Miasto pomniejszone. Szkic do portretu Elbląga

This article seeks to present the contemporary condition of Elbląg, a city in northern Poland, from the vantage point of accumulated city biographies, urbanology, urban studies and knowledge of port cities. Rather than a chronologically organised historical account, the text is the first socio-cultural and problem-oriented study for a more thorough biography. Elbląg’s questioning of the administrative classifications of urban areas into large, medium-sized or small, emerges as the leitmotif of this analysis. Despite meeting the urban and geographical criteria of a large city, Elbląg has been classified by the Polish Ministry of Development Funds and Regional Policy as a medium-sized city, while issues related to its development and image (the socio-economic stagnation and infrastructural neglect manifested through a variety of social, cultural and spatial factors) seem to place it in the category of small towns. In 1999, Elbląg lost its status as a capital city of the Elbląg Voivodeship (province). The preceding political and economic transformation posed a particular challenge for the city’s community. Given its return to the Baltic Sea and port traditions as a result of a new shipping canal providing access to the open sea, Elbląg requires a more complete definition of its identity and the role the maritime element should play in this process. The author highlights the need for Elbląg’s ‘re-harbouring’, albeit as a city with a medium-sized port at most, based on the construction of a waterway connecting the Gulf of Gdańsk with the Vistula Lagoon. Perceived as controversial, the investment attracts many comments, most of which tend to disregard the actual situation and the needs of Elbląg and the entire region.