Architektur und Städtebau der Freien Stadt Danzig (1920-1939)

This may be the last moment to raise public awareness of the buildings from the era of the Free City, as they form an important element of the cultural landscape of the entire region.

To the Danzig photographs in the Herder Institute's image catalog

The exhibition aims to revive memories of the lively architectural and urban development activity that took place during the period of the Free City of Danzig. The educational message of the exhibition is also important, as the buildings from the Free City era do not enjoy widespread interest and are often neglected, especially as renovation work robs them of their aesthetic value.

In 1920, the Free City of Danzig was established by a resolution of the Treaty of Versailles. It covered an area of almost 2,000 km², which was divided into five districts: two urban districts (Danzig, Sopot) and three rural districts (Danziger Höhe, Danziger Niederung, Großes Werder). In addition to Danzig and Sopot, there were two smaller towns in the territory of the Free City of Danzig: Neuteich and Tiegenhof. Right from the start, the authorities of the Free City faced numerous challenges. Probably the most important one was to create decent living conditions for the ever-growing population. Equally important was the organization of appropriate health care facilities (hospitals and sanatoriums).

Children and young people were a particular concern, which is why another task was to build kindergartens and schools. The administration and companies and businesses that were now starting their economic activities were also looking for new headquarters, so office buildings had to be provided. These conditions meant that construction activity played a very important role. Entire neighborhoods with new buildings were built from scratch in Gdańsk, including in Langfuhr, Steegen, Zigankenberg, and Oliva. Urban planners broke new ground in urban development by developing interesting visions for areas designated for residential development, industrial enterprises, and recreation. New housing estates were also built in Sopot, although on a smaller scale. New schools, sanatoriums, and hospitals sprang up throughout the Free City.

The curators of the bilingual exhibition (Polish/German) are Ewa Barylewska-Szymańska and Wojciech Szymański. Both have been researching and publishing on the architecture and history of Gdańsk for many years.