The Sejm of the Republic of Poland joined in the celebrations of Gdynia’s anniversary and commemorated the 100th anniversary of Gdynia being granted city rights. This is yet another significant honour at national and regional level – following the Polish Senate’s decision to declare 2026 the Year of the City of Gdynia and the resolution of the Pomeranian Provincial Assembly to commemorate the 100th anniversary of Gdynia being granted city rights.
The resolution of the Sejm of the Republic of Poland emphasised, above all, the importance of establishing the port – following the restoration of access to the sea – as well as its chief architect and builder, Tadeusz Wenda, who wrote in his 1921 report that: “The most suitable location for the construction of a naval port (as well as a commercial one, if necessary) is Gdynia.” The resolution also included the name of Eugeniusz Kwiatkowski, who was of great importance to Gdynia.
Eugeniusz Kwiatkowski, Minister of Industry and Trade, holds a special place in the history of Gdynia; he consistently emphasised that the development of the port and the coastline was a holistic process – encompassing infrastructure, industry, finance, transport and the links connecting Pomerania with the rest of the country. In his view, every new element of the port’s reality strengthened the state’s potential and its ability to function independently within the global economy.
It was also emphasised that Gdynia is a city of ideas, appreciated by the writer Stefan Żeromski, who viewed Poland’s access to the sea as an economic and civilisational necessity.
This is a prerequisite for full national and cultural development. These ideas found their practical realisation in Gdynia, making the city a symbol of modern thinking about the state – we read.
The Sejm recalled that Gdynia had been, from the very beginning, ‘Poland’s window to the world’ – a symbol of the reborn Republic’s ambitions for modernity, economic development and participation in international affairs – a fact that did not escape the attention of the Council of Ministers.
In view of the port’s rapid development and the construction taking place around it, the Council of Ministers issued a decree on 10 February 1926, under which Gdynia was granted city rights on 4 March 1926. In the years that followed, the city’s growth was unprecedented.
The resolution highlighted the most significant moments in the city’s history – the launch in 1930 of the first transatlantic passenger route between Gdynia and New York. It also emphasised the fact that Gdynia was, at that time, the largest transhipment port on the Baltic Sea. It mentioned the devastation wrought by the Second World War and the fortitude of the inhabitants, who never gave up – they valued freedom, which had an impact on the tragic events of December 1970, the subsequent protests on the coast and the birth of ‘Solidarity’.
On the centenary of the granting of city rights, the Sejm of the Republic of Poland pays tribute to all those who shaped Gdynia – the Kashubians, for whom it was the land of their forefathers, and those who came here from various parts of the country, helping to build a city founded on vision, hard work and collective responsibility.
The Mayor of Gdynia emphasises that the resolution passed by the Sejm of the Republic of Poland is a unique honour, for which she is grateful.
This is a very important and symbolic gesture for Gdynia. I thank the Sejm of the Republic of Poland for commemorating the 100th anniversary of our city being granted municipal rights. This resolution is a tribute to generations of residents – those who built Gdynia from the ground up, and those who are developing it today. We are delighted that our city’s anniversary has been recognised and highlighted on a national scale. It is a shared history and a shared source of pride, emphasises the Mayor of Gdynia, Aleksandra Kosiorek.
The resolution concludes by stating that: “Gdynia remains one of the most enduring symbols of Poland’s modern history.”
Among those who proposed the resolution were the MPs: Piotr Adamowicz, Paweł Bliźniuk, Piotr Borys, Patryk Jaskulski, Piotr Kandyba, Jacek Karnowski, Zbigniew Konwiński, Robert Kropiwnicki, Alicja Łepkowska-Gołaś, Dorota Łoboda, Krystian Łuczak, Jerzy Meysztowicz, Jolanta Niezgodzka, Rafał Siemaszko, Franciszek Sterczewski, Łukasz Ściebiorowski, Robert Wardzała, Adrian Witczak and Mariusz Witczak. MP Rafał Siemaszko was authorised to represent the proposers in the work on the draft resolution.