Sopot
Sopot
Sopòt (Kashubian) | ||
---|---|---|
Car plates GSP | | |
Climate | Cfb | |
Website | www |
Sopot (Polish:
Sopot is a major health-spa and resort destination. It has the longest wooden
Etymology
The city's name is thought to derive from an
The name is first recorded as Sopoth in 1283 and Sopot in 1291. The German Zoppot is directly derived from the original name. In the 19th century and in the interwar years the German name was re-Polonized as Sopoty (a plural form, closer to the German pronunciation).[1] "Sopot" was made the official Polish name when the town came again under Polish rule in 1945.
History
Early history
The area of today's Sopot contains the site of a 7th-century Slavonic (Pomeranian) stronghold. Initially it was a commercial trade outpost for commerce extending both up the
The village of Sopot, which later became the namesake for the whole city, was first mentioned in 1283 when it was granted to the Cistercians. At that time it was part of
Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth
The spa for the citizens of
During the 1733 War of the Polish Succession, Stanisław Leszczyński stayed in Sopot a few days before going to the nearby city of Gdańsk.[3] Afterwards Imperial Russian troops besieged Gdańsk and a year later looted and burned the village of Sopot to the ground.[3] Much of Sopot would remain abandoned during and in the following years after the conflict, as the patricians of Gdańsk, exhausted by the war, could not afford to rebuild the Sopot residences.[4]
In the 1750s,
Kingdom of Prussia
Sopot was annexed by the
In 1819, Wegner opened the first public bath in Zoppot and tried to promote the newly established spa among the inhabitants of Danzig (Gdańsk), but the undertaking was a financial failure. However, in 1823 Jean Georg Haffner, a former medic of the French army, financed a new bath complex that gained significant popularity. In the following years, Haffner erected more facilities. By 1824, a sanatorium was opened to the public, as well as a 63-metre pier, cloakrooms, and a park. Haffner died in 1830, but his enterprise was continued by his stepson, Ernst Adolf Böttcher. The latter continued to develop the area and in 1842 opened a new theatre and sanatorium. By then the number of tourists coming to Zoppot every year had risen to almost 1,200.
In 1870 Zoppot saw the opening of its first rail line: the new Danzig-
In 1873, the village of Zoppot became an
Since the late 19th century the city became a holiday resort for the inhabitants of nearby Danzig, as well as wealthy aristocrats from Berlin,
On October 8, 1901, Wilhelm II granted Zoppot
Free City of Danzig
Following the signing of the
A
World War II (1939–1945)
World War II broke out on September 1, 1939, after the German invasion of Poland. The following day the Free City of Danzig was annexed by Nazi Germany and most of the local Poles, Kashubians, and Jews were arrested[7] and murdered during the Intelligenzaktion,[6] imprisoned or expelled. Due to the war, the city's tourist industry collapsed. The last Wagner Festival was held in 1942.
The city remained under German rule until early 1945. In March the Nazis began evacuating the German population along with forced laborers.[6] On March 23, 1945, the Soviet Army took over the city after several days of fighting, in which Zoppot lost approximately 10% of its buildings;[5] three days later, the Soviet 70th Army reached the Gdańsk Bay coast north of the city.[8]
As per the
Polish People's Republic (1945–1989)
Sopot recovered rapidly after the war. A
In 1961, the
New complexes of baths, sanatoria, and hotels were opened in 1972 and 1975. By 1977, Sopot had approximately 54,500 inhabitants, the highest ever in its history. In 1979, the historical town centre was declared a national heritage centre by the government of Poland.
Third Polish Republic (1989 onwards)
In 1995, the southern bath and sanatoria complex were extended significantly and the Saint Adalbert (in Polish Św. Wojciech) spring opened two years later, as a result in 1999 Sopot regained its official spa town status. In 1999, Pope John Paul II visited Sopot, about 800,000 pilgrims attended his mass.[3]
In 2001, Sopot celebrated the 100th anniversary of its city charter.
Sopot is currently undergoing a period of intense development, including the building of a number of five star hotels and spa resorts on the waterfront. The main pedestrianized street, Monte Cassino, has also been extended by diverting traffic underneath it, meaning the whole street is now pedestrianized. Sopot, aside from Warsaw boasts the highest property prices in Poland.
Population
Year | Population[10] |
---|---|
1772 | 301[5] |
1819 | 350[3] |
1874 | 2834[5] |
1945 | 21154[9] |
1995 | 43576 |
2000 | 42348 |
2005 | 40075 |
2006 | 39624 |
2007 | 39154 |
2008 | 38821 |
2009 | 38460 |
2010 | 38858 |
2011 | 38584 |
2012 | 38217 |
2013 | 37903 |
2014 | 37654 |
Main sights
Among the historic sights are:
- Bohaterów Monte Cassino Street (popular Monciak), main pedestrian zone of the city center, filled with restaurants, cafes, clubs and shops.
- Sopot Pier, the longest wooden pier in Europe, 450 metres from the edge of the shore, 650 m total
- Grand Hotel
- Balneotherapy Centre
- Sopot Lighthouse
- Grodzisko, a reconstructed early medieval Slavic stronghold
- Museum of Sopot
- Church of the Saviour
- Saint George Church and Saint Adalbert wayside shrine
- Old manor houses and villas, including the 18th-century Sierakowski Mansion and Spanish Manor, and the early 20th-century Sopot Belvedere (Sopocki Belwederek), place of stay of various Presidents and Prime Ministers of Poland during their visits to Sopot
- former Southern Baths (Łazienki Południowe)
- Sopot Hippodrome in the Karlikowo district
Other landmarks include:
- the Sopot beach
- Krzywy Domek ("Crooked House") at the Monciak
- Forest Opera
- Dom Zdrojowy ("Spa House") with the adjacent garden and the State Art Gallery (Państwowa Galeria Sztuki)
- Ergo Arena, a multi-purpose indoor arena
- Park Północny ("Northern Park") with the statue of Jean Georg Haffner
- Home Army monument, statue of Wojtek the Bear and memorial stone dedicated to Danuta Siedzikówna
- hotels, restaurants, etc.
People
- Eugeniusz Kwiatkowski (1888–1974), statesman and economist
- Bishop of Danzig
- Anton Plenikowski (1899–1971), a German communist politician of the Free City of Danzig and East Germany
- Fritz Houtermans (1903–1966), a Dutch-Austrian-German atomic and nuclear physicist
- Klaus Kinski (1926–1991), a German actor[11]
- Janusz Christa (1934–2008 in Sopot), a Polish author of comic books
- Winfried Glatzeder (born 1945), a German television actor and playwright[12]
- Lech Kaczyński (1949–2010), a Polish lawyer and politician, President of Poland from 2005 to 2010
- Jarosław Kaczyński (born 1949), a Polish politician and lawyer, former Prime Minister of Poland 2006-2007
- Janusz Lewandowski (born 1951), politician, economist, Commissioner for Budgetary Affairs of the European Commission
- Jacek Tylicki (born 1951), a Polish artist who settled in New York City in 1982
- Jurek Jatowitt (born 1952), an Austrian judoka, competed in the 1976 Summer Olympics
- Włodzimierz Julian Korab-Karpowicz (born 1953), a Polish philosopher and political theorist
- Janusz Śniadek (born 1955), a Polish labour and political leader, Chairman of Solidarity 2002-2010
- Donald Tusk (born 1957), a Polish politician, Prime Minister of Poland 2007-2014 and President of the European Council since 2014
- Marek Biernacki (born 1959), a Polish lawyer and politician
- Janusz Pawłowski (born 1959), a retired male judoka from Poland, bronze medallist at the 1980 Summer Olympics
- Leszek Możdżer (born 1971), a Polish jazz pianist, music producer and film music composer
- Joanna Zastróżna (born 1972), a Polish photographer and filmmaker
- Wojciech Kasperski (born 1981), a Polish screenwriter, film director and producer[13]
- Jacek Szafranowicz (born 1983), a Polish writer[14]
Transport
The city is covered by both the
Sports
There are many popular professional sports teams in Sopot and the tri-city area. The most popular in Sopot today is probably basketball thanks to the award-winning
- Euroleague, before relocating to Gdynia, since 2009 replaced by Trefl Sopot, also playing in the Polish Basketball League.
- Idea Prokom Open - ATP and WTA tennis tournament held in August. Rafael Nadal and Flavia Pennetta won in 2004.
- Ogniwo Sopot is a rugby club, founded in 1965. Since the 80s, Ogniwo is one of the most successful Polish rugby teams. They were undefeated since 1989 to 1993, with Edward Hodura as a coach.
- PDP Ogniwo Sopot - men's football club.
- Sopot was the training base for the Republic of Ireland during the European Championships in 2012.
Economy
Major corporations in the town include:
- STU Ergo Hestia SA
- BEST SA
Higher education
- Sopot University of Applied Sciences[16]
- Uniwersytet Gdanski
- Faculty of Psychology in Sopot, SWPS University
International relations
Sopot is
- Ashkelon, Israel
- Frankenthal, Germany
- Karlshamn, Sweden
- Lake Worth, United States
- Næstved, Denmark
- Ratzeburg, Germany
- Southend-on-Sea, United Kingdom
- Zakopane, Poland
Former twin towns:
On 10 March 2022, Sopot terminated its partnership with the Russian city of Peterhof as a response to the
See also
- Bohaterów Monte Cassino Street
- Grodzisko in Sopot
- Sports in Tricity
References
- ^ a b Polska, Wirtualna. "Wirtualna Polska - Wszystko co ważne - www.wp.pl". www.wp.pl. Archived from the original on November 5, 2008.
- ^ Maria Malec, Słownik etymologiczny nazw geograficznych Polski
- ^ a b c d e f g "Historia miasta". Sopot.pl (in Polish). Archived from the original on 27 November 2020. Retrieved 11 February 2020.
- ^ a b c d e f g Piotr Pelczar. "Historia Sopotu. Część I: od średniowiecza do wybuchu I wojny światowej". Histmag.pl (in Polish). Retrieved 11 February 2020.
- ^ a b c d e "The History of Sopot". Archived from the original on January 6, 2010.
- ^ a b c d e f Piotr Pelczar. "Historia Sopotu. Część II: lata 1914-1945". Histmag.pl (in Polish). Retrieved 11 February 2020.
- ^ amk (2009-12-25). "O sopockiej Polonii po latach". rp.pl. Archived from the original on 2012-03-16. Retrieved 2013-03-12.
- ISBN 9783421062376.
- ^ ISBN 978-3-631-67940-1.
- ^ GUS: Bank Danych Lokalnych, faktyczne miejsce zamieszkania, stan na 31 XII.
- ^ IMDb Database retrieved 8 November 2018
- ^ IMDb Database retrieved 8 November 2018
- ^ IMDb Database retrieved 8 November 2018
- ^ https://pl.linkedin.com/in/jacek-szafranowicz-243b951b1[dead link]
- ^ "Zarząd Transportu Miejskiego w Lublinie". ztm.lublin.eu.
- ^ "Strona główna". SANS - Sopocka Akademia Nauk Stosowanych - Studia / Gdańsk / Gdynia / Trójmiasto (in Polish). Retrieved 2023-11-11.
- ^ "Ukraińskie miasto nowym partnerem Sopotu?" (in Polish). 10 March 2022. Retrieved 13 March 2022.