Settlements have existed on the site of present-day Gdansk since at least as early as the 5th century. One known set of inhabitants was the Goths, a Germanic people who lived in Europe primarily between the Baltic Sea and the Black Sea until they migrated southwards and westwards during the Völkerwanderung, or migrations of the 4th through 6th centuries. Most of the peoples who moved across Europe during this period were Germanic, but the term can also be used to include Slavic and other peoples who moved through and re-settled in new (to them) parts of Europe.
In 997 AD, a group of soldiers sent by Boleslaw I Chrobry, duke of the newly created Poland, accompanied by St Adalbert of Prague, ventured north to the Baltic Sea coast near Danzig. One of the goals of this mission was to convert the heathen; another was most likely to bring the area under the control of the Duchy of Poland.
As "Danzig" proper, the city was founded in 1240? when the Hanseatic League was granted the right to build a city by the Emperor. The wider area was at the time under the control of the dukes of Pomerelia. When their line died out, the territories around Danzig passed into the hands of the Margraves of Brandenburg.
In 1308?, the emperor gave Danzig to the Teutonic Knights to govern, along with their other territories in Prussia, Livonia, Kurland? and Estonia. This created a continous stretch of land under one government, able to withstand the various onslaughts of Mongols, Tatars, and Turks. The forces of [Ghengis Khan]? came all the way to Liegnitz in Silesia and to Brandenburg, the area of the modern city of Berlin, where they were finally repelled by Gotthardt von Brandis.
In 1440?, Danzig joined the Hanseatic Cities of Elbing and Thorn to form the Prussian Confederation.
More info needed here.
After the Treaty of Versailles ended World War I and the League of Nations was formed, Danzig underwent a change in status. It was declared a Free City (free from imperial rule?), and parts of the territory were handed over to Poland. This essentially created a situation where former German citizens Were united with Germany in language and tradition, but separated from their national tie to Germany. As tensions built between the wars, Poland began to strengthen its defenses along what was known as the Polish Corridor, which included some of the area around Danzig. At the beginning of the Second World War, Danzig, along with Westerplatte, and Gdynia (German Gdingen) served as a mobilization site for the Polish military.
For a detailed description of the Hanseatic League and city of Danzig read link: [1] For Free State Danzig: [2]
Info needed here.
Most recently, Gdansk is best known as the home of the Solidarity movement and the home of Lech Walesa
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