Wars change the pace of urban development. Destruction of the material structure and needs of residents provoke a reassessment of approaches to city reconstruction. The experience of rebuilding cities after the Second World War is divided into several stages. They are distinguished by the limit of compromise between conservative and modernist traditions. (Diefendorf. 1989; Bullock, 2002; Harlander 2012). rebuilding the material substance of cities and the problems of preserving and creating the identity of cities are equally important in the process of reconstruction. (Cherkes, 2008; Petryshyn et al., 2012). After 1945, urban planners, architects and restorers of almost all of Europe faced the question of how to deal with damaged monuments and historical cities. The main section examines the Polish experience. (Zachwatowicz 1946; Lewicki 2016; Rymaszewski, 1984; Stankiewicz 1979; Adamczyk-Bomersbach, 1997; Friedrich 2015; Lubocka-Hoffmann 2019; Matusik and al., 2020).
The purpose of the article is to analyze the conceptual foundations and stages of the post-war reconstruction of the historical center of Gdańsk, research of urban approaches, strategies and practices of reconstruction of the historical district - the Main City.
Reconstruction of the main city of Gdańsk is assessed ambiguously. Individual monumental buildings - churches, the town hall, some city gates or the most valuable historical and artistic buildings - were restored immediately after the war with the scientific accuracy possible at the time. But bourgeois houses became only a stylish background for these sights. However, the perception of the Main City as a district is generally positive.
The history of Gdańsk's reconstruction shows how the original plans for the reconstruction of the Main City underwent far-reaching changes. They were caused by pragmatic, propaganda or political considerations. The rebuilding of the historic center of Gdańsk is the result of a compromise between the supporters of reconstruction and the demands to quickly provide housing for thousands of new residents. The rebuilding process became the connecting link for the newly created community and its sense of local identity. People are attracted by the atmosphere of the old city and the "spirit of the place" associated with it. In this aspect the goal of the reconstruction was achieved.
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