Szczecin

Old photographs and postcards of Stettin

Szczecin tram

Szczecin is a city with a population of around 400,000, situated in the north-west of Poland, where the river Odra meets the Baltic Sea (through Szczecin Bay). For centuries this location has been at the centre of 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 the Western Pomeranian Province.

Szczecin is a city with over a thousand years of tradition and a turbulent history. The city was for many centuries one of the most powerful ports and trade centres in the German world. The past of the City of Szczecin is both multinational and multicultural one. The history of Szczecin began at the turn of 7th and 8th centuries and over time was ruled by the Polish, Prussians, French, Danish and Germans. In April 1945, Szczecin was conquered by the Russian army and a Polish administration took over the town. The German population was then expelled. Their place was taken by settlers from all over Poland and Polish speakers from Lithuania and Ukraine, who arrived in Szczecin and the rest of Western Pomerania in large numbers.

Szczecin has a reputation as a 'green city', and not without reason. There are few cities in Poland so replete with vegetation, water areas, and convenient climatic conditions for residence or tourism. Only an hour's journey by car, rail or waterway divides the residents of Szczecin from well-known seaside resorts: Świnoujście (with its ferry services towards Denmark and Sweden), Międzyzdroje, Dziwnów, and Rewal.

Szczecin and the West Pomerania Province are located in what is one of the most attractive areas of Poland, as far as tourism is concerned. Szczecin is surrounded by a vast forest and 900 or so clear lakes, which are perfect for yachting and other water realted sports. The forest and Szczecin`s vast parks are perfect for walking, hiking, bird watching, and/or mushroom and berry picking.

Polish name: Szczecin

German name: Stettin

Province: Zachodniopomorskie - Western Pomerania

Nearby villages and towns: Banie, Chojna, Goleniow, Gryfino, Kamien Pomorski, Miedzyzdroje, Police, Pyrzyce, Stargard Szczecinski, Swinoujscie, Wolin

Local attractions: museum, St. James' Gothic Cathedral, 17th century historical houses, 11th-century Pomeranian Knights Castle, 14th Century Church, Baroque Palace.

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