Hel; german: Hela (; formerly ) is a seaside
resort town
A resort town, often called a resort city or resort destination, is an urban area where tourism or vacationing is the primary component of the local culture and economy. A typical resort town has one or more actual resorts in the surrounding ...
in
Puck County,
Pomeranian Voivodeship, in northern
Poland, located on the tip of the
Hel Peninsula
Hel Peninsula (; pl, Mierzeja Helska, Półwysep Helski; csb, Hélskô Sztremlëzna; german: Halbinsel Hela or ''Putziger Nehrung'') is a sand bar peninsula in northern Poland separating the Bay of Puck from the open Baltic Sea. It is l ...
, some from the Polish
mainland.
History
Early developments
The territory became part of the emerging Polish state in the 10th century, under its first historic ruler
Mieszko I
Mieszko I (; – 25 May 992) was the first ruler of Poland and the founder of the first independent Polish state, the Duchy of Poland. His reign stretched from 960 to his death and he was a member of the Piast dynasty, a son of Siemomysł and ...
. The
Kashubian village of Hel was first mentioned in 1198 as a centre of
herring
Herring are forage fish, mostly belonging to the family of Clupeidae.
Herring often move in large schools around fishing banks and near the coast, found particularly in shallow, temperate waters of the North Pacific and North Atlantic Oceans, ...
trade area named ''Gellen''. In one of the
Danish
Danish may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to the country of Denmark
People
* A national or citizen of Denmark, also called a "Dane," see Demographics of Denmark
* Culture of Denmark
* Danish people or Danes, people with a Danish ance ...
chronicles of 1219 it is mentioned that a damaged ship of King
Valdemar II the Victorious was set ashore on an "Island of Hel". By the 13th century the village became one of the most important trade centres of the area, competing with the nearby city of
Gdańsk. It was then that the village was granted
town rights
Town privileges or borough rights were important features of European towns during most of the second millennium. The city law customary in Central Europe probably dates back to Italian models, which in turn were oriented towards the tradition ...
by
Duke Świętopełk II the Great of
Pomerania. The privileges were again confirmed in 1378 when the town came under the rule of the
Teutonic Order.
Initially the town was some from its present-day centre. It contained a church, hospital, city house, two market places, several guest houses and a small port. However, during the 15th century the peninsula started to shrink through marine erosion and soon the town was moved to a safer place. In 1417 St Peter's Church was built in the town, devoted to the
patron saint of fishermen. Hel experienced a period of growth, but was later left behind by the faster-growing city of Danzig (Gdańsk). In 1440, the town joined the anti-Teutonic
Prussian Confederation
The Prussian Confederation (german: Preußischer Bund, pl, Związek Pruski) was an organization formed on 21 February 1440 at Kwidzyn (then officially ''Marienwerder'') by a group of 53 nobles and clergy and 19 cities in Prussia, to oppose the a ...
, upon the request of which the area was re-incorporated by King
Casimir IV Jagiellon
Casimir IV (in full Casimir IV Andrew Jagiellon; pl, Kazimierz IV Andrzej Jagiellończyk ; Lithuanian: ; 30 November 1427 – 7 June 1492) was Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1440 and King of Poland from 1447, until his death. He was one of the mo ...
into the
Kingdom of Poland in 1454. The re-incorporation was confirmed in the
1466 peace treaty, when the Teutonic Knights renounced any claims to the area. In 1466 Casimir IV granted the town as a fief to the city of Gdańsk, which ended the century-long struggle for economic domination over
Gdańsk Bay
Gdańsk Bay or the Gulf of Gdańsk ( pl, Zatoka Gdańska; csb, Gduńskô Hôwinga; russian: Гданьская бухта, Gdan'skaja bukhta, and german: Danziger Bucht) is a southeastern bay of the Baltic Sea. It is named after the adjacent por ...
. In 1526 King
Sigismund I the Old withdrew all privileges previously granted to Hel and sold the town and the peninsula to the city authorities of Gdańsk. Since then Hel's fate was tied to the fortunes of its bigger neighbour.
In the 17th and 18th centuries prolonged warfare and a series of natural disasters severely damaged the town. It was severely depopulated, and in 1793 it was annexed by
Prussia
Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an ...
in the
Second Partition of Poland. In 1872 the government of the newly formed
German Empire
The German Empire (), Herbert Tuttle wrote in September 1881 that the term "Reich" does not literally connote an empire as has been commonly assumed by English-speaking people. The term literally denotes an empire – particularly a hereditar ...
abolished the town rights granted to Hel six centuries previously. After that the village of Hela (as it is called in
German
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany (of or related to)
**Germania (historical use)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law
**Ge ...
) lost much of its significance.
Modern times
The period of decline was halted in 1893 when a fishing harbour was built in the village. It provided a shelter for fishing vessels, but also became a popular destination for weekend trips of the inhabitants of
Danzig and Zoppot (
Sopot). In 1896 the village was granted the status of a sea-side resort.
As a result of
World War I and the
Treaty of Versailles Poland was re-established as an independent nation. Hel, before the war a predominantly German village (93% in 1905), became again part of Poland. In 1921 a new railway was built along the peninsula connecting the town to the mainland. The authorities of the
Pomeranian Voivodeship also planned to build a road to the village, but the peninsula was found too narrow at the time. Soon Hel became one of the most important
tourism centres in Polish Pomerania. New suburbs of villas were built for tourists, as well as a new church, school, fishing institute and geophysical observatory. In addition, the village became one of the two main naval bases of the
Polish Navy. The harbour was expanded and in 1936 the
president
President most commonly refers to:
*President (corporate title)
*President (education), a leader of a college or university
*President (government title)
President may also refer to:
Automobiles
* Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...
declared the peninsula a
"Fortified Area" under jurisdiction of the
Polish Army. The naval base was expanded significantly and a battery of coastal artillery was built to provide cover for the military facilities.
During the
invasion of Poland
The invasion of Poland (1 September – 6 October 1939) was a joint attack on the Republic of Poland by Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union which marked the beginning of World War II. The German invasion began on 1 September 1939, one week aft ...
, which started
World War II in September 1939, the
Hel Peninsula
Hel Peninsula (; pl, Mierzeja Helska, Półwysep Helski; csb, Hélskô Sztremlëzna; german: Halbinsel Hela or ''Putziger Nehrung'') is a sand bar peninsula in northern Poland separating the Bay of Puck from the open Baltic Sea. It is l ...
was one of the longest-defended pockets of
Polish Army resistance. Approximately 3,000 soldiers of the
Coastal Defence Group (''Grupa Obrony Wybrzeża'') units under Kmdr
Włodzimierz Steyer defended the area until 2 October 1939. Shortly before
capitulation, Polish military engineers detonated a number of
torpedo warheads, which separated the peninsula from the mainland transforming it into an island. Afterwards, Hel was
occupied by Germany. Already in 1939, the occupiers carried out the first
expulsion of Poles, who were then enslaved as
forced labour of new
German colonists in various places in the region. During the occupation, the
Kriegsmarine used the Hel naval base to train
U-boat crews. At the end of the war the village was the last part of Polish soil to be liberated: the German units encircled there only surrendered on 14 May 1945, six days after Germany had capitulated.
After the war the village yet again became a naval base. In 1960 a road linking Hel with
Jastarnia
Jastarnia ( csb, Jastarniô, german: Heisternest) is a resort town in Puck County, Pomeranian Voivodship, northern Poland. It is located on the Hel Peninsula on the Baltic Sea. It is a popular Polish seaside resort and small fishing port.
The ...
on the mainland was built. Three years later
town rights
Town privileges or borough rights were important features of European towns during most of the second millennium. The city law customary in Central Europe probably dates back to Italian models, which in turn were oriented towards the tradition ...
were reintroduced. Since then the tourist industry started to recover and several hotels, guest houses and inns were built. In 1996 the Polish Navy sold all remaining parts of the peninsula to the civilian authorities and only a small naval base is there today.
The harbour now serves primarily as a
yacht marina, though there are some fishing boats and ferries to
Gdańsk,
Sopot and
Gdynia in the summer.
Sights and culture
Hel houses a sea life biological laboratory and there are interesting examples of naval armament and equipment exhibited throughout the town. There is popular beach along the shore between the inner and outer harbour walls, with a
seal sanctuary (the Fokarium) just behind it. There is a that forms part of the
National Maritime Museum, Gdańsk
The National Maritime Museum in Gdańsk ( pl, Narodowe Muzeum Morskie) is a maritime museum in Gdańsk, Poland, established on 1 January 1962. It is dedicated to gathering, researching and preserving artifacts and documents concerning ship transpo ...
in an old church on the sea front.
The most easterly edge of Hel, which was once a military territory, can now be accessed by the general public making it possible to walk all the way around the peninsula.
Hel is the setting for the Polish crime series ' (2014–2015) "The Crime" in English.
Climate
Hel has an
oceanic climate (
Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include:
* Bernd Köppen (born 1951), German pianist and composer
* Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan
* Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author and ...
: ''Cfb''). Its peninsular location generates a unique climate in
Poland and more similar with the northwest of
Europe.
Gallery
File:Hel, Poland Spacer.jpg, A gathering on Hel.
File:Hel Topola Helena.jpg, "Topola Helena" tree in Hel
File:Hel beach 1.JPG, The beach, looking roughly south towards the harbour wall
File:Hel harbour from dockside.JPG, The harbour as seen from the dockside
File:Port authority of Hel, part 2.jpg, Mayor's Egg seen from the pier
File:Hel, Port Hel - fotopolska.eu (179571).jpg, Hel Harbour seen from the pier
File:Hel - Muzeum (6).JPG, The Fisheries Museum, in the former St Peter and Paul church
File:Muzeum Obrony Wybrzeza.jpg, Hel Fortified Area
File:Hel, Ulitsa Wiejska.JPG, Looking roughly north-west along Ulica Wiejska in the centre of Hel
File:Calle Wiejska, Hel, Polonia, 2013-05-23, DD 01.jpg, timber framed
Timber framing (german: Holzfachwerk) and "post-and-beam" construction are traditional methods of building with heavy timbers, creating structures using squared-off and carefully fitted and joined timbers with joints secured by large wooden ...
heritage houses
File:Hel, from the beach.JPG, beach in Hel
File:End of the Hel Peninsula - panoramio.jpg
File:Beach in Hel.jpg
File:Beach on the Hel Peninsula.jpg
File:Pomost spacerowy Hel widok na port.jpg
File:Hel spit - south beach.jpg
File:Hel Strand Beach 7.jpg
Notes
References
External links
*
"Hela Tavern" – the biggest Hela fan siteA sailor's guide
{{Authority control
Cities and towns in Pomeranian Voivodeship
Coastal cities and towns in Poland
Hel
Seaside resorts in Poland