i discovered lots of details from those styles that informed the constructions and buildings, and that made my heart sing. i was also really enamoured with the socrealizm architecture from the 1970/1980ies, it just has a very special place in my heart for being part of my own 'heritage', so to speak. and quite simply it's a really cool style, often quite abstract and surrealistic!
the first thing we encountered in the city was the newly developed waterfront of gdynia ( which is a complex of office spaces, retail and residences - as seen on the first picture in this post! ). when you walk on you will get to see this interesting fountain, which i personally loved, as it looked like mushrooms spitting out water from their heads :) it was created in 1974 by łukasz rogiński.
the other vessel worth mentioning on the southern pier is the 'dar pomorza' - an over 100 years old fully-rigged sailing frigate built for the german merchant maritime school in 1909. she came to poland in 1929, after being in possession of germany, great britain and france for the first 20 years of her life, and she served another 51 years as a school ship that trained thousands of students of the polish maritime school and in which she sailed around the world several times. she also is a museum ship now, and a very beautiful one at that. i wouldn't mind sailing the baltic sea with her ;)
the riggings without sails. i am always sort of fascinated by all the ropes, cables and chains that make up the rigging. i always think that it must be quite a task to operate a sailing ship this big and to be able to know which rope and line to operate to change the course for even a tiny bit.
looking back over the president's basin to the new waterfront, which was still heavily under construction in other areas. gdynia has 12 such basins, which constitute the port of gdynia as a whole.
also on the southern pier: the three masts monument, unveiled in 1980, created by wawrzyniec samp. i love how dangerous it looks! i certainly don't want to get skewered by the three masts, ever ( as if i would ever be able to get into the air easily and drop myself down there 😂 ).
a look towards kamienna góra ( rock mountain ) - a district of gdynia near the beach in downtown. the interesting building on the right side is one from 1968, it houses a hotel and a student dormitory ( gdynia is also a university city ).
out on the sea we glimpsed a sailing vessel ( of course one of those 'hanseatic' tourist ships ;P ).
the southern pier is pretty much the figurehead of the port of gdynia, this is the place where most tourists ( such as us ;P ) end up. the main attractions are here, like the two museum ships i talked about earlier. there's also an aquarium, a planetarium and the polish naval university on this little strip of land - and of course downtown city is nearby, where you can find a lot more interesting places to visit.
a storm was rolling in when i shot these pictures, so they turned out pretty dramatic 😍
the three masts memorial again, looking even more threatening! i really loved this structure!
an entrance lighthouse that is supposed to help you find the way into the president's basin.
the aquarium resides in a super cool ( but dilapidated ) building from 1971.
from afar you don't see the cracks in the concrete and the flaking of the paint, but when you get near that shiny modern image takes a beating. in this case it's even a tiny bit charming.
this memorial is called 'the dreamer' or 'wave conductor' and can be found on a dolphin about 40 meters from the beach. the boy sitting on it should actually hold a little baton in his hand that would make him appear like he was conducting waves, but it seems someone has stolen it. it's still such a dreamy sculpture, i really loved it. the sculptor was adam dawcak-dębicki.
the planetarium at the maritime university's faculty of navigation ( former polish sailor's house ). the university ( you can see a bit of it in the back ) was designed by bohdan damięcki and tadeusz sieczkowski in 1938/1939 (!), but the planetarium is a 70ies addition that follows the design of the original buildings.
another interesting building that i was unable to photograph well was the naval museum ( built from 2001 to 2012 ). it exhibits all kinds of polish navy related things, from weapons to ships and machineries to uniforms to the history of the polish navy etc.
these canons were also part of the exhibition. i can't go into detail here, because i have no clue about naval equipment at all 😂 they look world war 2-ish to me, but you better don't rely too much on my perception of things when it comes to this!
downtown beach with view towards the southern pier. since it was raining, the beach was quite empty. i've seen pictures from when the sun was out and let me tell you, you don't want to be here when the sun's out in summer 😂 i was quite glad it was a rainy day, otherwise this would've been a crowded nightmare ( even before corona was a thing it would've been reason enough to let me flee far, far away 😅 )
the polish sailor's house, the aquarium, the three masts memorial in the back and the marina gdynia up front.
adorable fish sculpture at downtown beach 😍 it was created by adam smolana in 1968.
this seemed to have been a pop up shop or bar or restaurant that specialized on finnish stuff, but it wasn't what interested me, i actually liked the blue umbrellas more!
the sun returned for a bit and we returned to the fountain, where we sat down and got some coffee and cake ( we really need that, my mom and i 😂 ).
after our coffee break we decided to venture into the city and look for the modern architecture that this city is so famous for! this abstract memorial from 2018 is a monument to polish seafarers, to honour their work and commitment.
the stanisław pręczkowski tenement house ( architects: włodzimierz prochaska, stanisław garliński & tadeusz jędrzejewski ) on kościuszko square is a listed building that was built from approximately 1930 to 1937 for the pręczkowski family. it is an appartment house now, but it had also been a cinema between 1937 and 1999. on the ground floor there's a restaurant these days.
buildings from the 1930ies are pretty rare, i still haven't figured out why, but i guess it's got something to do with them being attached to a time that wasn't exactly prosperous and is also politically prestressed in many countries ( at least in germany it is! ). gdynia was initially built for polish and kashubian people between the two great wars during the second polish republic, which probably is the reason these buildings survived, as they are not linked to the german occupation before 1918 and during the second world war. that's also a special thing about gdynia, a remarkable one even! while many other cities at the polish baltic sea were mainly inhabited by germans before 1918 ( which shows heavily in their architectural landscapes ), gdynia was born in a time where polish patriotism manifested itself more evidently. it was built as an access point to the baltic sea as a counterpart to gdańsk, which was mainly inhabited by germans and being a declared free city, they weren't exactly open to the prospect of this new development. so the government of the second polish republic decided to build their own access to the baltic sea - gdynia. and in this context you could probably say that gdynia is one of the most polish cities in poland, because it was built for the polish people. and that also kinda explains why it grew so fast in just a few decades, it promised the awakening of a new identity, something that was important to the formerly domineered people of polish origin in these regions.
the kashubian square with the first hospital of gdynia ( grey buildings, built between 1928 - 1929, owned by the sisters of charity of st. vincent de paul ) and the city hospital ( big bright grey one, probably from 1938 ). this picture pretty much shows the character of the rest of the city, broad and wide streets, stream-lined & minimalist buildings and a lot of construction going on.
loved these rounded balconies ( reminded me so much of bauhaus ), but wasn't enamoured with the rest of the building. i also couldn't find any information on it, so i suppose it wasn't listed on the modern buildings list.
the building in the front is another listed one, the bergenske office building, originally a norwegian brokerage company's headquarters ( 1935 - 1937 by wacław tomaszewski ). it was in a really bad condition, even though gdynia's police headquarters are located inside. apparently there's an endless dispute ongoing between the original owners and the city of gdynia and that's why it's not being renovated and repaired properly. it could actually be a real jewel, the facade is clad with sandstone slabs and it seems also terracotta tiles. the building in the back was in a much better condition, but with good reason, as it is a contemporary construction from 2007. it is heavily inspired by the modern style of the 1920ies/1930ies, though, and thus could easily be confused with an original historic building. the architect was mariusz magda.
close nearby i got a glimpse of a super neat-looking church ( that i regret not checking out a bit more thoroughly ). the church of our lady of perpetual help and st. piotr rybak is a catholic one and was built in the early 1970ies ( architect: lech kadłubowski ). it's one of those socrealizm buildings that are truly a gem of architecture and worth preserving for following generations. the bell tower is absolutely perfect and reminds me of a ship's bell mast! the church was also designed to resemble a boat, with an elliptic layout retracing the form of ships. the interior is very light-flooded, with beautiful stained glass windows illuminating it. i think y'all should check it out on here, since i shamefully neglected taking a closer look at this beauty.
on the other side of the same street this mural made my heart jump up and down with excitement! the artwork was executed by an artist called 2501 ( for instagram buffs, here's his account ), and behind that number hides an italian person with the name of jacopo ceccarelli. i utterly loved all the swirling lines and the abstract image it created! it's called 'kali-yuga' ( which represents the last of 4 ages in hinduist cosmology ) and was created during a festival in 2013.
and then, dear friends of mural art, my head started spinning when i discovered this house wall 😍 a flying saucer coming down from the sky in what appears to be a harbour area? count me in! the artist m-city aka mariusz waras created this banger in 2013 as well. i urge you to check out his website to discover more of his mind-bending art, inspired by fantastical and futuristic city-landscapes with an industrialist touch! alternatively, his instagram is worth checking out, too.
the building the mural was painted on is worth mentioning, too, a good example of PRL tenement structures. i couldn't find out when it was built, but i would guess it was sometime in the 70ies.
the gdynia infobox is a contemporary building from 2010 by jacek droszcz. it is a much bigger structure that's made out of 65 glass containers in which cafes, shops and exhibition rooms have their homes in and this observation tower, from which you apparently can observe your surroundings ;) it was built to showcase the city's future plans for spaces, projects and other happenings, basically to inform the inhabitants on all things happening in their city.
gdynia has a trolley bus system, which i find sooooo nostalgic, you can rarely find this anymore! the only time i remember seeing trolley buses was on the other end of poland in opawa - a city close to the czech republic that we visited in autumn of 2018. in gdynia it is only one line that traverses the city and it is driven by historic trolley buses!
behind the bus is another part of the gdynia infobox, this time the main exhibition space.
next on our city walk was the more traditional-looking collegiate basilica of the virgin mary, which was built in 1924 ( architects: marian baranowski & roman wojtkiewicz ) in the neo-baroque style to commemorate and create a link to the more traditional religious buildings further inland! but what would gdynia be, if it didn't mix the traditional with the modern? directly next to it is a building that is the total opposite of the traditional one, a 1986 addition, and now the actual church building of the parish ( the old basilica is treated as a subsidiary church, curiously ). you can see the dark concrete structure on the left side which i will show you a bit detailed further down this post.
the entrance to the basilica which got its title 'basilica minor' in 2018. we did not take a peak inside, and this time i don't regret the decision as much as with the modern church of our lady of perpetual help 😅
the main church of the virgin mary parish is now this one! the basilica was too small for the parish, so they decided to erect a new church directly next to the basilica and from 1982 to 1986 this strange, brooding church was built. it feels really dark and gloomy compared to the basilica, right? the official name for this structure is 'divine mercy sanctuary'. apparently it's as dark inside as it is outside - a perfect brutalist approach. i couldn't find any info on the architects of this strange church building, which is kind of a shame as it certainly was quite an interesting one!
the entrance area of the sanctuary with a better view on the jesus figure guarding the doors. i wish i had made a picture of the metal work of the doors as well, but somehow i missed out on that 😅
there was also a little outside belfry with 14 bells on them!
on we marched and passed by the gdynia film center, of course one of those futuristic creations that pop up every now and then these days ;) it is one of the most important polish cinema spaces in the region and the country, offering film screenings of professional and amateur movies, movie discussions and even a film school program. every year, the polish film festival is also held here, a very prestigious and important happening in poland. the monolithic body with the fair glass facade was opened in 2015 and was built by the gdynia architecture firm ARCH DECO. it is situated in the vicinity of the teatr muzyczny ( music theater ) and the little hill of kamienna góra, which you can ascend via a funicular behind the film center.
i really liked this building and against the backdrop of the more historical modernist buildings in the back it opened up a nice contrast piece ( which, like always, i am a true sucker for :P ). by the way, the concrete facade building with the interesting cornerstone windows is a listed building from 1936, designed by zbigniew kupiec for wiesław tuchołka, who gave this tenement building its name.
the movie center from further away and in full size.
the last picture from our gdynia visit is this one, showing you the danuta baduszkowa theater, which specializes in musical performances. built from 1972 to 1979 by józef chmiel & daniel olędzki for the famous director danuta baduszkowa, it is an outstanding piece of socrealizm architecture, monumental and impressive at the same time.
i would've liked to explore this city a little more, but my parents weren't so interested in gdynia as i was, and they got a little tired due to the lack of exciting things for their eye-holes to see, so we didn't spend the whole day there ( plus, it rained a lot - which also contributed to feeling a little leached out, i guess ^^; ) and returned to dębina in the early afternoon. we took a nap and later made a little walk around the village. the last three pictures of this post resulted from that walk and with these i'll close our little trip to gdynia - being a contrast to all the modern architecture again ;)
the fields around dębina, close to our appartment.
these timber-framed villas were also in our direct neighborhood. with their thatched roofs they invoked quite a nostalgic feeling to the old times. though i am not sure how historic these houses were, it could also have been that they were modern creations meant to look like historic farmsteads.
they surely were super cute, and i wouldn't mind moving in and spending the rest of my meager life underneath these roofs ;P
and that was that, another round is finished of our trip to poland last year. it's incredible how slow i am moving forward with chronicling this trip, but alas, it's hard work for a poor squirrel, but step by step i'm coming to a close.
let us just hope y'all stay curious though,
until next time ❤
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