WATER IN THE LANDSCAPE OF A TOWN USING THE EXAMPLE OF GDANSK AND THE GDANSK CONURBATION

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1 Hydrological Processes and Water Management in Urban Areas (Proceedings of the Duisberg Symposium, April 1988). IAHS Publ. no. 198, WATER IN THE LANDSCAPE OF A TOWN USING THE EXAMPLE OF GDANSK AND THE GDANSK CONURBATION Hanna Sienkowska Department of Architecture, Technical University of Gdansk, Poland ABSTRACT The landscape of a town is the result of its location and its historical development. Water, together with buildings and vegetation, formed the characteristic image of towns located on river banks or on the sea coast, but the role of water changed throughout the ages. Gdansk was founded at the confluence of the Motlawa and the Vistula and these rivers played an important role in the landscape of the town until the 19th century when it approached the seacoast. In the last three decades, Gdansk together with neighbouring Sopot and Gdynia formed a conurbation. The bigger the town, the more difficult a visual contact with water, but it still exists in the physiognomy of the town and is an element of unquestionable value. GENERAL REMARKS The landscape of a town is its image created by panoramic views and the internal structure formed as a result of the historical development. The image of a town is affected by natural land formation and its covering. Buildings and vegetation are two main materials of covering. Water is in fact a third material of almost equal importance. The quality of a town image was mostly determined by its location. Defensive conditions, communication and natural conditions were regarded as of great importance, but the really essential factor for creating a town was water. As a substantial element of life, the "agua vitae", water was also the means of defence and very often the best way of transportation.for these reasons, most towns all over the world were located on rivers or at the sea coast, and in the visual sense the water became an element of their landscape. The perceived visual existence of water in towns undergoes irrevocable changes in the process of historical growth of towns. There are many towns that must grow at any cost. But when man comes to the stage where he can recklessly create a new system far removed from its natural foundations, he is not only in danger of contaminating his environment but also he is in danger of destroying the beauty of the landscape. WATER IN THE HISTORICAL LANDSCAPE OF GDANSK Gdansk was founded on the terrain between Szczecin and Klajpeda that was the most suitable for the building of a port on the seacoast. It is located on the vast and deep Gdansk Bay at the estuary of the Vistula River and is protected against northerly winds by the Hel Peninsula. 279

2 Hanna Sienkowska The original settlement came into existence a relatively large distance from the sea at the confluence of the lowland Vistula and the slowly flowing Motlawa. A regular sea port has existed since the 12th century. In the Middle Ages, Gdansk was a compact fortified town against the background of the Motlawa River and a system of moats. Along the Motlawa there was a road onto which opened the gates of the town streets which run down to the river. The landscape of the other separate part of the town (the Old Town) was enriched by waters of the Radunia, tributary of the Motlawa. Although the population of Gdansk rose from 1,000 in the 10th century to 10,000 at the beginning of the 14th, it was still a small town, the spatial structure and dimensions of which gave the possibility of visual contact with the water from many places (Figure 1). In the mid-fifteenth century the "golden age" of Gdansk began. The growth of trade and craft was reflected in the splendid flourishing of Gdansk architecture. Many Flemish and Dutch architects settled in Gdansk and brought to the town a Dutch version of the Renaissance. At the beginning of the 17th century when the town had already expanded Figure 1. Plan of the medieval town of Gdansk in the 15th century according to Kalinowski (1986). 280

3 Water in the landscape of town Figure 2. The layout of the town's fortification as well as the Vistula River mouth in the 17th century, according to an engraving by Peter Wilier in 1687 (Plezar, 1958). beyond the medieval fortification, a new system of earthwork bastion fortification was built according to Dutch models. The town was then surrounded with water from the Motlawa. As a continuation of a medieval fort, the citadel of Wisloujscie was erected at the estuary of the Vistula river (Figure 2). The isolation of Gdansk from its agricultural hinterland and also the ravages of the Napoleonic War caused the city to decline in the 18th century. Gdansk began to regain its previous importance in the second half of the 19th century with the general growth of industry in Europe. Although the development of the earliest Gdansk began on the bank of the Motlawa, it continued for centuries towards the open sea, where it became dependent on the Vistulaflowinginto the sea. The advantages of the situation resulted in spreading harbour installations over a large extent of the coast. Nevertheless the housing areas, were steadily displaced both physically and visually away from the water. The growth of Gdansk in the 19th century resulted in 281

4 Hanna Sienkowska changes of the physiognomy of its historical part. The change of great importance concerned the area formerly occupied by defensive works: ramparts, moats and bastions, the line of which was transformed for communication purposes. The moats were buried under the surfaces of streets and there was no water to reflect the panorama of the city from the north and west. THE WATER IN THE LANDSCAPE OF THE NEIGHBOURING TOWNS IN SOPOT AND OLIWA The town of Gdansk grew rapidly, the nearby villages became suburbs and even villages situated further away couldn't resist the development. Sopot was the best example of that process. Situated only 10 km from the centre of Gdansk, as a former small estate and village it had many qualities which enabled it to become a fashionable seaside resort. These were: picturesque land formation with a chain of wooded hills and slopes cut by meadowy valleys, the beautiful beaches, the shallowness of the sea and the presence of mineral waters. The role of water in the landscape of the resort was particularly important for the spectacular aspect of the place. A promenade pier built in the 19th century became a symbol of the town. The charming architecture of the 19th century summer resort could be admired from the pier. An additional attraction of the site were 12 streams which had their springs on the slopes of the hills. Some of them were turned into sewers early on, though some enrich the landscape even now. Considering the growth of Gdansk suburbs, the historical district of Oliwa, is worth noting. In the 12th century, Cisterian monks settled in Oliwa and founded a monastery and abbey. The site of Oliwa has almost the same qualities as Sopot. It is situated 8 km from the centre of Gdansk, so it is no wonder that housing estates developed there rapidly. Besides the abbey, the chief attraction of 19th century Oliwa was the park adjoining the monastery. It was planned about 1760 in the French style. The park was situated along the stream which took its water from distant hills and flowed rapidly, passing numerous mill-dams and filling the ponds. Two of them became foci of a romantic arrangement of the park. The visual axis was an integral part of the park's layout. It gave a distant perspective far down the canal almost to the sea. THE GDANSK CONURBATION AND THE ROLE OF WATER IN ITS LANDSCAPE Due to economical needs of the country after World War I, Gdynia, a new modern harbour situated only 20 km from Gdansk was built. For twenty years it grew out of a small fishing village into a large harbour town of 120,000 inhabitants. Directly after the cessation of hostilities in World War II, it became obvious that the towns of Gdansk, Sopot and Gdynia formed a single conurbation. The connection between the ports, shipyards and various types of industry, as well as the location of housing districts clearly lead to the integration of the three towns. Thus a large urban organism numbering about one million inhabitants grew up by the Gdansk Bay. The role of water in the landscape of the conurbation is determined by geography and by the historical development of the towns. The length of the entire area is 50 km. It is 282

5 Water in the landscape of town limited from the west by the wooded and markedly eroded edge of a hilly district and from the east by the sea coast. The characteristic of the landscape is the coastal cliff covered with clusters of high greenery. It reaches the height of 40 m. The linear shape of the conurbation provides the inhabitants of the residential ares with the opportunity for direct contact with the recreational area of the green belt. On the other hand, the demand for workers in maritime economy results in developing trends of increasing population and urbanization. The shipyards and port facilities are growing on all areas where the access to the water is easy. The built-up zones of housing estates and service areas are spreading along the sea-coast occupying nearly all suitable building land and extending up the steep slopes of the moraine plateau (Figure 3). Until the 19th century, a considerable part of the built-up areas had a close contact with water. The present conurbation changed the image of the towns a great deal. In spite of the long coastline, the sea exists in the Gdansk conurbation more and more in a symbolic sense for the majority of its inhabitants. Voyagers approaching the ports of Gdansk and Gdynia and the people whose work is strictly connected with the sea are the only ones who can enjoy the panorama of the urban organism from the sea. For all the others, the sea is absent from their everyday life. Regarding in a less general sense the problem of water in the landscape of the conurbation, there is no doubt of the continuing existence of water in some important urban interiors. The main town of Gdansk was reconstructed after its destruction in World War II. The Motlawa river hasn't lost its significance in that part of the town, and still reflects the historical forms of houses, gates and the old crane. The water mills on the Radunia were also rebuilt and the river is an interesting accent in the landscape of the Old Town. Fate was less favorable for the renaissance fortifications, and only some bastions with their moat still exist and have been preserved on the south border of the town. In past times the streams were a charming feature of the little towns Oliwa and Sopot. In the whole conurbation the Oliwa Stream is the only one that has been preserved along almost its entire original length. The stream flows through recreational areas of valleys and the historical park. A number of its ponds are also carefully kept. In the Gdansk Conurbation there are some commonly known and recognized pedestrian areas of touristic and recreational character dedicated mostly to visual consumption of the sea attractions. These are: the promenade pier in Sopot, one of the largest in Europe which juts out 512 metres to the sea and is still regarded as the main attraction of the town, a smaller pier located on Orlowo, a suburb of Gdynia and the most eminent of all, adjacent to the port, the pier and boulevard in the centre of Gdynia. The recreational areas of green belt parallel to the shore give few possibilities of observing the sea because of sea-dunes, greenery and other obstacles of a physical character. The shore is accessible to pedestrians, although the pleasure of walking is limited by weather conditions. 283

6 Hanna Sienkowska There are many factors hindering an unlimited growth of the towns around the Gdansk Bay. These include: the land formation that is difficult to build upon, the problems of supplying the towns with water, maintaining the sewerage and remote heating systems, and many others. Figure 3. The Gdansk Conurbation and directions of its development. 284

7 Water in the landscape of town The development of the conurbation should be managed so that its population does not exceed the number which would pose dangers to the environment. Air pollution and water pollution are measurable but no one can measure the value of polluted beauty. Waters and greenery are landscape gems and should be carefully preserved in the image of the Gdansk Conurbation. REFERENCES Kalinowski, W., "Miasta Historyczne", arkady, Warszawa, p. 96. Pelczar, M., "Gdansk", Sport i Turystyka Warszawa, p

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