Usedom

German Usedom in or Uznam in Polish is a large German and Polish island. It is in the North-East of the Germany and the North-West of the Poland, between the gulf of Szczecin and the the Baltic. Of an total surface area of 445 km ², the island is divided between the Germany (373 km ²) and the Poland (72 km ²).

This island is sometimes called “the island of the sun” because with an average of 1 906 hours of Sun per year, it is the sunniest place of Germany.

The island saw mainly Tourisme and fishing. More the big city is Świnoujście, it is in Poland. Ahlbeck, Heringsdorf and Bansin is the German places of holiday. These three cities are called the three “Kaiserbäder”, that is to say the three baths of the emperor.

History

The first mention of the name of Usedom, in XIIe century, relates to the small town of the same name in the south-west of the island; one quotes it by speaking about the conquest of the area by the first duke of Poméranie Western, Warcisław I {{er}}, and it mission that it had sent to it with the assistance of Othon de Bamberg, the bishop of Brandebourg. The cross built in 1928 on the rampart of the castle of Usedom recalls the adoption of Christianity by the majority of Slavic of the island and the continental part of Poméranie Western neighbouring to Pentecost of the year 1128.

Until the medium of XIIIe century Usedom was one of the preferred residences of the dukes of Poméranie. Then, it lost of its importance to the profit of Wolgast and Stettin. In first half of XIIIe century began the immigration of German colonists after long decades of battles between the Slavic inhabitants and the Danes. Thus the island was attached to the German cultural center. New villages appeared with the constitution of assemblies of Hufner and the three-year rotation. The noble ones of German and Slavic origin conformed to the feudal right. With the site of the great Slavic agglomeration of Usedom the German city of Usedom appeared which accepted in 1295 the urban right of Lübeck. One of the principal pillars of the new civilization was the church, initially that of the cloister of Prémontrés which was built around Usedom about 1155 and which was transferred in 1308 to Pudagla. To the Middle Ages a considerable part of the island belonged to the convent before being, during the Reform in 1535, confiscated by the duchy of Poméranie and managed by the services of the duke.

In 1630, a Swedish army ordered by Gustave-Adolphe unloaded with Peenemünde. Thus the clean intervention known as started of the Scandinavian kingdom during the 30 year old War. Usedom as well as Poméranie Western and the very whole area of the mouth of Oder, including the island close to Wolin, returned to the Sweden. However the Swedish sovereigns ordered only like dukes of Poméranie and the area always formed part of the Roman-Germanic Holy roman Empire. Neither then nor later during the later changes of domination one expelled the population resident, that did only in 1945. Between 1648 and 1720, the island of Usedom was several times the theater of engagements between Prussia-Brandebourg and Sweden. Following the Scandinavian war, the island which the Prussia had already seized in 1713 with other areas of Poméranie Western returned to Prussia. Within the framework of the economic development policy carried out by the Prussian crown, one carried out as of first half of the XVIIIe century the widening of not easily passable Swine hitherto; one created then downtown new, Swinemünde. The new road of navigation was to return port of Stettin independent of the old access controlled by Sweden on Peenestrom Wolgast.

In 1818 the circle of Usedom-Wollin with for chief town of Swinemünde district was created within the framework of the Prussian administrative reform of the two islands of Usedom and Wollin. A few years later, since 1824 or 1825, the sea bathings started in Swinemünde and Heringsdorf and until the middle of the XIXe century still Koserow, Zinnowitz and Ahlbeck followed. However, the great time of the sea bathings which made known Usedom beyond the area started only after the foundation of the German Empire. With the construction of the imperial railroad, part of the island, in south-east, was attached to the village of Kaseburg and the island, between the channel and Swine.

During the Second world war were in Peenemünde a laboratory of the Army, a ground of test for the missiles, and in Swinemünde a naval Base. These installations were worth to them allied air raids of 1943 to 1945, among which an attack on Swinemünde caused on March 12th, 1945 at midday a terrible massacre among the refugees who accumulated in the East of the island. They were buried in common graves on Golm, a height close to Kamminke, directly on the current border, where today a memorial is. With the conference of Potsdam, it was decided to place Swinemünde under Polish administration, which was made on October 6th, 1945. In 1950, GDR in the convention of Görlitz recognized the new border, as also in 1990 the Federal republic did it after the reunification.

From 1945 up to 1952, the part remained in the Soviet zone of occupation of the island always administratively constituted the circle of Usedom. The administration of the district resided of October 1945 in March 1946 at Bansin, then in Ahlbeck, where as of October 1945 the office of the commander of Soviet district residing before at Swinemünde had been transferred. With the administrative reform of the summer 1952 one created, with the circle of Usedom and of the parts close to the continent which had belonged before to the circle of Greifswald, the new circle of Wolgast with seat of the administration of district in the city of the same name. This circle remained until the reform of the circles in 1994. Then, it was joined together with the circles of Anklam and Greifswald to the circle of Poméranie Western whose seat is the town of Anklam.

Tourism remained, even after the 2nd world war, an important economic branch beside agriculture and fishing. The largest private hotels and the pensions were confiscated in 1953 in the framework of the “pink” operation and the installations allotted to the government enterprises of all GDR, to the service of holidays of the FDGB and the institutions of the State.

Many islanders found work as pendular travellers in the large company of Peenewerft Wolgast which provided especially the orders of armament to the time of GDR. The army, moreover, was also in a direct way an important employer. In the North of island, the NVA of the Soviets had taken again old the military appendices with Peenemünde and Karlshagen of which they had made a naval base and a base of the air force. Thereafter, there were the units of the NVA with Pudagla and the Red Army with Garz. After 1990, all that was dismantled.

Since 1990 the principal sector of the economy is tourism for which one particularly makes publicity in the old seaside resorts which evoke the “good old day”, for example the “Baths of the Three Emperors” indicate Ahlbeck, Bansin and Heringsdorf.

Usedom must with its name, according to an old legend, which one readily tells among the inhabitants, with meetings that one had organized to find a name in the island. One was not able to agree and the discussions lasted for ever. One finally decided to adopt the first name which would be proposed. Then one of the assistants let escape: “Oh so dumm! ” (Oh, that it is idiotic!) Undoubtedly wanted the weather to be then his proposal for a proper name, but it was too late. The island was called “Oh, so dumm” which was transformed during time into Usedom.

External bonds

Usedom of

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