Poland, June 12 - 15, 2014

“From Stettin in the Baltic to Trieste in the Adriatic an iron curtain has descended across the Continent.”  Yes, Winston, we visited that Stettin, now called Szchecin but no longer behind the Iron Curtain.  We drove there from Berlin in two hours with no formalities at the Polish border, which was even less visible than the Utah border when we enter from Idaho.

Szczecin was a Prussian/German city before 1945, Berlin’s principal port.  Despite considerable destruction in World War II, its architecture is still primarily German.  The most imposing monuments are St. James's Cathedral and the Palace of the Pomeranian Dukes (antedating Prussian rule).   It is a pleasant city, but not one that would merit a visit unless tourists needed a break, as we did, between Berlin and Gdansk.

St. James's Cathedral, whose post-war restoration reduced the height of its tower by 50 percent

Palace of the Dukes of Pomerania

The drive from Szczecin to Gdansk is long and tedious, passing through innumerable small towns with low speed limits.  However, somewhere en route we spotted a small church whose parishioners were clearly ecstatic about the canonization of John Paul II.  The sign reads in translation. “St. John Paul II, pray for us.”

We spent the night in Gdansk and drove south the next day to Malbork, the headquarters of the Teutonic Knights who dominated much of northeastern Europe during the 14^th and 15^th centuries.  Originally founded to fight the Muslim “infidels,” the order left the Holy Land when their situation there became precarious and came north to fight the pagan tribes in the lands bordering the Baltic Sea.   An unusual fusion of knights and monks, all from high-born German families, they took vows of poverty, chastity, obedience, but were also ready to slay non-Christians—and some Christians, too, if circumstances required. To subdue the area, they established a patchwork of fortresses within a day’s march of each other.

The knights’ headquarters were at Marienburg (now Malbork), the largest brick fortress in Europe and the largest in area, encompassing 21 hectares (53 acres) within its outer walls.  Never captured in medieval warfare, the fortress was badly damaged in World War II but has been largely restored.  “Huge” doesn’t begin to describe it.

Malbork Fortress

Wall of Middle Castle with "dansker" tower, designed to serve as both last redoubt and lavatory

Grand Master's Palace in Middle Castle

 Statues of significant grand masters

Drawbridge leading to Middle Castle

Sunday was devoted to Gdansk, one of the most interesting and beautiful cities we have ever visited.  Gdansk assumed prominence under the Teutonic Knights, who imported Germans to develop the city economically and give it a prominent role in the Hanseatic League.  After the Knights’ demise, the city owed formal allegiance to the Polish king but enjoyed considerable autonomy.  The Prussians took over with the partitions of Poland, but after World War I Gdansk formally became a free city under the League of Nations.  At the end of World War II, the German residents fled along with their Protestant pastors, and the city became Polish and its churches Catholic.

Gdansk's old harbor with 14th century crane in background

Green Gate, formal entrance to Gdansk from the harbor and residence for visiting royalty

Ulica Długa, historic Gdansk's main street, with tower of 14th/15th century town hall

Houses on Ulica Długa

View of St. Mary's Cathredral, which dominates historic Gdansk

Part of Gdansk shipyards, where Solidarity movement was born

14th century Great Mill

Other mill buildings on Kaduna Canal with St. Catherine's Church in background

Monument recalling heroic resistance of Gdansk postal workers during first days of World War II

14th century Oliva Cathedral with Baroque interior

Interior of Oliva Cathedral with wedding in progress

Danziger Goldwasser, the city's signature drink, an herbal liqueur with flakes of "gold"