Tricity (also called the Treble City, in Polish Trójmiasto) is the metropolitan area consisting of the three Polish cities Gdansk, Gdynia and Sopot. They are situated very close to each other on the coast of the Gdansk Bay, Baltic Sea, in Eastern Pomerania which is in northern Poland.

The Tricity metropolitan area, located in Pomeranian Voivodship, also includes Wejherowo, Reda, Rumia, Tczew, Pruszcz Gdanski and several communities. Total population (2001): 1035,000; area 1332,5 kmē.

Table of contents
1 Population
2 Education
3 Transport

Population

Tricity total (Gdańsk + Gdynia + Sopot)
1960: 481,100 inhabitants (286,900 + 150,200 + 44,000)
1970: 604,800 inhabitants (365,600 + 191,500 + 47,700)
1975: 693,800 inhabitants (421,000 + 221,100 + 51,700)
1980: 744,400 inhabitants (456,700 + 236,400 + 51,300)
2001: 761,000 inhabitants

Education

Tricity is important center of education.

  • Gdansk: Number of universities: 10 (2001) Number of students: 60,436 (2001) Number of graduates: 10,439 (2001)
  • Gdynia: Number of univeristies: 7 (2003) Number of students: 13,362

Transport

Tricity has fairly well developed transport system. In addition, each city has its own transport system. Here is described only the common part of the system.

Development of the Tricity was smoothen by construction of city train (SKM) 1951 that binded the whole area from Tczew by Gdansk, Sopot 1053, Gdynia 1956, Reda, Rumia to Wejherowo 1957.

SKM train map of connections

The backbone of the Tricity is the Inner Highway. It starts in Gdansk and goes through Sopot, Gdynia, Reda and Rumia to Wejherowo. It consists from 2-4 lanes in each direction. Despite the fact, that the traffic is stopped on the lights, it remains the main traffic route in the aglomeration.

In 1975 the were constructed Circle Highway, that starts in Pruszcz Gdanski and goes through Gdansk to Gdynia-Chylonia. The Circle consists from 2 and partly 3 lanes in each direction. Recently the highway was upgraded to the standard of the non-collision highway. The extension of the Circle is planned in the northern part, since it is obvious that the existing highway to Wejherowo will be overcrowded by 2005.

Gdansk Transport system