Online-Card - Gdansk

GDAÑSK – AN OPEN CITY Gdañsk forms an agglomeration with a population nearing half a million. It is the maritime capital of Poland, a major economic, research and cultural centre, and a popular tourist destination. For years it has also been a known forum of international meetings for politicians, businessmen, scientists and artists, and the driving force for many important projects and events. Lying on the Bay of Gdañsk on the southern coast of the Baltic Sea, this Hanseatic, thousand-year-old city has a centuries-long record of playing a key function in international trade between northern and western Europe on the one hand, and the central and eastern European countries on the other. Today, Gdañsk is the capital of the Pomeranian Province and a major economic and administrative centre in Poland. Vital institutions, state agencies and local authorities have their main offices here, to name e.g. the Provincial Administration Office, regional agency of the Ministry of State Treasury, Agency for Consumer and Competition Protection, Court of Appeal, and the Supreme Administrative Court. The city has a modern international airport. The schedule of domestic and international flights makes it possible to reach any point of the globe. Gdañsk lies on the crossroads of three international road routes of key importance for the Polish economy. The prime road investments include the laying of the West-East route. In order to improve the transport link between the port, city, and national roads, Gdañsk launched and completed one of the largest road projects in Poland - a suspended bridge over Martwa Wis³a. The city also lies on four strategic railway lines of international significance. These link the city and port with the main domestic industrial centres and then lead on to the state borders. Gdañsk has the deepest and ice-free harbour in the Baltic Sea. As such, it is the largest cargo reloading centre on the Polish coast and in the southern part of the Baltic. Apart from handling bulk cargo, it services a number of regular lines to the ports of the Baltic basin and western Europe. The strategic location on the convergence of important transit routes, the function of a large transport and reloading junction, the developed business infrastructure, rich research, technical, and consultancy base, and the availability of highly qualified staff put Gdañsk among the top Polish regions in terms of attractiveness for investments. The city owns an expanse of attractive land fit for development and buildings available for adaptation, some of historic nature. The exceptionally attractive Granary Island tucked in the heart of the city is also available for investments. In the outskirts Gdañsk has vast stretches of land designated for industrial development. Gdañsk's future ventures include the launching of a bold project that envisages the building of a multi-functional city centre intended to bridge two districts over the 3rd May Street, reconstruction of the 17th century Elizabethan theatre, and revitalisation of the Lower City - the nineteenth century residential area. Finally, there is the huge-scale vision of starting a New City on the post-industrial land reclaimed from the Gdañsk Shipyard. Once carried through, the project will make Gdañsk the key business centre on the south-eastern Baltic coast.

FROM AMBER TO HIGH-TECH Entrepreneurs and investors operating in Gdañsk have no reason to complain about the business environment infrastructure. 100 branches and sub-branches of several score commercial banks, headquarters and numerous field offices of leasing companies, major insurers in the Polish market, broker agents and companies provide a comprehensive scope of financial services. Entrepreneurs, investors, and business partners can also rely on support from several hundred local companies specialising in legal, business, and marketing advisory services, including local offices of specialist international consulting and auditing concerns: Ernst & Young, Deloitte & Tuche, and Price Waterhouse Coopers. International classification and certification services can also be obtained locally from renowned firms. The city is the fourth largest trade fair and exhibition centre in Poland with its own backup facilities and base. International Gdañsk Fairs SA organises over 30 cyclical trade events a year. Gdañsk is also the location of a major European biannual marine fair, the Baltexpo. Availability of modern office premises in Gdañsk is a vital factor that facilitates running business operations from Gdañsk. Over the past several years the city has gained a dozen or so office sites of world standard. Further several locations are under construction. Gdañsk is bracing up to commence several large urban planning projects which will contribute to a substantial increase in commercial space designated mainly for trade and office purposes. The development programme put together for 73 ha of land reclaimed from the Gdañsk Shipyard stretching in the city centre represents a huge challenge for developers interested in investing in residential, commercial, service, and office property. The last ten-odd years have witnessed profound transformation of the Gdañsk economy. The prime major change can be seen in its structure now dominated by the private sector. Privately owned companies today account for an absolute majority of all businesses, particularly in the building trade and services. The city's industry is dominated by traditional branches, i.e. shipbuilding, petrochemical, chemical, and food industries. Even though, the share of know-how based trades, to name e.g. electronics, telecommunications, information technology, or cosmetics and pharmaceuticals production, is growing. The significance of amber processing, a specific area of industry, is also far from marginal. Gdañsk cultivates its centuries-long tradition in the trade and proudly aspires to the position of the World Amber Capital.

The foundation of the local economy has remained unchanged since the Middle Ages. It is the shipbuilding industry focusing on three key areas: large seafaring newbuilds, ship repairs, and yacht-building. Oil refining and chemicals form the second largest cornerstone of the Gdañsk industry. Metals and industrial machines and equipment, including ship gear, represent a high developmental potential. The proximity of the refinery and of the raw materials imported by the sea create conditions favouring the production and processing of plastics. Sea trade can also trigger the development of food processing based on imported raw materials. This branch can develop utilising the existing facilities and the new investments located e.g. within the port of Gdañsk. These traditional branches of industry, however, are gradually giving way to production based on know-how with its characteristic high added value. Gdañsk is the hometown of several major domestic and international manufacturers of electronic and telecommunication equipment. The IT sector is represented by large players and several hundred smaller firms producing specialist software, offering maintenance and Internet services. The Gdañsk-based IT companies tap the local labour market, i.e. the research staff and graduates of the Gdañsk Technical University and University of Gdañsk. Numerous construction companies form the contractorship base for building projects. The local presence of builders and developers pertains to the development of not only industrial, but also housing estates. New districts dot the picturesque moraine hills which surround the lower city terraces. Since the outset of the Polish economic transformation the city's potential for development, its economy, qualifications and wealth of its inhabitants have won over foreign investors seeking attractive places to make capital investments. Foreign capital has longest been present in the food industry. Its engagement is also on the rise in the high-tech market and hotel management. Gdañsk has a base of qualified labour, highly educated group of specialists in an array of areas, graduates of several score schools of secondary and post-secondary levels, including over ten state and private universities spread all over the Tri-City. Gdañsk is also a major research centre in Poland and a seat of a dozen or so institutes and centres for research and development. GDAÑSK – A SEA OF OPPORTUNITIES The quality of life is always a function of the quality of the surrounding natural environment. Gdañsk puts exceptionally much emphasis on environment protection, which is evident in its numerous investments in ecology. This course of action also contributes to the city's retained high standing among the European tourist centres. For years the city on the Mot³awa River has viewed tourism a major field of its economy and used its advantages steadily developing its infrastructure, i.e. hotels, catering outlets, and recreation facilities. Admittedly, with its exceptional beauty Gdañsk stands out among the attractive sites of Northern Europe. The nature did not spare its horn of plenty here. Sprawling along the southern shores of the Baltic Sea, the city is framed with the picturesque Tri-City Landscape Park, and the hills and lakes of the Kashubian Switzerland district in the background. A thousand years of continued existence and uncommon people completed the masterpiece started by nature and created the richness and beauty of the city. The impressive Gdañsk architecture is a blend of the serenity of Gothic, elegance of the Renaissance, and opulence of Rococo. The city bears an omni-present stamp of the times of its Hanseatic grandeur and "golden age". Every street has its own, unique air. The magnificent Royal Route leading from the Golden Gate to the Green Gate enchants the visitors with facades of the patriciate residences and the imposing silhouettes of the Main Hall of the Old City and Artus Court. St Mary's street starting under the archways of St Mary's Basilica, the largest brick church in the world, casts its romantic spell luring artists and master craftsmen, amber and silver jewellers today just as it has done for ages. The Long Embankment boulevard flanking the Mot³awa River, a section of the historic port, attracts visitors to its neighbouring authentic granaries and the Medieval Crane. This most characteristic structure of the city has, together with the Neptune fountain, been for ages the symbol of Gdañsk, its history always intertwined with the sea.

In its "golden age" the city was a unique urban-republic and a multi-ethnical cauldron of culture. The atmosphere of tolerance and wealth earned on trade inspired the flourish of culture, science, and art. Today the works of outstanding masters from Gdañsk can be admired in museums, churches, and galleries. The collections mirror the city's thousand year-long history. The historic events of the recent times, the struggle the residents staged for freedom and justice, the formation of the first Independent Trade Union, the "Solidarity" which became the stone tripping the avalanche that overthrew communism in Europe are documented in the multi-medial exhibition entitled "Roads to Freedom" staged in the historic BHP hall of the Gdañsk Shipyard. The exhibition is the kernel of the planned Solidarity Museum. Fragments of the historic Berlin Wall, and the wall once negotiated by Lech Wa³êsa remind us of the beginning of the road to freedom in this part of Europe. Gdañsk, a modern city of sustained development, takes care of tourists. Nineteen kilometres of clean beaches, three attended bathing sites, and a 130 metre long peer add up to form the offer for those keen to relax on the sea shores. A pedestrian and cycling track, section of the so-called Hanseatic Track, runs along the beach for 3 kilometres. Cycling tracks enable visitors to circle around the historic old town and ride out to the woodlands. The Tri-City Landscape Park stretching around the city with its zoological gardens in the Forest Mill Valley, the famous Oliwa Park and its ancient trees neighbouring on the Oliwa Cathedral, the "Fort of Gdañsk" Culture Park embracing the City Fortifications with their unique and authentic structures of military architecture on the site of the Napoleon Fort first started in the 17th century, the numerous city greens and squares, and the nature reserves of the Sobieszewo Island offer excellent leisure grounds. Active recreation is available at many sports clubs and sections, the "Olivia" City Sports and Performance Hall, fitness clubs, snooker and bowling alleys, swimming pools and gyms, and horse riding clubs. Gdañsk has always been a safe haven for sailors. A boat marine sits in the heart of the old town. During numerous sailing regattas and meetings the Mot³awa River blooms with the white petals of sails, and the city echoes shanties. Amateurs of water sports can head on to the Bay waters, follow the Mot³awa Arm canal exquisite for canoeing, or choose the lakes of the Kashubian Switzerland district the city verges on. Hospitable, Gdañsk invites to its spell-casting streets and historic interiors, its bathing grounds and sailing routes, its comfortable hotels, elegant restaurants, and intimate cafes. The city has several theatres, a philharmonic hall, opera, open-air music stage, three multi-cinema complexes and several smaller cinemas, many youth clubs, jazz pubs, and discos. A rich and interesting calendar of events featuring e.g. concerts, fairs, parades, and street theatrical performances will add to the attraction. The major events which have become permanent features of the Gdañsk cultural landscape are: St Dominic Fair, "Feta" International Open Air and Street Theatre, and the International Shakespearean Festival. In the summer music fans will indulge in the organ concerts at the Oliwa Cathedral, the Carillon Festival, and concerts played at the Mot³awa amphitheatre on the O³owianka Island, the site of the Polish Baltic Philharmonic Hall facing the old town. Gdañsk also hosts such interesting and original events as the YACH FILM Polish Videoclip Festival, or the Sense of Humour Festival symbolised by the Chaplin bowler hat. Humour and high spirits are certainly not hard to find in Gdañsk!