Teutonic Castle and Royal Navigation School

Teutonic Castle in Gdansk

Teutonic Castle – The Teutonic Castle of Gdansk was ordered by monastic knights to be built on the site of a former Piast princely castle. At that time, in the 1630s, the Radunia Canal (over which the Limestone Bridge now spans), dividing the extramural area and Wiadrownia, did not yet exist. Both the former princely stronghold and the Teutonic castle, however, did not last long – the latter was demolished, brick by brick, by the Danzigers themselves, only about 100 years after its completion. Well, the people of Gdansk had no reason to like the Teutonic Knights. The only surviving part of the castle is a fragment of the wall on the Motlawa River. The Swan Tower, which is sometimes considered a remnant of the castle, has a slightly more complicated history. It was built on the site of the Teutonic Fisherman’s Tower, which shared the castle’s fate, but was rebuilt shortly thereafter in a similar form to the original, albeit with a change in the direction in which the windows faced. In addition, the tower was raised by one story in the 16th century.

Royal Navigation School

Near the Limestone Bridge, on Karpia Street, from 1826 until the 1920s there was the Royal Navigation School – the first college in Gdansk to train future sailors. The school was established as early as 1817, but at that time it did not yet have permanent premises. In addition to strictly navigational skills, the school also taught geography, mathematics, drawing, foreign languages and operation of ship equipment. Theoretical classes were also accompanied by maritime practice. The school was equipped with sailing ships, which initially sailed on the Baltic, but by the 1840s further voyages were also made – to the Mediterranean and even across the Atlantic to New York. A dormitory for out-of-town students functioned alongside the school, and a fee was charged for tuition. After a year of training, students passed the exam to become helmsmen, and after two years they were certified as skippers. After World War I, the academy – now called the School of Navigation – was moved to the former barracks. It operated there until 1945. The building on Karpia Street, like all the buildings in the area, was destroyed during World War II.

Materiały pochodzą z przewodnika "Galarem Po Gdańsku"
Fot.: fotopolska.eu
City of Gdansk
By Galar in Gdańsk, City of Gdansk, Motlawa, Royal Navigation School, Teutonic Castle

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