(in German, DANZIG), the principal port and commercial city of Prussia, province of Prussia Proper, and capital of a cognominal government, lies on the left bank of the Vistula, about four miles from its mouth. N. Lat. 54° 20′; E. Long. 18° 38′. Population in 1849, including military, 63,917; of whom 2369 were Jews, 13,339 Catholics, and 47,723 Protestants. Ramps, bastions, and wet ditches, which have been vastly strengthened since the war, and gigantic works for laying the country under water, have done what fortifications can to make Dantzig impregnable.

Its modern name, according to Malte-Brun, is derived from Dansk Vik, which means Danish port or gulf; a Danish colony having at one time established itself in this advantageous position. In consequence of a war against Waldemar I., king of Denmark, Dantzig, as well as the province in which it is situated, was subjected by turns to the Danes, the Swedes, the Pomeranians and to the Teutonic Knights; but its name (in Polish Gdansz, and in Latin Gedanum) scarcely appears in history before the tenth century. It was held for a considerable period by the knights of the Teutonic Order, under whom the present cathedral was founded. Upon shaking off their yoke in 1454 it became a free city, and was a principal member of the Hanseatic League. More than one attempt was afterwards made by the Poles to take possession of the city. In repelling these attacks such important aid was rendered by a number of Scotch residents, whose ancestors had settled in the place as weavers, that they were invested with the privileges of freemen, and the district where they resided still bears the name of Schottland.

In 1792 Dantzig, feeling itself pressed on all sides by Prussia, which was continually encroaching, attempted to resist; but being abandoned by Poland it could not sustain the struggle, and in virtue of a convention, signed 8th March 1793, the Prussians took military possession of the town.

Again, during the war between France and Prussia it Dantzig was besieged and taken by the French under Marshal Lefebvre in 1807.

At the peace of Tilsit, Dantzig was placed under the triple protection of France, Russia, and Saxony, and declared a free town with a territory of two leagues beyond. But being in reality completely under the power of France, its independence was a mere name, and its prosperity declined. After the retreat of the French from Moscow, in February 1814, Dantzig again fell under the power of Prussia, and is now incorporated with that kingdom.

The city is traversed by the small river Motlau. On approaching it by land, lines of horse-chestnuts on each side of the road give a pleasing appearance to the suburbs in summer, and numerous country houses suggest ideas of citizen comfort and opulence, which, however, are not justified by the appearance of the interior. The town consists of narrow streets, and quaint melancholy-looking dwellings, with few remarkable public buildings except the cathedral church of St Mary, which was finished in 1503, and in which is a celebrated picture of the Last Judgment, attributed to Van Eyck. The town-house, arsenal, and exchange, also deserve notice.

There are 29 places of public worship, with several monasteries and convents. Dantzig likewise has a gymnasium and 31 public schools, with a variety of literary, scientific, and charitable institutions.

Dantzig is the seat of the courts of government, a council of admiralty, and a tribunal of commerce. It contains a vast number of distilleries and breweries, and flour-mills, dye-works, sugar refineries, &c. Next to St Petersburg, Dantzig is the most important commercial city in the north of Europe, and is, after Odessa, at the head of all the corn shipping ports of the world. The Vistula, with its important tributaries the Bug, the Narow, &c., give it the command of an extensive internal navigation, rendering it the entrepot for the products of West Prussia, Poland, and part of Lithuania. The quality of the Dantzig wheat is for the most part excellent; the rye is also very superior; but the exports of barley and oats are comparatively inconsiderable. Next to grain, timber is the most important article of export, but the supply is said to be diminishing, and the quality inferior to what it was formerly. The other exports are salt pork, black beer, ashes, lincseed, &c. The principal imports are cotton, coffee, coals, herrings, iron and steel ware, lead, sugar, salt, &c. The exports in 1851 amounted to L.1,145,924, and the imports to L.611,486.

The usual depth of water at the river's mouth is from 13 to 14 feet, but in the roads there is good anchorage for ships of any burden. The greater part of the trade is in the hands of foreigners, particularly the English.

(G. Loschin, Geschichte Danzigs; Dantzig, 1822. McCulloch's Commercial Dictionary, 1854. Milner, The Baltic, its Gates, Shores, and Cities, 1854, &c.)