Do it in the Tri-City! Alternative guide - part two
Mariacka st. in Gdańsk / Fot. Kamil Gozdan / Agencja Gaze
Gdańsk, Mariacka Street
Mariacka Street for many years was the most representative showpiece of the old part of Gdańsk. It is narrow and carefully restored in the medieval style, which leads many to consider it picturesque. Mariacka is also an excellent example of how Gdańsk was reconstructed: particular houses are sometimes made up of sections of several buildings and originally the porches were somewhere totally different to where they are today. This architectural motif, very characteristic of old Gdańsk, had a primarily practical purpose: they were no more than stalls where the merchants living inside could display their ware. Today it's amber shops, more or less every other house, that display their wares. And since amber, although a little passé, is still a popular sea-side souvenir, there's no shortage of buyers. But while a few decades ago, the cafés for the local literary and acting circles enjoyed a vibrant social life, today no self-respecting man of letters or actor would even attempt to go in.