The article describes the landscape history of the Westerplatte Peninsula in Gdańsk (Poland) from the 17th to the 20th century presented as a complex process of the landscape’s environmental, urban and military transformations. Westerplatte is known as the symbolic place where the Second World War in Europe broke out, and for this reason the current discourse is mainly concentrated on that period. Nonetheless, the history of Westerplatte includes many other important events involving Polish, German, Russian and even French politics over the last three centuries. Thanks to its location at the entrance of one of the main harbours on the Baltic Sea, it is cartographically the best-documented part of the Vistula river estuary. A comprehensive archival survey conducted in the Polish and German archives and cartographical analysis of over 200 selected historical maps allowed the authors to reconstruct its spatial history over three centuries. This case study of Westerplatte can be regarded as an example of the research modus operandi of a historical landscape which has been transformed multiple times. It might form the basis for establishing a new policy for its preservation, allowing a balance to be kept between fluctuations of the current historical politics and more universal requirements for the protection of tangible and intangible heritage. The article also stresses the importance of a holistic and interdisciplinary approach in the analysis of a historical landscape and the necessity of proper selection and critical verification of sources.

The aim of the paper is to propose new quantitative criteria for selecting the optimal method of securing and repairing a historical object, which take into account Structural, Conservation and Architectural aspects (the S–C–A method). Construction works on cultural heritage sites tend to be challenging and require an interdisciplinary approach. Therefore, they are strictly related to the philosophy of sustainable development which seeks adequate proportions between factors indicated on the natural and social environment. Optimization of several systems stabilizing retaining structure that are a historic object was considered in the paper. Appropriate formulas for scores meeting additional conservation and aesthetic requirements were proposed. The method is used in the stabilization of the brick retaining wall, a part of the Wisłoujście Fortress located in Gdańsk, Poland. In order to compute the displacement of the wall and its stability, numerical analysis was performed by the two-dimensional explicit Finite Difference Method (using the FLAC2D software). The algorithm proposed could be beneficial to the protection of cultural heritage since it could also be applied to other structures, such as roof trusses, masonry walls, pillars, etc.

There is no doubt that authenticity is a cardinal feature of architectural heritage and should be protected in the same way as historical and cultural value of monuments or their integrity. Sometimes, one decides to reconstruct a destroyed historical building due to important emotional, scientific, artistic or political reasons (e.g. the Zwinger Palace in Dresden or the Royal Castle in Warsaw). However, the solution which should be an unusual exception too frequently becomes a common and unnecessary practice in contradiction to the sense of architectural conservation. Moreover, a significant part of the society accepts this kind of action and mistakenly believes that copies of historical buildings are originals. Vaclav Havel, the former Czech president and the Nobel Prize winner, gave some consideration to this issue during his last journey to Gdańsk in 2005. With a dilettante casualness, contrary to the modern principles of conservation, Havel concluded that not the authenticity, but beauty/aesthetic value of monuments would matter to common people. In this paper, we try to confront his remarks with the main issues concerning the rebuilding of Gdańsk after the Second World War, especially the partial protection of the city's historical plan and the socialist transformation of allegedly reconstructed burgher houses. We also outline the sad circumstances which led to the post-war annihilation of many survived historical houses in Gdańsk and show how they were ultimately replaced with the neo-historical façades. Moreover, we try to provoke reflection on this matter among people (including some architects) living in the era of "liquid modernity".

One of the most spectacular episodes during the Hussite Wars was the Czech raid through the lands of the Teutonic Order up to the Baltic Sea in 1433. This chapter reconstructs the day-by-day history of the assault on Gdańsk, the unsuccessful attempt to capture the city and the plundering ca. 30 villages belonging to the Order, monasteries, burghers, and gentry. Moreover, it allows shedding light on the different tactics of the two medieval armies (Czech-Polish vs Teutonic Knights) and analysing the role of fear in then-politics and military operations. In the case of Gdańsk, the awareness of threats and damages caused by Hussites' attack on the agglomeration, its suburbs and harbour might have been one of the crucial reasons why 20 years later, the city council, during the civil war in Prussia, decided to demolish one of the three municipalities – the Young City (Jungstadt) in 1455. <!----> <!----> <!----> <!---->

Historical monuments constitute a prestigious distinction for sites of particular significance to cultural heritage. There are five such sites in Gdańsk, whose management—despite their formal status—still faces various challenges arising from fragmented ownership structures, incomplete local development plans, and a lack of legal instruments and common municipal policy. The example of Gdańsk demonstrates that recognition as a historical monument does not automatically guarantee effective heritage protection. Effective protection requires the coordination of all owners’ actions, which would lead to the establishment of a unified management policy for historical monuments at the local level, ensuring the durability and coherence of the city’s cultural heritage.