The recorded history of
Gdańsk, the oldest city in the Tricity area, goes back to as far as the year 997;
Sopot was first mentioned in 1283, and
Gdynia, although extant as a small village as early as 1253, was only granted city rights in 1926, after the Polish government began an effort to expand it as a port to rival Gdańsk, which had become
an independent free city following the
Treaty of Versailles. The first time the three settlements would find themselves under the same administration as cities occurred in 1939, following the
invasion of Poland. They were all placed under the occupation of
Nazi Germany, which played a significant role in unifying and organizing the administrations of Gdańsk and Gdynia. In 1946, shortly after
Poland retook all three cities, a nearly successful proposal was filed to unite them into one, though it ultimately failed. The first known mention of the Polish term
Trójmiasto is found in a 1950 issue of
Dziennik Bałtycki, a regional newspaper, and in the 1950s, various pan-Tricity organizations and publications were founded. == Geography ==