Old Port Crane

The Old Port Crane in Gdansk stands out with its two massive, rounded wooden towers that lean slightly inward, looming over the Motlawa River. It is the largest medieval crane in Europe. During the fifteen hundreds, workers used a massive internal wooden treadwheel to lift heavy cargo and hoist masts onto ships. The structure also served as a defensive city gate. When the Soviet army entered the city in nineteen forty-five, the wooden upper portion of the crane burned entirely away.