In 2026, Gdynia – the home port of the sailing ship “Dar Pomorza”, first as a training vessel and later as a museum ship – celebrates its centenary. The shared history of the “city of the sea and dreams” and the “White Frigate” stretches back almost as far as the history of Gdynia itself. How have the timelines of the city and the ship been intertwined, and how do they continue to be so? You can find out at the upcoming temporary exhibition “Gdynia Welcomes Dar Pomorza”.
The legendary frigate’s connection with its home port is a long, fruitful and – above all – enduring one: from the late 1920s, when Gdynia City Council supported a fundraising campaign to purchase a new vessel for the Maritime School, through the ceremonial raising of the flag in 1930, countless departures and safe returns from voyages over the following decades, right up to the “Dar Pomorza’s” service as a museum ship and its status as the city’s undisputed tourist attraction. From mid-August, a new temporary exhibition on board the sailing ship will tell the story of 96 years of working, celebrating and weathering storms side-by-side – not only at sea, but above all in the course of history.
“Gdynia Welcomes Dar Pomorza” – this is a story not only of the founding of the Second Polish Republic’s most important seaport and the “White Frigate’s” most famous voyages in the 1930s, but also of its difficult wartime trials, the only slightly less trying post-war years, and the period of stabilisation after 1956. The exhibition will also feature accounts of the “Dar Pomorza’s” great regatta successes and the international sailing ship gathering, Operation Sail, in 1974, which – thanks to the Polish ship’s victory in the event two years earlier – culminated in Gdynia. There will also be space dedicated to showcasing the sailing ship’s museum and cultural mission, which has been ongoing since 1983: exhibitions, meetings, theatre performances and book launches.
The exhibition will provide an opportunity not only to examine the relationship between the “White Frigate” and Gdynia, but also to explore a collection of photographs, documents and press releases illustrating this extraordinary bond. The centenary celebrations of Gdynia’s granting of town rights offer a particularly valuable opportunity to delve into this history.
The exhibition is held under the honorary patronage of the Mayor of Gdynia
Media patronage: Trójmiasto.pl, Radio Gdańsk S.A.
Curatorial team: Arleta Gałązka and Dr Jędrzej Szerle
Text editing: Dr Marcin Westphal and Anna Ciemińska
Translation: Barbara Gostyńska
Compilation and graphic design: Monika Wojtkowska
In collaboration with: Monika Golenko, Sylwia Paszko (National Maritime Museum in Gdańsk), Dariusz Małszycki (Gdynia City Museum)
The photographs on display are drawn from the collections of: the National Maritime Museum in Gdańsk, the Gdynia City Museum, the State Archives in Gdańsk (Gdynia branch), the National Digital Archives, and private collections belonging to Marek Twardowski and Dr Jędrzej Szerle