Gdynia City Centre Wins UNESCO World Heritage Status

The news in Polish

1. portowy
   związany z portem, dotyczący miejsca, gdzie cumują statki ↩︎
2. wpisać
   umieścić coś na liście lub w rejestrze oficjalnie ↩︎
3. dziedzictwo  (n.)
   coś wartościowego przekazanego przez poprzednie pokolenia, np. kultura lub historia ↩︎
4. nowoczesny
   zgodny z najnowszymi trendami, współczesny, nienależący do przeszłości ↩︎
5. zniszczyć
   spowodować, że coś przestało istnieć lub zostało poważnie uszkodzone ↩︎
6. powstać
   zacząć istnieć, zostać zbudowanym lub założonym ↩︎

Translation

Text comprehension

Question 1: In which year was Gdynia’s city centre added to the UNESCO World Heritage List?

Question 2: Why is Gdynia considered a particularly important site?

Vocabulary

Polish	English
portowy	port
wpisać	to inscribe
dziedzictwo  (n.)	heritage
nowoczesny	modern
zniszczyć	to destroy
powstać	to arise

Read the full story

The city centre of Gdynia, a port city on Poland’s Baltic coast, has been officially inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List, following a decision taken at the 48th session of the World Heritage Committee, held between 19 and 29 July 2026 in Busan, South Korea.

The inscription covers the entire urban layout of Gdynia’s historic city centre, including a representative ensemble of architecture built between 1920 and 1939, as well as historic villas in the Kamienna Góra district. By the time the session concluded, 28 new sites in total had been added to the list.

Gdynia is described as a uniquely comprehensive example of a modernist port city that was planned and built rapidly from scratch. It developed on the site of a fishing village during the interwar period and became a symbol of the economic independence and modernity of the Second Polish Republic — often referred to as Poland’s “window on the world.”

The city’s designers rejected nineteenth-century historicism in favour of functionalist principles: simple forms, distinctive rounded corners resembling ships’ bridges, large glazed surfaces, and practical interior layouts. The coherent grid of city blocks, combined with a deliberate visual and spatial opening towards the port and the sea, creates what experts describe as a distinctive cultural landscape.

Because so much of Poland’s architectural heritage was destroyed during the Second World War, Gdynia’s well-preserved interwar buildings are considered exceptional within the country. The UNESCO recognition is seen as the culmination of years of effort by Polish conservators and local authorities.

Interest in Gdynia’s architecture has been growing steadily. Guided architectural walks in the city attract not only local residents but also visitors travelling specifically from Warsaw, Kraków, Wrocław, and other Polish cities to explore its modernist heritage and compare it with buildings in their own home towns.