Gdansk joined the Hanseatic League in 1361, growing rich on grain and timber trade with Bruges, Lisbon and Novgorod, and its old town of merchant-guild facades still lines the Motlawa river. The city opened the Second World War when Germany shelled a Polish depot at Westerplatte on 1 September 1939, and helped end communist rule in Poland when shipyard workers founded the Solidarity trade union here in August 1980 under Lech Walesa. Around 487,000 people live in Gdansk today, anchoring the Tricity with Sopot and Gdynia — 1.5 million on the Baltic coast — with sand beaches a tram ride from downtown. In 1871 it became the first city in continental Europe with a treated-wastewater sewer system.
Nights sit around 11°C and afternoons around 20°C.
Gdańsk has real seasons: summer afternoons sit around 23°C, winter ones around 4°C.
Rain is spread through the year — about 600 mm in total, from 78 mm in July down to 31 mm in February — so no single month is a washout.
Air quality is worth watching: December averages an AQI of 69, while July clears to 40.
Days stretch to about 16.9 hours of light in June and shrink to 7.1 in December — something to weigh if you work to a fixed timezone.
No month in Gdańsk matches what you're after, so come for the place rather than the weather. Expect fast internet (340 Mbps) and a high cost of living (about €1700 a month).
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