Gdynia: witness the pride and boasting 
"Here ends the sea, and Poland is beginning (...),
White-red pennant was discovered in Gdynia. "
Witold Zechenter
tenth anniversary next February marks the birthday of Gdynia. Before 85 years ago, under the Council of Ministers of the Republic of Polish, Kashubian fishing village has been given, known for 750 years, the city rights. A few years later with the will and patriotic act of the whole nation, the city has grown to the metropolis, and the port has become the largest port in the Baltic. Gdynia imprinted in the memory of generations with pride as a symbol of the Second Republic, dreamed the dream of Poles, whose traditions of the sea, so alive, after years of captivity, This city and port urzeczywistniało.
The first traces of settlement in the vicinity of today Gdynia, we find already in ancient times approximately 65 to 500 BC on Oksywie, as evidenced by numerous archaeological and oldest trade route in the city, the current street. Col. Dabek. In these times created a specific organization of tribal culture, called by archaeologists oksywską. In the Middle VII - XIII existed on Oksywie, situated on a steep bank oksywskiego promontory, head of the fortified castle of the authorities, and later became the seat of the dukes. On Oksywie was also one of the oldest parish in Pomerania, was certainly before the year 1224. Oksywskiej belonged to the parish of all villages located in the Hillside Oksywskiej and several others located in the so-called. Proglacial Kashubian and slightly beyond. The events included the Gdynia, Redłowo and Witomino, so oksywska structure of the church was already covered, the vast areas of the city today.
At the first mention of the settlement called Gdina, ad Gdinam in the records of the source documents, we find the bishop already Wolimira 1253. It went this hamlet for years at the hands of lords and knights who finally passed it - "to ensure the salvation of his soul and his parents' religious Kartuzy monastery, which remains the property until the partition of Polish.
Kashubian population inhabiting this settlement, has been known for centuries of devotion to faith and the Polish Crown. In a dispute of the Catholic King Stefan Batory the Protestant inhabitants of Gdansk Gdansk crowds, trying to remove strongholds of the king, burned in 1576 Gdynia and Sopot Kolibki and other coastal villages. In 1634 Hetman Stanislaw Koniecpolski a followed by a military engineer John Pleitner proposed the construction of King Wladyslaw IV in the vicinity of the port of Gdynia, the war finally ended up on the site Wladyslawowo, but the idea was carried out in three centuries later ...
The annexation residents of Gdynia, did not give up Germanize persevering in the faith and traditions of their fathers, witnessing Polishness these lands. The myth of the Gdynia inscribed irrevocably Polonia activist and independence at the turn of the last two centuries Anthony Abraham, who testified, and demanded to join the land Pomeranian to the Motherland at the peace conference at Versailles.
As a result of these and many other events in 1920 Poland gained direct access to the Baltic Sea, including part of the Kashubian land directly to the Polish state. Nascent after 123 years the Republic, which builds the foundations of his state of the three partitions, like a breath of fresh air needed contact with the world, especially since access to it defended the German shoe, limiting as much as possible, the Polish law to Gdansk. Paradoxically, the need to speed up port construction trade war and then decided combination of international events, including the outbreak of war in 1925, the customs of the Germans and the British miners' strike in 1926 ...
chance resulting from this nexus of events could very skillfully use the Industry and Trade Minister Eugeniusz Kwiatkowski engineer. Argument put forward by him: "... the pillars of ancient and modern civilization have been placed by the society, which dzierżyły primacy in matters of the sea" , in the thirties, soon gained general acceptance. Popularizing the concept of state Marine served numerous publications Maritime and Colonial League, the celebration of the Sea, but above all perceived by the entire Polish nation, the real achievement of the use of access to the sea. Consequently, despite the global crisis, in just a few years, the Gdynia from a small fishing port has become one of the most modern and versatile port in the world.
At the same time, very spontaneously born in the city, yet in 1921 it had only 1,300 inhabitants, in 1938 there were 125-thousandth of a metropolis. From Gdynia inextricably tied to its fate Navy. Gdynia has become, and so it is today, the Navy command headquarters and its main base of the sea.
defending the honor of Gdynia Kashubia Pole and during World War II the city was also the heroic and steadfast. At that time, so few defenders in the solitude of the city repulsed Teutonic onslaught in 1939, then tens of thousands of Gdynia have been displaced from their city, but those who managed to remain - they fought on. Acting in the conspiracy in the Pomeranian Griffin, Army, and Hufcu Scouts in the Secret, so many patriots giving his life for the Polish have borne witness of honor, not the last time in history ... Gdynia has never in fact spared no blood. Even after the war, so many stalwart, have given their lives on the streets of the city in 1970 and the tragic period of martial law. Many Gdynia over casemates and suffering. However, in toil and toil, sweat and sacrifices a town was beautiful, unique, unique in its kind.
Gdynia is undoubtedly "the city from the sea and dreams", a city with enormous potential, which has grown from a patriotic act of the whole nation. Gdynia like no other city in Poland are connected with the sea and maritime affairs. It was created after a seaside window on the world. The climate of this city has always attracted people to him creative, dynamic and enterprising, who in this city and worked for him, reaching all sorts of success in life. This is the Gdynia owes its present shape, they are the creators of her success and that they just have the inalienable right to decide her fate. Writing these words I think of all the inhabitants, whose fate was tied in the last 85 years with Gdynia. Everyone who lives here, we can be proud of and proud the fact that have associated with the city for such a tradition and long history. We live in a city that is the pride of Polish.
I also recommend the short films on the history and construction of Gdynia, see here:
Marie A. Roman
On the pictures: Postcard from 1906 showing the oldest and historic church of St. Gdynia. Michael the Archangel in Oksywie; Marine Station, the waterfront before the French, 1936-1939 The
