GDYNIA MODERNIST CITY CENTRE is the official candidate of the Republic of Poland for inscription on the UNESCO World Heritage List. In mid-January 2026, the final stage of preparing clarifications and supplements to the nomination documentation was completed. This documentation will serve as the basis for the final assessment of the nomination.
The nomination was formally submitted in 2023. Two years later, during the 47th session of the UNESCO World Heritage Committee in Paris, Poland presented its candidacy. The ICOMOS Evaluation concluded that the nominated property demonstrates Outstanding Universal Value (OUV) – recognizing it as a unique, globally significant example of a Modernist City Centre. The ICOMOS experts also requested additional information, a standard step given the extensive area of the nomination. This recommendation was accepted by both the World Heritage Committee and the State Party. The General Conservator of Monuments declared Poland's commitment to submit the supplementary documentation by the deadline of 1 February 2026, enabling Gdynia's candidacy to be re-examined by the World Heritage Committee at its next session in 2026.
The recommendations from the 47th session concern detailed issues related to the management and protection systems for Gdynia Modernist City Centre. Over the past months, responses were prepared by a team from the Gdynia City Monument Conservator's Office, in collaboration with the International Cooperation Department of Gdynia City Hall and the Spatial Planning Office. The documentation was verified against the Operational Guidelines for the Implementation of the World Heritage Convention by experts from the National Heritage Institute, with the participation of the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage's Department of Monument Protection. On 20 January 2026, the complete set of materials was submitted by the City Monument Conservator's Office to the Ministry's Department of Monument Protection for forwarding to the UNESCO World Heritage Centre in Paris.
The positive assessment of the property's value, condition, and protection, received last year, is grounds for optimism. It suggests that the Gdynia Modernist City Centre has a strong chance of being inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List during the 48th session of the Committee, scheduled for July 2026 in Busan, South Korea.
Such a decision would be a major success, crowning over 20 years of consistent efforts in Gdynia in protecting, revitalizing, and promoting its heritage. It would also constitute a recognition of the universal value of a great achievement of reborn Poland: the construction of Gdynia.
The nomination was formally submitted in 2023. Two years later, during the 47th session of the UNESCO World Heritage Committee in Paris, Poland presented its candidacy. The ICOMOS Evaluation concluded that the nominated property demonstrates Outstanding Universal Value (OUV) – recognizing it as a unique, globally significant example of a Modernist City Centre. The ICOMOS experts also requested additional information, a standard step given the extensive area of the nomination. This recommendation was accepted by both the World Heritage Committee and the State Party. The General Conservator of Monuments declared Poland's commitment to submit the supplementary documentation by the deadline of 1 February 2026, enabling Gdynia's candidacy to be re-examined by the World Heritage Committee at its next session in 2026.
The recommendations from the 47th session concern detailed issues related to the management and protection systems for Gdynia Modernist City Centre. Over the past months, responses were prepared by a team from the Gdynia City Monument Conservator's Office, in collaboration with the International Cooperation Department of Gdynia City Hall and the Spatial Planning Office. The documentation was verified against the Operational Guidelines for the Implementation of the World Heritage Convention by experts from the National Heritage Institute, with the participation of the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage's Department of Monument Protection. On 20 January 2026, the complete set of materials was submitted by the City Monument Conservator's Office to the Ministry's Department of Monument Protection for forwarding to the UNESCO World Heritage Centre in Paris.
The positive assessment of the property's value, condition, and protection, received last year, is grounds for optimism. It suggests that the Gdynia Modernist City Centre has a strong chance of being inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List during the 48th session of the Committee, scheduled for July 2026 in Busan, South Korea.
Such a decision would be a major success, crowning over 20 years of consistent efforts in Gdynia in protecting, revitalizing, and promoting its heritage. It would also constitute a recognition of the universal value of a great achievement of reborn Poland: the construction of Gdynia.
photo by Marcin Lipiecki / archival, from the Facebook group "Gdynia w obiektywie" via gdynia.pl