Lion, rhinoceros, salamander, unicorn
The four quarters' emblems carved on the fountain.
Ben Bender — CC BY-SA 3.0 · Bybbisch94 — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Bybbisch94 — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Bybbisch94 — CC BY-SA 4.0
A contemporary fountain on the Coal Market in Gdansk's Main Town, installed in 2011 and now one of the clearest meeting points in the district. Its design rests on the division of medieval Gdansk into four administrative quarters, each with its own animal emblem carved on the fountain: the lion, the rhinoceros, the salamander and the unicorn. The four quarters are not a decorative detail: this is how the city was actually run, each quarter with its own watchmen and its own responsibilities for firefighting and defence. The fountain is frankly modern work in old surroundings, a recurring choice in a Gdansk that rebuilt its past carefully and then allowed clearly contemporary additions. The square itself — Targ Węglowy, the Coal Market — was a market for coal and firewood and is now an open space at the edge of the busiest tourist quarter. Practical points: public, free and always open, though the water is turned off in the winter months. A short stop added to a walk rather than a destination.
The four quarters' emblems carved on the fountain.
Each quarter had its own watchmen and duties.
New work that does not pretend to be old in a rebuilt city.
Targ Węglowy, the Main Town, Gdansk
The Royal ChapelA small baroque church adjoining St Mary's, built between 1678 and 1681, and the1 min walk
St. Mary's — the Largest Brick ChurchGdansk's St. Mary's is the largest brick church on earth: one hundred and five m1 min walk
Artus CourtA merchants' hall in the heart of Gdańsk's Long Street, the centre of the city's3 min walk
The Royal Way & Long MarketThe Royal Way is Gdansk's golden theatre: from the Highland Gate through the Gol3 min walk
St Catherine's ChurchThe oldest church in Gdańsk, originating in the thirteenth century, north of the3 min walkThe Upland Gate, the Golden Gate and the Prison Tower on its western edge, the modern Shakespeare Theatre behind it, and the entrance to Długa street — the Royal Way — on its eastern side. Practically any walk through the Main Town begins or ends here, which is why the fountain became a meeting point.
A theatre opened in 2014 on the site of a seventeenth-century English playhouse where travelling English acting companies performed — Gdansk was one of their trading stops. Its modern black brick building has a roof that opens fully so plays can be given in daylight, an idea taken from the open-air playhouses of Shakespeare's time.
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