Gdansk “The Pearl of the North”
Gdansk is known for its architecture, a walk around the Royal Route will be sure to take your breath away. Other than museums and historical buildings Gdansk is also home to the St. Mary’s Church, the largest brick church in the world. Each year Gdansk hosts the St.Dominic’s Fair, this fair is the biggest cultural trade event in Europe and dates back from the 13th century. In the evening one can enjoy a nice meal at the old docks, remnants of Gdansk’s maritime past.
Economy
Gdansk is the principal seaport of Poland and it is also a notable industrial centre. Gdansk is active in the petrochemical and chemical industry, the food processing industry, with names such as Dr.Oetker and Arla food. Gdansk is also active in the pharmaceutical and cosmetic industries, IT enigneering, electronics and telecommunications. Gdansk hosts big companies such as Intel Technology Poland, Amazon, State Street, Staples, and Nike.
Future Goals and Interests
Gdansk aims to be a smart and open city. In 2015 the City Hall launched Gdansk 2030 Plus Development Strategy. After the launch civic panels were put in place. They started in 2018 and citizens were able to voice their opinions about various topics, mostly climate change and citizen activity and engagement. The city’s main working points are education and social capital, economy and transport, public space, culture and health. The city wants to tackle different challenges in each of these focus points. Gdansk has made an open data portal in order to improve the life of its inhabitants. The high level of transparency increases the trust of the inhabitants in the City Council. The open data portal has been used to create a mobile application app. Users can now use their smartphone to see the exact location of their tram or bus. Gdansk is also a fellow city in the European funded Ruggedised project. This project aims to offer citizens a clean and safe living environment using a combination of smart solutions and e-mobility. Solutions that have been put in place in lighthouse cities such as Rotterdam, Glasgow and Umea will be implemented in downtown Gdansk. These solutions will be tested to see if they can be useful to improve the overall life of the citizens.
