A chance for the poor or for the rich? The development of land annexed to towns in the pre-industrial era. Exemplified with Gdańsk

Abstract

The issue of developing peripheral areas of towns is rarely researched. The example of Gdańsk shows that annexing such areas usually required adjusting them to habitation, since they were often marshlands that had to be dried and raised, or they had old fortifications that had to be levelled. In the 2nd half of the 14th c. the level of the ground next to the Motława was raised and new streets were delineated along the river. The area was inhabited by artisans whose trade required access to water or who worked for the port. There are, however, data that suggest that richer citizens also invested there by buying large plots and then dividing them into smaller ones to be rented out. Adjusting land for habitation was largely the responsibility of those who took over the building plots. Due to difficult natural conditions rents for new plots in such areas were not high. Thus, the new inhabitants were usually poor; they built their houses and outbuildings of cheap materials, making them light constructions fitted to the unstable ground. In spite of that, new buildings were often damaged soon because of the settling of the damp soil. Their inhabitants were not able to cover the costs of frequent renovations and restructuring, and soon started to appeal to the municipal authorities for reducing rents. In some quarters (e.g. the Lower Town) they managed to obtain a reduction by ¼. Other problems faced by new inhabitants were periodical flooding with sewage, caused by the inefficient disposal system, and difficulties with water supply. Apart from the poor, for whom a rented plot was a chance of improving their living conditions, the ground was also interesting for the rich, who built tenement houses with flats to let. Others, especially at the turn of the 19th c., bought larger plots to build elegant residences, which created enclaves of luxury among the surrounding poverty.