Ustka

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Ustka

	(Coat of arms)

Country	Poland
Voivodeship	Pomerania
Mayor	Jacek Adam Graczyk
Area	10,14 km²
Population - city - urban - density	16 308 (2004) 1608,28/km²
Founded	13th century
City rights	1945
Latitude Longitude	54°35'N 16°51'E
Area code	+48 58
Car plates	GSL
Twin towns	Bielsko-Biała, Enkhuizen, Kappeln, Słupsk
Municipal Website

Ustka (former German: Stolpmünde; Kashubian and Pomeranian: Ùskô), is a town in the Middle Pomerania region of northwestern Poland with 17,100 inhabitants (2001). It is also part of Słupsk County in Pomeranian Voivodeship since 1999, and was previously in Słupsk Voivodeship (1975-1998).

Ustka is a popular tourist destination and a fishing port on the south coasts of the Baltic. For a number of years, following the polictical changes in Poland, the town has won a string of local awards for the best summer place in the country. After the collapse of the Ustka Shipyard, the only shipyard in Poland to have manufactured fire-proof lifeboats, and a number of fish-processing enterprises, the local authorities put tourism as a primery source of income for the town. Since the end of the 19th century, Ustka has been recognised as a summer holiday resort and various illnesses treament and recovery centre.

Port in Ustka

There are two beaches in Ustka. The Eastern Beach and the Western Beach, divided by the river Słupia. Since the eastern part of the town contains the centre, the Eastern Beach is more popular than the Western Beach. The Western Beach runs into the territory of the Navy Training Centre (CSSMW, Centrum Szkolenia Specjalistów Marynarki Wojennej), access to which was restricted beyond a certain point in the west. However, much more popular, developed and facilitated with numerous bars, restaurants, a concert hall, and a waterfront promenade (built in 1875), the Eastern Beach is more prone to abrasia (the erosion of the sea). The maintenance of the beach, which after the winter storm season becomes very narrow, is one the considerable expenses of Ustka authorities. The Eastern Beach is signified by high sand cliffs. The Western Beach is flat. In the summertime, there is a regular ferry service linking both beaches. The nearest and only bridge over the river Slupia is located outside the centre, in the western part of the town - just beyond the main railway station.

The railway in Ustka was opened in 1878. The rails were transported by the sea and the bedding for the track was formed by sand taken from the dunes on the Western Beach. The first passenger train departed Ustka (then Stolpmünde) on 1 October 1878. The rail was also used as a main transport facilitating the trade from the harbour. The rail track was extended to run into the harbour, trading mostly grain and spirits. Records state that in 1887, the Ustka harbour shipped 5 million litres of plain spirits. The Harbour declined after the World War II, fishing taking priority from trade. The current shape of the harbour is a result of a main investment between 1899 and 1903, which made Ustka the largest port between Szczecin and Gdańsk. As a response to Poland's creation of a large modern port in Gdynia in the 1930's, Adolf Hitler decided to dramatically enlarge Ustka's harbour. The gigantic investment kicked off at the beginning of 1938. A third pier was started to create a massive station for the largest vessels. The construction of the new port was halted on 23 September 1939. The unfinished third pier battered by the sea attracts legends and myths related to Nazi Germany operations in the World War II.

The old part of the town has retained its layout since the Middle Ages. The small residential buildings were modernised in the thirties of the 19th century, however the layout of the streets was not changed. Since 2005, Ustka's authorities and the European Union embarked on the Revitilisation Programme for Old Ustka. Many buildings have and are being restored.

Monuments in the town include a lighthouse from 1871 (rebuilt to include the octagonal tower in 1892), Main Post Office from 1875 and church from 1882. The first historic records of Ustka mention the village of Ujsc or Ujscie of Pomerania in 1310. Later on, it became Germanized due to German settlers entering the area, invited by the Slavic Dukes of Pomerania. As Stolpmünde it became part of the Kingdom of Prussia, the German Empire, the Weimar Republic and, Nazi Germany. In 1945 the city was ceded to Poland at the Potsdam Conference; its population, both Germans and local Germanized Slavs, were expelled to western Germany. The town was resettled by Polish refugees from Galicia and by colonists from central Poland.

After World War II, Ustka struggled clarifying its official name. It was know as: Ujść, Uszcz, Ustka - all three posted on the main railway station at a time in 1945, Nowy Słupsk - as stated at the Main Post Office, Postomino - as stated at the Townhall, Słupioujście - as stated at the Harbour Master's Office, and Ujście. The final name, Ustka, was decided upon in the late 1940's.

Near Ustka is a military exercise area from which Meteor-type sounding rockets were launched in the late 1960s and early 1970s.

Ustka is a host of the annual International Contest of Fireworks, which takes place in the middle of July.