Szczecin

Szczecin(UK:/ˈʃtʃɛtʃɪn/SHCHETCH-in,US:/-tʃiːn/-⁠een,Polish:[ˈʂt͡ʂɛt͡ɕin];German:Stettin[ʃtɛˈtiːn];Swedish:Stettin[stɛˈtiːn];Latin:SedinumorStetinum)is thecapitaland largest city of theWest Pomeranian Voivodeshipin northwesternPoland. Located near theBaltic Seaand theGerman border, it is a majorseaport, the largest city of northwestern Poland, and seventh-largest city of Poland. As of 31 December 2022,the population was 391,566.
Szczecin is located on theOderRiver, south of theSzczecin Lagoonand theBay of Pomerania. The city is situated along the southwestern shore ofDąbie Lake, on both sides of the Oder and on several large islands between the western and eastern branches of the river. It is also surrounded by dense forests, shrubland andheaths, chiefly theWkrzańska Heathshared with Germany (Ueckermünde) and theSzczecin Landscape Park. Szczecin is adjacent to thetown of Policeand is the urban centre of theSzczecin agglomeration, an extended metropolitan area that includes communities in theGerman statesofBrandenburgandMecklenburg-Western Pomerania.
The city's recorded history dates back over 1,300 years, when diverse tribes and peoples such as theVikingsandLechiteserected strongholds in the vicinity. It subsequently served as the seat of theDukes of Pomeraniaand theHouse of Griffin. In the course of the millennium, Szczecin was part ofPiast Poland,Denmark, theHoly Roman Empire,Sweden,Prussia, Germany and modern-day Poland. The city's architecture and cultural heritage reflects these periods, with excellent examples ofBrick Gothic,Gründerzeit,Neoclassical,socialist realistand contemporary styles. The planned urban landscape was based on theOrion constellation, with avenues, roundabouts and extensive parkland. The city's chief landmarks include theSzczecin Cathedral, theDucal Castle, theNational Museumand theSzczecin Philharmonic.
Szczecin is the administrative and industrial centre of West Pomeranian Voivodeship and is the site of theUniversity of Szczecin,Pomeranian Medical University,Maritime University,West Pomeranian University of Technology,Szczecin Art Academy, and the see of theSzczecin-Kamień Catholic Archdiocese. From 1999 onwards, Szczecin has served as the site of theheadquartersofNATO'sMultinational Corps Northeast. The city was a candidate for theEuropean Capital of Culturein 2016.
SzczecinandStettinare the Polish and German equivalents of the same name, which is ofProto-Slavicorigin, though the exact etymology is the subject of ongoing research.In herEtymological Dictionary of Geographical Names of Poland, Maria Malec lists 11 theories regarding the origin of the name, including derivations from either: an Old Slavic word for 'hill peak' (Polish:szczyt), the plantfuller's teasel(Polish:szczeć), or thepersonal nameSzczota.
Other medieval names for the town areBurstaborg(in theKnytlinga saga)andBurstenburgh(in the Annals of Waldemar).These names, which literally mean 'brush burgh', are likely derived from the translation of the city's Slavic name (assuming the second derivation mentioned above).
The recordedhistory of Szczecinbegan in the eighth century, whenVikingsandWest Slavssettled inPomerania. The West Slavs, orLechites, erected a newstrongholdon the site of themodern castle.Since the 9th century, the stronghold was fortified and expanded toward theOder bank.Mieszko I of Polandtook control ofPomerania during the Early Middle Agesand the region became part of Poland in the 10th century.However, alreadyMieszko II Lambert(1025 ~ 1034) effectively lost control over the area and had to accept German suzerainty over the area of the Oder lagoon.Subsequent Polish rulers, the Holy Roman Empire, and theLiutician federationall aimed to control the territory.
After the decline of the neighbouring regional centreWolinin the 12th century, the city became one of the more important and powerful seaports of the Baltic Sea.
In a campaign in the winter of 1121–1122,Bolesław III Wrymouth, the Duke ofPoland, gained control of the region, including the city of Szczecin and its stronghold.The Polish ruler initiated Christianization, entrusting this task toOtto of Bamberg,and the inhabitants were Christianisedby two missions of Otto in 1124 and 1128.At this time, the first Christian church of Saints Peter and Paul was erected. The Poles' minted coins were commonly used in trade in this period.The population of the city at that time is estimated to be at around 5,000–9,000 people.
Polish rule ended with Boleslaw's death in 1138.During theWendish Crusadein 1147, a contingent led by the German margraveAlbert the Bear, an enemy of Slavic presence in the region,papal legate, bishopAnselm of HavelbergandKonrad of Meissenbesieged the town.There, a Polish contingent supplied byMieszko III the Oldjoined the crusaders.However, the citizens had placed crosses around the fortifications,indicating they already had been Christianised.DukeRatibor IofPomerania, negotiated the disbanding of the crusading forces.
After theBattle of Verchenin 1164, Szczecin dukeBogusław I, Duke of Pomeraniabecame a vassal of the Duchy of Saxony'sHenry the Lion.In 1173, SzczecincastellanWartislaw II, could not resist a Danish attack and became vassal ofDenmark.In 1181, Bogusław became a vassal of the Holy Roman Empire.In 1185, Bogusław again became a Danish vassal.Despite falling under foreign suzerainty, local dukes maintained close ties with the fragmented Polish realm, and future Polish monarchWładysław III Spindleshanksstayed at the local court of Duke Bogusław I in 1186, on behalf of his father, Duke ofGreater PolandMieszko III the Old, who also periodically was theHigh Duke of Poland.Following a conflict between his heirs andCanute VI of Denmark, the settlement was destroyed in 1189,but the fortress was reconstructed and manned with a Danish force in 1190.While the empire restored its superiority over the Duchy of Pomerania in theBattle of Bornhövedin 1227,Szczecin was one of two bridgeheads remaining under Danish control (until 1235;Wolgastuntil 1241/43 or 1250).
In the second half of the 12th century, a group of German tradesmen ("multus populus Teutonicorum"from various parts of the Holy Roman Empire) settled in the city around St.Jacob's Church, which was donated in 1180by Beringer, a trader fromBamberg, and consecrated in 1187.Hohenkrug (now inSzczecin Struga) was the first village in the Duchy of Pomerania that was clearly recorded as German (villa teutonicorum) in 1173.Ostsiedlungaccelerated in Pomerania during the 13th century.DukeBarnim Iof Pomerania granted Szczecin alocal governmentcharter in 1237, separating the German settlement from the Slavic community settled around theSt. NicholasChurch in the neighbourhood of Kessin (Polish:Chyzin). In the charter, the Slavs were put under Germanic jurisdiction.
When Barnim granted SzczecinMagdeburg rightsin 1243, part of the Slavic settlement was reconstructed.The duke had to promise to level the burgh in 1249.Most Slavic inhabitants were resettled to two new suburbs north and south of the town.
In 1249, Barnim I also granted equivalent Magdeburg town privileges to the town of Damm (also known as Altdamm) on the eastern bank of the Oder.Damm merged with neighbouring Szczecin on 15October 1939 and is now theDąbieneighbourhood.This town had been built on the site of a formerPomeranianburg, "Vadam" or "Dambe", which Boleslaw had destroyed during his 1121 campaign.
On 2 December 1261, Barnim I allowed Jewish settlement in Szczecin in accordance with the Magdeburg law, in a privilege renewed in 1308 and 1371.The Jewish Jordan family was granted citizenship in 1325, but none of the 22 Jews allowed to settle in the duchy in 1481 lived in the city, and in 1492, all Jews in the duchy were ordered to convert to Christianity or leave – this order remained effective throughout the rest of the Griffin era.
In 1273, in Szczecin duke ofPoznańand future King of PolandPrzemysł IImarried princessLudgarda, granddaughter ofBarnim I, Duke of Pomerania, in order to strengthen the alliance between the two rulers.
Szczecin was part of the federation ofWendish towns, a predecessor of theHanseatic League, in 1283.The city prospered due to its participation in theBaltic Seatrade, primarily withherring, grain, and timber; craftsmanship also prospered, and more than forty guilds were established in the city.The far-reaching autonomy granted by the House of Griffins was in part reduced when the dukes reclaimed Stettin as their main residence in the late 15th century.The anti-Slavic policies of German merchants and craftsmen intensified in this period, resulting in measures such as bans on people of Slavic descent joiningcraftguilds, a doubling of customs tax for Slavic merchants, and bans against public usage of their native language.The more prosperous Slavic citizens were forcibly stripped of their possessions, which were then handed over to Germans.In 1514, the guild of tailors added aWendenparagraphto its statutes, banning Slavs.
While not as heavily affected by medievalwitchhuntsas other regions of the empire, there are reports of the burning of three women and one man convicted ofwitchcraftin 1538.
In 1570, during the reign ofJohn Frederick, Duke of Pomerania,a congress was held at Stettinending theNorthern Seven Years' War. During the war, Stettin had tended to side withDenmark, whileStralsundtended towardSweden– as a whole, however, the Duchy of Pomerania tried to maintain neutrality.Nevertheless, aLandtagthat had met in Stettin in 1563 introduced a sixfold rise in real estate taxes to finance the raising of a mercenary army for the duchy's defence.Johann Friedrich also succeeded in elevating Stettin to one of only three places allowed tocoin moneyin theUpper Saxon Circleof the Holy Roman Empire, the other two places beingLeipzigandBerlin.Bogislaw XIV, who resided in Stettin beginning in 1620, became the sole ruler and Griffin duke whenPhilipp Julius, Duke of Pomeraniadied in 1625. Before theThirty Years' Warreached Pomerania, the city, as well as the entire duchy, declined economically due to the decrease in importance of the Hanseatic League and a conflict between Stettin andFrankfurt an der Oder.
Following theTreaty of Stettin of 1630, the town (along with most of Pomerania) was allied to and occupied by theSwedish Empire, which managed to keep thewestern parts of Pomeraniaafter the death of BogislawXIV in 1637. From thePeace of Westphaliain 1648, Stettin became the Capital of Swedish Pomerania.Stettin was turned into a major Swedish fortress, which was repeatedly besieged in subsequent wars.The nextTreaty of Stettin (1653)did not change this, but due to the downfall of the Swedish Empire afterCharles XII, the city went toPrussiain 1720.Instead Stralsund became capital of the last remaining parts of Swedish Pomerania 1720–1815.
The city was on the path of Polish forces led byHetmanStefan Czarnieckimoving from Denmark during theSecond Northern War. Czarniecki, who led his forces to the city,is today mentioned in thePolish anthem, and numerous locations in the city honour his name.
Wars inhibited the city's economic prosperity, which had undergone a deep crisis during the devastation of the Thirty Years' War and was further impeded by the new Swedish-Brandenburg-Prussian frontier, cutting Stettin off from its traditionalFarther Pomeranianhinterland.Due to aPlagueduring theGreat Northern War, the city's population dropped from 6,000 people in 1709 to 4,000 in 1711.In 1720, after the Great Northern War, Sweden was forced to cede the city to KingFrederick William I of Prussia. Stettin was made the capital city ofthe Prussian Pomeranian province, since 1815 reorganised as theProvince of Pomerania. In 1816, the city had 26,000 inhabitants.
The Prussian administration deprived the city of its right to administrative autonomy, abolishedguildprivileges as well as its status as a staple town, and subsidised manufacturers.Also, colonists were settled in the city, primarilyFrenchHuguenots.The French established a prosperous community, greatly contributed to the city's economic revival, and were treated with reluctance by the German burghers and city authorities.
In October 1806, during theWar of the Fourth Coalition, believing that he was facing a much larger force, and after receiving a threat of harsh treatment of the city, the Prussian commanderLieutenant General Friedrich von Rombergagreed tosurrender the cityto the French led byGeneral Lasalle.In fact, Lasalle had only 800 men against vonRomberg's 5,300 men. In March 1809 Romberg was convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment for giving up Stettin without a fight. In 1809, also Polish troops were stationed in the city, while the French remained until 1813.
From 1683 to 1812, one Jew was permitted to reside in Stettin, and an additional Jew was allowed to spend a night in the city in case of "urgent business".These permissions were repeatedly withdrawn between 1691 and 1716, also between 1726 and 1730 although else the Swedish regulation was continued by the Prussian administration.Only after thePrussian Edict of Emancipationof 11March 1812, which granted Prussian citizenship to all Jews living in the kingdom, did a Jewish community emerge in Stettin, with the first Jews settling in the town in 1814.Construction of a synagogue started in 1834; the community also owned a religious and a secular school, an orphanage since 1855, and a retirement home since 1893.The Jewish community had between 1,000 and 1,200 members by 1873 and between 2,800 and 3,000 members by 1927–28.These numbers dropped to 2,701 in 1930 and to 2,322 in late 1934.
After theFranco Prussian war of 1870–1871, 1,700 FrenchPOWswere imprisoned there in deplorable conditions, resulting in the deaths of 600;after the Second World War monuments in their memory were built by the Polish authorities.
Until 1873, Stettin remained a fortress.When part of the defensive structures were levelled, a new neighbourhood,Neustadt("New Town") as well as water pipes,sewerageand drainage, and gas works were built to meet the demands of the growing population.
Stettin developed into a major Prussian port and became part of theGerman Empirein 1871. While most of the province retained its agrarian character, Stettin wasindustrialised, and its population rose from 27,000 in 1813 to 210,000 in 1900 and 255,500 in 1925.Major industries that flourished in Stettin from 1840 were shipbuilding, chemical and food industries, and machinery construction.Starting in 1843, Stettin became connected to the major German and Pomeranian cities by railways, and the water connection to theBay of Pomeraniawas enhanced by the construction of theKaiserfahrt(now Piast) canal.The city was also a scientific centre; for example, it was home to theEntomological Society of Stettin.
On 20 October 1890, some of the city's Poles created the "Society of Polish-Catholic Workers" in the city, one of the first Polish organisations.In 1897, the city's ship works began the construction of thepre-dreadnoughtbattleshipKaiser Wilhelm der Grosse. In 1914, before World WarI, the Polish community in the city numbered over 3,000 people,contributing about 2% of the population.These were primarily industrial workers and their families who came from thePoznań(Posen) areaand a few local wealthy industrialists and merchants. Among them was Kazimierz Pruszak, director of the Gollnow industrial works and a Polish patriot, who predicted the eventual "return" of Szczecin to Poland.
During theinterwar period, Stettin wasWeimar Germany's largest port on the Baltic Sea, and her third-largest port afterHamburgandBremen.Cars of theStoewerautomobile company were produced in Stettin from 1899 to 1945. By 1939, theReichsautobahnBerlin–Stettin was completed.
Stettin played a major role as an entrepôt in the development of the Scottish herring trade with the Continent, peaking at an annual export of more than 400,000 barrels in 1885, 1894 and 1898. Trade flourished until the outbreak of the First World War and resumed on a reduced scale during the years between the wars.
In theMarch 1933 German electionsto the Reichstag, the Nazis and German nationalists from theGerman National People's Party(or DNVP) won most of the votes in the city, together winning 98,626 of 165,331 votes (59.3%), with the NSDAP getting 79,729 (47.9%) and the DNVP 18,897 (11.4%).
In 1935, theWehrmachtmade Stettin the headquarters for WehrkreisII, which controlled themilitary unitsin all ofMecklenburgand Pomerania. It was also the area headquarters for units stationed at StettinI and II; Swinemünde (Świnoujście);Greifswald; andStralsund.
In the interwar period, the Polish minority numbered 2,000 people,less than 1% of the city's population at that time.A number of Poles were members of theUnion of Poles in Germany(ZPN), which was active in the city from 1924.A Polish consulate was located in the city between 1925 and 1939.On the initiative of the consulateand ZPN activist Maksymilian Golisz,a number of Polish institutions were established, e.g., a Polish Scout team and a Polish school.German historian Musekamp writes, "however, only very few Poles were active in these institutions, which for the most part were headed by employees of the [Polish] consulate."The withdrawal of the consulate from these institutions led to a general decline of these activities, which were in part upheld by Golisz and Aleksander Omieczyński.Intensified repressions by the Nazis,who exaggerated the Polish activities to propagate an infiltration,led to the closing of the school.In 1938, the head of Szczecin's Union of Poles unit, Stanisław Borkowski, was imprisoned inSachsenhausenconcentration camp inOranienburg, Germany.In 1939, all Polish organisations in Stettin were disbanded by the German authorities.Golisz and Omieczyński were murdered during the war.After the defeat of Nazi Germany, a street was named after Golisz.According to German historian Jan Musekamp, the activities of the Polish pre-war organizations were exaggerated after World War II for propaganda purposes.
DuringWorld War II, Stettin was the base for theGerman 2nd Motorised Infantry Division, which cut across the so-calledPolish Corridorand was later used in 1940 as an embarkation point forOperation Weserübung, Germany's assault on Denmark andNorway.
On 15 October 1939, neighbouring municipalities were joined to Stettin, creating Groß-Stettin, with about 380,000 inhabitants, in 1940.The city had become the third-largest German city by area, after Berlin and Hamburg.
As the war started, the number of non-Germans in the city increased asslave workerswere brought in. The first transports came in 1939 fromBydgoszcz,ToruńandŁódź. They were mainly used in a synthetic silk factory near Stettin.The next wave of slave workers was brought in 1940, in addition to PoWs who were used for work in the agricultural industry.According to German police reports from 1940, 15,000 Polish slave workers lived within the city.
During the war, 135 forced labour camps for slave workers were established in the city. Most of the 25,000 slave workers were Poles, butCzechs,Italians, Frenchmen andBelgians, as well as Dutch citizens, were also enslaved in the camps.A Nazi prison was also operated in the city, with forced labour subcamps in the region.
In February 1940,the Jews of Stettin were deportedto theLublin reservation. International press reports emerged, describing how the Nazis forced Jews, regardless of age, condition and gender, to sign away all property and loaded them onto trains headed to the camp, escorted by members of theSAandSS. Due to publicity given to the event, German institutions ordered such future actions to be made in a way unlikely to attract public notice.The action was the first deportation of Jews from prewar territory in Nazi Germany.
Alliedair raidsin 1944 and heavy fighting between the German andSovietarmies destroyed 65% of Stettin's buildings and almost all of the city centre, the seaport, and local industries. PolishHome Armyintelligence assisted in pinpointing targets for Allied bombing in the area of Stettin.The city itself was covered by the Home Army's "Bałtyk" structure, andPolish resistanceinfiltrated Stettin's naval yards.Other activities of the resistance consisted of smuggling people, including Polish and British POWs who escaped from German captivity, to Sweden,and distribution ofPolish underground press.
The SovietRed Armycaptured the city on 26April 1945. While the majority of the almost 400,000 inhabitants had left the city, between 6,000 and 20,000 inhabitants remained in late April.
On 28 April 1945 Polish authorities tried to gain control,but in the following month, the Polish administration was twice forced to leave. The reason for this was, according to Polish sources, that the Western Allies raised protest against the Soviet and Polish policy of creating a fait-accomplit inEastern Germany.Finally the permanent handover occurred on 5July 1945.In the meantime, part of the German population had returned, believing it might become part of theSoviet occupation zone of Germany.The Soviet authorities had already appointed the German Communists Erich Spiegel andErich Wiesneras mayors.Stettin is located mostly west of the Oder River, which was expected to become Poland's new western border, placing Stettin in East Germany. This would have been in accordance with thePotsdam Agreementbetween the victorious Allied powers, which envisaged thenew borderto be in "a line running from the Baltic Sea immediately west of Swinemünde, and thence along the Oder River[...]". Because of the returnees, the German population of the town swelled to 84,000.Themortality ratewas at 20%, primarily due to starvation.However, Stettin and the mouth of the Oder River became Polish on 5July 1945, as had been decided in a treaty signed on 26July 1944 between the Soviet Union and the Soviet-controlledPolish Committee of National Liberation(PKWN) (also known as "the Lublin Poles", as contrasted with theLondon-basedPolish government-in-exile).On 4October 1945, the decisive land border of Poland was established west of the 1945 line,and the city was renamed to its historic Polish name Szczecin, but the area excluded thePolicearea, the Oder River itself and the port of Szczecin, which remained under Soviet administration.The Oder River was handed over to Polish administration in September 1946, followed by the port between February 1946 and May 1954.
While in 1945 the number of pre-war inhabitants dropped to 57,215 on 31 October 1945, thesystematic expulsion of Germansstarted on 22 February 1946 and continued until late 1947, in accordance with the Potsdam Agreement. In December 1946 about 17,000 German inhabitants remained, while the number of Poles living in the city reached 100,000.To ease the tensions between settlers from different regions, and help overcome fear caused by the continued presence of the Soviet troops, a special event was organised in April 1946 with 50,000 visitors in the partly destroyed city centre.Settlers from Central Poland made up about 70% of Szczecin's new population.In addition to Poles, Ukrainians fromPolish areas annexed by the Soviet Unionsettled there.Also Poles repatriated fromHarbin,ChinaandGreeks,refugees of the Greek Civil War, settled in Szczecin in the following years.In 1945 and 1946, the city was the starting point of the northern route used by the Jewish underground organisationBrichahto channel Jewishdisplaced personsfromCentral and Eastern Europeto theAmerican occupation zone.
Szczecin was rebuilt, and the city's industry was expanded. At the same time, Szczecin became a major Polish industrial centre and an important seaport (particularly forSilesiancoal) for Poland,CzechoslovakiaandEast Germany. Cultural expansion was accompanied by a campaign resulting in the "removal of all German traces".In 1946,Winston Churchillprominently mentioned the city in hisIron Curtainspeech: "From Stettin in the Baltic toTriestein theAdriatican iron curtain has descended across the Continent".
The city witnessedanti-communistrevolts in 1956,1970and 1980.On 30 August 1980, first of the fourAugust Agreements, which led to the first legalisation of the trade unionSolidarity, was signed in Szczecin.The introduction ofmartial lawin December 1981 met with a strike by the dockworkers of Szczecin shipyard, joined by other factories and workplaces in ageneral strike. All these were suppressed by the authorities.PopeJohn Paul IIvisited the city on 11June 1987.Another wave of strikes in Szczecin broke out in1988and 1989, which eventually led to theRound Table Agreementand firstsemi-free elections in post-war Poland.
Szczecin has been the capital of theWest Pomeranian Voivodeshipsince 1999.
Szczecin has anoceanic climate(Köppen:Cfb) with somehumid continental(Dfb) characteristics in normal not updated, typical ofWestern Pomerania. The winters are colder than on the immediate coast and the summers are warm, but still with some moderation, especially due to theBaltic Sea.
The average air temperature in Szczecin ranges from 8 to 8.4 °C. The hottest month is July with a temperature of 15.8 °C to 20.3 °C, the coldest January from -4.1 °C to 2.6 °C. Air temperature below 0 °C occurs on average over 86 days a year, most frequently in January and February. The average annual rainfall is 537 mm, the average rainfall in the cool half-year is 225 mm, and in the warmer half-year is 350 mm. On average, 167 days with precipitation occurs.
See or editraw graph data.
Szczecin'sarchitectural stylereflects trends popular in the last half of the 19th century and the first years of the 20th century:Academic art(historicistGründerzeit) andArt Nouveau. In many areas built after 1945, especially in the city centre, which had been partly destroyed due to Allied bombing,social realismis prevalent.
The city has an abundance of green areas:parksand avenues – wide streets with trees planted in the island separating opposing traffic (where oftentramtracks are laid); androundaboutscorresponding to theOrion constellation. Szczecin's city plan resembles that ofParis, mostly because Szczecin was remodelled in the 1880s according to a design byGeorges-Eugène Haussmann, who hadredesigned ParisunderNapoléon III.This pattern of street design is still used in Szczecin, as many recently built (or modified) city areas include roundabouts and avenues.
During the city's reconstruction in the aftermath of World War II, the communist authorities of Poland wanted the city's architecture to reflect an old PolishPiastera. Since no buildings from that time existed, insteadGothicas well asRenaissancebuildings were picked as worthy of conservation.The motivation behind this decision was that Renaissance architecture was used by theGriffin dynasty, which hadLechiticandWest Slavicroots and was seen to be of Piast extraction by some historians.This view was manifested, for example, by erecting respective memorials, and the naming of streets and enterprises,while German traces were replaced by symbols of three main categories: Piasts, the martyrdom of Poles, and gratitude to the Soviet and Polish armies which had ended theNazi atrocities against Polish citizens.
The ruins of theformer Griffin residence, initially renamed "Piast Palace", also played a central role in this conceptand were reconstructed in Renaissance style, with all traces of later eras removed.In general, post-Renaissance buildings, especially those from the 19th and early 20th centuries, were deemed unworthy of conservation until the 1970s,and were in part used in the "Bricks for Warsaw" campaign (an effort to rebuildWarsawafter it had beensystematically razedfollowing theWarsaw Uprising): with 38 million bricks, Szczecin became Poland's largest brick supplier.The Old Town was rebuilt in the late 1990s, with new buildings, some of which were reconstructions of buildings destroyed in World WarII.
The Gothic monuments preserved to this day are parts ofEuropean Route of Brick Gothic, along with monuments of other Pomeranian cities, e.g.Stargard,Kamień Pomorski,SławnoandChełmno.
A portion of theSzczecin Landscape Parkin the forest of Puszcza Bukowa lies within Szczecin's boundaries.
Szczecin contains 28 extant historic water pumps, known asSzczecin pumpsor Berliners, which are a popular tourist attraction due to their colorful and intricate design.
The city is administratively divided into districts (Polish:dzielnica), which are further divided into smaller neighbourhoods. The governing bodies of the latter serve the role of auxiliary local government bodies calledNeighbourhoodCouncils(Polish:Rady Osiedla).Electionsfor neighbourhood councils are held up to six months after each City Council election. Voter turnout is rather low (on 20May 2007 it ranged from 1.03% to 27.75% and was 3.78% on average).Councillorsare responsible mostly for small infrastructure like trees, park benches,playgrounds, etc. Other functions are mostly advisory.
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Since the 12th-century Christianization of the city, the majority of the population wereCatholics, then since the Renaissance era, up to the end of World War II, the vast majority of the population wereLutheranProtestants, and since 1945, the majority are again Catholics. Historically, the number of inhabitants doubled from 6,081 in 1720,to 12,360 in 1740,and reached 21,255 in 1812, with only 476 Catholics and 5 Jews.By 1852 the population was 48,028,and 58,487 ten years later (1861), including 1,065 Catholics and 1,438 Jews.In 1885, it was 99,543,and by 1905 it ballooned to 224,119 settlers (incl. the military), among them 209,152 Protestants, 8,635 Catholics and 3,010 Jews.In 1939, the number of inhabitants reached 268,421 persons according to German sources including 233,424 Protestants, 10,845 Catholics, and 1,102 Jews.The current population of Szczecin by comparison was 406,427 in 2009. Following theRevolution of Dignity, Szczecin, much like most other major urban centers in Poland, saw an unprecedented influx of foreign nationals, an overwhelming majority of them Ukrainians; in July 2017 26 thousand of them were officially registered as living and working in Szczecin, with unofficial estimates going as high as 50 thousand, thus making up more than 10% of the city's inhabitants.
Recently, the city has favoured the centre rightCivic Platform. Nearly two-thirds (64.54%) of votes cast in the second round of the2010 presidential electionwent to theCivic Platform'sBronisław Komorowski,and inthe following year's Polish parliamentary electionthe party won 46.75% of the vote in theSzczecin constituencywithLaw and Justicesecond garnering 21.66% andPalikot's Movementthird with 11.8%.
There are a few theatres and cinemas in Szczecin:
and many historic places as:
The statue,Monument of Sailorstands at the Grunwald Square atJohn Paul II Avenue.
The local cuisine in Szczecin was mostly shaped in the mid-20th century by people who settled in the city from other parts and regions of Poland, including the formerEastern Borderlands.The most renowned dishes of the area arepasztecik szczecińskiandpaprykarz szczeciński.Other localtraditional foodsand drinks include Szczecin gingerbread and beer.
Pasztecik szczecińskiis a deep-fried yeast dough traditionally stuffed with minced meat (pork and beef) or vegetarian filling - cheese and mushrooms or cabbage and mushrooms, served in specialised bars as a fast food. The first bar servingpasztecik szczeciński, Bar "Pasztecik", founded in 1969, is located on Wojska Polskiego Avenue 46 in the centre of Szczecin.Pasztecik szczecińskiis usually served with clear redborscht.
Paprykarz szczecińskiis a paste made by mixingfish paste(around 50%) withrice,onion,tomatoconcentrate, vegetable oil,saltand a mixture of spices includingchili powderto put it on a sandwich. It is available in most grocery stores in the country.
Szczecin gingerbread (pierniki szczecińskie) is a traditional localgingerbreadglazed withchocolateorsugarwith decorations mostly referring either to the city's architecture or to maritime motifs.
Szczecin beer (piwo szczecińskie) includes various types of traditional localPolish beer:light, amber, andwheat beer.The city's brewing traditions go back over a thousand years.
The word "szczeciński" or "szczecińskie" in the names of the products is an adjective from the name of the city of Szczecin, the place of its origin.
There are many popularprofessional sportsteams in Szczecin area. The most popular sport today is probablyfootballthanks toPogoń Szczecin.Amateur sportsare played by thousands of Szczecin citizens and also in schools of all levels (elementary, secondary, university).
Other notable teams:
As can be seen above, many teams in Szczecin are named afterPogoń Lwów, a team from theEastern Borderlands.
Every year in September the men's tennis tournamentPekao Szczecin Openis held in Szczecin. In August, a marathon is organized in Szczecin.
Szczecin is a center of the maritime economy; it employs 13279 people. Theseaport of Szczecinserves shipowners from all over the world and is the home port of two shipping companies:Polsteamand Euroafrica. In addition, other maritime-related companies are headquartered here.
In 2013, a subzone of the Szczecin-Kostrzyn-Slubice Special Economic Zone was established.
As of September 2016, the number of registered unemployed in Szczecin included about 8,400 residents, representing an unemployment rate of 5.0% to the economically active population.
The average employee salary in October 2012 was PLN 3807.73, with the number of employed workers in Szczecin - 90,754 people. According to data from the District Labor Office  in Szczecin, effective 1 January 2023, the minimum wage is PLN 3490, while the average salary of residents of the capital of West Pomerania is at PLN 6733.49.
In 2009, the average gross monthly salary in the enterprise sector in Szczecin was PLN 3439.94.
Szczecin'sGDPis PLN 20.255 billion, which is 1/3 of the GDP of the entire province. There are 49497 zlotys per capita, about 40% more than the result for the province.
Szczecin is served bySolidarity Szczecin–Goleniów Airport, which is 47 kilometres (29 miles) northeast of central Szczecin. There is also a grass airstrip within city limits, theSzczecin-Dąbie Airstrip.
Szczecin has a tram network comprising 12 tram lines serving 95 tram stops and measuring 110.77 km (69 mi) in length. Tram transport is operated by theTramwaje Szczecińskie(TS).
Szczecin's first horse tram opened in 1879, running from Gałczyńskiego Square to Staszica Street. In 1896, the first line using electric traction was opened. By 1900, the horse trams had been entirely replaced by electric trams.
Szczecin has a bus network of 70 bus routes. Bus transport is operated by 4companies: SPA Dąbie, SPA Klonowica, SPPK andPKSSzczecin.
Of all bus routes, 50 lines are designated as normal. At nighttime, Szczecin is served by a night bus network of 16 routes. There are also 7express bus lines, which do not serve all stops on their route.
The recently upgradedA6motorway serves as the southern bypass of the city, and connects to the GermanA11autobahn (portions of which are currently undergoing upgrade), from where one can reach Berlin in about 90 minutes (about 150 km (93 mi)). Other important highways are theS3 Expressway, linking Szczecin with the more southern cities ofGorzów Wielkopolski,Zielona GóraandLegnica, and theS6 Expressway, connecting Szczecin withKoszalin(and eventuallyGdańskonce the easternmost section is completed). Through intersections with other highways, Szczecin has convenient highway connections with a number of other major Polish cities, such asPoznań,Łódź,Wrocław,Katowice,WarsawandKraków. Also planned is the construction of theS10highway to connect the city withBydgoszcz,Toruń,Płockand Warsaw.
The main railway station –Szczecin Główny railway station– is situated in the city centre (Kolumba Street). Szczecin has good railway connections with"Solidarity" Szczecin–Goleniów Airportand the rest of Poland, e.g.,Świnoujście,Kołobrzeg,Poznań,Wrocław,WarsawandGdańsk. Szczecin is also connected with Germany (Berlin(Gesundbrunnen) and throughPasewalktoNeubrandenburgandLübeck), but only by two single-track, non-electrified lines. Because of this, therail connection between Berlin and Szczecinis much slower and less convenient than what is typical for two European cities of that size and proximity.
ThePort of Szczecinis the third largest port in Poland and handles over 32million tons of cargo annually.This is a harbour of theBaltic Seaand theOderriver.
Over the long course of its history Szczecin has been a place of birth and of residence for many famous individuals, including EmpressCatherine the Greatof Russia, composerCarl Loewe, writerAlfred Döblin, actressDita Parlo, mathematicianHermann Günther Grassmann, Roman Catholic priestCarl Lampert, poetKonstanty Ildefons Gałczyński,Helena Majdaniec– "the queen of PolishTwist", and singerVioletta Villas.
There are 15 honorary consulates in Szczecin, ofBosnia and Herzegovina,Cyprus,Czech Republic,Denmark,Estonia,Finland,France,Germany,Italy,Lithuania,Luxembourg,Moldova,Norway,SwedenandUkraine.
Szczecin istwinnedwith:
Szczecintravel guide from Wikivoyage