Page "Sopot" Paragraph 27

Sopot recovered rapidly after the war.

A tramway line to Gdańsk was opened, as well as the Higher School of Music, the Higher School of Maritime Trade, a library, and an art gallery.

During the city presidency of Jan Kapusta ) the town opened an annual Arts Festival in 1948.

In 1952 the tramways were replaced by a heavy-rail commuter line connecting Gdańsk, Sopot and Gdynia.

Although in 1954 the Higher School of Arts was moved to Gdańsk, Sopot remained an important centre of culture, and in 1956 the first Polish jazz festival was held there ( until then jazz had been banned by the Communist authorities ).

This was the forerunner of the continuing yearly Jazz Jamboree in Warsaw.