Accessibility Tools
A hundred years of Gdynia! It is tempting to name the hundred most important figures in the city history, but that would be too literal. And who should choose them? According to what criteria? In Gdynia we have eighteen honorary citizens, seventy recipients of the Eugeniusz Kwiatkowski Medal, laureates of the „Time of Gdynia” award, and many commemorated with monuments and plaques. There are also more than 250 street patrons plus several dozen collective patrons, and others remembered in the names of preschools and schools. Any choice will always be subjective and will spark a debate. Hopefully, it will also provoke reflection on those who have worked for Gdynia. Because remembering them is what truly matters.
We do not know the name of the first newcomer, from thousands of years ago. Archaeological discoveries have given us some insight into the settlers from before our era, though much remains unknown. The first known owner of the village of Gdynia was Piotr of Rusocin in 1253, and the first Gdynia residents mentioned by name were Maciej and Piotr. A little earlier, Oksywie had Radosław and Jakub. As the years and centuries passed, fewer and fewer people remained anonymous in the record, they began to acquire surnames, such as Kurowski. Priests, village heads, and innkeepers started to appear. Family lineages began to solidify – the oldest recorded one, dating back over 300 years, is the Górski family.
The 19th century brought a much broader representation of Gdynia’s inhabitants—at the time, the residents of Chylonia, Obłuże, Wielki Kack, Oksywie, and other villages that today form Gdynia’s districts. Their surnames sounded Polish, Kashubian, and German alike – a clear sign of the times.
The first ones were also the entrepreneurs who took risks: photographer Roman Morawski, pharmacist Antoni Małecki (his Apteka pod Gryfem has been in operation for over a hundred years), and museum curator Dr. Janina Krajewska, who ran the Municipal Museum from 1933 to 1939. Let us also mention the first mayor, Augustyn Krauze, president Franciszka Cegielska, and the director of “Żegluga Polska” shipping company engineer Julian Rummel. And those who returned in 1945 to establish or rebuild their businesses (many of whom were later expelled by the authorities as so-called undesirable elements). There were also the firsts to reach a finish line, like sailor Teresa Remiszewska. How many more names could be listed... The Pioneers Street in Witomino district helps us honor them collectively and symbolically.
A large and respectable group. Among them: the engineering staff creating the port, led by engineer Tadeusz Wenda, who might never have come to Gdynia without Vice Admiral Kazimierz Porębski's understanding of the importance of the sea. Advocates of maritime policy and the construction of Gdynia, including, at the head, minister Eugeniusz Kwiatkowski.
The administrative staff, first organizing the village (led by Jan Radtke, village administrator of Gdynia and mayor of Chylonia) and, a few years later, the town (led by the extremely efficient government commissioner Franciszek Sokół).Succeeding port administrators, including the long-time director of the Maritime Office, engineer Stanisław Łęgowski. Representatives of independent professions, who were willing to come and work in a new place, like lawyer Hilary Ewert-Krzemieniewski or doctor Bronisław Skowroński. Clergymen, active and inspiring on a daily basis, and steadfast in times of trial, such as Franciszka Berek and Blessed Father Władysław Miegoń, chaplain to the army. Representatives of science, such as Prof. Kazimierz Demel and Bolesław Polkowski, without whom our knowledge of the sea's resources and the city's potential would be much less; culture, with the unforgettable Danuta Baduszkowa; and art, such as marine painters Marian Mokwa and Henryk Baranowski. People of the sea (a particularly numerous group) commanding motor vessels, such as Lieutenant Commander Mamert Stankiewicz, and Captain Kazimierz Jurkiewicz, notable for his work on sailing ships. Land-based teachers, including Dr. Teofil Zegarski, as well as academic staff from maritime departments, represented by Captain Karol Olgierd Borchardt. Independence activists with Kashubia in their hearts, remaining somewhat in the shadow of their “king” Antoni Abraham. Social activists, organisers, creators... In other words, both visionaries and grassroots workers. These were by no means exclusively pre-war figures – many lived in Gdynia during the occupation and after the war, rebuilding the city and the port and shaping reality for decades until now. There are plenty to choose from!
It was understood early on that it would be very difficult to recognise everyone individually. Hence the streets: Fishermen (Rybaków), Skippers (Szyprów), Sailors (Żeglarzy) – among them Władysław Wagner, Helmsmen (Sterników), and Navigators (Nawigatorów), all unquestionably associated with the sea and Gdynia. Similarly, the streets are named for groups of: Shipowners (Armatorów), Mooring Workers (Cumowników) and Shipyard Workers (Stoczniowców), with separate recognition to Welders (Spawaczy) and Millers (Frezerów). More universal sounding are the Constructors (Konstruktorów) and Architects (Architektów) Streets – here, Władysław Prohaska and Stanisław Ziołowski (thanks to whom Gdynia may be included in the UNESCO World Heritage List) are mentioned separately. They worked for the city, the port and the country.
We must not forget all those who fought, and often died, for Gdynia and Poland, for freedom. We pay tribute to them through street names referring to groups such as: Defenders of the Coast, Soldiers of the First Polish Army, Partisans, or more generally – Veterans, but also to individuals, such as: Colonel Stanisław Dąbek, Vice Admiral Józef Unrug, Commander Zbigniew Przybyszewski. They are also commemorated through monuments and plaques (e.g. of Alfred Dyduch – the youngest defender of Gdynia, who died in battle). We also remember those who served in the wartime underground; Janek Wiśniewski (actually Zbigniew Godlewski) and other victims of December 1970; the steadfastness of Father Hilary Jastak, on whom the crowds of striking workers in 1980 relied; and the community itself.
Post-war workers, like those before 1939, actually built Gdynia. ‘Great-grandfather / builder of Gdynia’ – as the inscription on one of the monuments in the Witomino cemetery reads. The person described in it, who died over half a century ago, does not appear in pre-war address books, documents, or studies. But in the memory of his family, now in its third generation, he has been remembered as a co-founder of the city. In other words, as a hero. And there is no exaggeration in this. Gdynia has its most important hero – a collective one. An extraordinary community of residents who, despite many adversities, created its urban and maritime character, continue to shape their everyday life with energy and think about the future with ambition and openness.
