swinoujscie

Świnoujście (pronounce: [,ɕvinɔ'ujɕtɕȋe], German Swinemnde) is a town in Pomerania, north-western Poland, situated on the islands of Uznam and Wolin with about 41,000 inhabitants (2004). It is also a county-status town in the West Pomeranian Voivodship (since 1999), and was previously in the Szczecin Voivodship (1975–1998).

History

Historical population
of Świnoujście

1900	align="right" \|	10,300
1905	align="right" \|	13,700
1925	align="right" \|	18,200
1938	align="right" \|	30,100
1947	align="right" \|	5,800
1960	align="right" \|	17,000
1970	align="right" \|	28,100
1975	align="right" \|	42,400
1980	align="right" \|	47,100
1990	align="right" \|	43,300
1995	align="right" \|	43,200
2003	align="right" \|	40,881

Świnoujście is divided by the Swina, a waterway connection between Szczecin and the Baltic Sea. The river Swina was formerly flanked by the fishing villages of West and East Swina. Towards the beginning of the seventeenth century it was made navigable for large ships, and Swinoujscie, which was founded on the site of West Swina in 1748, was fortified and raised to the dignity of a town by Frederick the Great in 1765. It served as the outer port of Szczecin, the city had broad unpaved streets and one-storey houses built in the Dutch style, whuch gave it an almost rustic appearance, although its industries, beyond some fishing, were entirely connected with its shipping. The entrance to the harbour, which was seen the best on the Prussian Baltic coast, was protected by two long breakwaters, and was strongly fortified. On the island of Wolin, on the other side of the narrow Swina, there was a great lighthouse. In 1897 the canal of the Kaiserfahrt was opened to navigation, and this waterway between the Szczecin harbour and the Baltic Sea was deepened between 1900–1901. After this Szczecin could be directly reached by ships, and city's importance diminished somewhat. On March 12, 1945, Świnoujście suffered heavy destruction by USAAF bombing. At least 23,000 people died, mainly refugees from East Prussia and from surrounding areas. After the war the city was annexed into Poland, together with other areas east of the Oder-Neisse line granted to Poland by the Potsdam Conference.

Swinoujscie

History

See also: