http://www.plymouth.gov.uk/Plymouth is one of the oldest ports of Great Britain situated by the river Tamar on the edge of Devon and Cornwall. The city was built in one of the biggest natural harbours in the world. The first record of the settlement founded on the territory of the present city appeared 3 000 years ago. The name Plymouth was first mentioned around the year 1211. Currently, Plymouth is one of the biggest cities on the South Coast of Great Britain with the population of 241 000 inhabitants. It is a city of great contrasts - being an industrial centre, Plymouth is at the same time one of the most beautiful places of Great Britain and a destination visited by many tourists. It is sometimes called "the cleanest city of Great Britain". Places such as the Barbican - the old part of the city with buildings dating back to 17th century, Smeaton's Tower - an 18th century lighthouse and Plymouth Dome - a centre where interactive exhibitions and audiovisual shows illustrating Plymouth history are organized, rank among the biggest attractions of the city. As far as other important historical monuments are concerned, there is also the Royal Citadel from 17th century, Merchant's House where one can admire the interior of an Elizabethan building as well as 15th century Prysten House which is the oldest building in Plymouth. National Marine Aquarium is also a famous tourist attraction, especially for its Europe's biggest shark tank. Many great figures from England's history are linked to Plymouth. The most famous one is Sir Francis Drake who in 1588 together with his fleet defeated the Spanish Armada. It was also Captain James Cook who sailed on his voyages from Plymouth. The city's economy is traditionally connected with the sea, the still developing ship industry and fishery being the proof of that. However, the city is open for the technologies of the future as well. Computer science and telecommunication are also important branches of industry. In the city there is Tamar Science Park. On 11th September 1976 the "Declaration of Cooperation" was signed by Plymouth and Gdynia. The aim of this agreement is to broaden the forms of international cooperation and peaceful coexistence in Europe and tighten the bonds forged during the World War II as well as to exchange experience in the field of urban economy. The effects of the cooperation:The Gdynia City Hospital: Head of the Nuclear Medicine Ward in Derriford Hospital, Dr. Keeling gave lectures in the Municipal Hospital and in the Medical Academy of Gdańsk in 1991. three succeeding Lord Mayors of Plymouth and the representatives of Plymouth-Gdynia Twinning Panel visited the Hospital between 1991-95. since 1991 Plymouth City Council has been paying a subscription fee for a scientific magazine: "European Journal of Nuclear Medicine" for the Municipal Hospital in Gdynia. Gifts for the Municipal Hospital in Gdynia as a result of the cooperation with the Derriford Hospital and Plymouth-Gdynia Twinning Panel in Plymouth:a) Medical equipment: disposable surgical equipment and anaesthetic equipment, gamma camera produced by IGE company (1994) and a computer to operate with gamma camera (1996), 6 automatic infusion pumps (1998).b) Anti-asthmatic medicines. Gift of TV set to Children's Ward donated by the Plymouth-Gdynia Twinning Panel - June 2004Books for learners of English presented to Elementary School no.1, High School no. 3, no. 4 Books, toys, clothes offered to the orphanage Municipal Library received books and magazines as a gift (a big collection of literature in English was created). Books and video tapes were given to the Polish-British Friendship Association Gdynia-Plymouth Naming a square in Gdynia centre "Plymouth Square" - 1982 Naming one of streets in Plymouth "Gdynia Way" - July 1983 Switching on of the Plymouth-Gdynia fountain at St. Andrew's Cross - October 1986 Books for learners of English (for Elementary School no.1, Elementary School no.18, High School no. 3, High School no.4) School exchanges: Elementary Schools no. 1: visit of students and teachers from Elburton Primary School - 1986, 1988, 1989, 1990 as well as from Coombe Comprehensive and St. Dunstan's Abbey Schools - 1991 Elementary School no. 18 - visit of students and teachers from St. Peters Primary School - 1991, 1992 Inaugural meeting of the Plymouth-Gdynia Twinning Panel - March 1987 Presentation of an English phone box to be installed in the Plymouth Square - April 1989 Gdynia Expo '89 exhibition in Main Hall of Plymouth Guildhall which coincided with a visit by the Dar Młodzieży - April 1989 Performance of Fiddler on the Roof by the company of Gdynia Music Theatre at the Theatre Royal - April 1989 High School no. 3- visit of about 60 students from Royal Plymouth Theatre in 1990, staging a theatrical performance in the assembly hall of High School no. 3, a return visit of students of this high school to Plymouth (about 60) in 1991, participation in the Youth Theatre Festival, staging in English the drama "Juwenilia" by Witkacy by the students of High School no. 3 Visit of Gdynia students from High School no.1 to Plymouth - April 1991 Gdynia City Hall received a fax machine as a gift and there was organised an English course for the officers of City Hall - 1992 Sponsorship of one term of English language at the College of St. Mark & St. John in Plymouth for Ms Antonina Brożyna (October 1991) and Ms Zofia Draczkowska (January 1992), students of Gdynia Maritime University English courses for Gdynia City Hall officers sponsored by Plymouth City Council - 1992 Cooperation between YMCA in Gdynia and YMCA in Plymouth (gym equipment, jet printer, English courses for YMCA in Gdynia) - 1993 Visit to Gdynia by scouts from Plymstock & District Venture Scouts - August 1991; revisit to Plymouth by 25 Gdynia scouts - August 1992 Training of the Municipal Bank employees in NatWestBank in Plymouth - January 1992 Participation of six young students from Gdynia in a European Youth Conference in Plymouth - April 1992 Visit to Gdynia by Tamaritans Drama Group and their performance of the play "Equus" in the Municipal Theatre - April 1993 Procurement of drugs and medical equipment (by Plymouth City Council and Gdynia Twinning Panel) following a serious fire at the MTV Awards Ceremony in Gdańsk - December 1994 Visit to Gdynia by 15 scouts from Plymouth - August 1994 Performance of 40 young people from Gdynia in Theatre Royal in Plymouth ("Out of the Rubble") - April 1995 Participation by Plymouth Youth Teams in the Gdynia Twin Cities Sporting Competition - 1994, 1995, 1996 Participation by a swimming team from WKS Flota in the "Swim Meet of Plymouth Leader Swimming Association" - April 1996 Cooperation between YMCA in Gdynia and YMCA in Plymouth Activities of the Plymouth-Gdynia Twinning Panel for the benefit of the Municipal Hospital in Gdynia (creation of a special fund for the purchase of medical equipment for the Hospital) Visit to Gdynia by two Evening Herald staff members - May/June 1996 Visit of an English painter David Folley to Gdynia - the open-air painting workshops - June 1996 Return visit of a painter from Gdynia - Kazimierz Kordas to Plymouth; exhibition of works - September 1996 Participation in the 1st Polish-British Twinning Conference in Ostrowiec Świętokrzyski - September 1996 Participation by a group of young persons from Gdynia in "Plymsport '97" sporting competition in Plymouth - April 1997 Performance of the Royal Theatre from Plymouth in the Musical Theatre in Gdynia, staging a drama "KORCZAK" - September 1997 Gdynia received 500 kg of daffodil bulbs from Plymouth as a gift. These bulbs were planted on the Plymouth Square and Kościuszko Square - September 1997 The authorities of Gdynia gave a four-meter-high Christmas tree (spruce) to Plymouth. The tree with a commemorative plaque was planted in the centre of Plymouth. A representative from Plymouth, a specialist in tourism, participated as a lecturer in the seminar: "The organisation model of tourism in province, county and commune".- May 1998. Participation in the 2nd British-Polish Twinning Conference in Southport, combined with a visit to Plymouth - April 1999 Study visit to Plymouth by the representatives of the city and Gdynia Sports Centre to Plymouth concerning building, managing and securing of sports buildings - August 1999 Consultation with a Plymouth landscape architect on the modernisation of the Plymouth Square in Gdynia. Guidelines and photographic portfolio was provided by the British party - August 1999 Study visit to Plymouth by Mayor's Plenipotentiary on Safety and the Chairman of the City Council Safety Commission. The subject of the visit was crime prevention, the "Safe City" programme, drug prevention - September 1999 Consultation on the preparation (by Gdynia City Hall) of a city guide for the disabled Official visit to Gdynia by Dennis Camp, the Lord Mayor of Plymouth. During his stay in Gdynia Mr. Camp met with the Mayor of Gdynia, where Mayor of Plymouth gave the pupils of Gdynia ( Elementary School no 18, The Municipal Library of Gdynia) a gift of books for learning English - June 2000 Participation of a representative from a Plymouth theatre in the Baltica Congress 2000 in Gdynia - September 2000 Celebration of the 25th anniversary of twinning link between Gdynia and Plymouth in 2001: Representatives of Gdynia local authorities visited Plymouth to participate in the ceremony of the Lord Mayor of Plymouth taking an oath of office. Organisation of a photographic exhibition of Gdynia artists, the Śmierzchalski family, entitled "Gdynia in the lens of three generations" Unveiling of a commemorative plaque on the wall of a house in Plymouth - a former seat of the Polish Navy during the second world war. Visit to Gdynia by the Lord Mayor of Plymouth (4-9.09.2001) Organisation of a photographic exhibition: "Gdynia-Plymouth- the 25th anniversary of Twinning Link" in the "Ratusz" gallery of Gdynia City Hall (1-30.09.01) Gift of 500L given by the Plymouth-Gdynia Twinning Panel for the purchase of household equipment to the sheltered accommodation for the children of the Orphanage in Gdynia-Demptowo - June 2001. Visit to Plymouth by students from the Grammar School no 1 (St. Dustan's Abbey School) - July 2001 Representative of the Plymouth-Gdynia Twinning Panel in Plymouth made a donation to the St. Laurence Hospice in Gdynia. This money was allocated to the purchase of painkillers and creation of better conditions for the patients - July 2001 In response to Gdynia's appeal Plymouth sent money collected in a fund-raising to help the flood victims in the Gorzyce commune - December 2001 Participation by Plymouth representatives in the 3rd Polish-British Twinning Conference in Sopot. During their stay, the representatives of Plymouth visited Gdynia in order to have a meeting with the representatives of the local authorities - April 2002. Visit to Gdynia by pupils from St. Dunstan's Abbey in Plymouth. The visit took place within school exchange with Junior High School no 1 in Gdynia - April 2003. Training manoeuvres of the vessel ORP "Generał K. Puławski" organized in cooperation with the Royal Navy of Great Britain in Plymouth - June-July 2003. Presenting Queen's Scholar Award, a scholarship for one-year studies in Plymouth to Piotr Gruchała, an inhabitant of Gdynia - September 2003. Handing over a TV set founded by "Plymouth-Gdynia Twinning Panel" Society to the Children's Ward of the City Hospital in Gdynia- June 2004 Handing over a DVD/VHS player and a set of DVD and VHS films to the Children's Ward of the City Hospital in Gdynia. These gifts were bought thanks to the funds collected by "Plymouth-Gdynia Twinning Panel" Society - June 2005. Participation of the representatives of Gdynia City Council in the annual Plymouth holiday combined with discussing next year's plans concerning the 30th anniversary celebrations of the twinning link between Gdynia and Plymouth - June 2005 participation of the official Plymouth delegation in the celebrations of the 80th anniversary of granting Gdynia city rights as well as awarding the Chairman of Plymouth-Gdynia Twinning Panel the Eugeniusz Kwiatkowski Medal - February 2006visit of Plymouth-Gdynia Twinning Panel representatives aimed at discussing the proposal of the Panel to fund an annual prize for the best Gdynia student in English (secondary school level) - September 2006participation of Plymouth delegation in the Presentation Ceremony of the Plymouth-Gdynia Twinning Panel Prize to the Gdynia secondary-school graduate with the best command of English - September 2007visit of Plymouth representatives to Gdynia on the occasion of "The Tall Ships' Races 2009" - July 2009granting the money award: „Plymouth-Gdynia Twinning Panell" to a Gdynia upper secondary school graduate who achieved the best results in English within a given school year (award granted annually since 2007) - September 2014 Opublikowano: 14.11.2006 00:00 Autor: Małgorzata Aleksiak