Other Definitions
szczecin (dest)
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SzczecinSzczecin (pronounce: ['ʃʧεtɕin]) is the 7th largest city in Poland and the second largest Polish seaport on the Baltic. It is also the capital of the West Pomeranian Voivodship. There are 419,000 inhabitants in Szczecin (as of 2004). Szczecin is situated in the north-west corner of Poland, on both banks of the Oder River, close to Baltic Sea and the German border. 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 the Left Bank (Lewobrzeże), and the Eastern side the Right Bank (Prawobrzeże). Between them is an archipelago with many islands (mainly industrial areas with shipyards and sea-port infrastructure). City name Early medieval sources show: Stetin 1133, Stetyn 1188, Priznoborus vir nobilis in Stetin, Symon nobilis Stettinensis 1234, in vico Stetin 1240, Barnim Dei gratia dux Pomeranorum... civitati nostri Stetin 1243, Stityn 1251, Sigillum Burgoncium de Stitin municipal seal of the 13th century, which is the same to the modern Polish spelling of Szczecin. The name is almost certainly of the same origin as others Polish names such as Szczytno, Szczucin and Szczuczyn. In Latin, the city was known as Stetinum. There are several possible etymologies of the city name: - Szczecin comes from the word szczyt which means peak, hill top in modern Polish, but also a long shield in Old Polish. So Szczecin means a town located on a hill top, or a town fortified as a stronghold.
- Szczecin comes from a personal name Szczuka and means Szczuka's town
- Szczecin comes from a personal name Szczeta/Szczota and means Szczota's town
- Szczecin comes from a word szczecina which means bristle. So Szczecin is a town with many swines, or a town fortified like bristle. If this is true Szczecin could be identified with Burstaborg mentioned in the Scandinavian chronicles.
Because in 1310 duke Warcislaw IV has founded a new city called New Szczecin and today Szczecinek modelled after the Szczecin municipality, the original Szczecin was sometimes called the Old Szczecin (Latin: Stetinum Antiqua, Polish: Stary Szczecin, German: Alten Stettin.) In the 16th century Polish literature used two alternative spellings: Szczecin (seems to be the exact pronunciation of the city name used by its Slavonic inhabitants, previously spelled in Latin as Stetin since the 12th century) and Sztetyn (seems to be a copy of the German pronunciation). The first form of Szczecin prevailed in the following years and was officially confirmed in the 19th century, long before the city was again in Polish hands. Prior to 1945, the city, inhabited almost entirely by Germans from late Medieval times, was known internationally and locally as Stettin, its German name. History Full article: History of Szczecin Historical summary A stronghold of the Lusatian culture was here in the early Iron Age period. Another stronghold of the Pomeranians was built in the 8th century at the ford of the Oder river. The city was already a flourishing trading centre with 10,000 inhabitants when it was subjugated and baptized by Boleslaus III of Poland. A medieval municipality was granted autonomy in 1243. Till the 1630s Stettin was the capital of the Duchy of Pomerania ruled by the Slavonic Griffin dynasty, of Slavic origins. After their extinction Stettin, along with the rest of western Pomerania, was granted to Sweden at the Peace of Westphalia, despite the protests of the Elector of Brandenburg, who had a legal claim to inherit all of Pomerania. After the Great Northern War, in 1720, the Swedes were forced to cede the city to the Brandenburg elector Frederick William I, by now King of Prussia. Stettin remained in Prussia (and thus, after 1871 in Germany) until 1945, when the Red Army captured the city and gave it to Poland. The city's German inhabitants either escaped or were transferred to Germany, and the city was colonized with Poles, mainly from Poznan area. The city, now known as Szczecin, was rebuilt and made a major industrial centre, the capital of Szczecin Voivodship. It witnessed anti-communist revols in 1970 and 1980 adding its share to the birth of Solidarity movement. Since 1999 Szczecin has been the capital of Western Pomeranian Voivodship. Dukes of Szczecin Famous people born or otherwise connected with Szczecin - Alfred Dblin (1878 - 1957), author
- Heinrich George (1893 - 1946), actor
- Catherine the Great (1729 - 1796), empress of Russia
- Friedrich Gilly (1772 - 1800), architecht
- Carl Gustav Friedrich Hasselbach (1809 - 1882), Mayor of Magdeburg
- Carl Ludwig Schleich (1859 - 1922), author
- Manfred Stolpe (born 1936), Prime Minister of Brandenburg and Federal Minister in the government of Gerhard Schrder since 2002
- Christian Tomuschat (born 1936), expert in international law, professor at the Humboldt University of Berlin
- Friedrich Graf von Wrangel (1784 - 1877), Prussian Field Marshal
- Tadeusz Zwiefka - popular TV journalist, former manager of the Szczecin regional TV center, and a PO's Member of European Parliament.
Historical population 12th century: 5,000 inhabitants
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 inhabitants
2004: 419,000 inhabitants Architecture and urban planning Szczecin's architectural style is mainly influenced by those of last half of 19th century and first twenty years of the 20th century mostly by Academic art and Art Nouveau. In many areas build after 1945 Social realism is prevalent. Urban planning of Szczecin is unusual. The first thing observed by a newcomer is abundance of green areas: parks and avenues – wide streets with trees planted in the island separating opposite traffic (where often tram tracks are laid); and roundabouts. This makes Szczecin's city project quite similar to that of Paris. The reason is, Szczecin (like Paris) was rebuild in 1880s using a design by Georges-Eugne Haussmann. This course of designing streets in Szczecin is still used, as many recently build (or modified) city areas include roundabouts and avenues. Politics and Administration Municipal politics Szczecin is governed by city council and mayor. Mayor (prezydent miasta), as well as council, is elected by city's citizens every four years. Marian Jurczyk, Solidarity icon, is Szczecin's mayor. His achievements are however widely criticised and he is blamed for over 10 millions zlotys compensations which city must pay for canceling the land selling deal, his lack of formal education, and his apparent cluelessness in many important matters. Mr Jurczyk famous errors includes forgetting the name of his own deputy he just nominated or quoting Jesus in his speech to the council. Because of this criticism recall voices of recall were raised. On 23 March 2004 necessary 32 000 signatures were received by Recall Committee. Recall referendum took place on 23 May 2004. However the necessary 30% turnout wasn't reached as only 19% of voters cast their ballots. An overwhelming majority of those voting (92%), supported mayor's recall. This means that current political situation is quite difficult. Municipal administration Szczecin is divided into the auxiliary local government districts called neighbourhood councils (rady osiedla). Those districts elect their own councils and are responsible mainly for small infrastructure like trees, park benches, playgrounds, etc. Other functions are mostly advisory. Official list of districts Dzielnica Śrdmieście (Middle Town) Centrum, Drzetowo-Grabowo, Łękno, Międzyodrze-Wyspa Pucka, Niebuszewo-Bolinko, Nowe Miasto, Stare Miasto, Śrdmieście Płnoc, Śrdmieście-Zachd, Turzyn Dzielnica Płnoc (North) Bukowo, Golęcino- Gocław, Niebuszewo, Skolwin, Stołczyn, Warszewo, Żelechowa Dzielnica Zachd (West) os.Arkonskie-Niemierzyn, Głębokie-Pilchowo, Gumieńce, Krzekowo-Bezrzecze, Osw, Pogodno, Pomorzany, Świerczewo, os.Zawadzkiego-Klonowica Dzielnica Prawobrzeże (Right-Bank) Bukowe-Klęskowo, Dąbie, Majowe-Kijewo, Płonia, Podjuchy, os.Słoneczne, Wielgowo-Sławociesze, Załom, Zdroje, Żydowce-Klucz other historical neigbourhoods Babin, Barnucin, Basen Grniczy,Błędw, Boleszyce, Bystrzyk, Cieszyce, Cieśnik, Dolina, Dunikowo, Glinki, Podbrz, Jezierzyce, Kaliny, Kępa Barnicka, Kijewko, Kluczewko, Kłobucko, Kniewo, Kraśnica, Krzekoszw(1), Krzekoszw(2), Lotnisko, Łasztownia, Niemierzyn, Odolany, Oleszna, Podbrz, Port, os.Przyjaźni, Rogatka, Rudnik, Sienna, Skoki, Słowieńsko, Sosnwko, Starkw, Stoki, Struga, Śmierdnica, os.Świerczewskie, Trzebusz, Urok, Widok, Zdunowo. Members of European Parliament (MEPs) from Szczecin - Zdzislaw Chmielewski, PO, historian, rector of University of Szczecin
- Boguslaw Liberadzki, SLD-UP, economist, minister of transport
- Sylwester Chruszcz, LPR, architect and politician, elected in Silesian constituency, but lives in Szczecin
Members of Sejm from Szczecin constituency Members of Parliament (Sejm) elected from Szczecin constituency - Artur Balazs, PO
- Wojciech Długoborski, SLD-UP
- Wacław Klukowski, Samoobrona
- Bohdan Kopczyński, LPR
- Stanisław Kopeć, SLD-UP
- Bożena Kozłowska, Samoobrona
- Bogusław Liberadzki, SLD-UP
- Czesław Marzec, SLD-UP
- Jacek Piechota , SLD-UP
- Elżbieta Piela-Mielczarek, SLD-UP
- Elżbieta Romero, SLD-UP
- Jacek Sauk, PiS
- Krzysztof Zaremba, PO
Economy Szczecin has the biggest shipyard in Poland, which recently went bankrupt and was successfully reinstated. It has a fishing industry and a steel mill. Major companies: - Swedwood Poland SA, Szczecin
- Zespł Elektrowni Dolna Odra SA, Nowe Czarnowo
- Stocznia Szczecińska Nowa sp. z o.o., Szczecin
- Polska Żegluga Morska SA, Szczecin
- Netto Artykuły Żywnościowe sp. z o.o., Kobylanka
- Komfort sp. z o.o., Szczecin
- Petrocargo/OW Bunker sp. z o.o., Szczecin
- Vobis Microcomputer sp. z o.o., Szczecin
- PZE Cefarm-Szczecin SA, Szczecin
- Bosman Browar Szczecin SA, Szczecin
- home.pl, Szczecin
- Agencja Reklamowa Anny Turkiewicz, Szczecin
- Agryf SA, Szczecin
- Drobimex, Szczecin
See also Baltic Sea Ports of 2002. Culture Major cultural events in Szczecin are: - Days of the Sea (Polish Dni Morza) held every June
- Days of The Ukrainian Culture (Polish Dni Kultury Ukraińskiej) held every May.
- Air show on Dabie airport held every May
Museums - National Museum in Szczecin (Polish Muzeum Narodowe w Szczecinie) collects arts, old jewelry, military equipment. It has three branches:
- Museum of the City of Szczecin (Polish Muzeum Miasta Szczecina)
- Maritime Museum (Polish Muzeum Morskie)
- Gallery of Contemporary Arts (Polish Galeria Sztuki Wspłczesnej)
- Museum of the Szczecin Archidiocese (Polish Muzeum Archidiecezjalne w Szczecinie) collects sacral arts and historical documents
Arts and Entartainment - Kana Theatre (Polish Teatr Kana)
- Modern Theatre (Polish Teatr Wspłczesny)
- Opera in the Castle (Polish Opera na Zamku)
- Polish Theatre (Polish Teatr Polski)
- The Pomeranian Dukes' Castle in Szczecin (Polish Zamek Książąt Pomorskich w Szczecinie)
- The Castle Cinema (Polish Kino Zamek)
- The Cellar by the Vault Cabaret (Polish Kabaret Piwnica przy Krypcie)
- The Crypt Theatre (Polish Teatr Krypta)
Education and Science Scientific and regional organizations Sports There are many popular professional sports team in Szczecin area. The most popular sport today is probably football (thanks to Pogon Szczecin just promoted to play in the 1st league in season 2004/2005). Amateur sports are played by thousands of Szczecin citizens and also in schools of all levels (elementary, secondary, university). Professional teams Amateur leagues External links Internet guides Regional media History and culture Economy and transportation Education and Science Sports
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