Gdynia

Gdynia: geschiedenis en karakter

Gdynia is a modern, even modernist, city built from scratch in the 1920s when newly independent Poland, denied control of Gdansk (then the international Free City), decided to build its own seaport on the narrow Baltic corridor it retained. In a single decade a 1 200-soul fishing village became one of Central Europe's most dynamic cities, with white functionalist tenements, a commercial and naval port, and since 2006 the 141 m Sea Towers high-rise. Today Gdynia counts about 244 000 residents and forms the Tricity (Trójmiasto) with Gdansk and Sopot. Polish law requires leash and muzzle for dogs in public spaces, and the city operates two year-round dedicated dog beaches (Orlowo and Kolibki, the latter with an agility course) plus two 24-hour emergency veterinary clinics, the best coverage on the Polish Baltic coast.