Travels

Tower Clock Museum

  • 2 September 201822 April 2021

Tower Clock Museum is located in bell tower of St. Catherine Church, at 54°21’14″N 18°39’04″E.

In this museum you can see many clocks and clock mechanisms installed in varius towers. Mechanisms are shown to the public and everybody can see how they work.

Entry ticket to the Tower Clock Museum is 10 zł.

To enter the museum you need to go to a small entrance near main entrance to the church and go several dozens of small and narrow steps until you finally arrive at first floor of museum.

Clock with the longest pendulum in the world – 31,22 m. Of course not whole pendulum is shown, it stretches through few floors.

Second floor.

Third floor – there are no clocks in here, but on this floor is 50-bell carillon.

Top view on carillon.

Going higher takes you to the view point atop of St. Catherine’s Church bell tower.

Western view: building at the bottom of the picture is Wielki Młyn (Great mill), further to the west, covered partially by trees, is Old City Town Hall and left to him and little behind is St. Joseph Church. At the right side of the picture you can see Gdańsk Główny railway station.

Southern view: the most noticaable buildings in the center of the picture are market hall and just behind it St. Nicolaus Basilica. The tower next to them is Baszta Jacek a part od Gdańsk’s old fortifications. Behind church you can clearly see St. Mary’s Basilica, on the left side of the picture is St. John’s Church.

Eastern view: just behind the back of St. Catherine Church you can see St. Brigitte Basilica. Far left you can see cranes of the Gdańsk Shipyard.

Northern view: St. Catherine Church is located at the edge of Gdańsk’s historical city center and northern view is already outside of it. Buildings visible are Mercure hotel, Organica Trade office bulding and the green one in the distant is Zieleniak.

Landscape

Main City Town Hall

  • 1 August 201810 May 2021

Gdańsk has two town halls – Main City Town Hall and Old City Town Hall. Main City and Old City are two different districts and often people refer to the Gdańsk historic center simply as “old city”, even locals do so. Main City Town Hall is located in Main City district at 54°20’56″N 18°39’09″E, near Neptune’s Fountain, just about the place where Long Lane and Long Market conects. Although if you ask about old city everyone will point you roughly to this place.

Building started in 1346, but in 1378-1382 it was rebuild, tower was added in 1486–1488. Around 1537 it was again extended and since then it has it’s todays shape.

Ticket prices:

Normal price 16 zł, reduced 8 zł.

The Palowa Gallery (Galeria Palowa), normal price 6 zł, reduced 4 zł.

Viewpoint, normal price 10 zł, reduced 5 zł.

You can also buy 90 day pass to all eight branches of Gdańsk municipal museums, normal price 80 zł, reduced 50 zł.

On Wednesdays entrence is free. See https://muzeumgdansk.pl/index.php?id=362&L=1 for current information.

In 1556 fire damaged the town hall and it had to been rebuild again, this time a 14-bell carillon was mounted on the tower.

During second world war town hall was severely damaged, repairs were performed in years 1946-1970 and are considered one of the greatest and hardest building reconstructions after the war. In year 2000 a new, 37-bell carillon was mounted on the tower.

During renaissance Gdańsk was the richest city in Poland. Of course it has to show off and it starts with the stoop.

Great Hall of Court (Wielka Sala Wety), also called White Hall (Sala Biała). This is the most representative hall in Main City Town Hall, this is the hall in which court was sitting, king’s (and his representative) audiences happened and also Gdańsk citizenship granting ceremony happened. This is the hall in which most Gdańsk treaties and agreements were signed.

At the walls you can see paintings of Polish Kings.

Red Hall (Sala Czerwona). In this hall the city council was debating.

Just look at the ceiling.

I also recommend going to the tower, you have great view over Gdańsk. Tower is 83,5 meter high and you can go to the part above clock. It is the second highest building in the Gdańsk historic center, only St. Mary’s Basilica is higher.

Western view: you can clearly see Long Lane ending with Złota Brama (Golden Gate). Even further you can see Katownia.

Southern view: this is the view on the tenements called kamienica (plural kamienice) alongside street. The narrow street on the bottom right side is Long Lane and the wide street is called Long Market.

East view: Long Market street ending with Green Gate. Behind Green Gate is river Motława and on the other side of the river is  Granary Island (with that awful fairy wheel) with a lot of new hotels being build on it.

Northern view: to the north you can see St. Mary’s Basilica, now under renovation.

But if you look at north-east you will also see Chlebnicka street ending with Chlebnicka gate.