Following World War II, the city of Gdansk, formerly Danzig, Poland, undertook the daunting feat of rebuilding its Main Town as it had been before the war. In painstaking detail, city planners revitalized the historic architecture of building fronts and structures as they were designed centuries earlier. Park Victory radioman Will Keller returned to Gdansk in 2007 and took contrasting photos of scenes he had captured there in January 1946.
Will has passed on to me a wonderful collection of before and after images, five of which I share with you here.
Golden Gate at the beginning of Long Street:
Golden House on Long Market:
St. Mary’s Gate at the end of St. Mary’s Street:
The Motlawa River waterfront with its historic Crane at the far right bend:
The Great Arsenal at the beginning of Piwna Street:
Next post: We leave Poland for Park Victory Livestock trip #3 to Greece
These have also been assembled into a matching game for children on my website.
These photos are breath-taking. Our Seagoing Cowboys surely received an amazing education about the ravages of war. And to see the recovery decades later. Ah, the strong will of the Polish people! Thank you, Mel and Peggy!
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A real tribute to the resilience of people in the face of destruction. Here is hoping the same will happen in Syria,
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And so many other places around the globe right now. To be sure. Thanks for your comment.
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By 1979, when my wife and I were through Gdansk, they had already restored the former Mennonite church to its original structure…and was being used by a Pentecostal group.
Mel Loewen
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Thanks for this info, Mel!
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