Gdynia is a young, dynamic and constantly developing city. The construction of Gdynia deserves to be considered an economic miracle. Within a dozen or so years of the “interwar” period, a small fishing village transformed into one of the largest and most modern ports in Europe, around which grew a city of over 120 000 inhabitants just before the outbreak of World War II.
The city of “sea and dreams”, which became Poland’s window on the world, was built as part of an ambitious economic plan, so it also served as a place for young Polish architects and urban planners to demonstrate their skills. It was in Gdynia that the dream of a modern functionalism came true. The uniqueness of Gdynia’s architecture is appreciated not only in Poland, but also abroad. Gdynia is one of the few places in the world whose very centre was created in a single architectural trend – modernism, and in a very short period of time – the decade of the 1930s.
In 2026 the white (light facades of the modernist buildings), sunny, green and coastal city of Gdynia will celebrate its first 100th anniversary. The courage, openness to modern trends and involvement of Gdynia’s residents in the development of their city make Gdynia unique.
Nowadays, the Port of Gdynia is one of the Baltic’s leading ports and the third largest seaport in Poland. It prides itself on its modern infrastructure and large handling capacities.
One of Gdynia’s greatest assets is its strategic location. It lies at the intersection of international North-South and East-West routes. It is one of the most important Polish ports and railway communication hubs. Hence the excellent accessibility by air, sea (regular ferry connections with Sweden) and land (the A1 motorway, S6 expressway, direct railway connections with all major cities in Poland). There are also plans to construct the Red Road which will provide a direct connection between the Port of Gdynia and the national road network, including the S6 expressway. The investment will improve accessibility of the port by land and will increase its handling and development potential.
Creative industry plays an important part in the development of Gdynia. The city is famous for its grand outdoors events and festivals. Open’er, Globaltica, The City of Word (Miasto Słowa), Ladies’ Jazz Festival are just a few of those. Every September Gdynia is visited by Poland’s film industry thanks to the Polish Film Festival, which has been held here for over three decades. In 2021, Gdynia was included in the UNESCO Creative Cities Network in the “Cities of Film” category. The title awarded to Gdynia is prestigious and, thanks to its globally recognised brand of creative city, guarantees an increase in the city’s significance on the international arena.
The seaside resort is also popular among runners as well as triathlonists and sport events, such as Ironman, Runmagedon, Gdynia Sailing Days or Grand Prix Gdynia, attract thousands of people not only from Poland but from all over the world.
Gdynia is also active in the field of business. It strengthens its investment attractiveness by organizing professional conferences, including the Maritime Economy Forum, which has been held in Gdynia for many years and which is attended by the most important companies, organisations and individuals from the maritime industry. Another important event for this sector is,, of course, the Transport Week series, which is filled with discussion panels and presentations on the development and future of the maritime economy on a European scale.
What is more, the city has a large base for the development of entrepreneurs from the IT industry, while hosting such events as IT Manager for Tomorrow, or IT Workplace of Tomorrow. However, Gdynia provides a platform to many other important sectors of the city’s economy, thanks to the annual Pipeline Summit, one of the most prestigious conferences in the field of digital sales, as well as Product Camp. Powered by Gdynia – one of the largest digital product design & management events in Europe.
