Szczecin ( Stettin ) is the 7th more big city of Poland, the chief town of the Western Voïvodie de Poméranie as well as the 3rd more harbor big city of this country. This city was known in the past in France under the German name Stettin .
Being located in the extreme North-West of Poland on two benches of the river Oder very close to its entry in the gulf of Szczecin. The archipelago between two benches is an industrial and harbor park.
History
Szczecin has a history among the most coloured Europe. In the past, this city belonged to the Poles, to Germans, to Prussians, to Danes and to Swedes.
The first mention of the city had taken place at the 8th century when the tribes of Slavic origin made trade there and dealt with fishing. These tribes were integrated in the new Polish country created around 970, but in 1005 the population revolted because she wanted to keep her pagan beliefs .
While wanting to keep the area, Mieszko Ier, the prince of Poland gave its autonomy to the area of Szczecin, especially in the religious and economic fields.
The fact that the Polish kings accepted the pagan fact because the agitation in the Germanic Roman Holy roman Empire which separately the religious causes saw the economic causes there. Szczecin obtained the statute of a city in 1243 of the hands of Barnim I {{er}} the Good. A strong Germanic community is established there. Szczecin became in 1309 the capital of the duchy of Poméranie controlled by the Slavic dynasty of Griffin. Between 1243-1630, Szczecin developed and became a place privileged for the merchants, transport and the middle-class. The joint city the Hanse and formed a privileged relation with Frankfurt-on-the Oder. The Slavic dynasty of Griffin lost Szczecin to the hands of the Swedes in 1631, the Paix of Westphalia allotted Szczecin to the Sweden in an official way in 1648. Crossed its bonds with Hanse, the economy of the city stagnated and Prussia, seeing a relative loss of control of the Swedish authorities, made him the war in 1713 and managed to take the city. The Swedes, without wanting to admit their defeat withdrew themselves some hardly seven years later.
The city belonged to the Prussia between 1720 and 1918, until the creation of the Germany. The Prussian authorities made come from the thousands of the Huguenot S which were established and contributed there to the urban development, which is become again one of the richest cities and most important of the the Baltic. In 1843, the first network of Railroad between Szczecin and Berlin were built, other networks, of which those with the mines of Silesia followed. The population quickly grew and the First World War did not destroy the city.
After 1918, the economy of the city went from evil in worse. With the re-creation of the Polish state, Szczecin did not have any more access to the vast agricultural territories of the Large-Poland nor to the mines of Silesia. The importance of the city decreased with the profit of Rostock and especially of Hamburg.
The Second world war destroyed 65% of the city and on April 26th 1945 the Soviets had entered the city. The Conference of Yalta, which had been held two months of before always gave Szczecin to Germany because the new border of Poland was going to be located close to the town of Kołobrzeg, 75 kilometers in the North-East of Szczecin and the Poles were going to receive Kaliningrad. Joseph Stalin however changed opinion because it needed a port on the Baltic which it could use throughout the year, including in winter thus it gave Szczecin to Poland. Szczecin will then become to some extent the frontier town between Allemangne of the East and Poland; Winston Churchill, in its Discours of Fulton of the March 5th 1946 will refer there.
After the end of the war, the German population was gradually expelled. The Poles who before 1945 were only 6% of the population of Szczecin, were encouraged to be established in the area. They came in mass, especially of the territories annexed by the Soviet Union. Szczecin counted an important German minority until in 1960.
Become the capital of Poméranie-Western, Szczecin was rebuilt and the Communists took the control of the urban development. In 1970, syndicated of Szczecin made a revolt against the Communist leaders. Supported by their colleagues of Gdańsk and Silesia, they succeeded in putting fire in the power station of the Communist party. In 1980, the trade union Solidarność made a similar revolt. In 1989, Poland became a democracy which allowed Szczecin a fast development and the entry on the market of capitalist economy.
Today, Szczecin is a modern city, directed towards the co-operation with other ports of the European Union.
Structure and plane urban
The style of architecture is especially influenced by that of second half of the 19th century and the first years of the 20th century thus academic art and the Art nouveau. The areas built-up after 1945 are marked by socialist realism.
The structure of the streets resembles that of Paris because copied plans of the Baron Haussmann with roundabouts.
With six kilometers of the downtown area a curiosity is going back to the beginning of the century, a Bismarckturm (tower set up in the honor of Bismarck): Bismarckturm Stettin .
Sport
The Pogoń Szczecin is the club of Football of the city.Wicher Warszewo is a club of regional league of Futsal ( Środowiskowa Liga Futsalu ).
Communications
Airport nearest: Airport of Szczecin
Anecdotes
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Capitulation of Stettin (October 30th 1806): Hohenlohe capitulating with Prentzlow on October 29th, Lasalle and its “infernal column”, 5th and 7th regiments of hussards, are presented in front of Szczecin. The garrison, strong of 5.000 men and equipped with an important artillery, capitulates in front of 700 riders while believing to have to it all the French Army.
Twinnings
Famous characters
- Catherine II the Large one, empress of Russia, born on April 21st, 1729 in Szczecin
- Frederic Adelung, linguist.
- Chava Alberstein, chansonnist, compositrice and autrice of texts in Hebrew and Yiddish, born on December 8th, 1947 in Szczecin
- Carl Loewe, type-setter, lived in Szczecin
- Grzegorz Rasiak, footballer, was born in the commune
See too
- Scandinavian War Seven Years
External bonds
- Web site of the town of Szczecin
- virtual Szczecin
- Port of Szczecin-Świnoujscie
- Airport of Szczecin
- University of Szczecin
- technical Technical University of Szczecin
- Głos Szczeciński, daily newspaper
- Kurier Szczeciński, daily newspaper Radio
- Plus Szczecin, regional radio
- Radio operator Szczecin
- TV Szczecin
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