Szczecin, historically known in English as Stettin, 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, the largest city of northwestern Poland, and seventh-largest city of Poland. 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 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 the German states of Brandenburg and Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania.
The city's recorded history began in the 8th century as a Lechitic Pomeranian stronghold, built at the site of the Ducal Castle. In the 10th century, Szczecin first became part of the emerging Polish state. In the following centuries it was the capital of the Duchy of Pomerania ruled by the local House of Griffin, which at various times was under the suzerainty of Poland, the Duchy of Saxony, the Holy Roman Empire and Denmark. In 1630, the city came under the control of the Swedish Empire and became in 1648 the capital of Swedish Pomerania until 1720, when it was acquired by Prussia. Following World War II the city became part of Poland again in accordance with the Potsdam Agreement, resulting in a nearly complete population exchange. Szczecin was the site of large Polish protests in 1970 and 1980. In 1980, the first agreement between the protesters and the communist regime was signed in Szczecin, which paved the way for the creation of Solidarity, which contributed to the fall of communism.
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 the site of the headquarters of NATO's Multinational Corps Northeast. The city was a candidate for the European Capital of Culture in 2016. Its chief landmarks include the Szczecin Cathedral, the Ducal Castle, the National Museum and the Szczecin Philharmonic.
Name and etymology and 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 the origin of the name, including derivations from either: an Old Slavic word for 'hill peak' (), the plant fuller's teasel (), or the personal name .Słownik etymologiczny nazw geograficznych Polski Profesor Maria Malec PWN 2003
The city's name is first recorded as Stetin in a document dating from 1112–1118. It continued to appear in this or closely related forms (e.g. Stetyn in 1188). The name Stettin is first documented in 1253. This spelling gradually became established over the following centuries, though other variants remained in use during the High Middle Ages – such as Stettyn in 1259 and Stethin in 1271.
Other medieval names for the town are Burstaborg (in the Knytlinga saga)Stanisław Rospond, Slawische Namenkunde Ausg. 1,Nr.3, C.Winter, 1989, p.162 and Burstenburgh (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 Latin names of the city are or .
History
Middle Ages
The recorded history of Szczecin began in the eighth century, when Vikings"Vikingar", Natur och Kultur 1995, (CD) 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.Jan M Piskorski, Pommern im Wandel der Zeiten, 1999, p.52, Mieszko I of Poland took control of Pomerania during the Early Middle Ages and the region became part of Poland in the 10th century.The New Encyclopædia Britannica, Volume 11, Encyclopædia Britannica, 1998, p.473 "In the 8th and 9th centuries Szczecin was a Slavic fishing and commercial settlement, later named Western Pomerania (Pomorze Zachodnie). During the 10th century, it was annexed to Poland by Mieszko IThe Origins of Polish state. Mieszko I and Bolesław Chrobry. Professor Henry Lang, Polish Academic Information Center, University at Buffalo. info-poland.buffalo.edu However, 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 the 12th century, the city became an important and powerful seaport of the Baltic Sea.
In a campaign in the winter of 1121–1122,Jan M. Piskorski, Pommern im Wandel der Zeiten, 1999, pg. 36; , Bolesław III Wrymouth, Duke of Poland, gained control of the region, including the city of Szczecin and its stronghold.Jan M Piskorski, Pommern im Wandel der Zeiten, 1999, pp. 31,36,43 : pg. 31 (yrs 967-after 1000 AD): "[...] gelang es den polnischen Herrschern sicherlich nicht, Wollin und die Odermündung zu unterwerfen." pg. 36: "Von 1119 bis 1122 eroberte er schließlich das pommersche Odergebiet mit Stettin, [...]" pg. 43: "[...] während Rügen 1168 erobert und in den dänischen Staat einverleibt wurde."Werner Buchholz, Pommern, Siedler, 1999, pp. 100–101, Norbert Buske, Pommern, Helms Schwerin 1997, pp. 11ff; Kyra T. Inachin, Die Geschichte Pommerns, Hinstorff Rostock, 2008, pp.15ff; : pp. 14–15: "Die westslawischen Stämme der Obroditen, Lutizen und Pomoranen konnten sich lange der Eroberung widersetzen. Die militärisch überlegenen Mächte im Norden und Osten, im Süden und im Westen übten jedoch einen permanenten Druck auf den südlichen Ostseeraum aus. Dieser ging bis 1135 hauptsächlich von Polen aus. Der polnische Herzog Boleslaw III Krzywousty (Schiefmund) unterwarf in mehreren Feldzügen bis 1121 pomoranisches Stammland mit den Hauptburgen Cammin und Stettin und drang weiter gen Westen vor", pg. 17: Das Interesse Waldemars richtete sich insbesondere auf das Siedlungsgebiet der Ranen, die nördlich des Ryck und auf Rügen siedelten und die sich bislang gegen Eroberer und Christianisierungsversuche gewehrt hatten. [...] und nahmen 1168 an König Waldemar I. Kriegszug gegen die Ranen teil. Arkona wurde erobert und zerstört. Die unterlegenen Ranen versprachen, das Christentum anzunehmen, die Oberhoheit des Dänenkönigs anzuerkennen und Tribut zu leisten."Malcolm Barber, "The two cities: medieval Europe, 1050–1320", Routledge, 2004, pg. 330 books.google.comAn historical geography of Europe, 450 B.C.A.D. 1330, Norman John Greville Pounds, Cambridge University Press 1973, pg. 241, "By 1121 Polish armies had penetrated its forests, captured its chief city of Szczecin." 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.Jan M Piskorski, Pommern im Wandel der Zeiten, pp. 36ff; , 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.Archeologia Polska, Volume 38, Instytut Historii Kultury Materialnej (Polska Akademia Nauk, pg. 309, Zakład im. Ossolińskich, 1993.
Polish rule ended with Boleslaw's death in 1138.Kyra Inachim, Die Geschichte Pommerns, Hinstorff Rostock, 2008, pg. 17; : "Mit dem Tod Kaiser Lothars 1137 endete der sächsische Druck auf Wartislaw I., und mit dem Ableben Boleslaw III. auch die polnische Oberhoheit." During the Wendish Crusade in 1147, a contingent led by the German margrave Albert the Bear, an enemy of Slavic presence in the region, papal legate, bishop Anselm of Havelberg and Konrad of Meissen besieged the town.Bernhard Schimmelpfennig, Könige und Fürsten, Kaiser und Papst nach dem Wormser Konkordat, Oldenbourg Wissenschaftsverlag, 1996, pg. 16; Horst Fuhrmann, Deutsche Geschichte im hohen Mittelalter: Von der Mitte des 11. Bis zum Ende des 12. Jahrhunderts, 4th edition, Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 2003, pg. 147; Peter N. Stearns, William Leonard Langer, The Encyclopedia of world history, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2001; pg. 206 @ books.google.comDavies, Norman (1996). Europe: A History. Oxford: Oxford University Press; , pg. 362 There, a Polish contingent supplied by Mieszko III the OldJan M. Piskorski, Pommern im Wandel der Zeiten, 1999, pg. 43; : Greater Polish continguents of Mieszko the Elder joined the crusaders. However, the citizens had placed crosses around the fortifications,Jean Richard, Jean Birrell, "The Crusades, c.1071c.1291", Cambridge University Press, 1999, p.158, books.google.com indicating they already had been Christianised.Jonathan Riley-Smith, "The Crusades: A History", Continuum International Publishing Group, 2005, p.130, books.google.com Duke Ratibor I of Pomerania, negotiated the disbanding of the crusading forces.Werner Buchholz, Pommern, Siedler, 1999, p.30,
After the Battle of Verchen in 1164, Stettin duke Bogusław I, Duke of Pomerania became a vassal of the Duchy of Saxony's Henry the Lion.Werner Buchholz, Pommern, Siedler, 1999, p.34, In 1173, Stettin 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.Werner Buchholz, Pommern, Siedler, 1999, p.35, 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 monarch Władysław III Spindleshanks stayed at the local court of Duke Bogusław I in 1186, on behalf of his father Mieszko III the Old, Duke of Greater Poland, 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 a Danish force in 1190.Université de Caen. Centre de recherches archéologiques médiévales, Château-Gaillard: études de castellologie médiévale, XVIII : actes du colloque international tenu à Gilleleje, Danemark, 24–30 août 1996, CRAHM, 1998, p.218, While the empire restored its superiority over the Duchy of Pomerania in the Battle of Bornhöved in 1227, Stettin was one of two bridgeheads remaining under Danish control (until 1235; Wolgast until 1241/43 or 1250).