210 CENTRAL EASTERN EUROPE
Great Mill 3
Wielki Mlynul. Wielkie Młyny 16. Map C2.
# 10am–6pm Mon–Fri, 10am–1pm
Sat. 7 =The seven-storey Great Mill is
regarded as one of the largest
industrial build ings in medi-
eval Europe. Construction
began during the rule of the
Teutonic knights, who seized
the town in 1308, and was
completed around 1350. Built
in brick, it is crowned by a
tall and steeply pitched roof.
The mill con sis ted of a two-
storey bakery with a chim ney
set against its gable that
reached the height of its roof.
Also part of the mill were 12,
later 18, large poles to which
millstones were attached for
grinding various types of grain.
The mill was destroyed by fire
in 1945, but was restored after
World War II. This remarkably
old edifice has now been
con verted into a modern shop-
ping centre although traces of
the original building still exist.Church of
St Catherine 4
Kościół św Katarzynyul. Profesorska 3. Map C2.
Tel (058) 301 1595.The Church of St Catherine,
or “Katy” as locals call it, was
built between 1227 and 1239
by the dukes of Gdańsk-
Pomerania. Regarded as the
oldest and most important
parish church in the Old
Town, it under went major
rebuild ing in the 14th century.
The 76-m (250-ft) high
Baroque tower of the church
was added in 1486. It also
houses an impressive 49-bell
carillon. A major landmark,
the tower was demolished in
1944 and then rebuilt. It is
well worth climbing to the
top of the tower; the effort
is rewarded by wonder ful
views of the city. The pres-
bytery on the east side
of the church has a fine
late-Gothic gable. Most of
the Gothic, Baroque and
Mannerist furnishings that the
church once con tained were
pillaged or destroyed in 1945
at the end of World War II.
The most notable surviving
pieces are paintings by Anton
Möller and Izaak van den
Blocke, the Baroque memo-
rials to various towns people
and the tombstone of the
Polish astrono mer Jan
Hevelius and his family,
dating from 1659.Gothic tower of the Church
of St CatherineThe impressive façade of Great Mill
Old Town Hall 2
Ratusz Starego Miastsa
ul. Korzenna 33/35. Map C3.
Tel (058) 301 1051. 7 0 - =
Built by Antonis van
Opbergen between 1587
and 1595, the Old Town Hall
is an outstand ing ex am ple of
Dutch Mannerist architecture.
A compact building with no
distinctive ornamentation,
it is equip ped with a strong
defence tower. The stone
door way was probably made
by artist Willem van der
Meer at the end of the 16th
century. Beneath each bracket
are two distorted masks
personifying Vice, and two
smiling, chubby masks,
representing Virtue.
Even though very little is
left of the original deco rative
scheme of 1595, the paintings,
sculptures and furni ture within
the Town Hall are fas cinating.
Of par ticular interest is the
painted ceiling in one of the
rooms by Hermann Hahn,
a 17th-cen tury artist from
Pomerania. It was removed
from a house at ulica Długa
39 and trans ferred to this
build ing some time after
- The theme of the ceil-
ing paintings are alle gorical:
the central one depicts The
Lord’s Blessing and the Polish
King Zygmunt III also appears
in the paint ing. Today, the
building houses the Baltic Sea
Culture Centre (Nadbałtyckie
Centrum Kultury). The main
room on the ground floor
houses a chang ing series of
exhi bitions devoted to local,
regional, cul tural and histor ical
themes. In the main hall is the
bronze figure of Jan Hevelius,
a Polish astronomer and
city councillor.For hotels and restaurants in this region see pp218–21 and pp222–25