A history of the city written in a map – cartography as the mirror of socio-political events in Gdańsk in the years of 1918–1939

Abstract. A cartographic map of Gdańsk in the years of 1918–1939 was very different from the other maps of Polish cities. The reasons for some differences were, among others, the proximity of the sea, the multicultural mindset of the inhabitants of Gdańsk from that period, and some historical events in the interwar period (the founding of the Free City of Gdańsk and the events preceding World War II). Its uniqueness came from the fact that the city of Gdańsk combined the styles of Prussian and Polish housing, as well as form the fact that its inhabitants felt the need for autonomy from the Second Polish Republic. The city aspired to be politically, socially and economically independent.

The aim of my presentation is to analyze the cartographic maps of Gdańsk, including the changes that had been made in the years of 1918–1939. I will also comment on the reasons of those changes, on their socio-historical effects on the city, the whole country and Europe.