Poland - Gdansk - Shipbuilder welds a German ferry's hull

With orange sparks falling away below, a shipbuilder welds while standing on a scaffolding gantry on the hull of a large German ferry at the Polish Gdansk shipyard - once known as the Lenin Shipyard but still the largest of its kind in modern Poland. The grimy and hazardous working conditions make for a dangerous environment in which to work and the worker wears a protective hood on his head. Here in 1980 the union Solidarity (Solidarnosc) was conceived and was partly responsible for a growing dissent against Communist rule, ultimately contributing towards the fall of the Berlin Wall. Lech Walesa started his political career as an electrical technician here, going on to lead Solidarity and then to become President of a democratic Poland. Today Gdansk is a major industrial city and shipping port.

Add to Cart Add to Lightbox Download

Filename: gdansk_shipyard11-03-09-2007_1.jpg
Copyright: Richard Baker
Image Size: 3031x1979 / 607.3KB; http://www.bakerpictures.com; workplace workers work welding vessel union transportation sparks skill shipping shipbuilding ship scale poland largest industry industrial hull hazardous hazard gdansk environment dissent construction communist communism carrying carry building born Solidarnosc Solidarity Richard Baker Photographer Lech Walesa Poland Polished Eastern Europe EU European Europe bankruptcy uncertain future workforce jobs pay prospects skills trade manual labour labour labor historical bithplace business Gdansk shipyard Danzig seaport port seafaring tradition traditional famous renowned anti-communist strikes politics finance economy employer employees engineering health and safety job grimey dirty old dated old technology bygone era heritage Pomerania ferry transport scaffolding giant lettering perspective vast employment ship-building Polish huge grimy gantry worker opportunity career
Contained in galleries: Richard Baker - All pics

With orange sparks falling away below, a shipbuilder welds while standing on a scaffolding gantry on the hull of a large German ferry at the Polish Gdansk shipyard - once known as the Lenin Shipyard but still the largest of its kind in modern Poland. The grimy and hazardous working conditions make for a dangerous environment in which to work and the worker wears a protective hood on his head. Here in 1980 the union Solidarity (Solidarnosc) was conceived and was partly responsible for a growing dissent against Communist rule, ultimately contributing towards the fall of the Berlin Wall. Lech Walesa started his political career as an electrical technician here, going on to lead Solidarity and then to become President of a democratic Poland. Today Gdansk is a major industrial city and shipping port.