West Pomeranian Voivodeship

West Pomeranian Voivodeship
Województwo zachodniopomorskie
Voivodeship

Flag
Coat of arms

Location within Poland

Division into counties
Coordinates (Szczecin): 53°25′N 14°35′E / 53.417°N 14.583°E / 53.417; 14.583Coordinates: 53°25′N 14°35′E / 53.417°N 14.583°E / 53.417; 14.583
Country  Poland
Capital Szczecin
Counties
Area
 • Total 22,896 km2 (8,840 sq mi)
Population (2006)
 • Total 1,693,533
 • Density 74/km2 (190/sq mi)
 • Urban 1,170,105
 • Rural 523,428
Car plates Z
Website Zachodniopomorski Urząd Wojewódzki w Szczecinie
  • further divided into 114 gminas

West Pomeranian Voivodeship or West Pomerania Province[1] (in Polish, województwo zachodniopomorskie [[Wikipedia:IPA for Polish|[vɔjɛˈvut͡stfɔ zaˈxɔdɲ]]ɔ pɔˈmɔrskʲɛ]), is a voivodeship in northwestern Poland. It borders on Pomeranian Voivodeship to the east, Greater Poland Voivodeship to the southeast, Lubusz Voivodeship to the south, the German federal-states of Mecklenburg-West Pomerania and Brandenburg to the west, and the Baltic Sea to the north. Its capital and largest city is Szczecin.

It was established on January 1, 1999, out of the former Szczecin and Koszalin Voivodeships and parts of other neighboring voivodeships, pursuant to the Polish local government reforms adopted in 1998. It is named for the historical region of Pomerania (Polish: Pomorze). In spite of the name ("West Pomeranian"), the voivoideship does not include the most westerly parts of historical Pomerania, which lie in Germany's Vorpommern (see Western Pomerania).

The name Pomerania comes from Slavic po more, which means Land at the Sea.[2]

Geography and tourism

Viking Festival in Wolin
Church of Virgin Mary, Queen of the World in Stargard Szczeciński

West Pomeranian Voivodeship is the fifth largest voivodeship of Poland in terms of area. Among the largest cities, of the region, are the capital Szczecin, as well as Koszalin, Stargard Szczeciński, and Świnoujście.

This is a picturesque region of the Baltic Sea coast, with many beaches, lakes and woodlands. Szczecin, Świnoujście and Police are important ports. Other major seaside towns include Międzyzdroje, Dziwnów, Kołobrzeg, and Mielno.

West Pomerania is considered one of the greenest regions of Poland, and one of the most attractive for tourists. It is characterized by incredible diversity of the landscape: beaches, hundreds of lakes, and forests full of wildlife (e.g. Wkrzanska Forest), spreading mainly up the hills of the glacial lakes areas. West Pomerania is also rich in various forms and styles of architecture that were built during the Middle Ages as well as the Gothic, Baroque, and Renaissance periods. There is a diverse repertoire of theaters, festivals, museums and galleries. During a few-day long annual Sea Festival in Szczecin, a number of free open-air concerts take place. In Świnoujście during the summer, the FAMA Academic Youth Arts Festival takes place – an event with several years of tradition, which attracts not only young people but also older alumni. In Międzyzdroje, there is a Festival Of The Stars, which draws many popular actors. In Wolin, a Viking Festival takes place, which draws "Vikings" from all across Europe.

Another draw to the area is a wide array of health resorts. Brine and peloid, discovered in the 19th century, together with geothermal water resources, are popular attractions in Świnoujście, Kamień Pomorski and Połczyn Zdrój.

Cities and towns

Oder in Szczecin
The old Gothic town hall in Chojna, built by Germans in 1320 when the town was known as Königsberg in der Neumark
City Hall in Koszalin
Park in Połczyn-Zdrój
Ship in harbour, Świnoujście
Port of Nowe Warpno
Oder in Police
Drawa National Park
Dendrological Garden in Przelewice

The voivodeship contains 64 cities and towns. These are listed below in descending order of population (according to official figures for 2006[3]):

  1. Szczecin (410,809)
  2. Koszalin (107,783)
  3. Stargard Szczeciński (70,534)
  4. Kołobrzeg (44,794)
  5. Świnoujście (40,899)
  6. Szczecinek (38,756)
  7. Police (34,284)
  8. Wałcz (26,140)
  9. Białogard (24,339)
  10. Goleniów (22,448)
  11. Gryfino (21,478)
  12. Nowogard (16,745)
  13. Gryfice (16,702)
  14. Choszczno (15,753)
  15. Świdwin (15,637)
  16. Darłowo (14,380)
  17. Barlinek (14,156)
  18. Dębno (13,903)
  19. Złocieniec (13,377)
  20. Sławno (13,314)
  21. Pyrzyce (12,642)
  22. Myślibórz (11,867)
  23. Drawsko Pomorskie (11,465)
  24. Łobez (10,617)
  25. Trzebiatów (10,113)
  26. Kamień Pomorski (9,134)
  27. Połczyn-Zdrój (8,572)
  28. Chojna (7,187)
  29. Czaplinek (6,933)
  30. Sianów (6,543)
  31. Karlino (5,794)
  32. Międzyzdroje (5,436)
  33. Wolin (4,878)
  34. Bobolice (4,446)
  35. Resko (4,377)
  36. Borne Sulinowo (4,224)
  37. Płoty (4,142)
  38. Lipiany (4,124)
  39. Kalisz Pomorski (3,989)
  40. Barwice (3,838)
  41. Mieszkowice (3,553)
  42. Chociwel (3,285)
  43. Maszewo (3,073)
  44. Węgorzyno (3,011)
  45. Recz (2,995)
  46. Polanów (2,967)
  47. Dziwnów (2,949)
  48. Golczewo (2,724)
  49. Pełczyce (2,698)
  50. Mirosławiec (2,633)
  51. Tychowo (c. 2,500)
  52. Trzcińsko-Zdrój (2,496)
  53. Gościno (2,430)
  54. Dobrzany (2,420)
  55. Drawno (2,399)
  56. Człopa (2,390)
  57. Biały Bór (2,127)
  58. Dobra (2,028)
  59. Ińsko (2,001)
  60. Tuczno (1,965)
  61. Cedynia (1,653)
  62. Moryń (1,570)
  63. Suchań (1,446)
  64. Nowe Warpno (1,170)
  65. Międzywodzie (1,000)

The Polish districts of the historical region Western Pomerania (the 3 westernmost districts of the West Pomeranian Voivodeship) had a population of about 520,000 in 2012 (cities of Szczecin, Świnoujście and Police County combined) – while the German districts had a population of about 470,000 in 2012 (Vorpommern-Rügen and Vorpommern-Greifswald combined). So overall, about 1 million people live in the historical region of Western Pomerania today, while the Szczecin agglomeration reaches even further.

Administrative division

West Pomeranian Voivodeship is divided into 21 counties (powiats): 3 city counties and 18 land counties. These are further divided into 114 gminas.

The counties are listed in the following table (ordering within categories is by decreasing population in 2014) [4]):

English and
Polish names		 Area
(km²)		 Population
(2006)		 Seat Other towns Total
gminas
City counties
Szczecin 301 407,180 1
Koszalin 84 107,783 1
Świnoujście 197 41,276 1
Land counties
Stargard County
powiat stargardzki		 1,520 120,593 Stargard Szczeciński Chociwel, Dobrzany, Ińsko, Suchań 10
Gryfino County
powiat gryfiński		 1,870 83,688 Gryfino Chojna, Mieszkowice, Trzcińsko-Zdrój, Cedynia, Moryń 9
Goleniów County
powiat goleniowski		 1,617 82,507 Goleniów Nowogard, Maszewo 6
Szczecinek County
powiat szczecinecki		 1,765 78,858 Szczecinek Borne Sulinowo, Barwice, Biały Bór 6
Kołobrzeg County
powiat kołobrzeski		 726 79,567 Kołobrzeg Gościno 7
Police County
powiat policki		 664 75,386 Police Nowe Warpno 4
Myślibórz County
powiat myśliborski		 1,182 67,417 Myślibórz Barlinek, Dębno 5
Koszalin County
powiat koszaliński		 1,669 65,962 Koszalin * Sianów, Bobolice, Polanów 8
Gryfice County
powiat gryficki		 1,018 61,517 Gryfice Trzebiatów, Płoty 6
Drawsko County
powiat drawski		 1,764 58,073 Drawsko Pomorskie Złocieniec, Czaplinek, Kalisz Pomorski 6
Sławno County
powiat sławieński		 1,044 57,489 Sławno Darłowo 6
Wałcz County
powiat wałecki		 1,415 54,348 Wałcz Mirosławiec, Człopa, Tuczno 5
Choszczno County
powiat choszczeński		 1,328 49,709 Choszczno Recz, Pełczyce, Drawno 6
Białogard County
powiat białogardzki		 845 48,679 Białogard Karlino, Tychowo 4
Świdwin County
powiat świdwiński		 1,093 48,343 Świdwin Połczyn-Zdrój 6
Kamień County
powiat kamieński		 1,007 47,751 Kamień Pomorski Międzyzdroje, Wolin, Dziwnów, Golczewo 6
Pyrzyce County
powiat pyrzycki		 726 40,488 Pyrzyce Lipiany 6
Łobez County
powiat łobeski		 1,066 37,804 Łobez Resko, Węgorzyno, Dobra 5
   NOTE: * seat not part of the county

Protected areas

Wolin National Park

Protected areas in West Pomeranian Voivodeship include two National Parks and seven Landscape Parks. These are listed below.

Demography

Until 1945 the region was part of Germany. After World War II the region was placed under Polish administration and ethnically cleansed according to the post-war Potsdam Agreement. The native German populace was expelled and replaced with Poles.

In 1948 67 percent of the populace originated from Central Poland, Greater Poland and Pomeralia while 25 percent came from the Polish areas annexed by the Soviet Union. Another 6 percent returned to Poland from Western Europe. As of 1950 93 percent of the inhabitants had no roots in the region. About 50,000 Ukrainians were forcefully resettled to West Pomerania in the Operation Vistula in 1947.[5]

Education and science

Pomeranian Medical University, the hospital in Police, Poland

Industrial, science and technology parks

Transportation

There are two main international road routes that pass through the voivodship: National road 3 (Poland) Świnoujście-Szczecin-Gorzów Wielkopolski-Zielona Góra-Legnica-Czech border (part of European route E65 from Swedish Malmö to Chaniá in Greece) and National road 6 (Poland) Szczecin-Koszalin-Słupsk-Gdańsk (part of European route E28 from Berlin to Minsk). Most of the National road 3 in the voivodship is in a standard of an expressway (Expressway S3 (Poland)). The National road 6 between German border and Rzęśnica is in the standard of autostrada (A6 autostrada (Poland)), whereas part between Rzęścnica and Goleniów and bypasses of Goleniów and Nowogard are in standards of an expressway (Expressway S6 (Poland)). Other important national roads are National road 10 (Poland) (German border-Szczecin-Piła-Bydgoscz-Toruń-Płońsk) and National road 11 (Poland) (Kołobrzeg-Koszalin-Piła-Poznań-Bytom). Apart from the above, some other national roads are located in the voivodship. The voivodship possesses also a well-developed network of regional roads.

Main railways in the province are line no. 351 Szczecin-Poznań, line no. 273 Szczecin-Wrocław (so-called “Odra railway”), line no. 202 Stargard Szczeciński-Gdańsk, line no. 401 Szczecin-Świnoujście and line no. 404 Kołobrzeg-Szczecinek. The main railway stations of the province are Szczecin main station, Stargard Szczeciński and Koszalin. The stations are served by fast PKP Intercity trains which connect them with the capital Warsaw, as well as other major Polish cities. In addition to these fast express services, inter-regional trains and intra-regional trains are operated by the firm Przewozy Regionalne. Szczecin main station possesses international train connections with Berlin, Schwerin and Lübeck (operated by DB Regio). Świnoujście has a direct train connection with Stralsund, which is operated by Usedomer Bäderbahn.

The only domestic and international airport in West Pomeranian Voivodeship is Szczecin-Goleniów "Solidarność" Airport. Also, part of the runway of an abandoned airport in Bagicz (near Kołobrzeg) was converted to an airport licensed to service planes carrying not more than 20 passengers on board.

Gallery

See also

Wikimedia Commons has media related to West Pomeranian Voivodeship.

References

  1. ↑ Arkadiusz Belczyk, Tłumaczenie polskich nazw geograficznych na język angielski [Translation of Polish Geographical Names into English], 2002-2006.
  2. ↑ Der Name Pommern (po more) ist slawischer Herkunft und bedeutet so viel wie „Land am Meer“. (German: Pommersches Landesmuseum)
  3. ↑ "Błąd 404. Strona o podanym adresie nie istnieje" (in Polish). Stat.gov.pl. Retrieved 2012-03-12.
  4. ↑ "Ludność, ruch naturalny i migracje w województwie zachodniopomorskim w 2014 r." (in Polish). Urząd Statystyczny w Szczecinie. 2014. Retrieved 2015-09-19.
  5. ↑ Alina Hutnikiewicz: "Proces Osadnictwa na Pomorzu Zachodnim po 1945 r" in Zeszyty Kulickie 5: Rodzinne Pomorze – dawniej i dziś, pp. 67 ff. (Polish)

External links

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