Gdansk & Ancient Water Smithy
Duration: 5 hours
Tour Code: GDS-001
The city's 1,000 years of history have left a collection of buildings and monuments designed in Gothic, Renaissance and Baroque styles. Your guided walk will start near the Golden Gate, a grand ornamental arch that once allowed access through the medieval city's defensive walls. Continue along Long Street, lined with marvelous buildings decorated with elaborate facades crowned by myriad ornate gables. Pass the Town Hall, Long Market and the beautiful 15th-century merchants' palace of Artus Court. Pause at Neptune's Fountain to admire this monumental symbol of Gdansk's Hanseatic past and its connection with the sea before walking down to the waterfront.Then turn up Mariacka or St. Mary's Street, which delights its visitors with its lively atmosphere, quaint shops and lovely terraced buildings
The pride of Gdansk, Gothic St. Mary's is the world's largest brick church, accommodating some 25,000 worshippers. Situated in the center of Old Town, this medieval church took 159 years to build, and its deceivingly plain exterior belies a bright, spacious interior with large windows and more than 30 beautifully decorated chapels.The high altar displays a lovely polyptych, the floor is covered with ancient tombstones and the northern transept holds an amazing 15th century astronomical clock, complete with the zodiac cycle and a calendar of the saints.
The ancient Water Smithy, located on the Oliwski Stream, belonged to the Cistercian Closter in the 16th and 17th centuries. The historical buildings are mostly made of wood and consist of two parts that are divided by the stream. In each part is situated a heating stove and hammer driven by the water wheel, 13 feet in diameter, fixed on the spindle 26 feet long. Such construction can lift a hammer that weighs approximately 550 pounds, 13 inches high to make it fall on an anvil. During the demonstration of forge-work you will have the opportunity to admire this ancient construction at work. You can even try to smith your own lucky horseshoe.