Gdańsk Crane

The Gdańsk Crane, known in Polish as Żuraw, stands at ul. Szeroka 67/68 on the Motława river waterfront in the Pomeranian region of Poland. It is a medieval harbour crane built in the 15th century, with the first record of a crane on the site dating to 1367 and the present form completed after a rebuilding of 1442 to 1444. It is the largest and oldest surviving port crane in Europe and was both a working machine and a city gate. Two large wooden treadwheels, operated by men walking inside them, lifted loads of up to about two tonnes to a height of roughly 27 m, and the crane was used to load and unload ships and to step masts on sailing vessels. The brick towers on each side formed part of the town's fortifications, and the gate allowed passage along the quay. The crane was damaged by fire in 1945 and later reconstructed in the postwar decades, with its wooden hoisting mechanism rebuilt. It is now a branch of the National Maritime Museum in Gdańsk. Visitors see the preserved treadwheel machinery, learn how it worked and view exhibitions on the history of the port, shipbuilding and Hanseatic trade. The building has a Gothic brick character typical of medieval harbour architecture on the Baltic. It is a symbol of Gdańsk and appears in the city's emblems and souvenirs. Its riverside location puts it beside the Maritime Culture Centre and the ferries across the Motława, and it is a short walk from the Main Town and the Long Market.