Name of the district
Oliwa is one of the most beautiful and oldest districts in Gdańsk. The district was named by the
Cistercians who came to this land. The olive tree was an important religious symbol for them as it was
associated with the figure of Jesus Christ.
The Cistercian Abbey, with the longest church in Poland, surrounded by a park with many rare tree
species, is Oliwa's biggest attraction.
Oliwa Park
Adam Mickiewicz Park is undoubtedly the largest and most beautiful park in the Tricity. It was laid out
according to the design of gardener Hentschal, and the contractor was Kazimierz Dębiński (creator of,
among others, the gardens at Izabela Czartoryska-Lubomirska's estate in Wilanów).
Particularly noteworthy is the French section with its grassy carpet with patterns of low-formed cut
boxwood, decorated in the corners with cones of cut yews. The biggest surprise is a row of pruned linden
trees about 15 metres high forming a 112-metre-long avenue, turning towards the east into two branches
running on either side of a long canal. The illusion has been created here that perhaps 2km away, it begins
just beyond the garden. The Cistercian monks called this avenue the ‘Road to Freedom’.
In the palm house, built in the 13th century, with exotic plants and an almost 180-year-old date palm (the
oldest in Poland), a large collection of orchids and succulents impresses.
Preserved in the nearby slopes of the artificial terrain elevation are the 18th-century whispering grottoes,
which are acoustic shells placed perfectly opposite each other. When two people stand in two grottoes
with their backs to each other, they can communicate with each other in whispers.
Closer to the cathedral and the Abbots' Palace, there is a more extensive part of the park created at the end
of the 18th century in the English style. The establishment is the work of the Berlin gardener Salzman. It
resembles a wild garden. Only two wooded hills and a large L-shaped pond, through which the Oliwa
stream flows, have survived from the former elements. At its outlet, there is a cascade falling noiselessly
over boulders, known as the Tri-City Niagara. The place is popular especially with children, who on hot
summer days jump from stone to stone or soak their feet in the stream.
Every year, the park hosts many interesting events. The most popular of these are Parking and the
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Music Festival - Mozartiana. For several years, Oliwa Park has also been
popular in winter, due to its beautiful illuminations.
