Tricity, Poland

Tricity, or Tri-City (Polish: Trójmiasto; Polish pronunciation: [trujˈmʲastɔ], Kashubian: Trzëgard; Kashubian pronunciation: [tʂɛɡart]; German: Dreistadt) is a metropolitan area in Pomeranian Voivodeship, Poland, consisting of three contiguous coastal cities in Pomerelia forming a row on the coastline of the Gdańsk Bay, Baltic Sea, namely the cities of Gdańsk, Gdynia, and Sopot, along with other cities and towns in their vicinity. In 2021, the three core cities were inhabited by 749 786 people, while the Tricity together with its metropolitan area had a combined population of between 1 and 1.5 million, depending on the definition of the boundaries of the latter.

Tricity
Trójmiasto
Urban area
Aerial view of the Port of Gdynia
Polish Baltic Philharmonic in Gdańsk
Westerplatte Monument in Gdańsk
Powiats of Gdansk, Gdynia and Sopot (in red)
Powiats of Gdansk, Gdynia and Sopot (in red)
Tricity is located in Poland
Tricity
Tricity
Map of the Tricity area
Coordinates: 54°26′N 18°33′E
CountryPoland
VoivodeshipPomeranian
Government
 • Mayor of GdańskAleksandra Dulkiewicz
 • Mayor of GdyniaWojciech Szczurek
 • Mayor of SopotJacek Karnowski
Area
 • Urban area414.81 km2 (160.16 sq mi)
Population
 (2021)
 • Urban area749,786
 • Density1,806/km2 (4,680/sq mi)
 • Metro
1,098,379
Time zoneUTC+1 (CET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+2 (CEST)
Area code+48 058
Car PlatesGA, GD, GSP
Gdańsk
Gdynia
Sopot

The designation has been used informally or semi-formally only. A strategic cooperation declaration, the Tricity Charter (Polish: Karta Trójmiasta), was signed by the three city mayors on 28 March 2007. The only incorporated common management authority in the Tricity metro is the Gdańsk Bay Public Transport Metropolitan Union (Polish: Metropolitalny Związek Komunikacyjny Zatoki Gdańskiej) which is, despite the name, an inter-municipal union and not a metropolitan one.

Economy

Nearly 35% of taxpayers from Tricity are in the middle and high taxable income groups (average for Poland 10%). Approximately 12% of Tricity taxpayers are in the highest taxable income group (Polish average 3%).

Population

The total population of the 3 cities comprising Tricity (Gdańsk + Gdynia + Sopot):

  • XII.1960: 481,100 inhabitants (286,900 + 150,200 + 44,000)
  • XII.1970: 604,800 inhabitants (365,600 + 191,500 + 47,700)
  • XII.1975: 693,800 inhabitants (421,000 + 221,100 + 51,700)
  • XII.1980: 744,400 inhabitants (456,700 + 236,400 + 51,300)
  • XII.2004: 754,960 inhabitants (460,524 + 253,650 + 40,785)
  • XII.2006: 748,126 inhabitants (456,658 + 251,844 + 39,624)
  • XII.2019: 752,954 inhabitants (470,907 + 246,348 + 35,719)
  • XII.2021: 749,786 inhabitants (470,633 + 244,104 + 35,049)

The Tricity metropolitan area also includes Wejherowo, Reda, Rumia, Pruszcz Gdański, and several other communities. The total population in 2006 was 1,100,500, in an area of 1580.69 km2.

The Tricity continuous urban area includes following cities:

city area
1996
km2		 area
2017
km2		 pop. 1996 pop. 1999 pop. 2003 pop. 2019
Gdańsk 265.03 261.96 462,336 457,937 461,011 470,907
Gdynia 135.49 135.14 251,932 255,014 253,500 246,348
Sopot 17.31 17.31 43,360 42,333 41,017 35,719
Pruszcz Gdański 16.47 16.47 21,470 21,757 23,187 31,326
Rumia 32,86 30.10 ? 40,200 43,000 49,230
Reda 26.39 33.46 15,422 17,510 17,868 26,307
Wejherowo 25.65 26.99 47,357 47,038 46,900 49,505
Total 513.42 504.96 882,871 884,080 885,240 909,342

According to official EU publication[1] the population of Larger Urban Zone of Tricity is 1,098,379.

Education

The Tricity is an important center of education.

  • Gdańsk: Number of universities: 13 (2010) Number of students: 52,436 (2009) Number of graduates: 10,439 (2001)
  • Gdynia: Number of universities: 7 (2010) Number of students: 21,362 (2010)

Some of the universities in the Tricity:

Entertainment

Cinemas:

  • Gdańsk Film Centre (studio cinemas; all three closed in 2015)
    • Helikon
    • Kameralne
    • Neptun
  • Helios Gdynia
  • Kameralne Cafe
  • Kinoplex
  • Multikino Gdynia (closed in 2018)
  • Multikino Gdańsk
  • Multikino Sopot
  • Multikino Rumia
  • Polonia
  • Żak

Theatres:

  • Wybrzeże Theatre
  • Danuta Baduszkowa Musical Theatre in Gdynia
  • Witold Gombrowicz Municipal Theatre in Gdynia
  • Atelier Theatre in Sopot
  • Dreams Theatre
  • Miniatura Theatre in Gdańsk
  • Theatre Znak in Gdańsk
  • Wybrzeżak Theatre
  • Gdańsk Shakespeare Theatre
  • Scena Kameralna Teatru Wybrzeże
  • Summer Scene of Gdynia's Municipal Theatre
  • Scena Teatralna ŻAK
  • Theatrum Gedanense Foundation[2]

Opera house and Philharmonic

  • Forest Opera in Sopot
  • Frederic Chopin Polish Baltic Philharmonic
  • Polska Filharmonia Kameralna in Sopot
  • The Baltic Opera

Museums and art galleries

  • Gdańsk City Gallery[3]
  • Chodowiecki and Grass House
  • Państwowa Galeria Sztuki in Sopot
  • National Museum[4]
  • Zbrojownia Sztuki[5]
  • Art Cybernetics Institute (ICS)
  • CSW Łaźnia
  • Art Lab Wyspa
  • multiple small noninstitutional galleries (Galeria UL, Tajna Galeria, Brama Wyżynna, KIT)
  • Museum of the Second World War[6]

Climate

Tricity has a temperate climate with warm summers and cold winters that can be very severe. Rain is possible all year round. Summer is the best time to visit when temperatures range from 70 °F to 90 °F (20 °C to 30 °C), but evenings can be cool enough to require a sweater. Winters are wet, cold and grey.

Climate data for Tricity (Gdańsk)
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Average high °C (°F) 0
(33)		 0
(33)		 4
(40)		 9
(49)		 15
(60)		 18
(66)		 20
(69)		 20
(69)		 16
(61)		 11
(52)		 5
(41)		 1
(35)		 10
(50)
Average low °C (°F) −4
(24)		 −4
(24)		 −1
(29)		 1
(35)		 6
(43)		 9
(49)		 11
(53)		 11
(53)		 8
(47)		 4
(40)		 0
(33)		 −2
(28)		 3
(38)
Average precipitation mm (inches) 38.1
(1.5)		 27.9
(1.1)		 27.9
(1.1)		 30.5
(1.2)		 43.2
(1.7)		 55.9
(2.2)		 71.1
(2.8)		 71.1
(2.8)		 61.0
(2.4)		 48.3
(1.9)		 55.9
(2.2)		 45.7
(1.8)		 576.6
(22.7)
Source: Weatherbase[7]

Sport
Main article: Sport in Tricity
PGE Arena in Gdańsk

Tricity has a number of professional teams, which compete in basketball, volleyball, speedway, handball, rugby union and football.

The most known football clubs, contesting the Tricity Derby, are Lechia Gdańsk and Arka Gdynia.

Both clubs also possess highly successful rugby teams, RC Arka, who play at the National Rugby Stadium and RC Lechia. There is a third top-flight Polish rugby team Ogniwo Sopot, making the Tricity Poland's rugby capital.

The third football club is Bałtyk Gdynia, in the past also a multi-sports club with over 20 different sections.

Wybrzeże Gdańsk are the Tricity's speedway team, formerly a multi-sports club, now its only other remaining section is the reactivated handball team, former ten-times men's Polish champions.

Arka also fields a men's and women's professional basketball team while Trefl Sopot is the other men's professional basketball club in the Tricity.

Stoczniowiec Gdańsk is the local ice hockey team.

Transport
Tricity Beltway

The Tricity has a well-developed traffic infrastructure and public transport system. Development of the Tricity was smoothed by the construction of the rapid transit rail (SKM) 1951, binding the whole area from Tczew by Gdańsk, Sopot 1953, Gdynia 1956, Reda, Rumia to Wejherowo 1957. In 1975, the Tricity Beltway was constructed.

The Gdańsk Bay Public Transport Metropolitan Union (MZKZG), a body incorporated by the municipalities in the area to act as a common public transport authority, issues tickets valid both for the SKM Rapid Transit Rail, as well as for all or some of the trams and buses in Gdańsk or trolleybuses and buses in Sopot and Gdynia.

Road transport

The backbone of the Tricity is the inner highway. It starts in Gdańsk and goes through Sopot, Gdynia, Rumia and Reda to Wejherowo. It consists of 2-4 lanes in each direction.

The dual carriageway Tricity Beltway (Obwodnica Trójmiejska) starts in the vicinity of Pruszcz Gdański and goes through the western districts of Gdańsk to Gdynia-Chylonia.

Trolleybus, bus and coach

The variety and number of public bus lines and coach connections facilitates the travel around the Tricity and surrounding areas. One of the most popular means of transport in the Pomerania province is the public coach. The high number of bus lines covers every quarter of the three cities within the metropolis. In addition to usual buses, the cities of Gdynia and Sopot also operate trolleybuses.

Tramway

The city of Gdańsk operates a well-developed tram system.

Tricity Rapid Transit Rail

The Tricity area is served by the SKM rail network (known in Polish as Szybka Kolej Miejska w Trójmieście or "Tricity Rapid Transit Rail"). It currently provides regular service primarily on two dedicated railways complemented by some of the ordinary railways in the region, both as a commuter rail connecting some of the peripheral towns and villages with each other and with the principal cities of Gdańsk, Gdynia and Sopot, as well as internal rapid transit service within the urban core formed by the three cities. The intervals range from every 6 minutes during peak time on the main common section between Gdańsk and Gdynia to 30 minutes at the farthest ends.

Rapid Transit Rail (the Pomeranian Metropolitan Railway line)

The rapid transit rail network has achieved since its inception in 1951 a unifying effect on the metro area formerly divided by a frontier, by linking the connected localities with a frequent and reliable service. More recently, a pre-war railway destroyed in 1945 by the retreating German army has been reconstructed as the 19.5 km Pomorska Kolej Metropolitalna (Pomeranian Metropolitan Railway) or PKM line, also been operated by the SKM, and put into service in 2015, providing connection of the downtown station of Gdańsk Wrzeszcz Station with the Gdańsk Lech Wałęsa Airport, with further service to the Gdynia Główna Station provided via an earlier existing railway, thus forming a loop connected to the primary SKM line directly at its southern terminus, while the northern terminus is connected indirectly through an earlier existing line. The primary SKM line has been served by overhead-powered electrical multiple units since its inauguration, while the PKM line is currently serviced by oil-powered units, though it is scheduled for imminent electrification.

Regional rail connections and remote rail destinations

The area is well connected to the rest of the Pomerania region, as well as Poland and the rest of Europe. Polregio network provides a regional rail service connecting the cities and towns of the Pomerania. Gdańsk Główny and Gdynia Glowna serve as major rail hubs for the area, with these stations and five others, Gdańsk Wrzeszcz, Gdańsk Oliwa, Sopot, Wejherowo and Rumia offering inter-city services to cities around Poland and in other countries, operated by Polish State Railways under the PKP Intercity branding. Most of the stations that are served by regional and inter-city rail are also part of the above-mentioned SKM network.

Air transport
Gdańsk Lech Wałęsa Airport

Gdańsk Lech Wałęsa Airport is one of the three busiest Polish international airports. Its position is associated with a well-developed network of domestic and international transport connections provided in response to the growing demand for business and tourist travel.

The Gdańsk Airport is located a mere 10 km from the centre of Gdańsk, about the same distance from the centre of Sopot and 23 km from the centre of Gdynia. The continually expanding road system which connects the airport with the city centres allows drivers to cover the distances in about 15–20 minutes. The close vicinity of the Tri-city by-pass and junctions with state motorways nos. 1, 6 and 7 facilitates access from areas outside the Tri-city. The convenient location of the airport makes it easy for travellers and cargo carriers to transfer from air to road, and also to the railway network and seaports. Gdańsk Lech Walesa Airport has its own railway siding which can be used for handling large lots of cargo dispatched by air.

The efficient Gdańsk Airport operates even the biggest planes and allows thousands of tourists to visit the Pomerania province every day. Just in front of the main entrance to the passenger terminal, the visitors can find a bus that will take them to the city centre. There are frequent SKM trains running from the train station in front of the airport to Gdynia, Gdańsk Wrzeszcz, Kartuzy and Koscierzyna. A passenger may also choose to take a taxi.

A failed attempt was undertaken to partially repurpose the Military Gdynia-Kosakowo Airport into a dual-use military and civil one.

Passenger terminal at Gdańsk Airport

Scheduled passenger destinations

Scheduled ferry lines

Foreign representatives

Gdańsk:

Gdynia:

Sopot:

See also

References
  1. "Urban Audit". European Commission. 2006. Archived from the original on 2013-05-31.
  2. Sprintnet. "Theatrum Gedanense". www.teatr-szekspir.gda.pl.
  3. "Gdańska Galeria Miejska". www.ggm.gda.pl.
  4. "Muzeum Narodowe w Gdańsku". www.mng.gda.pl/.
  5. "Zbrojownia Sztuki". zbrojowniasztuki.pl.
  6. "Museum of the Second World War".
  7. "Weatherbase: Historical Weather for Gdańsk, Poland". Retrieved February 11, 2008.
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54°26′N 18°33′E

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