Granary Island in Gdańsk: a massive transformation of the city’s heart

·15 August 2026

Just a dozen or so years ago, it was hard to believe that Gdańsk’s Granary Island could once again become a bustling neighbourhood, teeming with the hustle and bustle of hundreds of people. Over the last decade, the former ruins, empty plots and car parks have given way to top-class metropolitan developments, restaurants, hotels, residential properties and promenades. Granary Island has undergone one of the greatest and most spectacular transformations in Gdańsk’s post-war history.

The Great Warehouses on the Motława

The history of Granary Island dates back to the Middle Ages, though its present form began to take shape in the 16th century, following the digging of the New Motława. A vast port area with warehouses was established at that time. Along the streets and quays, huge granaries sprang up, designed to store grain, timber, salt, hops, wine and other goods imported to Gdańsk from every corner of the world. By the mid-17th century, there were several hundred warehouses here, and amongst them were exchange offices, shops, workshops, offices and permanent residential houses. Stągiewna Street was of considerable importance to the area, forming an extension of the prestigious Długa and Długi Targ streets. Its imposing 19th-century townhouses were several storeys high and stood out for their richly decorated façades. On the side facing the Motława River, however, the landscape was dominated by massive granaries with wooden or half-timbered structures, featuring small windows, high gables and equipment for handling goods.

The Port, the Railway and the Stągwie Mleczne

One of the most valuable monuments on Granary Island is Stągwie Mleczne, formerly known as the Stągiewna Gate, built between 1517 and 1519. Since its construction, the surrounding area has undergone intensive development and transformation; amongst other things, the railway reached the area in the late 19th century. From 1885, a granary siding was in operation, and tracks and turntables were laid out between the warehouses. For fire safety reasons, steam locomotives were not permitted to travel between the wooden buildings, so the wagons were hauled onto the island by horses. In 1936, the northern tip of the island was redeveloped, widening the Motława riverbed and creating a turntable for ships. This was a bustling part of Gdańsk’s port, teeming with warehouses, commercial trade, transport and transhipment. The local buildings, however, created an exceptionally picturesque landscape. Brick-and-timber walls, high roofs, the gables of granaries and the dense rows of townhouses presented a view that, for centuries, had been the hallmark and pride of this wealthy Baltic city.

Granary Island in Gdańsk – the end of an era

The end of that Granary Island came with the Second World War. In March 1945, fierce fighting raged for Gdańsk. German forces and the Red Army caused the destruction of around 60 per cent of the city, whilst in the historic city centre the scale of the devastation was even greater – losses amounted to around 90 per cent of the buildings. Granary Island was engulfed by fires and heavy shelling. Once the dust of war had settled, only a handful of buildings remained standing from the vast complex of granaries. Three granaries survived intact: Steffen, Deo and Wisłoujście, formerly known as the Blue Lamb. The historic Stągwie Mleczne also sustained serious damage. In many places, only fragments of walls and brick ground floors remained. Rubble from the demolished ruins was used during the reconstruction of the Main Town. It was there that all the effort and toil of Gdańsk’s post-war reconstruction was concentrated. And the island? For the next several decades, the vast majority of it was a huge, empty and desolate space. The former quarters of granaries and tenement houses were replaced by car parks, warehouses and temporary structures – all directly opposite the famous Crane. However, fragments of the historic street layout, plot divisions, cobbled surfaces, sections of tram tracks and the remains of some granaries have survived. On Chmielna Street, the remains of Daleka Droga, Trupia Czaszka, Biały Rumak, Czerwony Lew, Książę and Węgier have been preserved, whilst on Motławska Street, the remains of the Turek granary can still be seen. The ruins of Wole Łbo were not demolished until 2014.

Stągiewna Street with the Stągiewna Gate in 1908. Source: National Museum in Gdańsk

New developments on Stągiewna

The first clear sign of the changes to come for this run-down neighbourhood was a new development on Stągiewna Street. In the 1990s, a complex of 42 tenement houses was built here, completed in 1999. The design was prepared by Kazimierz Jarosz, Stanisław Michel, Stefan Philipp and Andrzej Sotkowski from the Gdańsk-based Zespół Autorskich Pracowni Architektonicznych. The architects drew on old plans and photographs to recreate the street’s historic layout, closely resembling the original. This was a ‘retro-version’ – that is, contemporary architecture drawing on historical models without copying specific buildings. The project was received with great enthusiasm and was even awarded the Gdańsk Millennium Medal. For a time, however, the new tenement houses remained an isolated part of the city amidst empty plots. The situation began to change after 2015, when the PURO Hotel opened on Stągiewna Street. Between 2016 and 2019, Deo Plaza was built, and in the years that followed, Chmielna Park, Aura Island and Nowa Motława sprang up. The island gradually regained its vitality and function as a city-centre district.

Granaria has restored the Wyspa Spichrzów to its former urban scale

The greatest changes for Granary Island were brought about by Granaria – a development carried out by the city and a consortium comprising Immobel Poland and Multibud Wojciech Ciurzyński. The architectural practice RKW Rhode Kellermann Wawrowsky, led on the project by Wojciech Grabianowski, was responsible for the urban design concept for the northern headland. Construction began in 2017, and the first phase was completed two years later. The second phase, particularly important for the Stągiewna, Chmielna, Pożarnicza and Motławska areas, was built between 2020 and 2023, based on a design by the Warsaw-based practice Mąka Sojka Architekci. Instead of a single large structure, several buildings were erected here, forming urban frontages, arcades and internal streets. The varied heights, façades and layout evoke the area’s former layout. On the Stągiewna side, the aesthetic is dominated by tenement houses, whilst on the Chmielna and Motławska sides, contemporary interpretations of granaries feature. The predominant material is brick in shades of red and brick-brown. This is complemented by large glazed areas, simple façade divisions, high roofs and rhythmic window arrangements. The second phase delivered approximately 25,000 square metres of usable floor space, over 500 flats, a 325-room hotel and commercial premises. The development was completed with great success in 2023, with further sections being handed over for use in 2024.

Wyspa Spichrzów w Gdańsku

Granary Island: Gdańsk’s new landmark

This massive transformation focused not only on the buildings. As part of the works, streets and quays were renovated, the marina was expanded, the Stągiewny Bridge was converted into a drawbridge, and a footbridge connecting Granary Island with Długie Pobrzeże was built. Promenades, arcades, restaurants, hotels, shops and pedestrian-friendly spaces have sprung up. Just a dozen or so years ago, Chmielna, Motławska and Pożarnicza were dominated by empty plots, car parks and the charred walls of the now-defunct Danzig. Today, the area is home to modern townhouses and buildings modelled on granaries, incorporating the surviving sections of the walls, whilst the ground floors bustle with restaurants and services. The new architecture does not imitate the historic buildings of the past, but draws on their scale, materials, rhythm and silhouettes. The first phase of Granaria received the Mayor of Gdańsk’s Award for the best architectural project of 2018–2019, the entire project won the MIPIM Awards 2020 in the Best Urban Project category, and the second phase received the SARP Award in 2025 in the category of architecture within a heritage setting. Over the last decade, Granary Island has become a cosmopolitan, elegant part of Gdańsk, where contemporary architecture forms a successful blend with the preserved traces of the old port. The project is, of course, not without its flaws, but it can certainly be said that this is one of the most spectacular transformations of a post-war city and a showcase for modern Gdańsk.

This is precisely how life was restored to a place that had been dormant for 70 years.

Source: gedanopedia.pl, gdansk.pl, trojmiasto.pl

Stągiewna Street in 1898 and today. Source: National Museum in Gdańsk and Mateusz Markowski/WhiteMAD