= Gdańsk =
[c] Prehistory [c]
Digs to the right of the city hall and at the Neptun fountain have found traces of several layers of consecutive very early settlement within the very marshy Mottlau lowland on a sandy ridge form the Hagelsberg along the curreng Longalley (pl. Dluga) to the Mottlau which was suitable for settlement.
The oldest layer could be dated back to the 7th century. Fragments of relatively strong cultural layer are dated to the second half of the 9th or the beginning of the 10th century. This settlement was surrounded with an earthen wall and a palisade. The inhabitants lived of farming, stock-breading and fishing and persued crafts like the blacksmith.
This was followed by a further settlement from the 10th to the 12th century, which was also protected by a strong earth wooden fortification, but no traces of animal dung could be found. It therefore seems to be a village of the type of a trading port and probably had a market. Its local expansion is estimated to at max 3 hectars and its number of inhabitats to 2000, but these are very hypothetical assumptions. For these reasons the oldest settlement center of Gdańsk was probably at the site of the later right town. One has to consider that before the intrusion of the Slaves, the Prussian settled also to the West of the Weichsel until the Persante, as is evidenced by many place and water names and the fact that the Kaschubic language contains nouns of Old Prusssian language. In historic time Prussians still lived in Gdańsk. In the area of Gdańsk there still were closed Prussian villages. In the year 997 Prussians were baptized in the area of Gdańsk, as can be seen in the Vita Adalbert of Prague. Maybe the site "Praust, pl Pruszcz" is an indication of its Prussian inhabitants.
Swantopolk II. who reigned under the sovereign of the Brandenburgian margrave and the Holy Roman empire, the lawful German city with Lubic law was founded. When Mestwin II. in 1271 asked the margraves of Brandenburg for help against his brother Wartislaw, he spoke of the „burgensibus Theutonicis fidelibus sepedicte civitatis Gedanensis, Prutenis quoque et nostris quibusdam specialiter fidelibus Pomeranis“, the faithful German citizens of the often named town Gdańsk, but also of the Prussian and the especially faithful Pomeranians (which therefore did not live in the Germen city, but in the area of the later inner town of Gdańsk, the so called Grodtown).
Digs in the area of the inner town have shown that at the mouth of the Mottlau into the Weichsel, probably on an island, which was surrounded by two Mottlau chanels, a castle with a castle village had developed, which was a politically and administrative center and at the same time the economical center of crafts and trade. The development of this village is assumed to have happen in the middle of the 10th maby even as early as the 9th century. Polish researcher assume that it was erected in the context of the conquest of Pomerania by a Polish chieftain. That would make it a dungeon castle opposite the settlement 300 to 400 meter away,
[c] Medieval times [c]
The city of Gdańsk, on which foundation no details are known, did already bloom at the end of the 10th century and then became the capital of Pommerellia.
In 979 Pomerania was conquered by the Polish chieftain Mieszko I. who built a fortification in Gdańsk. Upon the instigation of the Polish duke Boleslaw I. Chrobry and his far reaching conquests bishop Adalbert of Prague came to Gdańsk and in 997 preached Christianity at the Baltic tribe of the Pruzzen. When Poland in 1034 shattered in the chaos of a pagan reaction, the Slavic-Pomeranian tribes were able to detach themselves from the central power in Gnesen. Many of the Polish conquest campaign against Pomerania and Prussia could be parried in the 11th and 12th century. In 1047 Pommerellia together with Gdańsk became part of the Piast state of the Polish duke Kasimir I. His son king Boleslaw II. again lost at 1060 the control over Pommerellia and thereby access to the Baltic sea, which was reigned independently by local Slavic rulers till 1116. In 1116 the Polish duke Boleslaw III. conquerred all of Pommerellia together with Gdańsk. After the death of Boleslaw in Poland the Particularism broke out and Gdańsk was assigned to the Krakau senior duke based on the senior order constitution. In defiance to this constitution which should grant the unity of Poland the realm broke up into a multitude of at times warfaring Piastic dukedoms. In 1180 the senior duke Kasimir II. appointed the a certain Sombor I. as reeve of Gdańsk. After the death of Sombor, his brother Mestwin I. (Msciwoj) reigned the land of Gdańsk. His son and successor Swantopolk II. reached the complete political independence in 1227, after an initiated assault on the life of the Polish senior duke Leszek the White. In 1221 the Dane king Waldemar II conquerred Gdańsk, but lost it again in 1225 to duke Swantopolk II.
A similar thing happend to his son Mestwin II. who had to reconquer his capital in 1271 from the Brandenburgian, who he called for help against his brother. Conflicts within the dynasty Samboriden as well as the growing threat by the mark Brandenburg and the Teutonic Order caused a closer affiliation of Pommerellia to Poland.When Mestwin II. died in 1294 without a main heir, based on the treaty of Kempen of 1282 Gdańsk fell to the duke of Great Poland and king of Poland Przemyslaw II. After his death his heir and later king of Poland and duke Kujawien Wladyslaw Lokietek took over in 1296, who whoever was driven out of Poland around 1300 of the Bohemian Wenzel II. After the murder on the last reeve Przemysliden Wenzel III. in 1306, Wladyslaw could return from his Hungarian exile and restore his power in parts of Poland and Pommerellia.
[c] Takeover of the Teutonic Order [c]
In 1308 Wladyslaw Lokietek asked the Teutonic Order for help against the Brandenburgian who sieged Gdańsk. On of the reasons of the siege was that the Brandenburgian Askanier was feoffed with Pomerania and Pommerellia by the Roman-German emperor Friedrich II. in Ravenna in December 1231 and that they wanted to act upon this investiture, which was renewed on 8th of January 1295 in Mühlhausen, after the death of the last duke of Pommerellia. German citizens opened the gates for the Brandenburgian troops. But because the Teutonic Order help defending the castle of Gdańsk, the margrave could not conquer the castle. He left Gdańsk, left however a weak occupation force. When the defendants of the castle realized their military superiority they crushed down the left Brandenburgian troops. The largest part was massacred. Partisans of Gdańsk, who helped the Brandenburgian troops in their conquest of the city, were executed. The Teutonic Order occupied the city and kept it in their possession - as the promised compensation was not payed out.
To solidify the ownership of Pommerellia and Gdańsk legally, in the treaty of Soldin an 23rd of September the Order bought of the Brandenburgian properties in Pommerellia for 10'000 silver mark - however doubted by the Polish -. The properties consisted of everything that they claimed since 1269 (treaty of Arnswalde) and based upon the earlier investiture of Pommerellia by emperor Friedrich II. The annexation of Pommerellia by the knights of the Teutonic Order caused a long lasting juridical dispute between the kingdom of Poland and the Teutonic Order, which was reconciled in 1343 in a compromise in the peace treaty of Kalisch. After this there was peace for 66 years between the state of the Teutonic Order and the kingdom of Poland.
[c] Late Middle Age: Hanseatic time and Teutonic Order [c]
Beginning in the 13th century Gdańsk established itself as trading node in the Baltic sea. There are indications that already at the beginning oth the 13th century craftsmen and merchants from Lübeck settled near the Parochial church St. Katharin. However there are many leads that the town was given up during the conflict of Swantopolk with the Teutonic Order (1242-1248). Proof of the trading relations to Lübeck, which already then had a leading role in the trading in the Baltic sea, is th oldest known document with seal of Gdańsk, which shows a high skirted Hanseatic cog. At the end of the 13th century the merchants of Gdańsk already had great influence in the trading office Petershof in Novgorod and in Pommerellia and even had a say in legal manners. Gdańsk became the suburb of the Prussian quarter within the early Hanseatic league and therefore had since latest 1377 a leading role against Thron and Elbing. Since the middle of the 14th century a growing interdependence in the Baltic transit trade grew especially with the cities of the Wendic union especially Hamburg and Lübeck, which were the core of the emerging Hanseatic league at the end of the century. They agitated more and more together, among them Gdańsk, as the early Hanseatic towns. The participation on the Hanseatic meeting (Hansetag) 1361 is documented. In the conflict of the cities of the Cologne confederation with Denmark and Sweden Gdańsk participated since 1367. 
After the takeover by the Teutonic Order in 1309 there were frequent disagreements between the council and the Order concerning the control of the trade. Like almost all cities of the realm of the Teutonic order adapted Gdańsk in 1343 the Kulmian law instead of the Lubic law. With this the Order as the sovereign of the right town passed the self administration into the hands of the patricians, from now on the city could elect their council and mayor on their own. The Teutonic Order supported the trade with Prussian cities and even participated themselves, as they knew about the high profit that could be gained. Within the early Hanseatic time Gdańsk was not able to make their own policy, becaus the city was controlled by the Order and in addition was the concurrence of the continuously growing trade of the self-acting Order.
In defiance of the conflicts with the Teutonic Order the city at the mouth of the Weichsel further prospered, which can be seen in extensive construction projects and the immigration of mainly Hanseatic merchants and craftsmen. The Order castel was renewed, the once wooden pomorian dungeon was replaced by a clinker construction. The castle, as the dungeon was called, was located 30 meter away from the bank of the Mottlau, the site formed a square, which enclosed the alley at the Rähm, the Great Club alley, the Knight alley the dungeon alley down at the bank of the Mottelau. The site of the Rechtstadt (1340) and the Jundstadt (1380) had their origin there. The city area was extended toward the north, the the so called "Neustadt" (new town) was built (parish St. Johannes around 1349). In the south direction the suburb around the shipyard grew, where in 1'' the Filial church St. Peter and Paul was constructed. The Rechtsstadt had a council constitution since 1378 and the city hall was founded at the long market in 1380; also the building of the renown clinker church of Mary was continued in 1343: On 26th of March 1343 the rebuilding of the chapel of MAry into the parish of the Rechststadt was induced by the high master Ludolf König. It should take 160 years until the construction of the house of prayer, the town's landmark, was finished. Also on the 26th of March 1343 the construction of the city wall began, the first foundation stone was laid below the corner tower at the city yard. In the middle oth the 14th century the fast development of Gdańsk cause social conflicts between the patricians, which constituted the council, and the craftsmen and the newly arrived merchants(1363, 1378).
The external conflict between Poland and the Teutonic Order increased after the crowning of Wladislaw as king of Poland together with the union of Poland and Lithuania - beside Poland the second great adversary of the Order. The conflict finally peaked in 1410 in the battle new Tannenberg rsp. Grunwal near Osterode in east Prussia. After the defeat of the Order the council of Gdańsk, like most of the Prussian cities, joined the Polish crown. But with the peace of Thorn (1411) the knights of the Order as a result could regain the core areas of their territory, among them Gdańsk; what followed was a gory punishment of the defected council. In 1416 there were riots within the city, which forced the Order again to intervene. Since 1440 Gdańsk was member of the Prussian league, a union of representatives of the cities and gentry, who desired a rank based participation in the ruling. When the Prussian league asked the Polish king Kasimir IV. for help against the Order, the thirteen year war between the Order, Poland and the league began: On 6th of March 1454 Gdańsk contracted a protection union with the Polish kin Kasimir IV, who was married to Elisabeth of Habsburg since 10th of February 1454, based on the proposal of the mission of the Prussian league lead by Hans of Baysen; This protective relation lead to the bestowal of the Great privilege (land area, sovereign rights and far reaching independence) for Gdańsk in 1357 who financed the thirteen year war. In the second peace of Thron in 1466 Gdańsk gained the royal Prussia for good, which was subordinated to the crown of Poland, meaning the king personally. The autonomy privileges of 1454, 1455 and 1457 for Gdańsk were mostly affirmed and due to the granted Privilegium Casimirianmu Gdańsk was allowed to fill their offices themselves, got the complete jurisdiction (based on their own law, arbitrariness of Gdańsk), freeing of all custom duties and tolls and of the reporting of income, the coinage privilege, the right to have their own militia and free decision on war, alliances and peace. The suzerainty of the king of Poland was represented by a member of the council, the burgrave. The town had a secretary in Warsaw and voted on Reichstag and royal elections. The four city parts where now joined into a single one and put under the rule of the council.
A dispute with the king because of the occupation of the diocese Ermland caused the eight year priester war (1472-1480), in which the power of Gdańsk was solidified but the antipathy against the Polish crown as well.
[https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geschichte_der_Stadt_Danzig, 2015-09-11]