Danzig banknotes: 500 Gulden 1924 Bank von Danzig
Obverse: Great Armory or Great Arsenal - Danzig / Gdansk. Coat of arms of Free City of Danzig.
Reverse: Bank von Danzig Fünf Hundert Gulden; Neptune’s Fountain in Danzig (Gdansk), located in the center of Dlugi Targ, also known as The Long Market. Starting its living as a bronze statue in 1549; it was made into a fountain in 1633.
Danzig banknotes - Danzig paper money
Danzig 500 Gulden 1924 Danzig 1000 Gulden 1924
Great Armory or Great Arsenal - Danzig / Gdansk
A 17th c. Great Arsenal (Wielka Zbrojownia), aka Great Armoury, is the most representative example of Mannerist architecture in Gdansk - was probably created between 1600 and 1609, inspired by Vleeshal, the meat-hall in Haarlem, the Netherlands. Since its erection, the Arsenal served as a weapon magazine, however not just an ordinary one. The architect, probably Anthony van Obbergen, designed a richly decorated, red brick-and-sandstone facade, with gold ornaments that gives the impression as if the Arsenal comprised of four minor buildings. The facade facing the Wood Market is decorated by four gables, towards ul. Piwna the arsenal has two gables with two lateral towers. There is a well at this end which was connected to the arsenal in the cellar. On the left and right there are two portals with the Gdansk coat of arms as it can be found on the other side of the façade. The dominant element of the façade is the alcove with the sculpture of Athena. The top of the gables are decorated with bronze sculptures of exploding cannon balls. In 1923 the ground floor was converted into a passage connecting the Coal Market with the Main Town. The inside of this unique magazine included a collection of weapons, armours and harnesses, as well as pieces of art, until the end of 18th c. In 1920's the building was demilitarized and a trade hall was opened on the ground floor. During WW II, the Great Arsenal building was burned (in 1945), and then meticulously rebuilt. The ground floor was used as a shopping mall until 2007, and the upper was handed over to the Academy of Fine Arts.