8 Best Sights in The Baltic Coast and Pomerania, Poland

Gdański Teatr Szekspirowski

Stare Miasto Fodor's choice
Would you expect an authentic Elizabethan-style stage in Poland, at the Baltic coast, in Gdańsk? The story goes back as far as the year 1610, when a building known as the Fencing School appeared in the city. In addition to fencing classes, the School hosted regular theater performances, and even the first opera ever staged in Gdańsk. Similar in style to London's Fortune Theatre, it often hosted performances by visiting English theater troupes. More than 400 years later, the tradition has been revived in a beautiful building designed by Renato Rizzi of Venice. The architect says that there's no building like this one anywhere in the world. The architecture is very striking: on the outside, it matches the Gothic, darkened brick forms of its surroundings, so typical of Gdańsk. In contrast to the dark and serious exterior, the interior is bright and luminous, built in light-color stone and fragrant birch wood, and white walls are finished with meticulous attention to detail. In warmer months, the roof over the stage is open to the sky. The stage hosts performances of Shakespeare's plays, but not only that: it has a varied program of theater performances and concerts. You can also take a guided tour in English (tours are offered most days at 3 pm, but check the website for availability).

Baszta Panieńska

This defensive tower was previously a part of the medieval city fortifications that were otherwise destroyed in the 18th century. The responsibility of its defense belonged to the guild of tailors, who realized a difficult task by providing seven coats for Princess Anne. In honor of that deed, it was called "Baszta Siedmiu Płaszczy" (a tower of seven coats).

Brama Królewska

The magnificent gate was built shortly after Szczecin fell under the rule of Prussia, and its purpose was basically to show off Prussia's power. The gate, designed by Gerhard Cornelius von Wallrave and built between 1725 and 1728, shows a shield with the Prussian eagle, the chain of the Black Eagle Order, and a crown. Next to the gate, on the same square, a lone mast belonging to the steamship Kapitan Maciejewicz, from 1929, is a favorite photo opportunity.

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Brama Portowa

Known previously as "Berlin gate" (Berliner Tor), this structure dates back to the years 1724 to 1740, when Szczecin was defended by a complicated system of fortifications. It is decorated with the personifications of Glory, and they are blowing their trumpets towards coats of arms of Friedrich Wilhelm I, king of Prussia, who purchased Szczecin from the Swedes in 1719.

Brama Wyżynna

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The historic entrance to the old town of Gdańsk is marked by this magnificent Renaissance gate, which marks the beginning of the so-called "Royal Route," along which the king passed through the city on his annual visit. The gate is adorned with the flags of Poland, Gdańsk, and the Prussian kingdom. Its builder, Hans Kramer of Dresden, erected it as a link in the chain of modern fortifications put up to frame the western city borders between 1574 and 1576. The brick gate was renovated and decorated in 1588 by Flemish sculptor Willem van den Blocke, whose decorations you can still see today.

Brama Zielona

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The eastern entrance to the medieval city of Gdańsk is at the water's edge. Construction, supervised by Regnier of Amsterdam and Hans Kramer of Dresden, lasted from 1568 to 1571. This 16th-century gate also doubled as a royal residence. Unfortunately, the name no longer fits: the gate is now painted brown.

Brama Złota

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Just behind the Brama Wyżynna, the Golden Gate was the second through which the king passed on the Royal Route. This structure dates from 1614, and combines characteristics of both the Italian and Dutch Renaissance. It was built to the design of Abraham van den Blocke. The stone figures (by Pieter Ringering) along the parapet (on the Wały Jagiellońskie facade) represent allegories of the city's citizens' virtues: prudence, justice, piety, and concord. On the Długa street facade there are allegories of peace, freedom, fortune, and fame—the pursuits of Gdańsk city over the centuries. Next to the Golden Gate squats the house of the St George's Brotherhood, erected by Glotau between 1487 and 1494 in the late-Gothic style.

Wielka Zbrojownia

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Two blocks west of St. Mary's Church, the armory is a good example of 17th-century Dutch Renaissance architecture. Today it is home to an art school (The Academy of Fine Arts in Gdańsk), periodically showing students' artworks.