The Crane, a former harbour crane, is, next to the Neptune’s Fountain, the most prominent symbol of Gdańsk. The days of the Crane’s greatest importance as a crane are inextricably linked with the city’s golden age: the turn of the 16th and 17th centuries. At the time, Gdańsk was the largest port in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth and a place of trade with numerous European cities.
Today’s brick-and-wooden Crane differs significantly from the first all-wooden port crane that operated on the same site. The oldest written reference to this structure dates from 1367, and it is known that the wooden crane burnt down in 1442. The new Crane, which also served as the city’s defence and a water gate, was erected between 1442 and 1444. Its construction was based on two masonry towers, between which a wooden hoisting mechanism was installed. It consisted of two pairs of huge treadwheels; set in motion by workers stepping inside (hence the term ‘treadwheels’), they enabled goods to be lifted on ropes from the decks and holds of ships. The mechanism was designed so that with the strength of just four men, a weight of up to two tonnes could be lifted. The crane was owned by the city and administered by a crane master.
In the 19th century, the Crane lost its importance as a harbour crane and was used primarily to erect masts on Vistula ships. A century later, it found another use: it was used to lift the sterns of powered ships out of the water to enable rudders and propellers to be repaired. The last crane master of the Crane died in 1858, and the towers became home to tenants. Among other things, a slipper factory and a barber shop were opened here.
During World War II, the Crane was heavily destroyed – the wooden structure burned to the ground and the brick part preserved in 60%. In 1956, reconstruction documentation was drawn up and restoration of the building began. In 1962 the reconstructed Crane was handed over to the then Maritime Museum (now the National Maritime Museum in Gdańsk) and has been a cultural institution ever since.
