The Lord Mayor Councillor Terri Beer with delegates from the Plymouth-Gdynia Twinning Panel
The Lord Mayor Councillor Terri Beer led the city’s celebration of Gdynia Day with leading members of the Plymouth-Gdynia Twinning Panel to mark the 96th birthday of Gdynia being granted city status.
The flag of the Polish city of Gdynia was raised outside the Plymouth Guildhall as part of a ceremony held on 10th February to symbolise the twinned relationship between both cities which was formalised in 1974 by the signing of a ‘Declaration of Cooperation.'
The partnership was one of the first between Britain and Poland and saw residents of Plymouth and Gdynia pledge to strengthen the ties between the two cities, after Poland and Britain had forged strong links during the Second World War. The relationship between the two twinned cities continues to develop and was celebrated last year through the unveiling of the revitalised art design on the Polish Bridge located in the aptly named Gdynia Way.
Wiktor Dworznikowski, President of the Plymouth Gdynia Twinning Panel said: “I grew up in Gdynia, but I have called Plymouth my home for the last 20 years. I am one of 15,000 Poles living in Plymouth and everything in Plymouth that reminds me of my hometown, Gdynia, is close to my heart. I am delighted to be celebrating Gdynia’s 96th birthday today which builds on the success of the recent Polish Bridge art redesign on Gdynia Way, together these actions symbolise the long-lasting invested relationship between our cities, which I hope continues long into the future.”
Councillor Terri Beer, Lord Mayor of Plymouth said: “Described as "The city made of sea and of dreams", Gdynia was a dream come true for the people who created it from a tiny fishing village and turned it into the biggest port at The Baltic Sea. As Plymouth, Britain’s Ocean City, we are delighted to celebrate our twinned relationship today and wish Gdynia a very happy 96th birthday!”
First mentioned in 1253, Gdynia began as a fishing settlement and major growth came only after World War I, when Gdynia was returned from Germany to Poland by the Treaty of Versailles. When the German-controlled legislative assembly in Gdańsk barred Poland’s use of that port’s facilities, Gdynia was chosen in 1920 as the site for its new port.
The city was constructed later than the seaport and in 1925 city expansion plans were designed with the city rights then granted on 10 of February 1926. In the interwar period, Gdynia became Poland’s “window on the world” and its showpiece in Europe, a source of pride for its residents and all Poles. The town and harbour were destroyed during World War II, but Gdynia was quickly rebuilt after the war.