Wolin
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Wolin (German: Wollin) is the name shared by an island located in the Baltic Sea located just off the Polish coast, and a town located on the island. It is separated from the island of Usedom by the Swina strait, and from mainland Pomerania by the Dziwna strait.
Water from the river Oder (Polish: Odra) flows into the Oder Lagoon. From there it flows through the Peene (to the west of Usedom), Swina and Dziwna into the Bay of Pomerania, which is part of the Baltic Sea.
- Area: 265 km²
- Highest point: Mount Grzywacz, 115 m above sea level
Most of the island consists of forests and postglacial hills. Located in the middle is the Wolin National Park.
Places on Wolin island:
- Świnoujście
- Międzyzdroje
- Wolin
- Międzywodzie
- Wisełka
- Świętoujść
- Wapnica
- Chorzelin
- Kodrąb
- Łuskowo
- Warnowo
- Dargobądz
- Lubin
- Wicko
- Ognica
- Przytór
- Łunowo
- Mokrzyca Mała
- Mokrzyca Wielka
- Darzowice
- Jarzębowo
[edit] History
An mediæval document of ca. 850, called Bavarian Geographer after its anonymous creator, mentions the Slavic tribe of Volinians who have 70 strongholds (Uelunzani civitates LXX). The town of Wolin was first mentioned in the 10th century. Archaeologists believe that in the Early Middle Ages there was a great trade emporium, spreading along the shore for four kilometers and rivaling in importance Birka and Hedeby.
Archaeological finds on the island are not very rich but they dot an area of 20 hectares, making it the second largest Baltic marketplace of the Viking Age after Hedeby. Some scholars speculated that Wolin may have been the basis for the semi-legendary settlements Jomsborg and Vineta. This is dubious, as "no trace has been found there of its artifical harbour for 360 warships, or of a citadel, unless the nearby hill of Silberberg is accepted as the site of such; but there were Norsemen there around the year 1000, and the archaeological finds reveal a mixed population of Vikings and Slavs".[1]
Until 1945 the island was part of Germany, exclusively inhabited by Germans who were expelled in the same year and replaced with Polish colonists.
[edit] References
- ^ Gwyn Jones. A History of the Vikings. Oxford University Press, 2001. ISBN 0192801341. Page 127.
[edit] External links
| Trade emporia of the Viking Age |
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|---|---|
| Dorestad • Kaupang • Lindholm • Hedeby • Ribe • Birka • Sigtuna • Köpingsvik Reric • Arkona • Menzlin • Ralswiek • Wolin • Truso • Kaup • Grobin Vanaja • Aldeigja • Alaborg • Hólmgard • Gnezdovo • Sarskoe • Timerevo |
