The Baltic Sea and Global Currents: 400 Years After the Battle of Oliwa. Maritime Expansion, Domination, and Water Spaces in a Globalizing World
From 9 to 11 September 2026, our international conference “The Baltic Sea and Global Currents: 400 Years After the Battle of Oliwa. Maritime Expansion, Domination, and Water Spaces in a Globalizing World” took place at the University of Gdańsk. The event marked the beginning of the University’s commemorations of the naval Battle of Oliwa, the 400th anniversary of which will fall in 2027. The battle, fought on 28 November 1627, ended in a Polish victory over Swedish forces. Historically, it has become a founding symbol of the Polish Navy.
The conference was officially opened in the Senate Hall of the University of Gdańsk Library by His Magnificence the Rector of the University of Gdańsk, Professor Piotr Stepnowski. The keynote lecture was delivered by Professor Johan Rönnby, Director of the Maritime Archaeological Research Institute (MARIS) at Södertörn University in Sweden. His lecture explored the development of ship types and construction techniques during the Late Middle Ages and the early modern period.
Over the course of the three-day conference, held at the University of Gdańsk Library on the first two days and at the National Maritime Museum on the third, a total of 32 papers were presented. The presentations examined historical maritime expansion from a global perspective, extending well beyond the Baltic Sea region. Speakers included guests from Sweden, Finland, the Canary Islands, the Balearic Islands, Hungary, Ireland, the United
Kingdom, Brazil, the United States, and Poland.
The Port of Gdańsk was the conference’s main partner.
The conference was held under the honorary patronage of His Magnificence Professor Piotr Stepnowski, Rector of the University of Gdańsk, and Aleksandra Dulkiewicz, Mayor of Gdańsk.
The conference was organised by the Faculty of History of the University of Gdańsk, the Institute of History of the Polish Academy of Sciences, the National Maritime Museum in Gdańsk, the University of Gdańsk Library, and the University of Gdańsk Centre for Memling Studies.
CONFERENCE ORGANISING COMMITTEE
Professor Beata Możejko – Faculty of History and Centre for Memling Studies, University of Gdańsk
Dr Agata Błoch – Institute of History, Polish Academy of Sciences, Warsaw
Dr Tomasz Bednarz – Faculty of History, University of Gdańsk, and National Maritime Museum in Gdańsk
Dr hab. Arkadiusz Janicki, Professor at UG – Dean of the Faculty of History, University of Gdańsk
Dr hab. Arnold Kłonczyński, Professor at UG – Director of the University of Gdańsk Library
Szymon Kulas – Director of the National Maritime Museum in Gdańsk
Dr Marcin Westphal – Deputy Director of the National Maritime Museum in Gdańsk
Karolina Prykowska – Doctoral researcher at the Doctoral School of the Faculty of History, University of Gdańsk; Conference Secretary
Eduardo Sartoretto – Doctoral researcher at the Anthropos Doctoral School, Institute of History, Polish Academy of Sciences, Warsaw; Conference Secretary
Photographs: Monika Nagórska / Faculty of History, University of Gdańsk
Poster design: Jan Rutka
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