Modernist City Centre
Modernistyczne Śródmieście

Modernistyczne Śródmieście is the modernist center of Gdynia. Gdynia is known as one of the best-preserved modernist cities in Europe. It was built almost from scratch in the 1920s and 1930s, when Poland wanted an independent port city independent of Gdańsk. Modernist architects such as Stanisław Ziołowski, Roman Piotrowski and Tadeusz Jędrzejewski designed apartment blocks, offices and public buildings inspired by functionalism and art deco. The buildings are characterized by flat roofs, white plastered facades, ribbon windows, rounded corners and details inspired by ship design.

Among the most striking examples are Dom Żeglarza Polskiego from 1938-1939 and Budynek biurowy ZUS from 1935-1936. The residential areas in the city centre, especially around Świętojańska and 10 Lutego streets, consist of multi-storey apartment buildings, where balconies, rounded corners and horizontal window bands emphasize the modernism typical of the period. After World War II, many buildings were preserved, and today Gdynia stands out as a unique city where a unified modernist whole can be experienced on a large scale. The city has therefore been nicknamed the capital of modernism in Poland, and in 2015, parts of the city’s modernist buildings were officially included in the list of Polish national monuments.

Stone Hill
Kamienna Góra

Kamienna Góra or Stone Hill is a ridge located in the centre of Gdynia, which forms one of the city’s central built-up areas. The area began to develop in the 1920s as part of the planning of the new port city. Villas, boarding houses and recreational areas were built here for the upper classes of society, including naval officers and civil servants. The architecture of Kamienna Góra consists of a mixture of modernist villas, art deco buildings and some remains of former village settlements.

The area is also a place of remembrance, as there are several monuments such as crosses and memorial plaques for fallen sailors and victims of war. In 2015, a funicular railway, Kolejka na Kamienna Górę, was established, connecting the foot of the ridge with the top, where there is a viewpoint over the port and the Baltic Sea. This connection integrates Kamienna Góra into the overall city infrastructure and makes the area accessible as a recreational place for both residents and tourists.

South Pier
Molo Południowe

Molo Południowe or South Pier was built in the early 1920s as part of the planned expansion of Gdynia into the national port of Poland. Construction began in 1923, and the pier was completed in the 1930s as one of the central elements of the modern port. The facility was designed as a wide quay with a length of about 620 meters, which provided space for passenger ships, buildings and maritime institutions.

The pier quickly developed into a hub for both trade and tourism. In the interwar period, a passenger terminal and customs buildings were located here, and they received travelers from, among other things, transatlantic routes. During World War II, the port area was damaged, but it was rebuilt in the post-war period and adapted to new functions. Over time, the pier increasingly became a public space, and it became home to several permanent museum ships, such as Dar Pomorza and ORP Błyskawica.

Today, Molo Południowe serves as one of the city’s most important recreational and representative areas. Here, you can visit the Gdynia Aquarium, take a walk in the city’s marina and see memorials to the Polish Navy. The area is a central element of the city’s architectural heritage, as it combines the functions of the port city’s origins with the city’s modern role as a maritime center.

ORP Błyskawica

ORP Błyskawica is a Polish Grom-class destroyer built between 1935 and 1937 at the J. Samuel White shipyard in Cowes on the Isle of Wight. The ship was launched in October 1936 and officially commissioned in 1937 as one of the most modern vessels in the Polish Navy. With a length of 114 meters, a beam of 11.3 meters and a displacement of approximately 2,100 tons standard load, it was equipped with machinery that gave a top speed of over 39 knots. The armament initially included seven 120 mm guns, two 40 mm Bofors anti-aircraft guns, torpedo tubes and depth charges. The ship’s construction was adapted to both Baltic and Atlantic areas of operation, and it had a modern design with a reinforced hull and high maneuverability.

At the outbreak of World War II, Błyskawica was stationed in the Baltic Sea, but escaped German siege by sailing to Britain as part of Operation Peking with two other Polish destroyers. During the war, the ship participated in convoy operations across the North Atlantic, the Mediterranean and the English Channel, escorting over 80 convoys and conducting over 100 patrols. In May 1942, Błyskawica played a key role in the defence of Cowes on the Isle of Wight during a German air raid, her artillery shooting down several bombers and preventing major damage. The ship remained active until the end of the war in 1945, and she received several decorations for her efforts, including the Virtuti Militari, Poland’s highest military order.

After the war, the ship returned to Poland in 1947 and became an important part of the naval buildup in the early Cold War. In the following years, Błyskawica underwent several modernizations, during which the artillery was replaced and the electronic equipment was adapted to new standards. The ship remained in active service until 1975, when it was decommissioned and in 1976 converted into a museum ship in Gdynia. As a museum, it now serves as one of the most important maritime attractions in Poland, where visitors can see the ship’s deck installations, armament and exhibitions on the history of Poland’s navy and naval warfare during World War II.

Dar Pomorza

Dar Pomorza is a three-masted full-rigged ship built in 1909 at the Blohm & Voss shipyard in Hamburg under the name Prinzess Eitel Friedrich. The ship has a length of 81.2 meters, a width of 12 meters and a sail area of ​​approximately 2,100 square meters. The design is typical of large sailing ships from the beginning of the 20th century, with a steel frame, wooden decks and three masts, the mainmast of which reaches a height of over 40 metres. After World War I, the ship was awarded to France as war reparations, but in 1929 it was purchased by the Pomeranian community in Poland to replace the older training ship Lwów, and it was then named Dar Pomorza, meaning Gift of Pomerania.

From 1930, the ship served as a training ship for cadets from the Polish Naval Academy in Gdynia. During its service, it made more than 100 voyages and sailed over half a million nautical miles. One of the most significant voyages was the circumnavigation of the globe in 1934–1935, when Dar Pomorza became the first Polish ship to complete a circumnavigation of the globe. The ship also participated in international regattas for large sailing ships and achieved several victories. It won the prestigious Cutty Sark Trophy in 1980. During World War II, the ship was interned in Sweden, but escaped destruction and was able to return to Poland after the war.

In 1983, Dar Pomorza was decommissioned and transferred to the National Museum in Gdańsk as a museum ship. The ship is permanently moored at the Gdynia waterfront, where it is set up as a museum, showing the history of maritime education and life on board. You can experience the cadets’ dormitories, officers’ cabins, engine rooms and the deck with its impressive rigging. Dar Pomorza today stands as a central monument in Polish maritime history and is one of the most visited museums in the city.

Gdynia Aquarium
Akwarium Gdynia

Akwarium Gdynia is an aquarium founded in 1971 as a further development of the former Oceanographic Institute of the Polish Academy of Sciences, which had existed since 1921. The building where the aquarium is located was built in 1938 as the seat of the Polish Fisheries Institute. The architecture is an example of interwar modernism, characterized by a functional concrete and glass structure, which has been adapted to the needs of the aquarium in recent years.

From the beginning, the institution has conducted scientific research in marine biology and disseminated the same field to the public. The collections initially included fish and marine animals from the Baltic Sea, but have now expanded to more than 1,500 species from all over the world, such as coral fish, sharks, reptiles and tropical freshwater animals. The large aquarium tanks are arranged to display ecosystems from different geographical regions, providing a professional insight into biological diversity and environmental issues.

Emigration Museum
Muzeum Emigracji

The Muzeum Emigracji in Gdynia opened in 2015 in the former passenger terminal Dworzec Morski, built in 1933 as one of the most important port buildings in interwar Poland. The terminal was the starting point for hundreds of thousands of Polish emigrants who traveled to North America, South America and Australia, among others. The architecture is an example of functionalist modernism, built in reinforced concrete with large glass sections and a simple, rational design language, which emphasized the building’s role as a transport and transit point.

The museum documents the various phases of Polish emigration from the 19th century to the present day. The exhibitions combine historical objects, documents, photographs and personal stories, showing the causes and consequences of migration. A significant part of the presentation deals with emigration in the interwar period, when Gdynia became Poland’s most important port of departure, as well as the political emigrations during and after World War II.

Church of St. Michael the Archangel
Kościół św. Michała Archanioła

Kościół św. Michała Archanioła in Gdynia-Oksywie is the oldest preserved building in the area and was originally built in 1224. The church was built by the Norbertine Order on the site of a former pagan cult site. The current building consists of a single nave with a choir and a tower, which today is topped by a Baroque dome. The basic structure of the church was built of granite and brick, reflecting the medieval building customs of the Pomeranian region. The building has undergone several reconstructions and repairs, including after the destruction caused by Swedish forces during the wars of the 17th century.

Throughout its long history, the church has played a central role as the parish church of Oksywie. During the 20th century, it was damaged several times, for example at the end of World War II, when the tower was hit by artillery fire. After the war, the building was restored, and the interior was designed to also serve as a memorial to individuals and units of the Polish Navy. This includes memorial plaques to fallen ships and naval officers, emphasizing the church’s dual function as both a religious and national monument. The cemetery around the Kościół św. Michała Archanioła is one of the most important burial grounds in Pomerania and contains the burials of both civilian and military figures; for example, prominent figures from the Polish Navy.

Torpedownia

The Torpedownia in Gdynia is the name of the German torpedo testing station built by the Kriegsmarine during World War II. Construction began in 1940 as part of the military expansion of the Baltic coast, and the station was one of several facilities in the region where new weapons systems were developed and tested. The building is located in the sea off Gdynia-Babie Doły, approximately 300 meters from the coast, and was connected to land by a pier and technical installations. The facility was built of reinforced concrete to withstand both weather and possible bombing.

The Torpedownia consisted of several floors and housed laboratories, control rooms and facilities for the use of torpedoes. From the station, torpedoes could be fired directly into the sea to test range, stability and accuracy. The building was part of a larger military complex that also included barracks and technical workshops on land. The torpedo testing station was actively used until 1945, when the German forces left the area. After the war, parts of the installation were removed or destroyed, but the main building itself remained standing out in the sea.

Today, Torpedownia appears as a ruin with no permanent connection to land, which has made it a striking but inaccessible monument of the wartime. It is visible from the beach at Babie Doły and serves as a historical landmark, although it is not secured or arranged for visitors. Architecturally, the building represents a specialized war-industrial construction. Today, Torpedownia is one of the most recognizable symbols of Gdynia’s role during World War II and an important element of the city’s military-historical landscape.