The History of Gdansk museum calls the impressive Main Town Hall home, a Gothic-Renaissance structure originally built in the 14th century and painstakingly repaired following World War II. Inside visitors immediately see the ornate Great Council Hall and Red Hall, the latter of which features an impressively-sized fireplace and lavish ceilings paintings, including The Glorification of the Unity of Gdansk. Subsequent rooms feature vintage 16th and 17th furniture and a sampling of the museum’s 600 silver pieces, which highlight Gdansk’s silversmithing era. The top floor of the museum features a delightful exhibit showcasing what life was like in everyday Gdansk right before the war – visitors get a glimpse into the homes and businesses of residents and see a period in time that was about to come to an abrupt end. The stairwell back to the main floor shows what happened to that lifestyle via stunning photographs of the complete levelling of the city at the hands of the Red Army. In between the old council chambers and the exhibition showing pre-war Gdansk is where temporary exhibitions are held. This area was closed as we went to press but we’re promised that come May 25 the entire museum will be open to the public again with an exhibition celebrating sport and the achievements of local sportspeople running until September 30.