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Seaport Of Gdansk

Seaport of Gdansk

(Sea)port of Gdańsk is seaport located on the southern coast of Gdańsk Bay, extends along Vistula estuary (Martwa Wisła), Port Channel and Kashubia Canal. One of the largest seaport on the Baltic Sea. The Port of Gdańsk is divided into two parts, Inner and Exterior Port.

Inner Port

- Gdansk Container Terminal – providing feeder services
- Ferry terminals
- Polferries
- Westerplatte
- Phosphates terminal
- Liquid and bulk sulphur terminal
- Fruits handling terminal in Port Free Zone In the Port of Gdańsk is specialized cargo handling equipment and port infrastructure can be found, enabling among others the handling of grain, fertilizers, lumber, ore, steel and containers, as well as ro-ro vessel servicing.

Exterior — Northern Port

Northern Port is located directly in the water basins of Gdańsk Bay. The largest vessels with a capacity of up to 300000 DWT and draft to 15 m that enter the Baltic Sea can be servised here.
- coal terminal
- Naftoport — crude oil, heating oils, fuels terminal
- LPG terminal

Trans-shipments

- 1978 – 27,7 million ton record
- 2000 – 16,5 million ton
- 2001 – 17,8 million ton
- 2002 – 17,4 million ton
- 2003 – 21,3 million ton
- 2004 – 23,3 million ton

Gdańsk

Gdańsk (pronunce , German: Danzig, Kashubian: Gduńsk, Latin: Gedania; also other languages) is the sixth-largest city in Poland, its principal seaport, and the capital of the Pomeranian Voivodship. The city lies on the southern coast of the Gdańsk Bay (of the Baltic Sea), in a conurbation with the spa town of Sopot, the city of Gdynia and suburban communities, which together form a metropolitan area called the greater Gdańsk or the Tricity (Trójmiasto) with a population of over a million people. Gdańsk is, with a population of 460,524 (mid 2004), the largest city in the historical province of Eastern Pomerania. North lies the Kashubian Tricity: Rumia, Reda, and Wejherowo Gdańsk is situated at the mouth of the Motława river, connected to the Leniwka, a branch in the delta of the Vistula, whose waterway system connects 60% of the area of Poland, giving the city a unique advantage as the center of Poland's sea trade. Historically an important seaport since mediaeval times and subsequently a principal ship-building centre, Gdańsk was a member of the Hanseatic League. Today the city remains an important industrial centre, together with the nearby port of Gdynia, and is worldfamous as the birthplace of the Solidarity movement which, under the leadership of Lech Wałęsa, played a major role in bringing and end to Communist rule in the Eastern Bloc.

Names

The name is thought to mean town located on Gdania river, the original name of the Motława branch the city is situated on. Like many other European cities, Gdańsk has had many different names throughout its history. The Polish name is Gdańsk, and in the local Kashubian language it is known as Gduńsk. Due to the fact that the city was heavily dominated by its German population, became part of the Kingdom of Prussia in 1792 and was part of the German Empire untol 1919, the German name Danzig was widely used until the end of the Second World War. The city's Latin name may be given as any of Gedania, Gedanum or Dantiscum; the variety of Latin names reflects the influence of the Polish, Kashubian, and German names. A former English version of its name was Dantsic (in use until the end of WWI). Gdańsk is usually pronounced IPA , , or in English. The acute accent is usually left off due to the difficulty of entering it. See also: List of European cities with names in different languages

Historical documents

List of European cities with names in different languages List of European cities with names in different languages List of European cities with names in different languages List of European cities with names in different languages List of European cities with names in different languages List of European cities with names in different languages The name of a settlement was recorded after St. Adalbert's demise in 997 A.D. as urbs Gyddanyzc and later was written as Kdanzk (1148), Gdanzc (1188), Gdansk (1236), Danzc (1263), Danczk (1311, 1399, 1410, 1414–1438), Danczik (1399, 1410, 1414), Danczig (1414), Gdansk (1454, 1468, 1484), Gdansk (1590), Gdąnsk (1636) and in Latin documents Gedanum or Dantiscum. These early recordings show the Pomeranian name Gduńsk, the Polish name Gdańsk and the German name Danzig. Alternative spellings from medieval and early modern documents are Gyddanyzc, Kdansk, Gdanzc, Dantzk, Dantzig, Dantzigk, Dantiscum and Gedanum. The official Latin name of Gedanum was used simultaneously.

Special celebration names

On special occasions it is also known as The Royal Polish City of Gdańsk; Polish: Królewskie Polskie Miasto Gdańsk, German: Königliche Polnische Stadt Danzig, Latin: Regia Civitas Polonica Gedanensis, Kashubian: Królewsczi Polsczi Gard Gduńsk. The Kashubians prefer the name: Our Capital City Gdańsk (=Nasz Stoleczny Gard Gduńsk) or The Kashubian Capital City Gdańsk (=Stoleczny Kaszëbsczi Gard Gduńsk). Sources:
- Gdańsk, in: Kazimierz Rymut, Nazwy Miast Polski, Ossolineum, Wrocław 1987
- Hubert Gurnowicz, Gdańsk, in: Nazwy miast Pomorza Gdańskiego, Ossolineum, Wrocław 1978

History

Main article: History of Gdańsk, see also: History of Pomerania History of Pomerania

Foundation and the Middle Ages

According to archeologists, the Gdańsk stronghold was built in the 980s by Mieszko I of Poland. However, the year 997 has in recent years been considered to be the date of the foundation of the city, this being the year when Saint Adalbert of Prague (sent by the Polish king Boleslaus the Brave) baptized the inhabitants of Gdańsk (urbs Gyddanyzc). In the following years Gdańsk was the main centre of a Polish splinter duchy ruled by the Dukes of Pomerania. The most famous of them, Świętopełk II of Pomerania, granted a local autonomy charter in ca. 1235 to the city, which at the time had some 2,000 inhabitants. By 1308 Gdańsk had became a flourishing trading city with some 10,000 inhabitants, but in the Gdańsk Massacre of November 13 1308, it was occupied and demolished by the Teutonic Knights. This led to the city's decline and to a series of wars between the Knights and the Polish kings, ending with the Peace of Kalisz in 1343 when the Knights acknowledged that they would hold Pomerania as "an alm" from the Polish king. Although it left the legal basis of their possession of the province in some doubt, the agreement permitted the foundation of the municipality in 1343 and the development of increased export of grain from Poland via the Vistula river trading routes. While under the control of the Knights, the city flourished, German influence increased, and the city began to be referred to by variations of "Gdańsk", ultimately developing into the Modern Era German name "Danzig". The city became a full member of the Hanseatic League in 1361. A new war broke out in 1409, ending with the Battle of Grunwald (1410), and the city briefly came under the direct overlordship of the Polish kings. One year later, with the Peace of Toruń (Thorn) in 1411, it returned to the Teutonic Knights' administration. In 1440 Danzig participated in the foundation of the Prussian Union which eventually led to the Thirteen Years War (1454-1466) and the incorporation of Royal Prussia to the direct rule of the Polish Crown. Thanks to the Royal charters granted by king Casimir IV the Jagiellonian and the free access to all Polish markets, Danzig became a large and prosperous seaport and city. The 16th and 17th centuries were a Golden Age for trade and culture in Danzig. Inhabitants from various ethnic groups (Germans, Poles, Jews, and Dutch being the largest) contributed to Danzig's identity and rich culture of this period. The city suffered a slow economic decline due to the wars in the 18th century, which ended with the Partitions of Poland from 1772to 1795. Danzig was annexed to the Kingdom of Prussia in 1793 and remained Prussian until 1919 -- except for the short period of 1807-1815 when it was the Free City of Danzig during the Napoleonic years. As part of Prussia, it became part of the German Empire in 1871. 1871]

The World Wars and Inter-War Years

When Poland regained its independence after World War I, the Poles hoped to regain the city to provide the free access to the sea which they had been promised by the Allies on the basis of Woodrow Wilson's "Fourteen Points". However, since the population of the city was predominantly German, it was not placed under Polish sovereignty, but became the Free City of Danzig, an independent quasi-state under the auspices of the League of Nations, governed by its predominantly German residents but with its external affairs largely under Polish control. The Free City issued its own stamps and currency, bearing the legend "Freie Stadt Danzig" and symbols of the city's maritime orientation and history. Because the authorities in Danzig obstructed Polish trade and restricted Poles from settling in the city, the Polish government decided to build the nearby seaport of Gdynia, which in the following years took the majority of total Polish maritime exports. German demands for control over the Free City and easier access from Pomerania to East Prussia served as a pretext for the German attack on Poland on September 1, 1939 and triggered the outbreak of World War II. Most of the Jewish community in Danzig was able to escape from the Nazis shortly before the outbreak of hostilities. However, since 1936 German police had observed Polish circles, compiling information which in 1939 served to prepare lists of Poles to be arrested Operation Tannenberg. After the German invasion, massive arrests of Poles started. On the first day of the war alone approx. 1,500 people were arrested[http://www.kki.net.pl/~museum/museums.htm], mainly Poles active in the social and economical life, activists and members of Polish organizations. On 2 September, 150 of them were deported to Stutthof concentration camp near Danzig, where most were eventually killed. Military action in Danzig began with an artillery bombardment by the old German pre-Dreadnaught battleship Schleswig-Holstein of the Westerplatte peninsula and a subsequent landing by German infantry. Polish defenders at the Westerplatte resisted for nearly a week before running out of ammunition. Many members of Danzig's Polish population were deported to Stutthof or were executed at Piasnica. The city was annexed by Nazi Germany and incorporated into the Reichsgau Danzig-Westpreussen. Towards the end of WWII, the city was taken by the Red Army on 30 March 1945. Ninety percent of the city was reduced to ruins during the war and thereafter, and it is estimated that 25 percent of the pre-war population was killed. At the Yalta and Potsdam conferences, Danzig was placed under Polish administration, along with most of Pomerania and Silesia and the southern half of East Prussia. Poland, with Soviet backing, expelled all ethnic Germans from the city, thereafter known by its Polish name, Gdańsk. By 1950, around 285,000 former Free City of Danzig inhabitants lived in other parts of Germany, while an estimated 100,000 had lost their lives in the war and the expulsions.

Modern Age

Replacing the killed or expelled German pre-War population, Poles came to the city from throughout Poland, especially from the regions of eastern Poland annexed by the Soviet Union. The Old City was rebuilt during the 1950s and 1960s. Because of the development of its port and three major shipyards, Gdańsk was a major shipping and industrial center of the Communist People's Republic of Poland. In the course of German-Polish reconciliation driven by West German Chancellor Willy Brandt's Ostpolitik, German territorial claims on Gdańsk (and all other formerly German territories now under Polish administration) were renounced, and its full incorporation into Poland was recognized in the Treaty of Warsaw in 1970. In 1970, Gdańsk was the scene of anti-government demonstrations which led to the downfall of Poland's communist leader Wladyslaw Gomulka. Ten years later the Gdańsk Shipyard was the birthplace of the Solidarity trade union movement, whose opposition to the government led to the end of communist party rule (1989). Solidarity's leader Lech Wałęsa became President of Poland in 1990. Today Gdańsk is a major industrial city and shipping port.

Population Developments

Historical population
of Gdańsk/Danzig Compare: population of Tricity

Economy

Tricity Main article: Economy of Gdańsk The city's industrial landscape is dominated by shipbuilding, petrochemical and chemical industries, and food processing. The share of high-tech sectors such as electronics, telecommunications, IT engineering, cosmetics and pharmaceuticals is on the rise. Amber processing for the local economy is also important.

Culture

Gdańsk was once an important center of culture. In the 16th century it hosted Shakespearean theater on foreign tours. Currently, there is a Fundation Theatrum Gedanensis aimed at rebuilding the Shakespeare theater at its historical site. It is expected that Gdańsk will have a permanent English-language theater, as at present it is only an annual event.

Tourism

The city boasts many fine buildings from the time of the Hanseatic League. Most tourist attractions are along or near Ulica Długa (Long Street) and Długi Targ (Long Market), a pedestrian thoroughfare lined by buildings reconstructed in historical (primarily 17th Century) style and capped on either end by elaborate city gates. This part of the city is sometimes referred to as the Royal Way because it was the procession route of visiting kings. Walking from end to end, sites encountered on or near the Royal Way include:

Upland Gate
Torture House
Prison Tower
Golden Gate
Long Street (Ulica Długa)

Uphagen House
Main Town Hall

Long Market (Długi Targ)

Arthur's Court (Artus)
Neptune fountain

Green Gate

Gdańsk has a number of historical churches:

St Bridget's Church
St Catherine's Church
St John's Church
St Mary's Church (Bazylika Mariacka), a municipal church built during the 15th century, is one of the largest brick churches in the world.
St Nicholas' Church
Church of the Holy Trinity

On the Motława river the museum ship SS Soldek is anchored. Gdańsk is the starting point of the EuroVelo 9 cycling route which continues southward through Poland, then into the Czech Republic, Austria and Slovenia before it finally ends at the Adriatic Sea at Pula in Croatia.

Transportation

- Gdańsk Lech Wałęsa Airport
- Port of Gdańsk

Sports

Main article: Sports in Gdańsk There are many popular professional sports teams in the Gdańsk and Tricity area. Amateur sports are played by thousands of Gdańsk citizens and also in schools of all levels (elementary, secondary, university).

Politics and Local Government

Main article: Politics of Gdańsk Contemporary Gdańsk is the capital of the Pomeranian province and is one of the major centres of economic and administrative life in Poland. Many important agencies of the state and local government levels have their main offices here: the Provincial Administration Office, the Provincial Government, the Ministerial Agency of the State Treasury, the Agency for Consumer and Competition Protection, the National Insurance regional office, the Court of Appeal, and the High Administrative Court.

Regional center

Gdańsk Voivodship was extended in 1999 to include most of Słupsk Voivodship, the western part of Elbląg Voivodship and Chojnice County from Bydgoszcz Voivodship to form the new Pomeranian Voivodship. The area of the region was thus extended from 7,394 km² to 18,293 km² and the population rose from 1,333,800 (1980) to 2,198,000 (2000). By 1998, Tricity (greater Gdańsk) constituted an absolute majority of the population; almost half of the inhabitants of the new region live in the centre.

Education and Science

Tricity There are 14 universities with a total of 60,436 students, including 10,439 graduates as of 2001.
- Gdańsk University (Uniwersytet Gdański)
- Gdańsk University of Technology (Politechnika Gdańska)
- Medical Academy (Akademia Medyczna)
- Physical Education Academy (Akademia Wychowania Fizycznego im. Jędrzeja Śniadeckiego)
- Musical Academy (Akademia Muzyczna im. Stanisława Moniuszki)
- Arts Academy (Akademia Sztuk Pięknych) [http://www.asp.gda.pl]
- Instytut Budownictwa Wodnego PAN
- Ateneum — Szkoła Wyższa
- Gdańska Wyższa Szkoła Humanistyczna
- Gdańska Wyższa Szkoła Administracji
- Wyższa Szkoła Bankowa
- Wyższa Szkoła Społeczno-Ekonomiczna
- Wyższa Szkoła Turystyki i Hotelarstwa w Gdańsku
- Wyższa Szkoła Zarządzania

Scientific and regional organizations

- Gdańsk Scientific Society
- Baltic Institute (Instytut Bałtycki), established 1925 in Toruń, since 1946 (?) in Gdańsk
- TNOiK - Towarzystwo Naukowe Organizacji i Kierowania (Scientific Society for Organization and Management) O/Gdańsk
- IBNGR - Instytut Badań nad Gospodarką Rynkową (The Gdańsk Institute for Market Economics)http://www.ibngr.edu.pl/english/index2.htm

External links

- [http://www.gdansk.pl/en/ The Website of Gdańsk Town Hall]
- [http://roots.gdansk.gda.pl/index_en.asp Together in Gdańsk Again — Comprehensive information about Gdańsk online]
- [http://www.gdansk.com/indexpl.html www.gdansk.com]
- [http://sabaoth.infoserve.pl/danzig-online/index3.html Freie Stadt Danzig]
- [http://www.airport.gdansk.pl Airport Gdańsk-Rębiechowo]
- [http://www.trojmiasto.pl Tricity Regional Portal]
- [http://www.univ.gda.pl/pl Gdańsk University]
- [http://www.firma.gda.pl Gdańsk Companies]
- [http://www.gdansk-life.com Gdańsk Life]
- [http://roots.gdansk.pl/en/postacie/burmistrzowie.asp Mayors of Gdańsk]
- [http://www.gdansk.jewish.org.pl Gdańsk jewish community]
- [http://www.gdanskie-organy.com Organs of Gdańsk — History of pipe organs in Gdańsk]
- [http://www.danzig-online.pl/ History of Danzig with lots of pictures and the old anthem, in english and polish] Category:Pomeranian Voivodship Category:Coastal cities of Poland Category:Cities in Poland Category:Urban counties of Pomeranian Voivodship ko:그단스크 ja:グダニスク

Gdańsk Bay

The Bay of Gdańsk (also known as the Gdańsk Bay or Gulf of Gdańsk; in Polish Zatoka Gdańska; in Kashubian/Pomeranian Gduńskô Hôwinga; in German Danziger Bucht) is a southeastern bay of the Baltic sea enclosed by a large curve of the shores of Gdańsk Pomerania in Poland (Cape Rozewie, Hel Peninsula) and the Kaliningrad Oblast of Russia (Sambian peninsula). The western part of Gdańsk Bay is formed by the shallow waters of the Bay of Puck and the southeastern part is the Vistula Lagoon, separated by the Vistula Spit and connected to the open sea by the Strait of Baltiysk. The maximum depth is 120 m, salinity 0.7 per cent. The Bay of Gdańsk receives the waters of the River Vistula directly via three branches -- the Leniwka, the Śmiała Wisła, and the Martwa Wisła -- and indirectly via the Vistula Lagoon with 2 branches: the Nogat and the Szkarpawa. Major ports are Kaliningrad, Gdańsk, Gdynia, Puck, and Hel. The bay features two very long sandspits, the Hel peninsula and the Vistula Spit. The first forms the Bay of Puck while the latter defines the Vistula Lagoon, accessed through the Strait of Baltiysk. Coastal cities include: Gdańsk, Gdynia, Sopot, Pilawa, and Hel. Rivers: the Pregolya and the Vistula. Category:Geography of Poland Category:Gdańsk Category:Baltic Sea Category:Bays

Martwa Wisła

The Martwa Wisla is a river, one of the branches of Vistula. It flows in Gdańsk to Gdańsk Bay. Category:Rivers of Poland

Gdansk Bay

Baltic Sea

The Baltic Sea is located in Northern Europe, from 53 deg. to 66 deg. north latitude and from 20 deg. to 26 deg. east longitude. It is bounded by the Scandinavian Peninsula, the mainlands of Northern Europe, Eastern Europe, Central Europe, and the Danish islands. It drains into the Kattegat by way of the Öresund, the Great Belt and the Little Belt. Kattegat then continues in the Skagerrak into the North Sea and the Atlantic Ocean. The Baltic Sea is linked to the White Sea by the White Sea Canal and directly to the North Sea by the Kiel Canal. Kiel Canal

Name

The first one to name it the Baltic Sea was Adam of Bremen and he seems to have based it on a large island, Baltia, mentioned by Xenophon and located in northern Europe.

Etymology

It is possibly connected to the Germanic belt, a name used for some of the Danish straits, while others claim it to be derived from Latin balteus (belt). From this use, Baltic has been applied to the Baltic countries. Another proposed derivation from the Indo-European root [http://starling.rinet.ru/cgi-bin/response.cgi?single=1&basename=/data/ie/piet&text_number=+129&root=config
- bhel] meaning white, shining seems speculative.

The name in other languages

The Baltic Sea is known by the equivalents of "East Sea", "West Sea", or "Baltic Sea" in different languages:
- In the Germanic languages except English East Sea is used: Danish (Østersøen), Dutch (Oostzee), German (Ostsee), Norwegian (Østersjøen), and Swedish (Östersjön); in addition, Finnish, a Balto-Finnic language has calqued the Swedish term as Itämeri, disregarding the geography; the sea is west of Finland.
- In another Balto-Finnic language, Estonian, it is called the West Sea (Läänemeri).
- Baltic Sea is used in English; in Latin (Mare Balticum) and the Romance languages French (Mer Baltique), Italian (Mar Baltico), Romanian (Marea Baltică) and Spanish (Mar Báltico); in the Slavic languages Polish (Morze Bałtyckie or Bałtyk), Kashubian (Bôłt), and Russian (Baltiyskoye Morye (Балтийское море)); and in the Baltic languages Latvian (Baltijas jūra) and Lithuanian (Baltijos jūra). ; Notes # [http://www.lysator.liu.se/runeberg/nfbb/0435.html] (in ).

Geophysical data

The Baltic Sea is a brackish inland sea, the largest body of brackish water in the world. The fact that it does not come from the collision of plates, but is a glacially scoured river valley, accounts for its relative shallowness.

Dimensions

The Baltic sea is about 1610 km (1000 mi) long, an average of 193 km (120 mi) wide, and an average of 55 m (180 ft, 30 fathoms) deep. The maximum depth is 459 m (1506 ft, 251 fathoms), on the Swedish side of the center. The surface area is about 377,000 sq km (145,522 sq mi) and the volume is about 21,000 cubic km (3129 cubic mi). The periphery amounts to about 8000 km (4968 mi) of coastline. [http://www.envir.ee/baltics/geograph.htm] These figures are somewhat variable because a number of different estimates have been made.

Icing in winter

The Baltic sea is iced in winter, except for the deepest regions in the center. Ice begins in the Gulf of Bothnia in October or November. Fast ice, attached to the shoreline, develops first, rendering the ports unusable without the services of icebreakers. Level ice, ice sludge, pancake ice or rafter ice form in the more open regions. The gleaming expanse of ice is similar to the arctic, with wind-driven pack ice and ridges up to 15 m, and was noted by the ancients. The degree of icing depends on whether the winter is mild, moderate or severe. Severe winters ice even the regions around Denmark and southern Sweden, leaving open only a relatively small extent south of Gotland. The ice reaches a maximum extent in February or March. By June it is gone.

Hydrography

The Baltic Sea is effluent through the Danish straits; however, the flow is complex. A surface layer of brackish water discharges 940 cubic km per year into the North Sea. Due to the difference in salinity, a sub-surface layer of more saline water moving in the opposite direction brings in 475 cubic km per year. It mixes very slowly with the upper waters, resulting in a salinity gradient from top to bottom, with most of the salt water remaining below 40 to 70 m of depth. The difference between the outflow and the inflow comes entirely from fresh water. More than 250 streams drain a basin of about 1.6 million square km, contributing a volume of 660 cubic km per year to the Baltic. They include the major rivers of north Europe, such as the Oder, the Vistula, the Neman and the Neva. Some of this water is polluted. Additional fresh water comes from the difference of precipitation less evaporation, which is positive. Despite the influx of salt water in the lower levels, the Baltic is still more of a lake or river than a sea. Tides are negligible. Wave height in calm weather varies between 2 and 3 m. Violent and sudden storms often sweep the surface, due to large transient temperature differences and a long reach of wind.

Salinity

Salinity is much lower than in the ocean, varying from 0.1 percent in the north to 0.6-0.8 percent in the center. Below 40-70 m, it can be as much as 1.5-2.0 percent. A lateral salinity gradient also exists from most saline in the northern Kattegat to least saline in the Northern Gulf of Bothnia. The most saline water remains on the bottom, creating a barrier to the exchange of Oxygen and nutrients, fostering totally different maritime environments.

Regional emergence

The land is still emerging from its subsident state, which was caused by the weight of the last glaciation. Consequently, the surface area and the depth of the sea are diminishing. The uplift is about eight millimetres per year on the Finnish coast of the northernmost Gulf of Bothnia .

Geographic data

Subdivisions

The northern part of the Baltic Sea is known as the Gulf of Bothnia out of which the northernmost part is referred to as the Bay of Bothnia. Immediately to the south of it lies the Sea of Åland. The Gulf of Finland connects the Baltic Sea with St. Petersburg. The Northern Baltic Sea lies between the Stockholm area, southwestern Finland, and Estonia. The Western and Eastern Gotland Basins form the major parts of the Central Baltic Sea. The Gulf of Riga lies between Riga and Saaremaa. Bay of Gdańsk lies east of the Hel peninsula on the Polish coast and west of Sambia in Kaliningrad Oblast. Bay of Pomerania lies north of the islands of Usedom and Wolin, east of Rügen. Bornholm Basin is the area east of Bornholm and Arkona Basin extends from Bornholm to the Danish isles of Falster and Zealand. Between Falster and the German coast lie the Bay of Mecklenburg and Bay of Lübeck. The westernmost part of the Baltic Sea is the Bay of Kiel. The three Danish straits, the Great Belt, the Little Belt and The Sound (Öresund) connect the Baltic Sea with the Kattegat bay and Skagerrak strait in the North Sea. The confluence of these two seas at Skagen on the northern tip of Denmark is a visual spectacle visited by many tourists each year.

Land use

The Baltic sea drainage basin is roughly four times the surface area of the sea itself. About 48% of the region is forested, with Sweden and Finland containing the majority of the forest, especially around the Gulfs of Bothnia and Finland. About 20% of the land is used for agriculture and pasture, mainly in Poland and around the edge of the Baltic sea proper, in Germany, Denmark and Sweden. About 17% of the basin is unused open land with another 8% of wetlands. Most of the latter are in the Gulfs of Bothnia and Finland. The rest of the land is heavily populated.

Demographics

About 85 million people live in the Baltic drainage basin, 15 within 10 km of the coast and 29 within 50 km of the coast. Around 22 million live in cities, defined as centers of over 250,000. 90% of these are concentrated in the 10 km band around the coast. Of the nations containing all or part of the basin, Poland includes 45% of the 85 million, Russia 12%, Sweden 10% and the others (see below) less than 6% each.

Geologic history

The Baltic Sea somewhat resembles a riverbed, with two tributaries (the Gulf of Finland and Gulf of Bothnia). From geological surveys it has become apparent that there was a river in the area prior to the Pleistocene: the Eridanos. Multiple glaciations in the Pleistocene scooped out the river bed into the sea basin. By the time of the last, or Eemian interglacial (MIS 5e), the Eemian sea was in place. From that time the waters underwent a geologic history summarized under the names listed below. Many of the stages are named after certain marine animals (e. g., the Littorina mollusk) that are clear markers of changing water temperatures and salinity. The factors that determined the sea’s characteristics were the submergence or emergence of the region due to the weight of ice and subsequent isostatic readjustment, and the connecting channels it could find to the North Sea-Atlantic either through the straits of Denmark or at what are now the large lakes of Sweden, and the White Sea-Arctic Sea.
- Eemian sea, 130,000-115,000 BP
- Baltic ice lake, 12,600-10,300 BP
- Yoldian sea, 10,300-9500 BP
- Ancylus lake, 9500-8000 BP
- Mastogloia sea 8000 BP-7500 BP
- Littorina sea, 7500-4000 BP
- Post-littorina sea 4000 BP-current

Prehistory

History

At the time of the Roman Empire, the Baltic Sea was known as the Mare Suebicum or Mare Sarmaticum. Tacitus in his AD 98 Agricola and Germania described the Mare Suebicum, named for the Suebi tribe, during the spring months, as a brackish sea when the ice on the Baltic Sea broke apart and chunks floated about. The Sarmatian tribes inhabited Eastern Europe and southern Russia. Jordanes called it the Germanic Sea in his work the Getica. Since the Viking age, the Scandinavians have called it "the Eastern Lake" (Austmarr, "Eastern Sea", appears in the Heimskringla and Eystra salt appears in Sörla þáttr), but Saxo Grammaticus recorded in Gesta Danorum an older name Gandvik, "-vik" being Old Norse for "bay", which implies that the Vikings correctly regarded it as an inlet of the sea. (Another form of the name, "Grandvik", attested in at least one English translation of Gesta Danorum, is likely to be a misspelling.) In addition to fish the sea also provides amber, especially from its southern shores. The bordering countries have traditionally provided lumber, wood tar, flax, hemp, and furs. Sweden had from early medieval times also a flourishing mining industry, especially on iron ore and silver. Poland had and still has extensive salt mines. All this has provided for rich trading since the Roman times. In the early Middle Ages, Vikings of Scandinavia fought for power over the sea with Slavic Pomeranians. The Vikings used the rivers of Russia for trade routes, finding their way eventually all the way to Black Sea and southern Russia. Lands next to the sea's eastern shore were among the last in Europe to be converted into Christianity in the Northern Crusades: Finland in the 12th century by the Swedes, and what are now Estonia and Latvia in the early 13th century by the Danes and the Germans (Livonian Brothers of the Sword). The powerful German Teutonic Knights gained control over most of the southern and eastern shore of the Baltic Sea, while fighting the Poles, the Danes, the Swedes, the Russians of ancient Novgorod, and the Lithuanians (latest of all Europeans to convert to Christianity). Later on, the strongest economic force in Northern Europe became the Hanseatic league, which used the Baltic Sea to establish trade routes between its member cities. In the 16th and early 17th centuries, Poland, Denmark and Sweden fought wars for Dominium Maris Baltici (Ruling over the Baltic Sea). Eventually, it was the Swedish empire that virtually encompassed the Baltic Sea. In Sweden the sea was then referred to as Mare Nostrum Balticum (Our Baltic Sea). In the 18th century Russia and Prussia became the leading powers over the sea. Russia's Peter the Great saw the strategic importance of the Baltic and decided to found his new capital, Saint Petersburg at the mouth of the Neva river at the east end of the Gulf of Finland. There was much trading not just within the Baltic region but also with the North Sea region, especially the eastern England and the Netherlands: their fleets needed the Baltic timber, tar, flax and hemp. During the Crimean War a joint fleet of Britain and France attacked Russian fortresses by bombarding Sveaborg that guards Helsinki and Kronstadt that guards Saint Petersburg and destroying Bomarsund in the Åland Islands. After the unification of Germany in 1871, the whole southern coast became German. The First World War was fought also on the Baltic Sea. After 1920 Poland returned to the Baltic Sea, and Polish ports of Gdynia and Gdańsk became leading ports of the Baltic. During the Second World War Germany reclaimed all of the southern shore and much of the eastern by occupying Poland and the Baltic states. In 1945 the Baltic Sea became a mass grave for drowned people on torpedoed refugee ships. As of 2004, the sinking of the Wilhelm Gustloff remains the worst maritime disaster of all time, killing (very roughly) 9,000 people. In 2005, a Russian group of scientists found over 5,000 airplane wrecks, sunken warships, etc., (mainly from the Second World War) lying in the bottom of the sea. After 1945 the sea was a border between conflicted military blocks: in case of military conflict in Germany, in parallel with a Soviet offensive towards the Atlantic Ocean, communist Poland's fleet was prepared to invade Danish isles. In May 2004, the Baltic Sea became almost completely a European Union internal sea when the Baltic states and Poland became parts of the European Union, leaving only the Russian metropolis of Saint Petersburg and the exclave of Kaliningrad Oblast as non-EU areas. The Baltic Sea starts to get very rough with the October storms. These winter storms have been the cause of many shipwrecks, for example, the sinking of the ferry M/S Estonia en route from Tallinn, Estonia to Stockholm, Sweden in 1994 that claimed the lives of hundreds. But thanks to the cold brackish water where the shipworm cannot survive, the sea is a time capsule for centuries-old shipwrecks. Perhaps the most famous one is the Vasa.

Biology

Vasa Approximately 100,000 square km of the bottom, ¼ of the total area, are a variable dead zone. The more saline and therefore heavier water remains on the bottom, preventing Oxygen distribution to it. Mainly bacteria grow there, digesting organic pollutants and releasing hydrogen sulfide. The bloom of algae is visible from the air. Since most oceanic species use the bottom for various purposes, which is denied over much of the Baltic, the ecology differs from that of the Atlantic. The low salinity of the Baltic sea has led to the evolution of many slightly divergent species, such as the Baltic Sea herring, which is a smaller variant of the Atlantic herring. The benthic fauna consists mainly of Monoporeia affinis, which is originally a freshwater species. The lack of tides has affected the marine species as compared with the Atlantic.

Economy

Construction of the Great Belt Bridge (1997) and Oresund Bridge (1999) over the international waterway of the Danish Straits limited the Baltic Sea to the middle-sized vessels. In meantime, the Baltic Sea is the main trade route for export of Russian oil. Many of the neighboring countries are rather concerned about this, since a major oil leak would be disastrous in the Baltic given the slow exchange of water, and the many unique species. The tourism industries, especially in economies dependent on tourism like for example in northeastern Germany, are naturally very concerned. Shipbuilding is practiced in many large shipyards around the Baltic: Gdańsk, Szczecin in Poland, HDW in Kiel, Germany, Karlskrona and Kockums in Malmö, Sweden, and Rauma, Turku, Helsinki in Finland and Klaipėda in Lithuania. There are several cargo and passenger ferry operators on the Baltic Sea, such as Silja Line, Polferries, Viking Line, Tallink and Superfastferries.

Countries

Main article: Baltic Sea countries Countries that border on the sea:
- Denmark
- Estonia
- Finland
- Germany
- Latvia
- Lithuania
- Poland
- Russia
- Sweden Countries that are in the drainage basin but do not border on the sea:
- Belarus
- Czech Republic
- Norway
- Slovakia
- Ukraine

Islands and Archipelagoes

Main article: List of islands in the Baltic Sea
- Åland Islands (Finland, autonomous)
- Bornholm (Denmark)
- Gotland (Sweden)
- Hailuoto (Finland)
- Hiiumaa (Estonia)
- Kotlin (Russia)
- Muhu (Estonia)
- Öland (Sweden)
- Rügen (Germany)
- Saaremaa (Estonia)
- Stockholm archipelago (Sweden)
- Usedom or Uznam (split between Germany and Poland)
- Valassaaret (Finland)
- Wolin (Poland)

Cities

The biggest coastal cities:
- Saint Petersburg (Russia) 4,700,000
- Riga (Latvia) 760,000
- Stockholm (Sweden) 743,703 (metropolitan area 1,823,210)
- Helsinki (Finland) 559,716 (metropolitan area 980,000)
- Copenhagen (Denmark) 502,204 (metropolitan area 1,823,109) (facing the Sound)
- Gdańsk (Poland) 462,700
- Szczecin (Poland) 413,600
- Tallinn (Estonia) 401,774
- Kaliningrad (Russia) 400,000
- Malmö (Sweden) 259,579 (facing the Sound)
- Gdynia (Poland) 255,600
- Kiel (Germany) 250,000
- Lübeck (Germany) 216,100
- Rostock (Germany) 212,700
- Klaipėda (Lithuania) 194,400
- Turku (Finland) 175,000 Important ports (though not being big cities):
- Świnoujście (Poland) 50,000
- Ventspils (Latvia) 44,000
- Baltiysk (Russia) 20,000
- Hanko (Finland) 10,000
- Ports of the Baltic Sea

External links

- [http://depts.washington.edu/baltic/encyclopedia.html Encyclopedia of Baltic History]
- [http://www.abc.se/~pa/uwa/wrecks.htm Old shipwrecks] in the Baltic
- [http://www.pgi.gov.pl/pgi_en/index.php?option=news&task=viewarticle&sid=4&Itemid=2 How the Baltic Sea was changing] - Prehistory of the Baltic from the [http://www.pgi.gov.pl/ Polish Geological Institute]
- [http://www.helsinki.fi/maantiede/geofi/fennia/demo/pages/oksanen.htm Late Weichselian and Holocene shore displacement history of the Baltic Sea in Finland] - more prehistory of the Baltic from the [http://www.helsinki.fi/geography/ Department of Geography] of the University of Helsinki
- [http://maps.grida.no/baltic Baltic Environmental Atlas: Interactive map of the Baltic Sea region]
- [http://www.envir.ee/baltics/ The Baltic Sea Environment]

Tourism links

University of Helsinki
- [http://www.zrot.pl Zrot : Official Tourism Site Western Pomerania (PL)] (Polish, English, German)
- [http://www.zart.com.pl Zart : Polish Tourism Site Western Pomerania (PL)] (Polish, English, German)
- [http://www.vorpommern.de Official German Tourism Site : Regional Tourist Board Vorpommern (D)] (English, German, Swedish, Polish, French, Russian, Spanish)
- [http://www.ostseeland.de Ost|See|Land - Overview: German Polish- Tourism site (D)] (English, German, Swedish, Polish)
- [http://itameri.kyamk.fi/e.html The Baltic Sea Information Centre] (English, Finnish) Category:Seas Category:Baltic Sea ko:발트 해 ja:バルト海 simple:Baltic Sea th:ทะเลบอลติก

Category:Ports and harbours of Poland

Ports and harbours Poland Category:Geography of Poland

Category:Gdańsk

Articles related to Gdańsk. Gdansk

Mundodisco

Mundodisco es el mundo imaginario que sirve de escenario a la saga de novelas homónimas escritas por Terry Pratchett.

Geografía

Como su nombre indica, se trata de un mundo en forma de disco que se apoya en los lomos de cuatro enormes elefantes (Gran P'thon, Tubul, Berilia y Jerakeen) que a su vez se apoyan en el caparazón de una no menos enorme tortuga (Gran A´Tuin) que nada lenta y majestuosamente por el espacio. Un pequeño sol da vueltas alrededor de Gran A'Tuin proporcionando al disco luz y calor. [http://galeon.com/halnic12/mundodisco.JPG Mapa del Mundodisco] El sexo de la tortuga es un misterio para los habitantes del disco, y el motivo de no pocos debates y discusiones acerca de qué posición ocupará cuando en su viaje estelar se encuentre con otra tortuga de distinto sexo. En la geografía del disco las direcciones no se expresan como lo hacemos nosotros (norte, sur, este y oeste). En un punto cualquiera del disco podemos estar mirando hacia el centro (dirección Eje) o de espaldas al centro (dirección Borde). Las dos direcciones perpendiculares a las anteriores son Giro y Contragiro (o dextro y levo), ya que el disco rota sobre su eje para que se sucedan las estaciones. El clima en el Borde es cálido, y se va endureciendo a medida que nos movemos en dirección Eje. Como accidentes geográficos importantes cabe destacar Cori Celesti, la inmensa montaña situada justo en el Eje y en cuya cima habitan los dioses. Las Montañas del Carnero ha sido plasmadas con vertical exactitud en las obras de las Brujas: "Ritos Iguales", "Brujerías", "Brujas de Viaje" y "Lores y Damas". El continente XXXX, que se parece a Australia, aunque no es Australia, tiene su historia de amor y desamor con Rincewind y el resto de los magos en "El País del Fin del Mundo". A medio camino entre el Eje y el Borde, tras atravesar los campos de coles de los reinos de Sto Helit y Sto Lat que lo separan de las Montañas del Carnero, está el Mar Circular. Como su propio nombre indica, es un mar redondo, rodeado por numerosos pueblos, que forman parte del "mundo civilizado" (es decir, de los bárbaros que tienen más dinero). Allí se asientan Klatch, Omnia, Djelibeibi, Efebia y la ciudad-estado de Ankh-Morpok (donde se encuentra la Universidad Invisible y donde se desarrollan la mayoría de las novelas). En el otro hemi-disco se encuentra el enorme Continente Contrapeso, asiento del rico y poderoso Imperio Ágata. Era una leyenda, un albatros no iba en secreto a Ankh-Morpok y tampoco volvía, por supuesto, con no mensajes no secretos. Hasta que llegó Rincewind y tuvo que ir allí ("Tiempos Interesantes").

Los Personajes

- Bel-Shamharoth.
- Berilia.
- Bethan.
- Bibliotecario(de la universidad invisible).
- Bravd el Ejeño.
- Broadman.
- Ceravieja.
- Céfiro.
- Cohen el Bárbaro
- Comadreja.
- Cortángulo.
- Dama.
- Dosflores.
- Eskarina Herrero.
- Equipaje.
- Galder Ceravieja.
- Guerra
- Gran A´Tuin.
- Gran T´Phon.
- Hambre.
- Herrena.
- Hrun el Bárbaro
- Jaspe.
- Kring.
- Kuarzo.
- Krystalino.
- K!sdra.
- Liessa Wyrmbidde.
- Marchesa.
- Muerte.
- Ninereeds.
- Offler.
- Peste.
- Rincewind.
- Simón.
- Tambor Leño.
- Tethis.
- Treatle.
- Trymon.
- Tubul.
- Wa el Tullido.

La Magia

De la misma manera que nuestro universo está sometido a las leyes de la física, en Mundodisco es la magia la que lo rige todo. Una diferencia importante respecto a nuestro universo es la existencia del elemento Narrativium. Un caballero termina siempre derrotando al dragón y salvando a la princesa porque el Narrativium interviene como catalizador.

Véase también

- Terry Pratchett Categoría:Fantasía Categoría:Países ficticios

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