Westerplatte

Gdańsk, Poland

Westerplatte is a long peninsula at the entrance to the harbour. When Gdańsk became a free city after WWI, Poland was permitted to maintain a post at this location, at the tip of the port zone. It served both trading and military purposes and had a garrison to protect it. WWII broke out here at dawn on 1 September 1939, when the German battleship Schleswig-Holstein began shelling the Polish guard post. The garrison, which numbered just 182 men, held out for seven days before surrendering.

The site is now a memorial, with some of the ruins left as they were after the bombardment, plus a massive monument put up in memory of the defenders.

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Founded: 1966
Category: Statues in Poland

Rating

4.7/5 (based on Google user reviews)

User Reviews

Evgeny Naida (16 months ago)
This place is not about a view or park to visit, it's more about learning some story from the historical perspective. There are a lot of guide tours here explaining how Poland was occupied by Germany and Soviet Russia and how guilty people and countries were not finally punished. Consequences we can see till now.
Kat (17 months ago)
Large park with lots of historical content. I would highly recommend coming here during your stay in Gdańsk. There are shops and food here, as well as public toilets.
Roman Krzaczek Quadra Island Cortes Island and Campbell River Realtor (17 months ago)
For history buffs this place is a very special visit. We loved to be there where it all started and to be able to visualize how it happened. Fairly easy to get there by bus and has food stands, and toilets. There are no admission fees except one building. I didn’t mind paying the 10zl. to go inside one of the buildings because the exhibit was worth it.
R Vega (18 months ago)
If you are in the area, this is a great area to go for a walk/bike ride. Nice open-air museum by the water.
Kriss Zeo (18 months ago)
Busy but nice area to walk, but surely sad because of the bloody print around it. However most of the information panels are vandalized so it's hard to get any information (in English). We spent around 1-2h walking around. There is a paid parking but you need cash for that so we were lucky to find a street parking free of charge since we don't carry cash around.
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