This is what Gdańsk looked like before the war. There has never been a film like this before!

Before the war Gdańsk was a thriving city with a long and rich history. Like almost all of Poland, the coastal city experienced the events of the Second World War in a brutal way, both at the hands of the Germans and the Soviets who ‘liberated’ the city. Today, we can get a little better acquainted with the reality of life in the pre-war city, which delighted us with its architecture, culture and wealth. All thanks to a newly created animation that takes us on an extraordinary journey into the past.

There has never been a film like this before. The animated visualisation roughly depicts the space that existed up to the eve of 1945. The only exception is the Great Synagogue, which has been visualised even though it no longer exists: the Nazis, who ruled the city, demolished and dismantled the Great Synagogue while it was still the Free City of Danzig, in May 1939.

“No one had such a complete documentation before, historical photos showed only fragments. We have pieced together material dating from the late 19th century to the Second World War,” says city architect Prof. Piotr Lorens

Reconstruction of the space of Gdańsk city centre in the area of today’s Wały Piastowskie, Podwale Grodzkie, Hucisko, Wały Jagiellońskie, Okopowa streets commissioned by the City of Gdańsk. Author: Paweł Mrozek Visualisation created in Twinmotion Music: Sing, Sing, Sing Benny Goodman

We must admit that Gdańsk before the war looked even more beautiful than it does today!

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Read also: Architecture in Poland | Metamorphosis | Renovation | History | Gdańsk

source: UM Gdańsk / https://www.gdansk.pl/