Jean Georg Haffner

Johann Georg Haffner, Jean George Haffner (* 1777 in Colmar, † April 20, 1830 in Danzig) was a native of Alsace and physician regarded as the founder of the seaside resort Sopot near Gdansk.

Johann Georg Haffner came in 1808 with the Grande Armee of Napoleon Bonaparte in the former Free City of Danzig and was stationed in the local French garrison as a surgeon with the rank of Major. In Danzig in 1808 he married Regina Karoline Bruns, widow of Johann Christoph Böttcher. Since 1811 he has worked in Danzig as freely practicing general practitioners. He ran alongside a bathhouse. Part-time also he led by vaccination against cowpox. When the French army in 1814 left the region, Haffner remained in Gdansk.

At his request, Haffner received in 1823 by the Prussian government approval and the exclusive right to build in Sopot, a bathhouse with Kurbetrieb and allowed to operate. The personnel required for implementation of this project site on the beach was left to him on a long lease. He then built on the premises at their own expense as a health resort and a number of bathing stalls. With this pioneering work he laid the foundation for the later development of Sopot as a fashionable seaside resort and spa town with international flair.