Northern Central Europe Republic of Poland Poland Gdansk Poland (Polish Polska), officially the Republic of Poland (Polish: Rzeczpospolita Polska), is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a russian enclave, to the north. Poland's topographically diverse territory extends from the beaches along the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in its south. Gdansk is a city on the Baltic coast of northern Poland. Gdansk Pomeranian Voivodeship june 2014 Gdansk is the capital and largest city of the Pomeranian Voivodeship and the most prominent city in the vicinity of the cultural and geographical region of Kashubia. The city's history is complex, with periods of Polish, Prussian and German rule, and periods of autonomy or self-rule as a free city state. The city has some buildings surviving from the time of the Hanseatic League. Most tourist attractions are located along or near Ulica Dluga (Long Street) and Dlugi Targ (Long Market), a pedestrian thoroughfare surrounded by buildings reconstructed in historical (primarily during the 17th century) style and flanked at both ends by elaborate city gates. This part of the city is sometimes referred to as the Royal Route, since it was once the former path of processions for visiting Kings of Poland. Pic: Gdansk main railway station (built 1896–1900). Ulica Dluga, Gdansk, Pomeranian Voivodeship, Poland, june 2014. Ulica Dluga, Gdansk, Pomeranian Voivodeship, Poland, june 2014. Ulica Dluga, Gdansk, Pomeranian Voivodeship, Poland, june 2014. Ulica Dluga, Gdansk, Pomeranian Voivodeship, Poland, june 2014. Ulica Dluga, Gdansk, Pomeranian Voivodeship, Poland, june 2014. Ulica Dluga, Gdansk, Pomeranian Voivodeship, Poland, june 2014. Ulica Dluga, Gdansk, Pomeranian Voivodeship, Poland, june 2014. Ulica Dluga, Gdansk, Pomeranian Voivodeship, Poland, june 2014. Ulica Dluga, Neptune's Fountain and Dlugi Targ. Gdansk, Pomeranian Voivodeship, Poland, june 2014. Ulica Dluga, Gdansk, Pomeranian Voivodeship, Poland, june 2014. Ulica Dluga, Gdansk, Pomeranian Voivodeship, Poland, june 2014. Ulica Dluga, Gdansk, Pomeranian Voivodeship, Poland, june 2014. Gdansk, Pomeranian Voivodeship, Poland, june 2014. Gdansk, Pomeranian Voivodeship, Poland, june 2014. Gdansk is Poland's principal seaport and the center of the country's fourth-largest metropolitan area. Gdansk Pomeranian Voivodeship june 2014 Gdansk, Pomeranian Voivodeship, Poland, june 2014. Gdansk, Pomeranian Voivodeship, Poland, june 2014. Gdansk, Pomeranian Voivodeship, Poland, june 2014. Gdansk, Pomeranian Voivodeship, Poland, june 2014. St. Mary's Church – the largest brick church in the world. Gdansk, Pomeranian Voivodeship, Poland, june 2014. St. Mary's Church – Gdansk, Pomeranian Voivodeship, Poland, june 2014. St. Mary's Church – Gdansk, Pomeranian Voivodeship, Poland, june 2014. St. Mary's Church – Gdansk, Pomeranian Voivodeship, Poland, june 2014. St. Mary's Church – Gdansk, Pomeranian Voivodeship, Poland, june 2014. Parts of the historic old city of Gdańsk, which had suffered large-scale destruction during the war, were rebuilt during the 1950s and 1960s. The reconstruction was not tied to the city's pre-war appearance, but instead was politically motivated as a means of culturally cleansing and destroying all traces of German influence from the city. The city is situated on the southern edge of Gdańsk Bay on the Baltic Sea, in a conurbation with the city of Gdynia, the resort town of Sopot, and suburban communities. Gdnya, Pomeranian Voivodeship, Poland, june 2014.