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114-651: Sweden, which had been present in Pomerania with a garrison at Stralsund since 1628 , gained effective control of the Duchy of Pomerania with the Treaty of Stettin in 1630 . At the Peace of Westphalia in 1648 and the Treaty of Stettin in 1653 , Sweden received Western Pomerania (German Vorpommern ), with the islands of Rügen , Usedom , and Wolin , and a strip of Farther Pomerania ( Hinterpommern ). The peace treaties were negotiated while

228-605: A Landtag that 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 to coin money in the Upper Saxon Circle of the Holy Roman Empire, the other two places being Leipzig and Berlin . Bogislaw XIV , who resided in Stettin beginning in 1620, became

342-757: A general strike . All these were suppressed by the authorities. Pope John Paul II visited the city on 11   June 1987. Another wave of strikes in Szczecin broke out in 1988 and 1989, which eventually led to the Round Table Agreement and first semi-free elections in post-war Poland . Szczecin has been the capital of the West Pomeranian Voivodeship since 1999. Szczecin has an oceanic climate ( Köppen : Cfb ) with some humid continental ( Dfb ) characteristics in normal not updated, typical of Western Pomerania . The winters are colder than on

456-640: A local government charter in 1237, separating the German settlement from the Slavic community settled around the St. Nicholas Church in the neighbourhood of Kessin ( Polish : Chyzin ). In the charter, the Slavs were put under Germanic jurisdiction. When Barnim granted Szczecin Magdeburg rights in 1243, part of the Slavic settlement was reconstructed. The duke had to promise to level

570-562: A Danish force in 1190. While the empire restored its superiority over the Duchy of Pomerania in the Battle of Bornhöved in 1227, Szczecin was one of two bridgeheads remaining under Danish control (until 1235; Wolgast until 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

684-413: 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

798-441: A Swedish auxiliary expedition, dispatched already on 2 June, arrived with 600 men commanded by Colonel Fretz, Colonel James MacDougall, and Major Semple. On 23 or 25 June, Stralsund concluded an alliance with Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden , scheduled to last twenty years. Gustavus Adolphus then stationed a garrison in the town, the first such on German soil in history. This event marked the starting point of Swedish engagement in

912-425: 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 a Wendenparagraph to its statutes, banning Slavs. While not as heavily affected by medieval witchhunts as other regions of the empire, there are reports of

1026-614: A force including 900 of Mackay 's Scotsmen, organized in seven companies, and a company of Germans in her defence. Though dispatched already on 8 May, they only landed on 24 May. Initially, the Danish-German mercenary Heinrich Holk was appointed governor. When Holk retired to seek reinforcements, he was succeeded by Scotsman Lieutenant Colonel Alexander Seaton of Mackay's Regiment. The Imperial army renewed its assault on 26 and 27 May. When checked, Arnim resorted to bombardment awaiting Wallenstein's personal appearance. On 20 June,

1140-469: A former Pomeranian burg, "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

1254-507: A number of social reforms were implemented and planned; the most important was the abolishment of serfdom by a royal statute on 4 July 1806. Also in 1806, Gustav IV Adolf of Sweden started constructing another major port city in Pomerania, Gustavia . Yet already in 1807, French forces occupied the site. The entry into the Third Coalition in 1805, in which Sweden unsuccessfully fought its first war against Napoleon , subsequently led to

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1368-519: A pawn in exchange for reparations, until these were paid in 1693. Because Pomerania had been hit hard by the Thirty Years' War already and found it hard to recover during the following years, the Swedish government in 1669 and 1689 issued decrees ( Freiheitspatente ) freeing anyone of taxes who built or rebuilt a house. These decrees were in force, though frequently modified, until 1824. The first years of

1482-520: A period of six weeks. The following night, on 28 and 29 June, Wallenstein succeeded in taking the outer works of the fortifications. Rosladin was wounded and governor Seaton took over his command. On 29 June, Bogislaw XIV, Duke of Pomerania sent two of his high-ranking nobles, the count von Putbus and his chancellor von Horn, to persuade Stralsund to adhere to the Capitulation of Franzburg and surrender to Wallenstein. On 30 June, Rosladin persuaded

1596-749: A predecessor of the Hanseatic League , in 1283. The city prospered due to its participation in the Baltic Sea trade, primarily with herring , 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 joining craft guilds,

1710-611: A regiment to four companies) in the ensuing assaults, many led by Wallenstein in person. On 10 July, Wallenstein and Stralsund negotiated a treaty in the Hainholz woods northwest of the town, requiring Stralsund to take in Pomeranian troops. The treaty was signed by Wallenstein and Bogislaw XIV on 21 July, but not by Stralsund. Though Bogislaw vouched for the town, the treaty did not come into effect. Already on 2 July, Stralsund had been reinforced by 400 Danish troops, and by 1,100 troops of

1824-533: A staple town, and subsidised manufacturers. Also, colonists were settled in the city, primarily French Huguenots . 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 the War of the Fourth Coalition , believing that he was facing a much larger force, and after receiving

1938-564: A state of great confusion, owing to the lack of a consistent legislation or even the most basic collection of laws; instead it consisted of a disparate collection of legal principles. The Swedish rule brought, if nothing else, at least the rule of law into the court system. Starting in 1655, cases could be appealed from the first instance courts to the appellate court in Greifswald (located in Wolgast from 1665 to 1680), where sentences were issued under

2052-508: A threat of harsh treatment of the city, the Prussian commander Lieutenant General Friedrich von Romberg agreed to surrender the city to the French led by General Lasalle . In fact, Lasalle had only 800 men against von   Romberg'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

2166-463: A way unlikely to attract public notice. The action was the first deportation of Jews from prewar territory in Nazi Germany. 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, the seaport, and local industries. Polish Home Army intelligence assisted in pinpointing targets for Allied bombing in

2280-605: Is the capital and largest city of the West Pomeranian Voivodeship in northwestern Poland . Located near the Baltic Sea and the German border , it is a major seaport and Poland's seventh-largest city. As of 31 December 2022, the population was 391,566. Szczecin is located on the Oder River, south of the Szczecin Lagoon and the Bay of Pomerania . The city is situated along

2394-515: Is today Germany's largest island. Pomerania became involved in the Thirty Years' War during the 1620s, and with the town of Stralsund under siege by imperial troops, its ruler Bogislaw XIV , Duke of Stettin , concluded a treaty with King Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden in June 1628. On 10 July 1630, the treaty was extended into an 'eternal' pact in the Treaty of Stettin (1630) . By the end of that year,

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2508-522: The Battle of Dessau Bridge in 1626. The remnants of Mansfeld's army left Central Germany, and turned to Silesia and Hungary to regroup with Gabriel Bethlen 's forces. After Tilly had defeated Christian IV in the Battle of Lutter am Barenberge in August 1626, and Bethlen was neutralized in the (third) Peace of Pressburg in December, Tilly and Wallenstein were able to subsequently expel Christian IV from

2622-488: The Battle of Verchen in 1164, Szczecin duke Bogusław I, Duke of Pomerania became a vassal of the Duchy of Saxony's Henry the Lion . In 1173, Szczecin castellan Wartislaw II , could not resist a Danish attack and became vassal of Denmark . 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

2736-620: The Franco Prussian war of 1870–1871 , 1,700 French POWs were 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, sewerage and drainage, and gas works were built to meet

2850-714: The German 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, the Wehrmacht made Stettin the headquarters for Wehrkreis   II, which controlled the military units in all of Mecklenburg and Pomerania. It was also the area headquarters for units stationed at Stettin   I and II; Swinemünde ( Świnoujście ); Greifswald ; and Stralsund . In

2964-585: The German states of Brandenburg and Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania . The city's recorded history dates back over 1,300 years, when diverse tribes and peoples such as the Vikings and Lechites erected strongholds in the vicinity. It subsequently served as the seat of the Dukes of Pomerania and the House of Griffin . In the course of the millennium, Szczecin under different names was part of Piast Poland , Denmark , Sweden ,

3078-557: The Great Northern War did not affect Pomerania. Even when Danish, Russian , and Polish forces had crossed the borders in 1714, the Kingdom of Prussia first appeared as a hesitant mediator before turning into an aggressor. King Charles XII of Sweden in the Battle of Stralsund led the defence of Pomerania for an entire year, November 1714 to December 1715, before fleeing to Lund . The Danes seized Rügen and Western Pomerania north of

3192-514: The Holy Roman Empire , Prussia , Germany and modern-day Poland. The city's architecture and cultural heritage reflects these periods, with excellent examples of Brick Gothic , Gründerzeit , Neoclassical , socialist realist and contemporary styles. The planned urban landscape was based on the Orion constellation , with avenues, roundabouts and extensive parkland. The city's chief landmarks include

3306-922: The North German plain , organized in the Lower Saxon and Upper Saxon imperial circles , and pressure him even in Danish Jutland . The internally divided Upper Saxon circle, to which the Duchy of Pomerania with Stralsund belonged, was incapable of self-defence and had formally declared neutrality. Christian IV's army staff heavily relied on Scottish expertise: with 300 Scottish officers in his service, Scottish officers outnumbered Danish and Norwegian officers combined by 3:1. Also, Christian IV had issued patents to raise 9,000 Scottish troops in 1627, adding to 2,000-3,000 Scottish troops raised by Donald Mackay for Ernst von Mansfeld 's army, but who had been deployed to Denmark instead. Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden

3420-637: The Peene River (the former Danish Principality of Rugia that later would become known as New Western Pomerania or Neuvorpommern ), while the Western Pomeranian areas south of the river (later termed Old Western Pomerania or Altvorpommern ) were taken by Prussia. Beginning in April 1716 Danish Pomerania was governed by a governmental commission seated in Stralsund , consisting of five members. In contrast to

3534-562: The Seven Years' War (1757–1762, " Pomeranian War ") failed. Swedish troops struggled to co-ordinate with their French and Russian allies, and what had begun as a Swedish invasion of Prussian Pomerania soon led to the Prussians occupying much of Swedish Pomerania and threatening Stralsund. When Russia made peace with Prussia in 1762, Sweden also dropped out of the war with a return to the status quo ante bellum . Sweden's disappointing performance in

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3648-702: The Soviet occupation zone of Germany . The Soviet authorities had already appointed the German Communists Erich Spiegel and Erich Wiesner as 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 the Potsdam Agreement between the victorious Allied powers, which envisaged

3762-882: The Szczecin Cathedral , the Ducal Castle , the National Museum and the Szczecin Philharmonic . Szczecin is the administrative and industrial centre of West Pomeranian Voivodeship and is the site of the University of Szczecin , Pomeranian Medical University , Maritime University , West Pomeranian University of Technology , Szczecin Art Academy , and the see of the Szczecin-Kamień Catholic Archdiocese . From 1999 onwards, Szczecin has served as

3876-700: The Treaty of Kiel on 14 January 1814, Sweden ceded Pomerania to Denmark in exchange for Norway . The fate of Swedish Pomerania was settled during the Congress of Vienna through the treaties between Prussia and Denmark on 4 June and with Sweden on 7 June 1815. In this manoeuvre Prussia gained Swedish Pomerania in exchange for Saxe-Lauenburg , becoming Danish, with Prussia having bartered previously Hanoverian Saxe-Lauenburg only 14 years earlier in exchange for East Frisia ceded to Hanover again. Denmark also received 2.6 million Thalers from Prussia. 3.5 million Thalers were awarded to Sweden in war damages. "Swedish Pomerania"

3990-537: The new border to 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. The mortality rate was at 20%, primarily due to starvation. However, Stettin and the mouth of the Oder River became Polish on 5   July 1945, as had been decided in a treaty signed on 26   July 1944 between

4104-516: 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 of Poland , gained control of the region, including the city of Szczecin and its stronghold. The Polish ruler initiated Christianization, entrusting this task to Otto of Bamberg , and the inhabitants were Christianised by two missions of Otto in 1124 and 1128. At this time,

4218-630: The Baltic to Trieste in the Adriatic an iron curtain has descended across the Continent". The city witnessed anti-communist revolts in 1956, 1970 and 1980. On August 30, 1980, first of the four August Agreements , which led to the first legalisation of the trade union Solidarity , was signed in Szczecin. The introduction of martial law in December 1981 met with a strike by the dockworkers of Szczecin shipyard, joined by other factories and workplaces in

4332-636: The Chancellor and the Castle Captain of Stettin, over inspector of the Royal Amts. When circumstances demanded, the estates , nobility, burgesses , and — until the 1690s — the clergy could be summoned for meetings of a local parliament called the Landtag . The nobility was represented by one deputy per district, and these deputies were in turn mandated by their respective district convents of nobles . The estate of

4446-480: The Danish-Scottish regiments of Donald Mackay and Alexander Lindsay, 2nd Lord Spynie in the following week. By the 17 July Scotsman Alexander Leslie , arrived with 1,100 troops, including more Scottish volunteers, and succeeded Seaton as Stralsund's governor. Leslie commanded a total of 4,000 to 5,000 troops. The Danish support amounted to 2,650 troops deployed during the siege. One of Leslie's first actions

4560-586: The Early Middle Ages and the region became part of Poland in the 10th century. However, already Mieszko 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 the Liutician federation all aimed to control the territory. After the decline of the neighbouring regional centre Wolin in

4674-540: The Estates of Pomerania assigned the interim government to an eight-member directorate, which lasted until Brandenburg ordered the directorate disbanded in 1638 by right of Imperial investiture. As a consequence, Pomerania lapsed into a state of anarchy, thereby forcing the Swedes to act. From 1641, the administration was led by a council ("Concilium status") from Stettin (Szczecin) , until the peace treaty in 1648 settled rights to

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4788-587: The Great Northern War, Sweden was forced to cede the city to King Frederick William I of Prussia . Stettin was made the capital city of the Prussian Pomeranian province , since 1815 reorganised as the Province of Pomerania . In 1816, the city had 26,000 inhabitants. The Prussian administration deprived the city of its right to administrative autonomy, abolished guild privileges as well as its status as

4902-403: 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 in Sachsenhausen concentration camp in Oranienburg, Germany . In 1939, all Polish organisations in Stettin were disbanded by the German authorities. Golisz and Omieczyński were murdered during

5016-429: 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, the systematic expulsion of Germans started on 22 February 1946 and continued until late 1947, in accordance with

5130-402: The Peene and the islands of Wolin and Usedom to Brandenburg-Prussia . Denmark returned its Pomeranian territories to Swedish administration on 17 January 1721. The administrative records from the Danish period were transferred to Copenhagen and are available at the Danish National Archives (rigsarkivet). A feeble Swedish attempt to regain the lost territories in the Pomeranian campaigns of

5244-446: The Pomeranian ports and seize their vessels already in October. Stralsund however was unwilling to give in, as its status as a Hanseatic town had provided for considerable self-determination and independence from the Pomeranian dukes . Thus, Stralsund ignored Bogislaw's order to adhere to the capitulation, issued since February 1628, and instead turned first to Denmark and then to Sweden for support. Starting in May 1628, siege

5358-528: 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 from Polish areas annexed by

5472-419: The Soviet Union settled there. Also Poles repatriated from Harbin , China and Greeks , 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 organisation Brichah to channel Jewish displaced persons from Central and Eastern Europe to the American occupation zone . Szczecin

5586-402: The Soviet Union and the Soviet-controlled Polish Committee of National Liberation (PKWN) (also known as "the Lublin Poles", as contrasted with the London -based Polish government-in-exile ). On 4   October 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 the Police area,

5700-406: The Swedes had completed the military occupation of Pomerania. After this point, Gustavus Adolphus was the effective ruler of the country, and even though the rights of succession to Pomerania, held by George William, Elector of Brandenburg due to the Treaty of Grimnitz , were recognised, the Swedish king still demanded that the Margraviate of Brandenburg break with Emperor Ferdinand II . In 1634,

5814-629: The Swedish Government and oversaw the constitution. The Estates, which had exercised great authority under the Pomeranian dukes, were unable to exert any significant influence on Sweden, even though the Constitution of 1663 had provided them with a veto in as far as Pomerania was affected. Their rights of petition were however not limited, and by the privileges of King Frederick I of Sweden in 1720 they also had an explicit right to participate in legislation and taxation. The towns of Stralsund , Stettin , Greifswald and Anklam were granted autonomous jurisdiction. The legal system in Pomerania had been in

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5928-551: The Swedish administration, the commission exerted both judiciary and executive power. Denmark thereby drew from the experiences in Danish-occupied Bremen-Verden (1712–1715), the setting of the Danish chancellery, and the contemporary Danish absolutism under king Frederik IV of Denmark-Norway . The commission consisted of landdrost von Platen , later von Kötzschau , counsellors Heinrich Bernhard von Kämpferbeck , J. B. Hohenmühle and Peter von Thienen , and chancellor secretary August J. von John . In 1720, von Kämpferbeck died and

6042-408: The Swedish model of administration. The Estates of Pomerania could only be called regarding questions that specifically concerned Pomerania and Rügen. The new order of the Landtag was modelled on the Swedish Riksdag of the Estates and a meeting according to the new order also took place in August 1806, which declared its loyalty to the king and hailed him as their ruler. In the wake of this revolution,

6156-408: The Swedish queen Christina was a minor, and the Swedish Empire was governed by members of the high aristocracy. As a consequence, Pomerania was not annexed to Sweden like the French war gains, which would have meant abolition of serfdom , as the Pomeranian peasant and shepherd regulation of 1616 was practised there in its most severe form. Instead, it remained part of the Holy Roman Empire , making

6270-401: The Swedish rulers Reichsfürsten (imperial princes) and leaving the nobility in full charge of the rural areas and its inhabitants. While the Swedish Pomeranian nobles were subjected to reduction when the late 17th-century kings regained political power, the provisions of the peace of Westphalia continued to prevent the pursuit of the uniformity policy in Pomerania until the Holy Roman Empire

6384-413: The Thirty Years' War. Robert Monro recorded that Semple was killed almost upon arrival and Macdougall temporarily captured. However he noted that this Swedish contingent "did come voluntarily come to succour and help our Nation" indicating the sheer number of Scots from both the standing Danish garrison and the Swedish relief force. On 27 June, Wallenstein took command of the besieging forces, and renewed

6498-409: 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, but Czechs , Italians , Frenchmen and Belgians , as well as Dutch citizens, were also enslaved in the camps. A Nazi prison was also operated in

6612-405: The appellate law of 1672, a work conducted by David Mevius . Cases under canon law were directed to a consistorium in Greifswald. From the appellate court cases could be appealed to the supreme court for the Swedish dominions in Germany, the High Tribunal in Wismar, which had opened in 1653. From 1657 to 1659 during the Second Northern War , Polish , Austrian , and Brandenburger troops ravaged

6726-495: The area of Stettin. The city itself was covered by the Home Army's "Bałtyk" structure, and Polish resistance infiltrated Stettin's naval yards. Other activities of the resistance consisted of smuggling people to Sweden. The Soviet Red Army captured the city on 26   April 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

6840-632: The assaults starting the very same night. The Scottish troops, entrusted with the defence of a crucial section of Stralsund's fortifications, distinguished themselves by an extremely fierce way of fighting. The main assault was on the eastern district of Franken, commanded by major Robert Monro . Of 900 Scots, 500 were killed and 300 wounded, including Monro. Rosladin was able to relieve Monro's force and re-take lost ground. An overall 2,000 defenders were killed and captured in this assault. Monro later recalled that " we were not suffered to come off our posts for our ordinary recreation, nor yet to sleepe " - for

6954-431: The burgesses consisted of one deputy per politically franchised city, particularly Stralsund. The Landtag were presided over by a marshal ( Erb-landmarschall ). A third element of the meeting of the Estates were the five, initially ten, Landtag councillors who were appointed by the Royal Government of Pomerania following their nomination by the Estates. The Landtag councillors formed the Land Council , which mediated with

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7068-400: 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 15   October 1939 and is now the Dąbie neighbourhood. This town had been built on the site of

7182-422: The burning of three women and one man convicted of witchcraft in 1538. In 1570, during the reign of John Frederick, Duke of Pomerania , a congress was held at Stettin ending the Northern Seven Years' War . During the war, Stettin had tended to side with Denmark , while Stralsund tended toward Sweden  – as a whole, however, the Duchy of Pomerania tried to maintain neutrality. Nevertheless,

7296-399: The city around St.   Jacob's Church, which was donated in 1180 by Beringer, a trader from Bamberg , and consecrated in 1187. Hohenkrug (now in Szczecin Struga ) was the first village in the Duchy of Pomerania that was clearly recorded as German ( villa teutonicorum ) in 1173. Ostsiedlung accelerated in Pomerania during the 13th century. Duke Barnim I of Pomerania granted Szczecin

7410-446: 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 traditional Farther Pomeranian hinterland. Due to a Plague during the Great Northern War , the city's population dropped from 6,000 people in 1709 to 4,000 in 1711. In 1720, after

7524-444: The city not to enter into negotiations with Wallenstein, who had resorted to bombardment again. The same day, ten Swedish vessels reinforced Stralsund with 600 troops, while under heavy fire by Wallenstein's forces. Soon after, Christian ordered another Scottish regiment, that of Alexander Lindsay, 2nd Lord Spynie , to help with the defence of the town. These troops arrived around 4 July and suffered huge casualties (being reduced from

7638-514: 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 the Prussian Edict of Emancipation of 11   March 1812, which granted Prussian citizenship to all Jews living in

7752-469: The city, with forced labour subcamps in the region. In February 1940, the Jews of Stettin were deported to the Lublin 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 the SA and SS . Due to publicity given to the event, German institutions ordered such future actions to be made in

7866-426: The country. The territory was occupied by Denmark and Brandenburg from 1675 to 1679 during the Scanian War , whereby Denmark claimed Rügen and Brandenburg the rest of Pomerania. Both campaigns were in vain for the winners when Swedish Pomerania was restored to Sweden in the Treaty of Saint-Germain-en-Laye in 1679 , except for Gollnow and the strip of land on the east side of the Oder, which were held by Brandenburg as

7980-487: The demands of the growing population. Stettin developed into a major Prussian port and became part of the German Empire in 1871. While most of the province retained its agrarian character, Stettin was industrialised , 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

8094-434: The downfall of the Swedish Empire after Charles XII , the city went to Prussia in 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 by Hetman Stefan Czarniecki moving from Denmark during the Second Northern War . Czarniecki, who led his forces to the city, is today mentioned in the Polish anthem , and numerous locations in

8208-473: 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 of Poznań and future King of Poland Przemysł II married princess Ludgarda , granddaughter of Barnim I, Duke of Pomerania , in order to strengthen the alliance between the two rulers. Szczecin was part of the federation of Wendish towns ,

8322-462: The duchy when Wallenstein's forces in Greifswald surrendered in June 1631. During the Swedish campaign, Alexander Leslie was succeeded as the governor of Stralsund by another Scot in Swedish service, James MacDougal , in 1630. From 1679 to 1697, the position was to pass to yet another Scot, Peter Maclean . Part of Wallenstein's forces were infected with the Black Death . During the siege,

8436-817: The epidemics swept into the town, killing 2,000 in the months of August and September alone. The battle of Stralsund entered Pomeranian folklore. The population of Stralsund commemorates the siege of 1628 with an annual festival, " Wallensteintage " ("Wallenstein Days"). 54°18′0″N 13°5′0″E  /  54.30000°N 13.08333°E  / 54.30000; 13.08333 Szczecin Szczecin ( UK : / ˈ ʃ tʃ ɛ tʃ ɪ n / SHCHETCH -in , US : /- tʃ iː n / -⁠een , Polish: [ˈʂt͡ʂɛt͡ɕin] ; German : Stettin [ʃtɛˈtiːn] ; Swedish : Stettin [stɛˈtiːn] ; Latin : Sedinum or Stetinum )

8550-503: The first Christian church of Ss 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 the Wendish Crusade in 1147, a contingent led by the German margrave Albert the Bear , an enemy of Slavic presence in

8664-505: The first Polish organisations. In 1897, the city's ship works began the construction of the pre-dreadnought battleship Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse . In 1914, before World War   I, 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 the Poznań (Posen) area and a few local wealthy industrialists and merchants. Among them

8778-577: 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 in Eastern Germany . Finally the permanent handover occurred on 5   July 1945. In the meantime, part of the German population had returned, believing it might become part of

8892-577: The forces of the Holy Roman Empire . Bogislaw XIV, Duke of Pomerania , on 10 November signed the Capitulation of Franzburg with Hans Georg von Arnim , who on behalf of Albrecht von Wallenstein commanded the imperial occupation forces in Pomerania. With the occupation, Wallenstein sought to secure the southern coastline of the Baltic Sea for Ferdinand II, Holy Roman Emperor against Christian IV of Denmark . The Capitulation of Franzburg required all towns except for ducal residences to take in imperial troops, and Wallenstein had ordered Arnim to occupy

9006-627: The former Swedish queen Christina . Swedish and Pomeranian nobility intermarried and became ethnically indistinguishable in the course of the 18th century. The position of Pomerania in the Swedish Realm came to depend on the talks that were opened between the Estates of Pomerania and the Government of Sweden . The talks showed few results until the Instrument of Government of 17 July 1663 (promulgated by

9120-519: The fragmented Polish realm, and future Polish monarch Władysław III Spindleshanks stayed at the local court of Duke Bogusław I in 1186, on behalf of his father, Duke of Greater Poland Mieszko III the Old , who also periodically was the High Duke of Poland . Following a conflict between his heirs and Canute VI of Denmark , the settlement was destroyed in 1189, but the fortress was reconstructed and manned with

9234-508: The immediate coast and the summers are warm, but still with some moderation, especially due to the Baltic 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

9348-526: 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 the Union 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 consulate and ZPN activist Maksymilian Golisz, a number of Polish institutions were established, e.g.,

9462-458: 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

9576-515: The major German and Pomeranian cities by railways, and the water connection to the Bay of Pomerania was enhanced by the construction of the Kaiserfahrt (now Piast) canal. The city was also a scientific centre; for example, it was home to the Entomological 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

9690-538: The occupation of Swedish Pomerania by French troops, beginning in 1807. Under the Treaty of Paris , signed in 1810, the territory was returned to Sweden. In 1812, when French troops yet again marched into Pomerania, the Swedish Army joined the Sixth Coalition and assisted against Napoleon in the Battle of Leipzig in 1813, together with troops from Russia, Prussia, and Austria. Sweden also attacked Denmark and, by

9804-507: The origin of the name, including derivations from either: an Old Slavic word for 'hill peak' (Polish: szczyt ), the plant fuller's teasel (Polish: szczeć ), or the personal name Szczota . Other medieval names for the town are Burstaborg (in the Knytlinga saga ) and Burstenburgh (in the Annals of Waldemar). These names, which literally mean 'brush burgh', are likely derived from

9918-528: The province in Swedish favour. At the peace negotiations in Osnabrück , Brandenburg-Prussia received Farther Pomerania ( Hinterpommern ), the part of the former Duchy of Pomerania east of the Oder River except Stettin. A strip of land east of the Oder River containing the districts of Damm and Gollnow and the island of Wolin and Western Pomerania ( Vorpommern ) with the islands of Rügen and Usedom ,

10032-748: The recess of 10 April 1669) could be presented, and only in 1664 did the Pomeranian Estates salute the Swedish Monarch as their new ruler. The Royal Government of Pomerania ( die königliche Landesregierung ) was composed of the Governor-General , who always was a Swedish Privy Councillor , as chairman and five Councillors of the Royal Government, among them the President of the Appellate Court,

10146-403: The region, papal legate, bishop Anselm of Havelberg and Konrad of Meissen besieged the town. There, a Polish contingent supplied by Mieszko III the Old joined the crusaders. However, the citizens had placed crosses around the fortifications, indicating they already had been Christianised. Duke Ratibor I of Pomerania , negotiated the disbanding of the crusading forces. After

10260-563: The remainder of its dominion in the Treaty of Frederiksborg , which had been lost to Denmark in 1715 . In 1814, as a result of the Napoleonic Wars , Swedish Pomerania was ceded to Denmark in exchange for Norway in the Treaty of Kiel , and in 1815, as a result of the Congress of Vienna , transferred to Prussia . The largest cities in Swedish Pomerania were Stralsund , Greifswald and, until 1720, Stettin (now Szczecin). Rügen

10374-478: The rural population were leibeigen serfs ). Source: 54°05′N 13°23′E  /  54.083°N 13.383°E  / 54.083; 13.383 Battle of Stralsund (1628) The siege of Stralsund was a siege laid on Stralsund by Albrecht von Wallenstein 's Imperial Army during the Thirty Years' War , from 13 May 1628 to 4 August 1628. Stralsund was aided by Denmark and Sweden , with considerable Scottish participation. The lifting of

10488-738: The siege ended Wallenstein's series of victories, and contributed to his downfall. The Swedish garrison in Stralsund was the first on German soil in history. The battle marked the de facto entrance of Sweden into the war. Christian IV of Denmark had declared war on the Holy Roman Empire in 1625. He then invaded the empire with an army commanded by Ernst von Mansfeld to oppose the Catholic League 's army commanded by Johann Tserclaes, Count of Tilly . In response, Ferdinand II, Holy Roman Emperor , had Albrecht von Wallenstein raise an additional army to support Tilly. Wallenstein defeated Mansfeld in

10602-553: The siege, acknowledging his first misfortune in the Thirty Years' War. After the unsuccessful siege, Wallenstein headed to nearby Wolgast , to fight a final battle with Christian IV : Danish troops had landed in the area and occupied the island of Usedom , and had taken the town of Wolgast on 14 August without fighting. On 22 August, Wallenstein retook the town. Also in August, Swedish chancellor Axel Oxenstierna came to Stralsund, and offered negotiations to Wallenstein. The latter however refused. The inability to take Stralsund

10716-502: The site of the headquarters of NATO 's Multinational Corps Northeast . The city was a candidate for the European Capital of Culture in 2016. Szczecin and Stettin are the Polish and German equivalents of the same name, which is of Proto-Slavic origin, though the exact etymology is the subject of ongoing research. In her Etymological Dictionary of Geographical Names of Poland , Maria Malec lists 11 theories regarding

10830-460: The sole ruler and Griffin duke when Philipp Julius, Duke of Pomerania died in 1625. Before the Thirty Years' War reached 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 and Frankfurt an der Oder . Following the Treaty of Stettin of 1630 , the town (along with most of Pomerania)

10944-645: The southwestern shore of Dąbie 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 and heaths , chiefly the Wkrzańska Heath shared with Germany (Ueckermünde) and the Szczecin Landscape Park . Szczecin is adjacent to the town of Police and is the urban centre of the Szczecin agglomeration , an extended metropolitan area that includes communities in

11058-406: The third-largest German city by area, after Berlin and Hamburg. As the war started, the number of non-Germans in the city increased as slave workers were brought in. The first transports came in 1939 from Bydgoszcz , Toruń and Łódź . 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

11172-541: The translation of the city's Slavic name (assuming derivation No. 2 for that). The recorded history of Szczecin began in the eighth century, when Vikings and West Slavs settled in Pomerania . The West Slavs, or Lechites , erected a new stronghold on the site of the modern castle . Since the 9th century, the stronghold was fortified and expanded toward the Oder bank . Mieszko I of Poland took control of Pomerania during

11286-586: The war further hurt its international prestige. By royal proclamation on 26 June 1806, the Constitution of Pomerania was declared to have been suspended and abolished. The Swedish Instruments of Government of 1772, the Act of Union and Security of 1789, and the Law of 1734 were declared to have taken precedence and were to be implemented following 1 September 1808. The reason for perpetrating this royally sanctioned coup d'état

11400-708: 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. During World War II , Stettin was the base for the German 2nd Motorised Infantry Division , which cut across the Polish Corridor and was later used in 1940 as an embarkation point for Operation Weserübung , Germany's assault on Denmark and Norway . On 15 October 1939, neighbouring municipalities were joined to Stettin, creating Groß-Stettin, with about 380,000 inhabitants, in 1940. The city had become

11514-592: Was Kazimierz Pruszak, director of the Gollnow industrial works and a Polish patriot, who predicted the eventual "return" of Szczecin to Poland. During the interwar period , Stettin was Weimar Germany 's largest port on the Baltic Sea, and her third-largest port after Hamburg and Bremen . Cars of the Stoewer automobile company were produced in Stettin from 1899 to 1945. By 1939, the Reichsautobahn Berlin –Stettin

11628-519: Was allied to and occupied by the Swedish Empire , which managed to keep the western parts of Pomerania after the death of Bogislaw   XIV in 1637. From the Peace of Westphalia in 1648, Stettin became the Capital of Swedish Pomerania. Stettin was turned into a major Swedish fortress, which was repeatedly besieged in subsequent wars. The next Treaty of Stettin (1653) did not change this, but due to

11742-481: Was an audacious all-out assault on the besieging troops which Robert Monro described as follows: Sir Alexander Leslie being made governour, he resolved for the credit of his countrymen to make an out-fall upon the Enemy, and desirous to conferre the credit on his own Nation alone, being his first Essay in that Citie Heavy rainfall between 21 and 24 July turned the battlefield into a marsh. On 4 August, Wallenstein lifted

11856-511: Was ceded to the Swedes as a fief from Emperor Ferdinand III . The recess of Stettin in 1653 settled the border with Brandenburg in a manner favourable to Sweden. The border against Mecklenburg , along the Trebel and the Recknitz , followed a settlement of 1591. The nobility of Pomerania was firmly established and held extensive privileges, as opposed to the other end of the social spectrum, which

11970-688: 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 the March 1933 German elections to the Reichstag, the Nazis and German nationalists from

12084-506: Was dissolved in 1806. In 1679, Sweden lost most of its Pomeranian possessions east of the Oder river in the Treaty of Saint-Germain-en-Laye , and in 1720, Sweden lost its possessions south of the Peene and east of the Peenestrom rivers in the Treaty of Stockholm . These areas were ceded to Brandenburg-Prussia and were integrated into Brandenburgian Pomerania . Also in 1720, Sweden regained

12198-477: Was incorporated into Prussia as New Western Pomerania ( Neuvorpommern ) within the Prussian Province of Pomerania . The population of Swedish Pomerania was 82,827 in 1764, (58,682 rural, 24,145 urban; 40% of the rural population were leibeigen serfs ); 89,000 in 1766, 113,000 in 1802, with about a quarter living on the island of Rügen, and had reached 118,112 in 1805 (79,087 rural, 39,025 urban; 46,190 of

12312-404: Was laid on Stralsund by Albrecht von Wallenstein 's troops, commanded by Hans Georg von Arnim . By then, the town with its 20,000 inhabitants was defended by a citizen force of 2,500, a levy of 1,500, and another 1,000 enlisted men. The first major imperial assault on the city took place between 16 and 24 May. Christian IV of Denmark had reacted positively to Stralsund's call and deployed

12426-541: Was populated by a class of numerous serfs . Even by the end of the 18th century, the serfs made up two-thirds of the population of the countryside. The estates owned by the nobility were divided into districts and the royal domains, which covered about a quarter of the country, were divided into amts . One fourth of the "knightly" estates ( Rittergut ) in Swedish Pomerania were held by Swedish nobles. The ducal estates ( Domäne ), initially distributed among Swedish nobles (two thirds) and officials, became in 1654 administered by

12540-432: 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 for Silesian coal) for Poland, Czechoslovakia and East Germany . Cultural expansion was accompanied by a campaign resulting in the "removal of all German traces". In 1946, Winston Churchill prominently mentioned the city in his Iron Curtain speech: "From Stettin in

12654-412: Was replaced by Andreas Boye . By the Treaty of Frederiksborg , 3 June 1720, Denmark was obliged to hand back control over the occupied territory to Sweden, but in the Treaty of Stockholm , on 21 January the same year, Prussia had been allowed to retain its conquest, including Stettin. By this, Sweden ceded the parts east of the Oder River that had been won in 1648 as well as Western Pomerania south of

12768-607: Was since 1626 involved in the Polish-Swedish War , with Poland allied to the Holy Roman Empire. In this war, Scotsman Alexander Leslie started his career in Swedish service as commandant and governor of Pillau in East Prussia . Gustavus Adolphus had made plans to intervene in the Holy Roman Empire, of which the Riksdag commission approved in the winter of 1627/28. In November 1627, the Duchy of Pomerania had capitulated to

12882-447: Was that the estates, despite a royal prohibition, had taken to the courts to appeal against royal statutes, specifically the statute of 30 April 1806 regarding the raising of a Pomeranian army. In the new order, King Gustav IV Adolf of Sweden attempted to introduce a government divided into departments. Swedish church law was introduced. The country was divided into four hundreds ( Härad ) containing parishes ( Socken ) complying with

12996-499: Was to become one of the obstacles which led to Wallenstein's temporary dismissal in 1630. When Gustavus Adolphus' invaded Pomerania in June 1630, he used his bridgehead in Stralsund to clear the flanks of his landing forces. Bogislaw XIV concluded an alliance with the Swedish king in the Treaty of Stettin in July. Wallenstein's forces were subsequently driven out of the Duchy of Pomerania , and Swedish forces had taken complete control of

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