Gdynia (Polish: [ˈɡdɨɲa] ⓘ; Kashubian: Gdiniô) is a city in northern Poland and a seaport on the Baltic Sea coast.

[1] Gdynia is part of a conurbation with the spa town of Sopot, the city of Gdańsk, and suburban communities, which together form a metropolitan area called the Tricity (Trójmiasto) with around one million inhabitants.

Historically and culturally part of Kashubia and Eastern Pomerania, Gdynia for centuries remained a small fishing village.

The port of Gdynia is a regular stopover on the cruising itinerary of luxury passenger ships and ferries travelling to Scandinavia.

Gdynia's downtown, designated a historical monument of Poland in 2015, is an example of building an integrated European community and includes Functionalist architectural forms.

Gdynia, under the Germanized name Gdingen, was included within the newly formed province of West Prussia and was expropriated from the Cistercian Order.

[10] Following World War I, in 1918, Poland regained independence, and following the Treaty of Versailles, in 1920, Gdynia was re-integrated with the reborn Polish state.

The decision to build a major seaport at Gdynia village was made by the Polish government in winter 1920,[11] in the midst of the Polish–Soviet War (1919–1921).

German dockworkers went on strike, refusing to unload shipments of military supplies sent from the West to aid the Polish army,[12] and Poland realized the need for a port city it was in complete control of, economically and politically.

The first major seagoing ship, the French Line steamer Kentucky, arrived on 13 August 1923 after being diverted because of a strike at Gdansk.

By the end of 1930 docks, piers, breakwaters, and many auxiliary and industrial installations were constructed (such as depots, trans-shipment equipment, and a rice processing factory) or started (such as a large cold store).

Within a few years houses were built along some 10 miles (16 km) of road leading northward from the Free City of Danzig to Gdynia and beyond.

In 1933 a plan of development providing for a population of 250,000 was worked out by a special commission appointed by a government committee, in collaboration with the municipal authorities.

During the German invasion of Poland, which started World War II in September 1939, Gdynia was the site of fierce Polish defense.

On 15–16 September, the Germans carried out further mass arrests of 7,000 Poles, while Polish soldiers still fought in nearby Kępa Oksywska.

[21] In October and November 1939, the Germans carried out public executions of 52 Poles, including activists, bank directors and priests, in various parts of the city.

[22] In November 1939, the occupiers also murdered hundreds of Poles from Gdynia during the massacres in Piaśnica committed nearby as part of the Intelligenzaktion.

[27] Some 50,000 Polish citizens were expelled to the General Government (German-occupied central Poland) to make space for new German settlers in accordance with the Lebensraum policy.

Despite such circumstances, local Poles, including Kashubians, organized Polish resistance groups, Kashubian Griffin (later Pomeranian Griffin), the exiled "Związek Pomorski" in the United Kingdom, and local units of the Home Army, Service for Poland's Victory and Gray Ranks.

[29] The Gestapo cracked down on the Polish resistance several times, with the Poles either killed or deported to the Stutthof and Ravensbrück concentration camps.

The ship Wilhelm Gustloff sank, taking about 9,400 people with her – the worst loss of life in a single sinking in maritime history.

The post-war period saw an influx of settlers from Warsaw which was destroyed by Germany, and other parts of the country as well as Poles from the cities of Wilno (now Vilnius) and Lwów (now Lviv) from the Soviet-annexed former eastern Poland.

Gdynia's dzielnicas include: Babie Doły, Chwarzno-Wiczlino, Chylonia, Cisowa, Dąbrowa, Działki Leśne, Grabówek, Kamienna Góra, Karwiny, Leszczynki, Mały Kack, Obłuże, Oksywie, Orłowo, Pogórze, Pustki Cisowskie-Demptowo, Redłowo, Śródmieście, Wielki Kack, Witomino-Leśniczówka, Witomino-Radiostacja, Wzgórze Św.

Osiedles: Bernadowo, Brzozowa Góra, Chwarzno, Dąbrówka, Demptowo, Dębowa Góra, Fikakowo, Gołębiewo, Kacze Buki, Kolibki, Kolonia Chwaszczyno, Kolonia Rybacka, Krykulec, Marszewo, Międzytorze, Niemotowo, Osada Kolejowa, Osada Rybacka, Osiedle Bernadowo, Port, Pustki Cisowskie, Tasza, Wiczlino, Wielka Rola, Witomino, Wysoka, Zielenisz.

The architecture of central Gdynia was inspired by the work of European architects such as Erich Mendelssohn and is sometimes compared to the White City of Tel Aviv.

In record-high 2018 it was attended by over 140,000 people, who enjoyed the lineup headlined by Bruno Mars, Gorillaz, Arctic Monkeys, and Depeche Mode.

[57] Work was well in progress and was due to be ready for 2012 when the project collapsed following a February 2014 EU decision regarding Gdynia city funding as constituting unfair competition to Gdańsk airport.

The fate of some PLN 100 million of public funds from Gdynia remain unaccounted for with documents not being released, despite repeated requests for such from residents to the city president, Wojciech Szczurek.

In 2011-2015 the Warsaw-Gdańsk-Gdynia route was undergoing a major upgrading costing $3 billion, partly funded by the European Investment Bank, including track replacement, realignment of curves and relocation of sections of track to allow speeds up to 200 km/h (124 mph), modernization of stations, and installation of the most modern ETCS signalling system, which was completed in June 2015.

There are 10 honorary consulates in Gdynia – Belgium, Chile, Cyprus, Denmark, Finland, France, Italy, Luxembourg, Malta, Norway.