Zaspa (german: Saspe) is one of the quarters of

Gdańsk Gdańsk ( , also ; ; csb, Gduńsk;Stefan Ramułt, ''Słownik języka pomorskiego, czyli kaszubskiego'', Kraków 1893, Gdańsk 2003, ISBN 83-87408-64-6. , Johann Georg Theodor Grässe, ''Orbis latinus oder Verzeichniss der lateinischen Benen ...

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...

, located in the northern part of the city. It is divided into two administrative districts:

Zaspa-Młyniec Zaspa-Młyniec is one of the administrative districts of the city of Gdańsk, Poland. The quarter with mainly high buildings has been built on the runways of the former airport of Gdańsk (''Lotnisko Gdańsk-Wrzeszcz''). Around 1900 there had been ...

and

Zaspa-Rozstaje Zaspa-Rozstaje is one of the administrative districts of the city of Gdańsk, Poland. The quarter with mainly high buildings has been built on the runways of the former airport of Gdańsk (''Lotnisko Gdańsk-Wrzeszcz''). * Inhabitants: 15,118 * A ...

. Zaspa was founded on a place previously occupied by an airport. The concrete airstrip of the airport was not dismantled, and now forms the axis of the district. Zaspa buildings are mainly high-rise condominiums (between 4 and 12 stories high) erected in the early 1980s and additional thermal isolation in the form of styrofoam sheets was applied in the early 2000s. In the following years the buildings were also painted in pastel colours.

History

Miejsce rozstrzelania na Zaspie (była strzelnica)

As part of the

Crown of the Kingdom of Poland The Crown of the Kingdom of Poland ( pl, Korona Królestwa Polskiego; Latin: ''Corona Regni Poloniae''), known also as the Polish Crown, is the common name for the historic Late Middle Ages territorial possessions of the King of Poland, includ ...

it was a private church village of the

Cistercian The Cistercians, () officially the Order of Cistercians ( la, (Sacer) Ordo Cisterciensis, abbreviated as OCist or SOCist), are a Catholic religious order of monks and nuns that branched off from the Benedictines and follow the Rule of Saint ...

Monastery in

Oliwa Oliwa ( la, Oliva; csb, Òlëwa; german: Oliva) is a northern district of the city of Gdańsk, Poland. From east it borders Przymorze and Żabianka, from the north Sopot and from the south with the districts of Strzyża, VII Dwór and Brętowo, ...

, administratively located in the Gdańsk County in the

Pomeranian Voivodeship Pomeranian Voivodeship, Pomorskie Region, or Pomerania Province (Polish: ''Województwo pomorskie'' ; ( Kashubian: ''Pòmòrsczé wòjewództwò'' ), is a voivodeship, or province, in northwestern Poland. The provincial capital is Gdańsk. The ...

. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, on October 5, 1939, the Germans carried out an execution of 39 Poles, defenders of the Polish Post Office in Gdansk, in the district.Maria Wardzyńska, ''Był rok 1939. Operacja niemieckiej policji bezpieczeństwa w Polsce. Intelligenzaktion'', IPN, Warszawa, 2009, p. 86 (in Polish) There are memorials to the defenders at the site of the execution and at the site of their former mass grave, which was discovered in 1991. The defenders were then officially buried at the cemetery of victims of Nazi Germany in Zaspa in 1992. During the

Solidarity ''Solidarity'' is an awareness of shared interests, objectives, standards, and sympathies creating a psychological sense of unity of groups or classes. It is based on class collaboration.''Merriam Webster'', http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictio ...

times,

Lech Wałęsa Lech Wałęsa (; ; born 29 September 1943) is a Polish statesman, dissident, and Nobel Peace Prize laureate, who served as the President of Poland between 1990 and 1995. After winning the 1990 election, Wałęsa became the first democratica ...

had an apartment on Zaspa. The pope

John Paul II Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...

visited the district on 12 June 1987 during his third pilgrimage to Poland.

Sights

The Park Zaspa is one of the largest

public park An urban park or metropolitan park, also known as a municipal park (North America) or a public park, public open space, or municipal gardens ( UK), is a park in cities and other incorporated places that offer recreation and green space to re ...

s in Gdańsk, and the large cemetery of victims of Nazi Germany is also located in Zaspa.

Transport

The

Gdańsk Zaspa railway station Gdańsk Zaspa railway station is a railway station serving the city of Gdańsk, in the Pomeranian Voivodeship, Poland. The station opened in 1952 and is located on the Gdańsk Śródmieście–Rumia railway. The train services are operated by SK ...

is located in Zaspa.

Religion

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

churches of Saint Casimir and of Divine Providence are located in Zaspa.

Gallery

Gdańsk ulica Nagórskiego 11 (mural NSZ).JPG, Mural to the

National Armed Forces National Armed Forces (NSZ; ''Polish:'' Narodowe Siły Zbrojne) was a Polish right-wing underground military organization of the National Democracy operating from 1942. During World War II, NSZ troops fought against Nazi Germany and communist pa ...

Gdańsk ulica Dywizjonu 303 3 (mural).JPG, Mural to the

No. 303 Squadron RAF No. 303 Squadron RAF, also known as the 303rd "Tadeusz Kościuszko Warsaw" Fighter Squadron, was one of two Polish Air Forces in France and Great Britain, Polish squadrons that fought during the Battle of Britain along with No. 302 Polish Fight ...

Gdansk Zaspa mural 21.jpg, Gdansk Zaspa mural 12.jpg, Gdansk Zaspa mural 11.jpg, Gdańsk ulica Pilotów 18 (mural).JPG, Gdansk Zaspa mural 20.jpg,

References

External links

Map of Zaspa-Młyniec

Districts of Gdańsk {{Pomeranian-geo-stub