GDYNIA -- HISTORIA, CHARAKTER, TOŻSAMOŚĆ.

Gdynia--History, Character and Identity.

Gdynia (Poland); Poland

Cities young and old, big and small, rich and somewhat more humble -- all bear features that once conditioned their development and now shape their image. In this context Gdynia does not appear to be an especially outstanding place. What makes it special is its legend and the emotions which have accompanied it ever since the construction of this port agglomeration started, myths about it which have intensified over the years and the capital that they yielded which is today used by the citizens. The myth surrounding the city, skillfully fuelled, continues and enhances the attractiveness of the place even until today. A city is first and foremost its people -- both its former citizens and the present generation. Here, in Gdynia, everyone is at the same time an immigrant and a native. It is a place of paradoxes, where modernity encounters tradition, development is connected with history, and today's citizens cultivate the memory of past generations. The history of the beginnings of the port and the city subtends decisions concerning the current directions of the city's development, its modernization or expansion. Images of Gdynia are linked with the modernistic character of its white buildings, the lifestyle of the sailors and dreamers who arrived here over eighty years ago and dared to turn their visions into reality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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