Pomeranian Adventure Tour -- Szc

Pomeranian Adventure Tour -- Szczecin (Stettin)

Szczecin is located on the Oder River, south of the Lagoon of Szczecin and the Bay of Pomerania. The city is situated along the southwestern shore of Dabie Lake, on both sides of the Oder River, and on several large islands between the western and eastern branch of the river. It is the capital city of the West Pomeranian Voivodeship in Poland, and is the seventh largest city in Poland and the largest Polish seaport on the Baltic Sea. It has a population of over 400,000.

East Germanic tribes inhabited the area until about 500 A.D. Later the area became a main center for a small Western Slavic tribe. Mieszko I of Poland, who conquered Pomerania in the years 967-972, took control of the area. He was overthrown by a pagan rebellion around 1005.

In the 12th century, Stetinum became one of the most important and powerful cities of the Baltic Sea south coasts, having some 5,000 inhabitants. In 1121-1122, Stetinum was subjugated by Boleslaw III of Poland who invited the Catholic bishop to baptize the citizens. In the following years, it was subjugated by Wartislaw I, Duke of Pomerania.

In the second half of the 12th century, a group of German tradesmen from various parts of the Holy Roman Empire settled in the area. For centuries, the dukes, who were oriented to the west, invited West and Central German settlers to colonize Pomeranian wastelands and to found villages. By the mid-13th century the major ethnic group in the city had become German and the Slavic population decreased. By the 1630s, the city and surrounding area that hadn't already been German had become completely Germanized.

Sweden took control of the area after the Peace of Westphalia in 1648, and in 1720, after the Great Northern War, the Swedes were forced to cede the city to King Frederick William I of Prussia. Stettin developed into a major Prussian city and became part of the Prussian led German Empire in 1871. In 1939, Stettin had about 400,000 inhabitants. It was Germany's third-largest seaport after Hamburg and Bremen, and was of great importance for the supply and trade of Berlin.

In 1935, the German Wehrmacht made Stettin the headquarters for Wehrkreis II, which controlled the military units in all of Mecklenburg and Pomerania. During the invasion of Poland, which started World War II in 1939, Stettin was the base for the German 2nd Motorized Infantry Division, which cut across the Polish Corridor. Allied air raids in 1944 and heavy fighting between the German and Soviet armies destroyed 65% of Stettin's buildings and almost all of the city center, seaport and industries.

Stettin remained German until May 1945, when the Soviet army seized the city. The following month the city was handed over to Polish administration. Most of Pomerania, including all of Stettin and the mouth of the Oder River, were eventually given to Poland after the war. The city's German population was expelled. Stettin was resettled with Poles, most of whom came from around Poznan and from Polish areas annexed by the Soviet Union, where their homes had been destroyed during the German occupation and during fighting on the Eastern Front. This settlement process was coordinated by the city of Poznan, and Stettin's name was changed to the Polish name Szczecin.

The new citizens rebuilt and extended the city's industry and industrial areas, as well as its cultural heritage despite communist opposition. The city has become a major industrial center for Poland, as well as an important seaport for Poland.

The city witnessed anti-communist revolts in 1970 and 1980 and participated in the growth of the Solidarity movement during the 1980s. Since 1999 Szczecin has been the capital of the Western Pomeranian Voivodeship in Poland.

The architectural style is influenced by those of the last half of the 19th century and early 20th century. Urban planning is patterned after that of Paris. There is an abundance of green areas, parks, wide streets with trees, and roundabouts.

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