Tourism

Strongly recommended

Every city that wants to be a tourist destination has some characteristic sites to offer, sites typical to the place, symbolic; ones that each tourist guide will list as a must. The Louvre and the Eiffel Tower in Paris, Red Square in Moscow, Big Ben and Buckingham Palace in London, Market Square and the Wawel Castle in Kraków are such places. In Gdynia, this role is performed by Skwer Kościuszki and the great off-shore museums: the "Dar Pomorza" and the "Błyskawica." But it is really a matter of stepping out of the beaten track of noise and tourists to discover equally fascinating sites - the real gems that our city offers to those who decide to do a little bit of exploring.

A tour of Gdynia's modern architecture
Setting out on an exciting tour of modern architecture in Gdynia, dating from the 1930s, is somewhat like studying naval architecture. This is because of the details applied - the bridge-like superstructures, the flagpoles, the porthole windows, the bow-cornered structures like hulls. You should not be surprised; after all, Gdynia is the most maritime of Polish cities.
The tour begins in Plac Konstytucji, where the 1936 Court of Justice is facing the main railway station. You should walk a few steps down Wójta Radtkego street to reach the Market Hall - a symbol of Gdynia's merchant tradition, where, until today, you can find articles not available elsewhere. You may, in fact, you should bargain here. After stopping a while in Plac Kaszubski, you get to the port district of the city, where examples of industrial modern architecture are waiting to be discovered. The grain elevator at Nabrzeże Indyjskie and the "H" warehouse in Polska street are real masterpieces of modern architecture in its industrial variety. On your way, you should also have a look at the legendary "Dworzec Morski" (the passenger terminal building), from which millions of Poles left for America to seek a better life.
As you get back into the city, you should see the Hundsdorff family tenement at 7 Starowiejska and then, walking down 3 Maja street, get to one of the most characteristic crossroads in Gdynia. It is here, where 3 Maja and 10 Lutego intersect, that you find the real gems of Gdynia's modern architecture: the Polish Ocean Lines offices and, right across the junction, the building of the former Bank Gospodarstwa Krajowego. The fact that the four corner houses host or used to host banks corresponds with the character of Gdynia today - a modern commercial centre. The route takes you down 10 Lutego street, where successful present-day references to the modernism of Gdynia have been made - the Kwiatkowski and the Batory shopping malls. The latter is an architectural reminiscence of the renowned transatlantic liner of the same name. Other buildings, typical of Gdynia, will be found in Skwer Kościuszki (a row of tenements on the left) and in Jana Pawła II (the Polish Yachtsman's House, now housing part of the Gdynia Maritime University, and the Gdynia Aquarium). From here, you should go to Świętojańska street - the high street of Gdynia. At the Świętojańska - Żwirki i Wigury intersection, there are the impeccably white Orłowski family tenement and the Krenski family tenement, with its decorative balconies reminiscent of sea waves. You should now leave Świętojańska and go to the park at Kamienna Góra, where you can reflect on the beauty of the Gdynia landscape of lush verdure before continuing a search of treasures of modern architecture in this stately part of the city.

Tracing the mysteries of the 20th century
The 20th century, so successful for Gdynia, will be remembered by historians as a calamitous period of world wars and totalitarian systems, interesting remnants of which can be traced down by a tourist keen on the unknown, while walking this route. Its first part is in Gdynia's northern district of Babie Doły. From the top of the cliff here, we can see one of the strangest and most mysterious structures in Poland - the old torpedo launcher built by the Nazis. It dominates the landscape here, like a huge vessel in stormy seas. Experiments done here contributed to the German torpedo arsenal development. Today it can only be reached from the water, so it has become a paradise for divers, who can penetrate the depths from here in search of treasure or mystery.
As you go back towards the city centre, you must see the St. Michael the Archangel church at Oksywie. Dating from the 13th century, it is a real pantheon of the Polish Navy and the Polish seamen - the plaques around it commemorate the crews of the vessels sunk during WW2. You also get a splendid panorama of the port of Gdynia from here.
The next stage is the Museum of the Navy - just beside the city beach - with its great collection of weaponry including cannonry, aircraft, helicopters, and even the conning tower of a submarine.
The closing stage of the tour is a walk across the nature reserve of Polanka Redłowska up to the historical artillery guns amid the beautiful scenery of the cliff. The battery dates from 1946-1959 and was part of the fortifications of the Polish coast of the cold-war era. They fit perfectly into the landscape and could hardly be seen by a prospective enemy. Position 2 of the battery gives it a dramatic effect; it seems to have lost against the natural foe - coastal erosion - and has subsided down the cliff together with its concrete casing.

Orłowo and Kolibki - a gem in the crown
Although the history of Gdynia as a city is connected with the 20th century, there are places within its boundaries which date back to older times. A tourist will find such sites, full of charm and splendour, while walking along the littoral districts of Orłowo and Kolibki. The former is a Baltic resort, well known in the past, at the foot of a grand cliff. Its qualities would attract artists and writers seeking inspiration. The latter is a beautiful park and estate, dating from the days of Polish 17th century king John III and his beloved wife Marie Casimire, to whom Poles refer as Marysieńka. Today it is a place offering excellent recreation - horse riding, hippotherapy, romantic, long walks with the roar of the sea as incidental music.
The walk begins in Orłowska street, lined with trees. As you walk down the street, passing the stylish "Willa Lubicz" boarding house on your way, the sea suddenly appears before your eyes. The street ahead opens up to a wooden pier, from which you get a beautiful view of the surrounding landscape. You can see the scythe-like Hel Peninsula as well as Sopot and Gdańsk, and with good visibility and eyesight, as far as the Żuławy. The landscape is naturally dominated by the Orłowo cliff - probably the subject of the greatest number of photo landscapes in Poland. When you turn right from the pier, you walk across the bridge over the slow-moving estuary of the Kacza, while on the left there is a building known as "Adlerówka" (after the name of its former owners), now a gallery of The High School of Art and Design and a café. Across the street, there is the Tawerna Orłowska, where you can taste fish - just caught or smoked - and other specialities, and admire the magnificent view from its terrace. Local fishermen have their harbour below and pursue their occupation like they did years ago, as if unaware of computers and the Internet. A yellow fishing boat against the background of the cliff is one of the characteristic sights of Gdynia. Next, we pass the Żeromski house, where the Polish writer, enchanted with Orłowo, spent a few years of his life working on a book, and a former spa house or Kurhaus, as it is known in German. Why not walk along the beach to the foot of the cliff, touch it and feel the might of the sea waves, always fighting for every bit of the land? After returning to the pier, take the Królowej Marysieński promenade, passing the site of the Summer Stage of the Witold Gombrowicz Theatre in Gdynia on your left. When you get to the bottom of the Promenade, walk on through the forest up to the Kolibki Park. The old oak tree known as Dąb Marysieńki is worth seeing, as is the grotto also named after her and the historical estate with stables and a water-hammer forge. You might want to horse ride in this impressive garden.
Those yearning for even more exercise can go to the golf driving range, where you can practice the sport all throughout the year, or to the observation tower, the view from which more than compensates for the effort of getting there.

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