As talks continue about a new development on the site of Manhattan in Gdansk's Wrzeszcz district, the Pomeranian conservator has begun the procedure for entering it in the register of historical monuments. Protection is to be given to a small building adjacent to the mall, as well as a square with a fountain, which was created at the site in the early 20th century.
Solpol in Wroclaw, Krakow Plaza, Arkady Wroclawskie, Galeria Malta in Poznan... In recent years, more shopping centers are going under the knife. In Gdansk, two shopping malls favored by locals are on the target of developers: Alfa Centrum in Przymorze and Manhattan in Wrzeszcz. In place of the former, Euro Styl wants to erect a residential development with services, with a total of as many as... 700 apartments (we write about it here).
Development dispute
In the case of Manhattan, the owner, Futureal, also plans a residential-service development, but cannot reach an agreement with the city. The developer dreams of having new buildings from 30 meters from Grunwaldzka Avenue, up to a maximum of 55 meters (because that's how much the neighboring Dolarowiec, built in 1969, and the criticized Quattro Towers, completed in 2011, have). Meanwhile, the city, listening to the voices of Wrzeszcz residents, announced that the buildings should be no taller than 30 meters. In March 2025, councilors began developing a new local development plan for the area of Grunwaldzka Avenue and Partyzantów and Jaskowa Dolina Streets. Currently, no proposal for the demolition of Manhattan is pending at City Hall.
The investor plans to demolish the mall and build a residential and commercial development in this place
Ewa Karendys
In anticipation of the draft plan, the Pomeranian Regional Historic Preservation Officer joined the discussion. Dariusz Chmielewski, wanting to protect the area adjacent to the shopping center, has begun the procedure to enter the square located at the corner of Grunwaldzka Avenue and Jaskowa Dolina into the register of monuments, along with a fountain, a former shalet and other architectural elements.
The conservator wants to protect the historic square
As the Provincial Office for the Preservation of Historical Monuments explains, the fountain located next to Manhattan, as well as a nearby small building (once a guardhouse and a canteen, now a cantor's shop), standing at the entrance to Partyzantów Street, are remnants of a former square that was created in this place in the early 20th century.
Danzig, Wrzeszcz market square with fountain and square in 1913.
Publisher: Johann Lukowski, Beuthen/ Digital Museum of Cultural Heritage of the Pomeranian Voivodeship
The entry is an initiative of the office. This is because the site is a very distinctive point, highlighted on old postcards, and has historical value. We believe that in connection with the investment plans for the Manhattan area, it is worth increasing the protection of this place adjacent to the gallery. In the course of the initiated procedure, it will turn out whether the square with the fountain and the former shawl will be added to the register of monuments," Marcin Tyminski, spokesman for the Pomeranian Regional Monument Conservator, said in an interview with AiB.
The fountain in the background of the Manhattan shopping center
M.Tymiński/WUOZ in Gdańsk
The place where the fountain stands today used to be a market - the center of the former village of Wrzeszcz. At the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, the square was transformed into a representative square, and in its southern part in 1909 a fountain was set up, which still retains its original form and decorative function. The fountain commemorates an important meeting place on the map of former Wrzeszcz.
At the turn of the 20th century the square was transformed into a representative square, and in its southern part in 1909 a fountain was set up
Ewa Karendys
