Wender·Vista
Gdańsk
shown on ceramic, 12-inch tilePoland
on the Baltic coast of northern Poland

Gdańsk

— — a brick city the war broke and the carvers put back.

— Where it lives

Not only on a wall.

A small tile on the nightstand catching the morning. A larger one above the fire. Yours, wherever you spend the slow hours.
— On the nightstand, a 6-inch on a walnut stand
— Among the books, a 6-inch leaning into the spines
— Beside the kettle, a 12-inch propped
— Down a quiet hall, an 18-inch floating off the wall
— Above the fire, the 24-inch in a walnut surround
— a note from the studio

“The Long Market still runs from the Green Gate to the Golden Gate, lined with the tall reconstructed townhouses Gdańsk lost in 1945. Neptune stands at the centre with his bronze trident. Mariacka Street keeps its amber sellers under stone gargoyles. Westerplatte, where the Second World War began at dawn on 1 September 1939, sits at the harbour mouth. The Crane on the Motława is the largest medieval port crane in Europe. from the studio

from the studio
Gdańsk
— bring it home

Gdańsk, on ceramic.

Each tile is finished by hand in our Knoxville studio. Artwork is slowly infused into the ceramic surface under high heat and pressure, and rests beneath a thin glossy finish. The colour lives in the surface, not on top of it.

What kind of piece?
One tile — square or rectangle.
How big?
the popular one — counter, shelf, nightstand
6 × 6 in · 15 cm · 1.6 lb
Surface finish
A clear glossy finish — the artwork reads as if under resin. Ideal for show-pieces and framed wall art.
How it sits
A hidden cleat — sits ¼″ proud of the wall.
$58
Hand-finished and shipped from our studio at the foot of the Smokies. On your wall in about ten days.
— size
6 × 6 in
15 cm
— weighs
1.6 lb
solid in the hand
— surface
ceramic, hand-finished
art rests beneath a thin glossy finish
— from
Knoxville, TN
our family studio, at the foot of the Smokies
— start a Coaster Set

Pick any four 4-inch tiles — National Parks you've been to, a Smokies set, the four seasons of one place. $ for a set of , cork-backed, ready to live on the table.

— about Gdańsk

The place, in three passes.

A little of what's known, in case you fall down the rabbit hole — or want to go see it yourself.
— the place

Gdańsk sits at the mouth of the Motława River on Poland's Baltic coast, the largest city of the Pomeranian Voivodeship. Its harbour has been one of the principal Baltic ports since the city joined the Hanseatic League in 1361. The population is about 470,000, with roughly 1.5 million across the Tricity metropolitan area that includes Sopot and Gdynia. Much of the Old Town and Main Town was destroyed in 1945; reconstruction followed the historic street plan and the surviving photographs, restoring the brick gables and the long market by the 1970s.

— the stone

St. Mary's Church, the Bazylika Mariacka, is the largest brick church in Europe, holding up to 25,000 people beneath its vaults. Construction began in 1379 and continued for 160 years. Its bell tower rises 78 metres above the city. The Crane on the Motława, built in the fifteenth century, is the largest preserved medieval port crane in Europe; the lifting wheels were turned by men walking inside them. The Golden Gate and Neptune's Fountain, completed in 1633, frame opposite ends of the Long Market.

— the year

The harbour shaped the city's history more than any other element. The Hanseatic trade carried grain, amber, and timber west to Bruges and London. On 1 September 1939, the German battleship Schleswig-Holstein opened fire on the Polish garrison at Westerplatte, beginning the Second World War. Forty-one years later, in August 1980, shipyard workers led by Lech Wałęsa signed the Gdańsk Agreement and founded Solidarność, the trade union that loosened the Eastern Bloc.

— where
Poland · Gdańsk, Pomeranian Voivodeship
— elevation
5 m · 16 ft
— position
54.3520° N · 18.6466° E
— the neighborhood

What's nearby.

A handful of named places within an hour's walk or short drive. Some we've already painted; some we will.
7 km N
Westerplatte
wartime memorial
at the lake
St. Mary's Church
brick basilica
at the lake
Mariacka Street
amber street
at the lake
Long Market
civic plaza
12 km NW
Sopot
Baltic resort
2 km N
European Solidarity Centre
museum
9 km NW
Oliwa Cathedral
Gothic cathedral
N
Gdańsk
Westerplatte
St. Mary's Church
Mariacka Street
Long Market
Sopot
European Solidarity Centre
Oliwa Cathedral
— common questions

What people ask.

A few questions we get about Gdańsk — and about bringing the piece home.
— about the place

Gdańsk sits at the mouth of the Motława River on Poland's Baltic coast, in the Pomeranian Voivodeship. It anchors the Tricity metropolitan area with neighbouring Sopot and Gdynia, holding about 1.5 million residents together.

Gdańsk joined the Hanseatic League in 1361, the medieval trading confederation of northern European ports. The League carried grain, amber, and timber across the Baltic and North Sea, and shaped the city's tall brick warehouses and merchant houses.

On 1 September 1939, the German battleship Schleswig-Holstein opened fire on Polish soldiers at Westerplatte, beginning the Second World War. The garrison held out for a week. The Old Town was largely destroyed by the end of the war.

Solidarność, or Solidarity, was the independent trade union founded in 1980 at the Gdańsk Shipyard under Lech Wałęsa. Its strikes and negotiated agreement marked the first crack in Soviet control of Eastern Europe and led to the elections of 1989.

The Żuraw, built in the mid-fifteenth century, is the largest preserved medieval port crane in Europe. Two wooden wheels powered the lifting mechanism; men walked inside them to raise cargo. It now sits as part of the National Maritime Museum.

The Baltic coast holds the world's largest deposits of amber, washed onto the beach after winter storms. Mariacka Street has sold worked amber since at least the seventeenth century; the city remains the European centre of the trade.

— about the piece in your home

Often. Gdańszczanie recognise the gables of the Long Market and the silhouette of the Crane quickly. A Medium with a handwritten note from the studio carries well to a former resident or a returning traveller.

Brick reds, deep ambers, and slate blues. The piece reads at home in rooms with warm wood, leather, and brass — European-traditional, Hanseatic-modern, or layered maximalist interiors. A single Large anchors above a wooden console or a desk.

Yes. The renewed interest in Old-World European interiors and warm-historic palettes runs through recent design press. A Mural of the Long Market reads as a considered architectural reference rather than a souvenir, useful in studies and dining rooms.

A single Large fits most sofas. A four-tile Mural fills a wider wall, and a nine-tile Mural carries a sectional or a long dining wall. The Medium reads quietly above a console or in an entry.

Yes. The Dura Satin and Matte finishes resist steam, splatter, and scratching, and are made for backsplashes and shower walls. Reserve the Glossy finish for dry interior walls and framed displays.

Microfibre cloth and water. Skip abrasive pads, acidic cleaners, and solvents — they are unnecessary and can dull the surface over time. The colour lives inside the ceramic, so no polish or sealant is required.

Yes. Reid Wender curates every WenderVista piece and the studio finishes each tile in Knoxville, Tennessee. The work is not licensed from any third party. Each piece carries the studio mark on the reverse.

— if this one stayed with you

A few you might also love.

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