Early history The area of today's Sopot contains the site of a 7th-century Slavonic (Pomeranian) stronghold. Initially it was a commercial trade outpost for commerce extending both up the
Vistula river and to cities north across the
Baltic Sea. With time the significance of the stronghold diminished and by the 10th century it was reduced to a fishing village, eventually abandoned. However, a century later the area was settled again and two villages were founded within the borders of today's city: Stawowie and Gręzowo. They were first mentioned in 1186 as being granted to the
Cistercian abbey in
Oliwa. Another of the villages that constitute today's Sopot, Świemirowo, was first mentioned in 1212 in a document by
Mestwin I, who granted it to the
Premonstratensian (Norbertine) monastery in nearby Żukowo. The village of Sopot, which later became the namesake for the whole city, was first mentioned in 1283 when it was granted to the Cistercians. At that time it was part of
Poland until the 14th-century
Teutonic invasion. By 1316, the abbey had bought all villages in the area and became the owners of all the area of the city. After the
Second Peace of Thorn (1466) the area was reincorporated into the
Kingdom of Poland.
Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth The spa for the citizens of
Gdańsk has been active since the 16th century. Until the end of that century most noble and
magnate families from Gdańsk built their
manor houses in Sopot. During the negotiations of the
Treaty of Oliva King
John II Casimir of Poland and his wife Queen
Marie Louise Gonzaga lived in one of them, while
Swedish negotiator
Magnus de la Gardie resided in another — it has been known as the
Swedish Manor (
Dwór Szwedzki) ever since. The Swedish Manor was later the place of stay of Polish Kings
Augustus II the Strong (in 1710) and
Stanisław Leszczyński (in 1733). During the 1733
War of the Polish Succession,
Stanisław Leszczyński stayed in Sopot a few days before going to the nearby city of Gdańsk. and in the early 1930s it reached the peak of its popularity among foreign tourists — more than 30,000 annually (this number does not include tourists from Danzig itself). However, by the 1930s, tensions on the nearby Polish-German border and the rising popularity of
Nazism in
Germany and also among local Germans saw a decline in foreign tourism. The
Nazi Party, supported by many local Germans, took power in the city. and murdered during the
Intelligenzaktion, three days later, the Soviet 70th Army reached the
Gdańsk Bay coast north of the city. As per the
Potsdam Conference, Zoppot was incorporated into the post-war Polish state and its original name Sopot was restored. The authorities of
Gdańsk Voivodeship were located in Sopot until the end of 1946. Most of the German inhabitants who had remained in the city (by 1 November 1945 6,000 Germans still lived in the town, after the evacuation before the advancing Soviet Army) were soon to be
expelled, to make room for Polish settlers from
former eastern Polish territories annexed by the Soviet Union.
Polish People's Republic (1945–1989) in the background Sopot recovered rapidly after the war. A
tramway line to Gdańsk was opened, as well as the School of Music, the School of Maritime Trade, a library, and an art gallery. During the city presidency of
Jan Kapusta the town opened an annual Arts Festival in 1948. In 1952, the tramways were replaced by a heavy-rail commuter line connecting Gdańsk, Sopot, and
Gdynia. Although in 1954 the School of Arts was moved to Gdańsk, Sopot remained an important centre of culture, and in 1956 the first Polish
jazz festival was held there (until then jazz had been banned by the
Communist authorities). This was the forerunner of the continuing annual
Jazz Jamboree in Warsaw. In 1961, the
Sopot International Song Festival was inaugurated, although it was held in Gdańsk for its first three years – it moved to its permanent venue at Sopot's
Forest Opera in 1964. In 1963, the main street of Sopot (
Bohaterów Monte Cassino, "the Heroes of
Monte Cassino") was turned into a pedestrian-only
promenade. New complexes of baths, sanatoria, and hotels were opened in 1972 and 1975. By 1977, Sopot had approximately 54,500 inhabitants, the highest ever in its history. In 1979, the historical town centre was declared a national heritage centre by the government of Poland.
Third Polish Republic (1989 onwards) In 1995, the southern bath and sanatoria complex were extended significantly and the
Saint Adalbert (in Polish
Św. Wojciech) spring opened two years later, as a result in 1999 Sopot regained its official
spa town status. In 1999,
Pope John Paul II visited Sopot, about 800,000 pilgrims attended his mass. In 2001, Sopot celebrated the 100th anniversary of its city charter. Sopot is currently undergoing a period of intense development, including the building of a number of five star hotels and spa resorts on the waterfront. The main pedestrianized street, Monte Cassino, has also been extended by diverting traffic underneath it, meaning the whole street is now pedestrianized. Sopot, aside from Warsaw boasts the highest property prices in Poland. ==Population==