Sopot (Polish: [ˈsɔpɔt] ⓘ; Kashubian: Sopòt or Sopòtë) is a seaside resort city in Pomerelia on the southern coast of the Baltic Sea in northern Poland, with a population of approximately 40,000.

The city's name is thought to derive from an old Lechitic word, sopot, meaning "stream"[1] or "spring".

[2] The same root occurs in a number of other Lechitic toponyms; it is probably onomatopeic, imitating the murmur (Šepot) of running water.

Initially it was a commercial trade outpost for commerce extending both up the Vistula river and to cities north across the Baltic Sea.

However, a century later the area was settled again and two villages were founded within the borders of today's city: Stawowie and Gręzowo.

Another of the villages that constitute today's Sopot, Świemirowo, was first mentioned in 1212 in a document by Mestwin I, who granted it to the Premonstratensian (Norbertine) monastery in nearby Żukowo.

Until the end of that century most noble and magnate families from Gdańsk built their manor houses in Sopot.

During the negotiations of the Treaty of Oliva King John II Casimir of Poland and his wife Queen Marie Louise Gonzaga lived in one of them, while Swedish negotiator Magnus de la Gardie resided in another — it has been known as the Swedish Manor (Dwór Szwedzki) ever since.

[3] The Swedish Manor was later the place of stay of Polish Kings Augustus II the Strong (in 1710) and Stanisław Leszczyński (in 1733).

[4] During the 1733 War of the Polish Succession, Stanisław Leszczyński stayed in Sopot a few days before going to the nearby city of Gdańsk.

[3] Afterwards Imperial Russian troops besieged Gdańsk and a year later looted and burned the village of Sopot to the ground.

[5] In 1819, Wegner opened the first public bath in Zoppot and tried to promote the newly established spa among the inhabitants of Danzig (Gdańsk), but the undertaking was a financial failure.

However, in 1823 Jean Georg Haffner, a former medic of the French army, financed a new bath complex that gained significant popularity.

From the late 19th century, there was a significant influx of German settlers with the slow growth of the Polish population, resulting in a change in ethnic proportions in favor of the former.

[4] Since the late 19th century the city became a holiday resort for the inhabitants of nearby Danzig, as well as wealthy aristocrats from Berlin, Warsaw, and Königsberg.

On October 8, 1901, Wilhelm II granted Zoppot city rights, spurring further rapid growth.

In 1909 a new theatre was opened in the nearby forest within the city limits, in the place where today the Sopot Festival is held every year.

Following the signing of the Treaty of Versailles in 1919, Zoppot became a part of the Free City of Danzig in customs union with the re-established Polish Republic.

However, by the 1930s, tensions on the nearby Polish-German border and the rising popularity of Nazism in Germany and also among local Germans saw a decline in foreign tourism.

The following day the Free City of Danzig was annexed by Nazi Germany and most of the local Poles, Kashubians, and Jews were arrested[7] and murdered during the Intelligenzaktion,[6] imprisoned or expelled.

Wojciech) spring opened two years later, as a result in 1999 Sopot regained its official spa town status.

Sopot is currently undergoing a period of intense development, including the building of a number of five star hotels and spa resorts on the waterfront.

Amateur sports are played by thousands of Sopot citizens, as well as in schools of all levels (elementary, secondary, and university).