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Szczecin (historical German and Swedish name Stettin) is a city in Pomerania, northwestern Poland, and the capital of the West Pomeranian Voivodship (or region) with 419,000 inhabitants (as of early 2004). The city is situated to the south of and around the greater bay into which the Oder river flows. The Western side is commonly called Left Bank (Lewobrzeze), and the Eastern side Right Bank (Prawobrzeze). Between them is an archipelago with many islands (mainly industrial areas with shipyards and sea-port infrastructure). It is one of Poland's most important seaports.
From 1946 to 1998 Szczecin was the capital of the Szczecin Voivodship. The city changed borders in the administrative reorganisations in 1950 and 1975.
Since 1999 it is the capital of the West Pomeranian Voivodship.
In 1970 riots occurred in the city, see also Coastal cities events.
12th century: 5,000 inhabitants
Szczecin is the biggest shipyard in Poland, which recently went bankrupt and was succesfully reinstated. It has a fishing industry, a steel mill and the car production Stoewer.
See also Baltic Sea Ports of 2002.
It was the main centre of a small Western Slavonic tribe living in the fork of the Oder river between the main branch and the Randow river. 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 Stettin was controlled in some manner by both tribes. It is not certain if Mieszko I of Poland, who conquered Pomerania in the years 967–972, also took control of Stettin and Wolin.
After the decline of Wolin in the 12th century, Stettin became one of the most important and powerful cities of the Baltic Sea south coasts, having some 5,000 inhabitants. It was a city republic ruled by a class of rich nobility who were usually tradesmen, pirates and landowners.
In a winter campaign of 1121–1122, Stettin was subjugated by Boleslaus II of Poland, who invited bishop Otto of Bamberg to baptize the citizens (1124). In the next years it was subjugated by the Warcislaw I, duke of Pomerania, who organized the second visit of Bishop Otto in 1128.
In the second half of the 12th century, a group of German tradesmen settled in the city around St. Jacob's church, which was consecrated in 1187. Duke Barnim I granted a local government charter to this community in 1237, and a full location charter under the Magdeburg law in 1243. The German community was growing, and later a Slavic community also settled around St. Nikolas church (in the neigbourhoods of Chyżyn, Upper Wik, Lower Wik).
In the years 1295–1464 Stettin was the capital of a splinter Pomeranian realm known as the Duchy of Stettin. (Its Dukes were Otto I, Barnim III the Great, Casimir III, Swantibor I, Boguslaw VII, Otto II, Cazimir V, Joachim I the Younger, Otto III)
In the 13th and 14th centuries Stettin become the main Pomeranian centre of trade in grains, salt and herrings, receiving various trading priviledges from their dukes (known as emporium rights). It was granted special rights and trading posts in Denmark, and belonged to the Hanse trading cities union. In the 14th and 15th centuries, Stettin conducted several trade wars with the neigbourung cities of Garz, Greifenhagen and Stargard over a monopoly on grains export. The grain supplying area was not only Pomerania but also Brandenburg and Greater Poland — trade routes along the Oder and Warthe rivers. The 16th century saw the decline of the city's trading position because of the competition of the nobility, as well as church institutions in the grains exports, a customs war with Frankfurt an der Oder, and the fall of the herring market.
During the Thirty-Years War, Stettin refused to accept imperial armies, and in 1630 was taken over by Sweden. After the death of the last Pomeranian duke, Boguslaw XIV, Stettin was awarded to Sweden with the western part of the duchy in the Peace of Westfalia (1648). The city was thus cut off from its main trading area, and was besieged in several wars. It fell in economic decline.
In 1713, Stettin was occupied by and in 1720 officially awarded by Sweden to Prussia. In the following years Stettin became the capital of the Prussian province of Pomerania, and the main port of the Prussian state. From 1740 onwards, the Oder waterway to the Baltic Sea and the new Prussian port of Swinemünde were constructed.
In the following years, large groups of French Hugenots settled in Stettin, bringing new developments into the city crafts and factories. The population increased from 6000 in 1720 to 21'000 in 1816, and 58'000 in 1861. The 19th century was the age of large territorial expansion for the city, especially after 1873, when the old fortress was abolished. In 1821, the crafts corporations were abolished, and in steam transport on the Oder began, allowing further development of trade. The port was developing quickly, specialising in exports of agricultural products and coal from Silesia.
In 1843, Stettin was connected by the first railway line to Berlin, and in 1848 by the second railway to Posen. New branches of industry were developing, including shipbuilding (at the Wulkan shipyard) and ironworks using Swedish ores. The population grew to 236 thousand in 1910 and 382 thousand in 1939.
During World War II Stettin was a main centre of weapons industry, and there were several slave workers camps in the city. 65% of Stettin's buildings and almost all of the city centre, seaport, and industry was destroyed during the Allied airraids in 1944, and heavy fightings between the German population and the Soviet Army (26 April 1945).
After WWII, Stalin moved the Polish-German border was moved to the west of the Oder-Neisse line. Most of Pomerania, including Stettin and the Oder mouth, fell to Poland. The German inhabitants of Stettin first fled from the city, but later returned as it was undecided if the city would be in Poland, or in the Soviet occupation zone in Germany. Many Germans also worked in the Soviet military bases that were outside Polish jurisdiction. In the 1950s most of the Stettin Germans were expelled from the city, although there was a significant German minority for the next 10 years.
The city was settled with the new inhabitants from every region of Poland, including those who lost their homes in the eastern Polish territories lost to the Soviet Union, especially people from Wilno. This settlement process was coordinated by the city of Posen in Greater Poland.
Recent History
Demographics
1720: 6,000 inhabitants
1740: 12,300 inhabitants
1816: 21,500 inhabitants
1843: 37,100 inhabitants
1861: 58,500 inhabitants
1872: 76,000 inhabitants
1890: 116,228 inhabitants
1910: 236,000 inhabitants
1939: 382,000 inhabitants
1945: ?
1950: ?
1960: 269,400 inhabitants
1970: 338,000 inhabitants
1975: 369,700 inhabitants
1980: 388,300 inhabitants
1990: ?
2000: ?
2002: 413,600 inhabitantsEconomy
History
A stronghold was built in the first half of the 9th century at the ford of the Oder river, (at the same location where later was a ducal castle) and a few craftsmen and traders settled in the vicinity. External links
Internet guides
Regional media
History and culture
Economy and transportation
Science and Education
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