Women’s Paths through the Former Gdańsk Shipyard

Instytut Kultury Miejskiej, the municipal institute of city culture in Gdańsk, runs Metropolitanka, a project that gives back memory and voice to women left out of the official historical record. Its herstorical walks across the grounds of the former Gdańsk Shipyard are in their fifteenth season, and run twice a week until the end of September.

The walk tells the history of the shipyard from the point of view of the women who worked in it — labourers, activists, office staff and women of the city. The accounts cover the daily experience of nurses, crane operators, welders, cleaners and cooks, and the part women played in the strikes and in the social life of the plant. The narration is built on first-hand testimony, much of it from retired shipyard workers: memories that, as the project’s coordinator Agnieszka Salamądry puts it, are not in the textbooks.

The route starts at the historic Gate No. 2 and crosses the former shipyard, passing the European Solidarity Centre and the Institute of City Culture. On Tuesdays the walk includes entry to the Sala BHP; on other days that entry is charged separately.

Practical details

• When: 4 July to 29 September 2026 — Tuesdays at 17:30, Saturdays at 12:00
• Where: departure from the historic Gate No. 2, Gdańsk Shipyard
• Route: about 2 km, up to two hours
• Tickets: places on each walk are limited; online at bilety.ikm.gda.pl, or in person at the IKM Cultural Information Point, ul. Targ Rakowy 11, open daily 10:00–20:00
• Terrain: cobbles, asphalt, railway tracks and technical channels — comfortable shoes are advised. Building and production work continues on the site, with the noise and smells that go with it. There are two places to sit, at the Sala BHP and inside the European Solidarity Centre, and toilets in the latter.
• Organiser: Instytut Kultury Miejskiej

Metropolitanka also runs herstorical walks of Gdańsk’s Main Town and Old Town, on request by prior arrangement with the institute. Full details and booking are on IKM’s own site. Cultural Heritage Online lists this walk for readers planning a trip to Gdańsk; booking is handled directly by the organiser.