Śródmieście ( meaning 'city centre', '

downtown ''Downtown'' is a term primarily used in American and Canadian English to refer to a city's sometimes commercial, cultural and often the historical, political, and geographic heart. It is often synonymous with its central business district ( ...

') is the central borough ''(

dzielnica In the Polish system of local administration, a dzielnica (Polish plural ''dzielnice'') is an administrative subdivision or quarter of a city or town. A dzielnica may have its own elected council ('' rada dzielnicy'', or ''dzielnica council'') ...

)'' of the city of

Gdynia Gdynia is a city in northern Poland and a seaport on the Baltic Sea coast. With an estimated population of 257,000, it is the List of cities in Poland, 12th-largest city in Poland and the second-largest in the Pomeranian Voivodeship after Gdańsk ...

. It borders the following districts: Oksywie, Obłuże, Pogórze (all three from the north), Chylonia, Leszczynki, Grabówek (all three from the west), Forest Plots and Kamienna Góra (from the south), and the

Baltic Sea The Baltic Sea is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that is enclosed by the countries of Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Sweden, and the North European Plain, North and Central European Plain regions. It is the ...

History

Gdynia City Center was established mainly in the 1920s and 1930s. The

modernist Modernism was an early 20th-century movement in literature, visual arts, and music that emphasized experimentation, abstraction, and Subjectivity and objectivity (philosophy), subjective experience. Philosophy, politics, architecture, and soc ...

character of the center was created by such architects as Adam Kuncewicz and

Roman Feliński Roman Feliński (4 February 1886 – 22 March 1953) was a Polish architect. He authored the first Polish book on urban planning. He worked on development plans for Gdynia and Warsaw, and designed over 150 buildings, among others, the ''Magnus'' De ...

. Gdynia's downtown survived the war practically undamaged. During the

Nazi occupation German-occupied Europe, or Nazi-occupied Europe, refers to the sovereign countries of Europe which were wholly or partly militarily occupied and civil-occupied, including puppet states, by the (armed forces) and the government of Nazi Germany at ...

, the Germans changed the name of the district to ''Stadtmitte''. In 1998, the Port district was incorporated into Śródmieście. Świętojańska is the oldest and most representative street in the city. In 2015, the modernist layout of Gdynia City Center entered the list of historical monuments of Poland. On September 26, 2019, the Modernist Center of Gdynia was placed on the UNESCO tentative list (as of 2020, Poland lists six properties on its tentative list). According to the nomination justification, ''the Modernist Center of Gdynia is unique as a heritage site of European town planning and architecture in which the ideals of Modernism have been confronted with the changing needs of a growing city and port.'' As of 2020, the UNESCO

World Heritage List World Heritage Sites are landmarks and areas with legal protection under an international treaty administered by UNESCO for having cultural, historical, or scientific significance. The sites are judged to contain "cultural and natural heritag ...

includes urban layouts of

Tel Aviv Tel Aviv-Yafo ( or , ; ), sometimes rendered as Tel Aviv-Jaffa, and usually referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the Gush Dan metropolitan area of Israel. Located on the Israeli Mediterranean coastline and with a popula ...

Le Havre Le Havre is a major port city in the Seine-Maritime department in the Normandy (administrative region), Normandy region of northern France. It is situated on the right bank of the estuary of the Seine, river Seine on the English Channel, Channe ...

, Brasilia, and

Asmara Asmara ( ), or Asmera (), is the capital and most populous city of Eritrea, in the country's Central Region (Eritrea), Central Region. It sits at an elevation of , making it the List of capital cities by altitude, sixth highest capital in the wo ...

Preservation and documentation

At the end of 2021, as part of the KLIMATyczne Centrum project, the authorities of Gdynia announced the creation of new green areas, limiting car traffic and parking spaces, introducing one-way traffic on Świętojańska Street, and redevelopment of Władysława IV, Wójta Radtke, Jana z Kolna and 3 Maja Streets, several buffer car parks on the outskirts of Śródmieście, revitalization of 10 Lutego, Starowiejska and Abrahama Streets, changes to Kaszubski Square and Aleja Jana Pawła II.A historical importance of the city formed the basis of an exhibition called ''Gdynia – Tel Aviv'' and curated by Dr Artur Tanikowski. It coincided with the centennial of the founding of Gdynia and Bahaus School, 110th anniversary of

. The exhibition explored architectural and cultural links of two ‘white cities’ by the sea, opened at the Polin Museum of Jewish History in 2019 and traveled to the Gdynia City Museum. ''Modernism in Europe – Modernism in Gdynia'' international conference takes place every year since 2007. Gdynia Modernism Trail is created and maintained by the Gdynia Development Agency.

Notable monuments

There are several facilities and institutions in Śródmieście: Gdynia z lotu ptaka - 057

* Gdynia City Hall * Gdynia District Court (Constitution Square 5) *

Gdynia Główna Railway Station Gdynia Główna railway station (Polish language, Polish for ''Gdynia main station'') is the main railway station serving the city of Gdynia in the Pomeranian Voivodeship, Poland. It served 13,41 mln passengers in 2022, making it the busiest in t ...

(Constitution Square) * City Market Halls (ul. Wójta Radtkego 36/40) * Office building of the Social Insurance Institution (former

PLO The Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO; ) is a Palestinian nationalist coalition that is internationally recognized as the official representative of the Palestinian people in both the occupied Palestinian territories and the diaspora. ...

Building, ul. 10 Lutego 24, corner of ul. 3 Maja) * BGK housing complex (ul. 3 Maja 27-31, corner of ul. 10 Lutego and corner of ul. Batorego) * Port Construction Office (ul. Washingtona 38) * Abraham's House (ul. Starowiejska 30) * House of the Swedish Seaman (ul. Jana z Kolna 25)

Gdynia Seaport

* Marine Station ** Emigration Museum * Southern Pier ** '' Dar Pomorza'' ** '' ORP Błyskawica'' * Gdynia Aquarium * House of the Polish Sailor

Modernist townhouses

* Pręczkowski Tenement House (Kościuszko Square 10-12) * Peszkowski Tenement House (Kościuszko Square 14) * Krenski House (ul. Świętojańska 55) * Orłowski House (ul. Świętojańska 68) * Hundsdorff House (ul. Starowiejska 7) File:Gdynia, Skwer Kościuszki 10-12 - fotopolska.eu (259412).jpg , Pręczkowski House File:KAMIENICA PESZKOWSKIEGO 02.jpg, Peszkowski House File:Gdynia, Świętojańska 55 (4) - czupirek 2013.jpg, Krenski House File:Kamienica na ul. Świętojańskiej w Gdyni, by PrzemaS93 (2) (cropped).JPG, Orłowski House File:Gdynia kamienica Hundsdorffow.jpg, Hundsdorff House

References

External links

* {{Authority control Modernist architecture in Poland 1930s in Poland Modernist heritage districts Gdynia 1920s in Poland