The following is a timeline of the history of the city of Gdańsk, Poland.
Middle Ages
c. VII century - Settlement is established on the Motława river. c. X century - Gdańsk becomes a defensive fort for Kashubian dukes. 997 - Saint Adalbert baptises the citizens of urbs Gyddannyzc. 1013 - Poland loses influence over the region. 1047 - Casimir I takes back control over Gdańsk. 1186 - Cistercians establish a monastery in Oliwa. 1216 - Świętopełk II takes control of Pomerania. 1224 - Gdańsk granted city rights. 1226 - Monastery in Oliwa is raided by pagan Old Prussians. 1227 - Dominican Monastery founded in Gdańsk. 1253 - Oliwa is raided by the Teutonic Order. 1260 - St. Dominic's Fair begins. 1263 - The village of Wrzeszcz, today's borough of Gdańsk, mentioned for the first time.Kazimierz Małkowski, Stanisław Podgórczyk, Przewodnik po Trójmieście: Gdańsk – Sopot – Gdynia. Wyd. drugie poprawione i uzupełnione, Gdańsk, Wydawnictwo Morskie, 1979, p. 146 (in Polish) 1271 - First mention of Polanki and Przymorze. 1294, 1295 - Visits of Polish King Przemysł II.Kodeks Dyplomatyczny Wielkopolski Vol. II, No. 726, 739 1308 - November 13: Teutonic takeover of Gdańsk. 1325 - Brzeźno is mentioned for the first time. 1326 - St. Catherine's Church built. 1327 - Construction of the Gdańsk Town Hall begins. 1343 - Casimir III the Great agrees to give Gdańsk Pomerania to the Teutonic order as a fief. 1346 - Gaol Tower built. 1350 - Artus Court built (approximate date). 1360 - City joins Hanseatic League (approximate date). 1380 - First Scots settled in the city, founding what would eventually become a significant Scottish diaspora in Poland. 1391 - Foundation of the Marienbrunn Abbey. 1410 - The city recognized Polish King Władysław II Jagiełło as rightful ruler.Marian Biskup, Historia Gdańska t. I, p. 479–481 (in Polish) 1411 - The city came under Teutonic rule again. 1416 - A revolt against the local government happens due to its weak management. 1427 - First mention of Armenians in the city. 1440 - City joins the anti-Teutonic Prussian Confederation. 1454 11 February: Townspeople captured the local castle. 6 March: City reincorporated to the Kingdom of Poland by King Casimir IV Jagiellon upon the request of the Prussian Confederation. March: City authorized by the Polish king to mint Polish coins. June: City solemnly pledged allegiance to the King in Elbląg, recognizing the Teutonic annexation and rule as unlawful.
1455 - Danzig law in effect (approximate date). 1458 - Truce between Poland and Denmark signed, after Denmark initially sided with the Teutonic Knights in the Thirteen Years' War (1454–1466). 1463 - The fleets of Elbląg and Gdańsk defeat the Teutonics on the Vistula Lagoon. 1465 - St. John's Church built. 1481 - Artus Court rebuilt. 1494 - Hall of the Brotherhood of St. George built.
16th to 18th centuries 1502 - St. Mary's Church completed. 1504 - Nicolaus Copernicus visited the city several times. 1514 - Trinity Church built. 1520 - During the Polish-Teutonic War, the Landsknecht coordinated an attack on Gdańsk. 1525 - The Gdańsk Tumult - Lutherans organise a revolt against mayor Eberhard Ferber. 1526 January - The council is overthrown by the revolt. April - King Sigismund I enters the city with eight thousand men, executing the rebels and asserting his power over the region. July: Nicolaus Copernicus visited the city. 1537 - Franz Rhode sets up printing press.
1540 - Narratio Prima, an abstract of Nicolaus Copernicus' heliocentric theory published. 1557 - Sigismund II grants Protestants equal rights. 1558 - Academic Gymnasium established. 1561 - Main Town Hall tower built, with a gilded statue of Polish King Sigismund II Augustus placed at its top. 1568 - Green Gate built. 1569 City becomes part of Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. Mennonite Church founded. 1575 - Danzig rebellion begins. 1577 April 17: Battle of Lubieszów. Siege of Danzig by Stephen Báthory of Poland. 1587 - Sigismund III Vasa swore the pacta conventa in Oliwa prior to his coronation as King of Poland. 1588 - Highland Gate erected. 1594 - Oliwa Cathedral consecrated. 1596 - Bibliotheca Senatus Gedanensis established. 1605 - Arsenal built at the Coal Market Square. 1606 - Der Lachs distillery in business. 1614 - Golden Gate built. 1621 - Jesuit College established in the present-day neighbourhood of Stare Szkoty.
1627 - Battle of Oliwa during the Polish–Swedish War (1626–1629), won by Poland. 1633 - Neptune's Fountain installed at the Long Market. 1640 - Jan Heweliusz established his astronomical observatory in the Old Town. 1644 - Adam Wybe constructed the world's first aerial lift. 1655 - Deluge (Swedish invasion of Poland): Siege of Danzig (1655–1660) begins. 1660 - Treaty of Oliva signed. 1677 - An alliance treaty between Poland and Sweden signed. 1681 - Royal Chapel of the Polish King John III Sobieski built. 1686 - French Huguenot commune founded. 1703–1711 - Large scale arms smuggling for Hungarian insurgents during the Rákóczi's War of Independence against Austria. 1709 - Bubonic plague. 1711–1712 - Stay of Hungarian national hero Francis II Rákóczi in the city following the Rákóczi's War of Independence. 1734 - Siege of Danzig by Russians during the War of the Polish Succession. 1742 Experimental Physics Society organized. Corn exchange opens in Artus Court. 1755 - Marble statue of King of Augustus III of Poland unveiled in the Artus Court. 1756 - Abbot's Palace expanded. 1772 - After the First Partition of Poland the city became separated from the rest of Poland, it remained a Polish exclave. 1793 Second Partition of Poland - city annexed by Prussia. Municipal Library established. 1797 - Attempt of student uprising against Prussia, crushed quickly by the Prussian authorities.Edmund Cieślak, Czesław Biernat, Dzieje Gdańska, Wydawn. Morskie, 1969, p. 370 (in Polish)
19th century
1807 March 19-May 24: Siege of Danzig by French-Polish-Italian-Saxon-Baden forces. September 9: Free City of Danzig established by Napoleon. 1813 - January–December 29: Siege of Danzig by Russian and Prussian forces. 1814 - City becomes part of Prussia again. 1815 - City becomes administrative capital of Danzig (region). 1831 October 18–19: 2nd and 4th Polish Cavalry Brigades of the November Uprising stopped near the city on their way to their final internment places. November 10: Several further cavalry units of the 1st and 2nd Polish Cavalry Brigades stopped near the city on their way to their final internment places.Kasparek, p. 140 1832 May: 52 Polish insurgents depart partitioned Poland on ship to Bordeaux, France (see Great Emigration).Kasparek, p. 176 23 June: Over 450 Polish insurgents depart partitioned Poland on ship to Bordeaux, France.Kasparek, p. 175 Summer: Polish insurgents imprisoned by the Prussians at Biskupia Górka.Kasparek, p. 177 Trade academy established. 1833, November - Over 500 Polish insurgents depart partitioned Poland on ships to France, the United Kingdom and the United States.Kasparek, pp. 178–179 1852 - Königliche Werft Danzig in business. 1871 City becomes part of German Empire. Franciscan monastery building restored. 1880 - Westpreussische Provinzial-Museum opens. 1885 - Population: 114,805. 1887 - Great Synagogue built. 1896 - Old fortifications dismantled in north and west of city. 1899 - Harbor built at Neufahrwasser (Nowy Port). 1900 - Main railway station opens.
20th century 1900–1939 1901 Königliche Staatsarchiv für Westpreussen (National Archives) opens. House of the Sheriffs restored. 1903 - Fußball Club Danzig formed. 1904 - Königliche Technische Hochschule founded. 1905 - Population: 159,088. 1918 - City becomes part of Weimar Germany. 1919 - Free City of Danzig created by Treaty of Versailles.
1920 Polish Post Office and Sportverein Schutzpolizei Danzig established. Volkstag (parliament) becomes active. 1921 - Danziger Werft in business. 1922 - Gedania Danzig football club formed. 1927 - MOSiR Stadium built. 1933 - Statue of King Augustus III of Poland removed from the Artus Court. 1937 Mass anti-Polish discrimination by Germans: employing Poles by German companies prohibited, already employed Poles fired. October: Pogrom against Jews by the Germans. 1938, May 3: Over 100 German attacks on Polish homes on the day of the Polish 3 May Constitution Day. 1939 March: Ban and mass requisition of Polish press. SS Heimwehr Danzig and SS Wachsturmbann "Eimann" units of the SS established by the Germans.
World War II (1939–1945)
1939 September 1: Battle of the Danzig Bay; Defense of the Polish Post Office in Danzig. September 1–7: Battle of Westerplatte. September: The Germans established a subcamp of the Stutthof concentration camp in the present-day neighborhood of . October 5: The Germans executed 39 Polish defenders of the Polish Post Office in the present-day district of Zaspa.Wardzyńska, p. 86 October 8: City occupied by Nazi Germany; city becomes capital of Reichsgau Danzig-West Prussia. October: The Germans established a Nazi camp for Romani people. 1940 The Germans established a forced labour subcamp of the Stalag XX-A prisoner-of-war camp in Biskupia Górka, initially for Polish POWs, and later mostly for French POWs. Subcamp of the Stalag XX-A POW camp redesignated as a subcamp of the Stalag XX-B POW camp. The Germans established two subcamps of the Stutthof concentration camp in Westerplatte and Suchanino.Gliński, p. 167–168 The Germans established a subcamp of the Stalag XX-B POW camp for Allied POWs in VII Dwór.Daniluk, pp. 8–9 1941 Lufttwaffensportverein Danzig formed. The subcamps of the Stutthof concentration camp in Maćkowy and Westerplatte were dissolved.Gliński, p. 166, 168 1943–1944 - The local Polish resistance movement facilitated escapes of endangered Polish resistance members and British prisoners of war who fled from German POW camps via the city's port to neutral Sweden. 1944 August 26: The Germans established a subcamp of the Stutthof concentration camp at the main shipyard.Gliński, p. 175 August 27: AGSSt 32 and 33 assembly centers for Allied POWs established in the city by the Germans (later relocated). September 13: The Germans established a subcamp of the Stutthof concentration camp at the Schichau shipyard.Gliński, p. 176 October 16: The Germans established a subcamp of the Stutthof concentration camp on the Ostrów Island.Gliński, p. 179 October 18: Dulag 154 transit POW camp evacuated from Tapa in German-occupied Estonia to Gdańsk by the Germans.Megargee; Overmans; Vogt, p. 91
1945 February: Most prisoners of the Schichau subcamp of the Stutthof concentration camp were evacuated towards Lębork, while some were sent back to Stutthof main camp; subcamp dissolved. March: The subcamps of the Stutthof concentration camp at the main shipyard and Ostrów Island were dissolved.Gliński, p. 175, 179 March 27–30: City taken by Polish and Soviet forces. March 28: Polish flag raised atop Artus Court by soldiers of the Polish 1st Armoured Brigade. Gdańsk becomes part of Republic of Poland.
1945–1990s 1945 City becomes capital of Gdańsk Voivodeship. Franciszek Kotus-Jankowski becomes mayor. Gdańsk Shipyard, Akademia Lekarska, Baltia Gdańsk (Lechia Gdańsk) and Stoczniowiec Gdańsk football clubs, Gdańsk Symphony Orchestra, and Academy of Fine Arts established. 1945-1946 Expulsion of the city's German-speaking majority in accordance with the Potsdam Agreement. 1946 August 28: Execution of Danuta Siedzikówna and Feliks Selmanowicz, members of the Polish resistance movement in World War II and the anti-communist resistance movement, Polish national heroes, by the communists. October 1: Gdańsk College of Education established.