Editing Gdynia (section)

===Early history===
[[File:Saint Michael Archangel church in Gdynia (7).jpg|left|thumb|Medieval St. Michael Archangel Church is the oldest building in Gdynia]]
The area of the later city of Gdynia shared its history with [[Pomerelia]] (Eastern Pomerania). In prehistoric times, it was the center of [[Oksywie culture]]; it was later populated by [[Lechites]] with minor [[Baltic Prussian]] influences. In the late 10th century, the region was united with the emerging state of Poland<ref>André Vauchez, Richard Barrie Dobson, Adrian Walford, Michael Lapidge, ''Encyclopedia of the Middle Ages'', Routledge, 2000, p.: 1163, {{ISBN|978-1-57958-282-1}} [https://books.google.com/books?id=om4olQhrE84C&dq=Gdansk+medieval+Pomerania&pg=PA1164 link]</ref> by its first historic ruler [[Mieszko I]]. During the reign of [[Bolesław II the Bold|Bolesław II]], the region seceded from Poland and became independent, to be reunited with Poland in 1116/1121 by [[Bolesław III Wrymouth|Bolesław III]].<ref>James Minahan, One Europe, Many Nations: A Historical Dictionary of European National Groups, Greenwood Publishing Group, 2000, p.375, {{ISBN|978-0-313-30984-7}}</ref> In 1209, the present-day district of [[Oksywie]] was first mentioned (''Oxhöft''). Following the fragmentation of Poland, the region became part of the Duchy of Pomerania (Eastern), which became separate from Poland in 1227, to be reunited in 1282. The first known mention of the name "Gdynia", as a [[Pomeranians (Slavic tribe)|Pomeranian]] ([[Kashubians|Kashubian]]) fishing village dates back to 1253. The first church on this part of the Baltic Sea coast was built there. In 1309–1310, the [[Teutonic Order]] invaded and annexed the region from Poland. In 1380, the owner of the village which became Gdynia, Peter from [[Rusocin, Pomeranian Voivodeship|Rusocin]], gave the village to the [[Cistercian]] Order. In 1382, Gdynia became property of the Cistercian [[Oliwa Abbey|abbey]] in [[Oliwa]]. In 1454, King [[Casimir IV Jagiellon]] signed the act of reincorporation of the region to the [[Crown of the Kingdom of Poland|Kingdom of Poland]], and the [[Thirteen Years' War (1454–66)|Thirteen Years' War]], the longest of all Polish-Teutonic wars, started. It ended in 1466, when the Teutonic Knights recognized the region as part of Poland. Administratively, Gdynia was located in the [[Pomeranian Voivodeship (1466–1772)|Pomeranian Voivodeship]] in the province of [[Royal Prussia]]<ref>Daniel Stone,''A History of East Central Europe'', University of Washington Press, 2001, p. 30, {{ISBN|978-0-295-98093-5}} [https://books.google.com/books?id=LFgB_l4SdHAC&dq=%22Royal+prussia%22+Poland+1466+Elbl%C4%85g&pg=PA30 Google Books] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230414150351/https://books.google.com/books?id=LFgB_l4SdHAC&dq=%22Royal+prussia%22+Poland+1466+Elbl%C4%85g&pg=PA30 |date=14 April 2023 }}</ref> in the [[Greater Poland Province, Crown of the Kingdom of Poland|Greater Poland Province]] of the Kingdom of Poland and later of the [[Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth]]. The present-day neighbourhood of Kolibki was the location of the Kolibki estate, purchased by King [[John III Sobieski]] in 1685.

In 1772, Gdynia was annexed by the [[Kingdom of Prussia]] in the [[First Partition of Poland]]. Gdynia, under the Germanized name ''Gdingen'', was included within the newly formed province of [[West Prussia]] and was expropriated from the Cistercian Order. In 1789, there were only 21 houses in Gdynia. Around that time Gdynia was so small that it was not marked on many maps of the period: it was about halfway from Oksywie and Mały Kack, now districts of Gdynia. In 1871, the village became part of the [[German Empire]]. In the early 20th century Gdynia was not a poor fishing village as it is sometimes described; it had become a popular tourist spot with several guest houses, restaurants, cafés, several brick houses and a small harbour with a pier for small trading ships. The first [[Kashubians|Kashubian]] mayor was Jan Radtke.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Map of Danzig and around in 1899, showing Gdingen |url=http://schwertfamily.net/maps/map_west_und_ostpreussen_1899.jpg |access-date=15 July 2018 |archive-date=26 January 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210126122724/https://schwertfamily.net/maps/map_west_und_ostpreussen_1899.jpg |url-status=live }}</ref> It is estimated that around 1910 the population of Gdynia was 895 people.<ref>[https://rcin.org.pl/Content/47399/PDF/WA51_50580_r1956-z5_Dokumentacja-Geogr.pdf A. Jelonek (red.), ''Dokumentacja geograficzna. Liczba ludności miast i osiedli w Polsce 1810-1955'', Warsaw 1956] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211226084625/https://rcin.org.pl/Content/47399/PDF/WA51_50580_r1956-z5_Dokumentacja-Geogr.pdf |date=26 December 2021 }}, p. 28</ref>

Following [[World War I]], in 1918, Poland regained independence, and following the [[Treaty of Versailles]], in 1920, Gdynia was re-integrated with the reborn Polish state. Simultaneously, the nearby city of Gdańsk (''Danzig'') and surrounding area was declared a [[Free City of Danzig|free city]] and put under the [[League of Nations]], though Poland was given economic liberties and requisitioned for matters of foreign representation.