Zhurav (that is, "crane") over Motlavaya, undoubtedly, "makes" the sight of Gdansk from the river. He looks extremely characteristic and recognizable. No photo of the river panorama should not do without its slightly strange profile reminiscent of the "Tetris" figurine or "birdhouse" from the "priest".

The crane was built in the Middle Ages just like a crane . Life in the old port of Gdansk then was boiling and the cargo turnover was serious . At the site of the original mechanism of about the 1360s built in its present form, Zhurav grew up in the 40s of the 15th century . In 1442 he burned down and in the next two years has been restored . Zhurav became the biggest crane in Europe, which remains to this day, and was able to raise the height of 11 meters of gravity to 4 tons, with his help put the masts on the ships . The crane belonged to the city and was in charge of a special crane master . Meanwhile, already then the Crane was not so simple as it seems: down there were river gates for small ships, on the sides of the crane were mounted strong and squat protective towers made of bricks with guns . In which case, Zhurav could rebuff at the attack .

In 1858 died the last crane master, and in the tower moved shoe shop, a hair salon, and other establishments. During the Second World War, the wooden crane structure was completely burnt, and 60% of the brickwork was destroyed. Its reconstruction began in 1956, and in 1962 Zhurav was transferred to the beginning of the Maritime Museum.

Near Zhurav there are the most "tourist" restaurants and cafes of the city, chosen by guests from Western Europe. Feed them in no way tastier than in all the others. And on the same embankment, a couple of steps from the tap, amber jewelry stores are built at a level higher than the usual city benches. Naturally, they are more expensive; but here you can find unusual gizmos - an interesting design or, for example, with the rarest blue amber of the color of transparent marengo.

Entering the crane and looking at the visible part of the mechanism from the bottom up, you can see the same hemp fiber cable with the thickness of the leg, the block system and wooden collars. It's not so easy for a modern person to put it in his head, but this entire machine was set in motion, so to speak, with a foot-operated drive. That is, the port workers who leaned on the hilt, moving around the gate.

Today Zhurav is a part of the exposition of the Central Maritime Museum, which occupies storage buildings of approximately the same time only across the river, on the island of Olovyanka. And not so long ago the center of maritime culture was opened near Zhurav, the first and so far the only and the most modern in the country, even by world standards. There is a multi-purpose multi-purpose exposition with 60 stands, giving in an interactive form access to extensive information from the field of marine archeology, shipbuilding, technology and navigation.

Inside Zhurav an exhibition is opened, telling about the work of the crane and port people as a whole: dockers, stevedores, merchants, knitters gear. You can climb a narrow wooden staircase to the upper platform at a height of 27 meters above the ground and admire the place of hard labor of workers inside and the river Olovyanka and yachts in the harbor - outside.

Looking at Zhurav outside and inside, it will be very good to visit the Marine Museum proper - one of the best on the continent. It is very interesting to see medieval navigational instruments and equipment, models of port workshops and interiors of living rooms and offices of that time. The pearl of the collection is the remains of an Iliad ship that sank near the Turkish coast.

Zhurav