HEL ISLAND - DAY 3 of 4 DAYS GDANSK TRIP - OPAL Cruise - Travel Guide || Places to visit in Poland

HEL ISLAND - DAY 3 of 4 DAYS GDANSK TRIP - OPAL Cruise - GDANSK-HEL ISLAND-GDYNIA-GDANSK || Places to visit in Poland

@K9 REACTIONS : Thanks for being part of the video. Abdullah, Khaleel, Natalia

4 Days Gdansk - Sopot - Gdynia - Hel island
Day 1 - https://youtu.be/sHM2Z-82_v8
Day 2 - https://youtu.be/S3R5-f9045g
Day 3 - This video

The Kashubian village of Hel was first mentioned in 1198 as a centre of herring trade area named Gellen. In one of the Danish chronicles of 1219 it is mentioned that a damaged ship of King Valdemar II the Victorious was set ashore on an "Island of Hel". By the 13th century the village became one of the most important trade centres of the area, competing with the nearby town of Danzig[citation needed]. It was then that the village was granted city rights by Duke Świętopełk II the Great of Pomerania. The privileges were again confirmed in 1378 when the town came under the rule of the Teutonic Order. Following the Order's defeat, under the imposed Second Treaty of Thorn in 1466 this area was annexed by Poland.

Initially the town (Aldstadt) was some 1.5 km (1 mi) from its present-day centre. It contained a church, hospital, city house, two market places, several guest houses and a small port. However, during the 15th century the peninsula started to shrink through marine erosion and soon the town was moved to a safer place. In 1417 St Peter's Church was built in the town, devoted to the patron saint of fishermen. Hel experienced a period of growth, but was later left behind by the faster-growing city of Danzig. In 1466 King Casimir IV of Poland granted the town as a fief to the rulers of Danzig, which ended the century-long struggle for economic domination over Danzig Bay. In 1526 King Sigismund I the Old withdrew all privileges previously granted to Hel and sold the town and the peninsula to the city authorities of Danzig. Since then Hel's fate was tied to the fortunes of its bigger neighbour.

In the 17th and 18th centuries prolonged warfare and a series of natural disasters severely damaged the town. It was severely depopulated, and in 1793 it was annexed by Prussia in the Second Partition of Poland. In 1872 the government of the newly formed German Empire abolished the town rights granted to Hel six centuries previously[citation needed]. After that the village of Hela (as it is called in German) lost much of its significance.

The period of decline was halted in 1893 when a fishing harbour was built in the village. It provided a shelter for fishing vessels, but also became a popular destination for weekend trips of the inhabitants of Danzig and Zoppot (Sopot). In 1896 the village was granted the status of a sea-side resort.[citation needed]

As a result of World War I and the Treaty of Versailles Poland was re-established as an independent nation. Hel, before the war a predominantly German village (93% in 1905[3]), became again part of Poland. In 1921 a new railway was built along the peninsula connecting the town to the mainland. The authorities of the Pomeranian Voivodeship also planned to build a road to the village, but the peninsula was found too narrow at the time. Soon Hel became one of the most important tourism centres in Polish Pomerania. New suburbs of villas were built for tourists, as well as a new church, school, fishing institute and geophysical observatory. In addition, the village became one of the two main naval bases of the Polish Navy. The harbour was expanded and in 1936 the president declared the peninsula a "Fortified Area" under jurisdiction of the Polish Army. The naval base was expanded significantly and a battery of coastal artillery was built to provide cover for the military facilities.[citation needed]