Szczecin
Szczecin city on the border.
Szczecin is a city situated in the north-west of Poland, where the river Odra meets the Baltic Sea (through Szczecin Bay). Is the capital city of West Pomeranian Voivodeship. It is the country's seventh-largest city and the largest seaport in Poland on the Baltic Sea. As of the 2005 census the city had a total population of 420,638. The most likely origin of the name is considered to be the Polish words Szczyt or Szczec-the first being the name of hill peak, the second being description of grass
For centuries this location has been the junction for major European transit routes, from the west to the east and from the north, through the Baltic, to the south of Europe. Szczecin is also the capital of a new province, the Western Pomeranian Province. This is the result of the recent reform of the national administration.
History
The place was the main centre of a small Western Slavic tribe living in the fork of the Oder. It is not certain if this tribe belonged to the Pomeranians who lived on the right bank of the Oder, or to the Polabians or Veleti who lived on the left bank of the Oder. It is also possible that Stetinum was controlled in some manner by both tribes. It is very likely that Mieszko I who conquered Pomerania in the years 967–972, also took control of Stetinum and Wolin. Piast rule in Stetinum was overthrown by a pagan rebellion around 1005. For most of this time, the Pomeranians kept their pagan Baltic faith. After the decline of Wolin 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.
Oder River in Szczecin
In the second half of the 12th century, a group of German tradesmen (from various parts of the Holy Roman Empire) settled in the city around St. Jacob's Church, which was founded by Beringer, a trader from Bamberg, and consecrated in 1187.
Also Szczecin joined the Hanseatic League in 1278. Already in the 1300s the city had been German, while the countryside remained partly West Slavic. By the 1630s the city and surrounding area that hadn't been already German had become completely Germanized.
At this time the city was one of the most powerful ports and trade centers on the Baltic. In the XVII century, after the termination of the line of descent of the Pomeranian dukes, the strategic location of Szczecin became the cause of numerous armed interventions from adjoining nations - Denmark, Sweden, Brandenburg and Germany. At the end of the XIX century the city experienced a period of particularly dynamic economic development, as capital flowed in from all over Europe. The port, maritime economy and cargo transport developed extremely rapidly. After the end of the Second World War, the reconstruction of the destroyed city was taken care of by settlers from all over Poland, who arrived in Szczecin and in the area of Western Pomerania in large numbers. Although the former image of the city changed, its unique character was preserved with the captivating charm of historical, secessionist architecture and the beauty of its lustrous vegetation.
Newest history
Three generations in West Pomerania after World War II: Pomnik Czynu Polaków, Szczecin
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 centre, seaport and industries.
The Soviet Red Army captured the city on April 26, 1945. Many of the city's inhabitants fled before its capture, and Stettin was virtually deserted when it fell. In the following month the city was handed over to Polish administration three times, permanently on July 5, 1945. In the meantime part of the German population had returned, believing it might become part of the Soviet occupation zone in Germany. Stettin is located mostly west of the Oder-Neisse line, which was to be Poland's new border according to the Potsdam Conference. However, most of Pomerania, including all of Stettin and the mouth of the Oder River, was awarded to Poland.
The Polish authorities were led by Piotr Zaremba. Many of the remaining Germans were forced to work in Soviet military camps that were outside of Polish jurisdiction. In the early 1950s, most of Stettin's Germans were expelled from the city, although there was a significant German minority for the next 10 years.
The new citizens of Szczecin rebuilt and extended the city's industry and industrial areas, as well as its cultural heritage, although efforts were hampered by the authorities of Communist Poland. Szczecin became a major industrial centre for Poland, as well as an important seaport for Poland (especially for Silesian coal), Czechoslovakia and East Germany. 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 West Pomeranian Voivodeship.
Szczecin has three shipyards (Stocznia Remontowa Gryfia, Stocznia Pomerania, Stocznia Szczecinska), of which one is the biggest in Poland (Stocznia Szczecinska, which five years ago went bankrupt and was reinstated. It has a fishing industry and a steel mill. It is served by SczecinGoleniow „Solidarnosc” airport and by the Port of Szczecin, third biggest port of Poland. It is also home to several major companies. Among them is the major food producer Drobimex, Polish Steamship Company, producer of construction materials Komfort, Bosman brewery and Cefarm drug factory. It also houses several of the new business firms of the IT branch.