Western Pomerania Vorpommern,Pomorze Przednie | |
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![Current (grey lines) and historical (coloured areas) administrative division of Vorpommern. Historically, the Oder formed the eastern border of Western Pomerania[citation needed]](/mt/?noimg=&dark=on&url=http%3a%2f%2fen.wikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fFile%3aVorpommern.png) Current (grey lines) and historical (coloured areas) administrative division of Vorpommern. Historically, the Oder formed the eastern border of Western Pomerania[citation needed] | |
| Country |  Germany Poland |
| Largest city | Szczecin |
| Time zone | UTC+1 (CET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+2 (CEST) |
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HistoricalWestern Pomerania, also calledCispomerania,[1][2]Fore Pomerania,Front Pomerania orHither Pomerania (German:Vorpommern[ˈfoːɐ̯pɔmɐn]ⓘ;Polish:Pomorze Przednie[pɔˈmɔʐɛˈpʂɛdɲɛ]ⓘ), is the western extremity of the historic region ofPomerania, located mostly in north-easternGermany, with a small portion in north-westernPoland, at the southern coast of theBaltic Sea.
Western Pomerania's boundaries have changed through the centuries as it belonged to various countries such as theDuchy of Pomerania (later part of theHoly Roman Empire), Denmark, Sweden, as well asPrussia which incorporated it as theProvince of Pomerania.
Today, the region contains the whole area ofPomerania west of theOder River, small bridgeheads east of the river, as well as the islands in theSzczecin Lagoon. Its majority forms part of Germany and has been divided between the states ofMecklenburg-Western Pomerania andBrandenburg, with the cities ofStralsund andGreifswald, as well as towns such asRibnitz-Damgarten (Damgarten only),Bergen auf Rügen (Rügen Island),Anklam,Wolgast,Demmin,Pasewalk,Grimmen,Sassnitz (Rügen Island),Ueckermünde,Torgelow,Barth, andGartz. The cities ofSzczecin andŚwinoujście, as well as the towns ofPolice,Goleniów,Wolin,Międzyzdroje,Nowe Warpno, and (the left-bank part of)Dziwnów are part of Poland. The German part forms about one-third of the present-day north-easternstate ofMecklenburg-Western Pomerania, while the Polish part constitutes the westernmost border areas of theWest Pomeranian Voivodeship.
German Western Pomerania had a population of about 470,000 in 2012 (districts ofVorpommern-Rügen andVorpommern-Greifswald combined) – while the Polish districts of the region had a population of about 520,000 in 2012 (cities ofSzczecin,Świnoujście andPolice County combined). Overall approximately 1 million people live in the historical region of Western Pomerania today.
The GermanprefixVor- denotes a location closer to the speaker, and is the equivalent of "Fore"/"Front"/"Hither" in English andAnterior/Citerior/Cis- in Latin (with the correspondingantonyms in German, English and Latin beingHinter-, "Hinder"/"Rear"/"Farther" andPosterior/Ulterior/Trans-, respectively). Historically the name "Hither Pomerania" has been used, but in modern English the German region is more commonly called "Western Pomerania" or by its native name. The formerly widespread local dialect term isLow German:Vörpommern.
The namePomerania comes fromSlavicpo more, which means "land by the sea".[3] Theadjective for the region is(Western) Pomeranian (German:pommersch,Polish:pomorski), inhabitants are called(Western) Pomeranians (German:Pommern, Polish:Pomorzanie). The Polish names for the historical region,Pomorze Zachodnie (Western Pomerania) orPomorze Nadodrzańskie (Oder Pomerania), have usually been applied to the entire narrower Pomerania, includingFarther Pomerania, but excludingPomerelia. In the narrower sense, the designation may also refer to the western part of the area only, alternatively called for precisionPomorze Szczecińskie (Szczecin Pomerania), encompassing the entire German Pomerania combined with the Polish part of thehistorical Middle Pomerania up toRega. In such case, the remainder of Farther Pomerania is calledPomorze Środkowe (contemporary Middle Pomerania) orPomorze Koszalińsko-Słupskie (Koszalin-Słupsk Pomerania).
As a further complication, the borders of the eponymous administrative units have been drawn disregarding mostly the historical ones. The Polish unit calledwojewództwo zachodniopomorskie (West Pomeranian Voivodeship) includes the whole Polish part of Hither Pomerania, but only the western two-thirds of Farther Pomerania, with the remaining easternmost one-third (Słupsk,Ustka,Miastko) forming a part of the neighbouringwojewództwo pomorskie (Pomeranian Voivodeship). On the other hand, it stretches far more south than the historical region, to include the northern part of the historicalNeumark (Dębno,Chojna,Trzcińsko-Zdrój,Myślibórz,Nowogródek Pomorski,Lipiany,Barlinek,Pełczyce,Suchań,Choszczno,Recz,Drawno), as well as a strip the historicalGreater Poland (Tuczno,Człopa,Mirosławiec,Wałcz,Czaplinek), or even a small part ofPomerelia (Biały Bór). As a consequence, the common understanding of the termWest Pomerania has recently started to shift towards this current administrative extent. Similarly, borders of the German districtsVorpommern-Rügen andVorpommern-Greifswald deviate from the historical ones in numerous locations.
The namePomorze Przednie,Przedpomorze – corresponding to Hither/Fore Pomerania German:Vorpommern – is nowadays used in Polish almost exclusively when referring to the part located in Germany, while its usage in the full (historical German) meaning is limited to exact translations of German texts. It is also referred to asPomorze Wołogoskie (Wolgast Pomerania).
The major feature of Western Pomerania is its longBaltic Sea and lagoons coastline. Typical is a distinct "double coast", whereby offshore islands separate lagoons (so-calledbodden) from the open sea, forming a unique landscape. The islandsKirr,Hiddensee,Ummanz,Dänholm,Rügen,Öhe,Riems,Vilm,Greifswalder Oie,Usedom,Karsibór andWolin, as well as the islands of the city ofSzczecin are located in Western Pomerania.
The largest city in Western Pomerania isSzczecin on the Polish side andStralsund on the German side. Today it is still an important town economically. The towns of Stralsund and Greifswald together, after Rostock, are the second largest centres of population in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. In addition the region has the highest population density of the four planning regions in the state.
Western Pomerania has several national parks:
Another region in Western Pomerania under extensive conservation protection is thePeene Valley.
German Vorpommern is understood today as comprising the islands of Rügen and Usedom and the nearby mainland, roughly matching the administrativedistricts ofVorpommern-Rügen andVorpommern-Greifswald, though those districts' boundaries withMecklenburg proper do not match the pre-1945 demarcation.
The region is mentioned in theMecklenburg-Western Pomerania state constitution as one of the two constituting regions of the state with the right to form aLandschaftsverband, which is an administrative entity subordinate only to the state level. Consideration was given during an unsuccessful district reform project in 1994 to restoring the old boundary, but this was not implemented. The Ribnitz, Marlow and Fischland area of Vorpommern-Rügen were historically part of Mecklenburg. The old western boundary line was preserved in the division between the two Protestantchurch bodies of theEvangelical Lutheran State Church of Mecklenburg and thePomeranian Evangelical Church prior to their absorption into theEvangelical Lutheran Church in Northern Germany.
The Polish part encompasses thecities with powiat rights of Szczecin and Świnoujscie, the entirePolice County,Gmina Goleniów inGoleniów County, as well as the part ofKamień County located on the island ofWolin (Gmina Międzyzdroje, western part ofGmina Wolin and western part ofGmina Dziwnów).
There are four cities in the region, namelySzczecin andŚwinoujście on the Polish side, as well asStralsund andGreifswald on the German side of the border. Major towns in the German part of the region includeBergen auf Rügen,Demmin,Anklam,Wolgast andPasewalk. The municipalities ofBinz,Zingst,Zinnowitz andHeringsdorf do not have town rights, but are in fact semi-urban localities, with the latter of them covering the area known as Dreikaiserbäder (three emperors baths) consisting of the former municipalities ofAhlbeck,Bansin and Heringsdorf. Towns in the Polish part includePolice,Goleniów,Wolin,Międzyzdroje,Nowe Warpno, and the left-bank part ofDziwnów. In addition, the highly populated villages ofMierzyn,Przecław,Warzymice andBezrzecze constitute in fact direct residential extensions of the city ofSzczecin, consisting mostly of largehousing estates, thus having along with the resort locality ofTrzebież a semi-urban character, in spite of neither holding town rights nor being seats of a municipality, and despite being several-fold more populated than the seats of the respective municipalities that they are parts of.
You can sort this complete table of cities and towns by clicking one of the upper columns. The list does not include the former town ofDąbie, which currently is a neighbourhood of Szczecin; it also does not include the Brandenburgian city ofSchwedt whose parts located north ofWesel, acquired in contemporary times, belong to historic Western Pomerania.
Popular tourist resorts can be found all along theBaltic beaches of the Pomeranian part (Darß-Zingst) of theFischland-Darß-Zingst peninsula and the islands ofHiddensee,Rügen,Usedom andWolin. The oldHanseatic towns are also popular tourist destinations due to theirbrick gothicmedieval architecture, downtownStralsund is aUNESCO World Heritage Site. Stralsund,Greifswald andWolgast also have ashipyard industry, theVolkswerft in Stralsund and thePeenewerft in Wolgast produce large ships, while theHanseYachts shipyard in Greifswald is specialized in buildingyachts. InMukran nearSassnitz on Rügen, there is an international ferry terminal linking Western Pomerania to Sweden, Denmark, Lithuania and other oversee countries. An industrial complex northeast ofLubmin near Greifswald includes a shut-downnuclear power plant which is being deconstructed, and theNord Stream 1 gas pipeline which come ashore at this site. In Greifswald, theUniversity of Greifswald runs several institutions and the major hospitals of the region. Also, Greifswald is the site of innovative scientific research, like theWendelstein physics research center andbiotechnology enterprises, most notably the federalFriedrich Loeffler Institute for animal diseases likeBSE.
Away from the coastal tourist resorts, the rural areas of Western Pomerania have often maintained an agricultural character. A study published on 18 May 2009 revealed that the wealth situation of people in Vorpommern is on a mean range in Germany, with 27% of the population regarded as indigent – that is living with below 60% of an average German income.[9]
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In prehistoric times, the area was inhabited bymegalith cultures. In the first half of the first millennium, theEast GermanicRugians[10] are reported in the area, who are known to later set up a kingdom far South inPannonia in the 5th century.
By the 6th and 7th century,West Slavic people populated the region. If they met a substantial Rugian population and whether and/or how these were assimilated by the Slavs is not known. The Slavic inhabitants, also referred to as part of theWilzen/Veleti, diverged into several small tribes, listed from Northwest to Southeast: TheRujanes orRani aroundRügen, theCircipanes around thePane (Peene) River, theRedarians around the temple ofRethra, theWollinians on the isle ofWolin, theTollensians around theTollense River and theUkrainians around theUecker River in theUckermark. The collective termLiutizians also covers some of these tribes, as they allied in the late 10th century to secure their sovereignty. The Lutician alliances headquarters were at Rethra, where delegates from the independent allied tribes held their meetings. Whether or not the Rani were part of the Veleti or later the Lutizians is disputed. The Slavic tribes referred to asPomeranians settled east of theOder River.
In this era, large mixedSlavic and Scandinavian settlements were built at the natural havens of the bay-rich coast, the most important of which wereRalswiek (Rügen),Altes Lager Menzlin at the Peene River andWolin, which is assumed to be identical withVineta andJomsborg. Important pagan temple sites wereArkona and Rethra. Other local strongholds wereDimin (Demmin) in the Circipan andStetin (Szczecin) in the Pomeranian area.
At the beginning of the second millennium, western Pomeranian tribes were surrounded by the expanding states of Denmark in the North,Piast Poland in the Southeast and the GermanHoly Roman Empire in the Southwest. While the eastward expansion of the latter could be halted for some time by a Slavic uprising of the Southern (Heveller) and Western (Obotrites) neighbors of the western Pomeranian tribes, which even was supported by the Liutizian alliance, the Pomeranians East of the Oder River were conquered by the Polish state in the late 10th century and remained vassals of the dynasty ofPiasts until 1007, had to pay tribute to the Poles after 1042, and were conquered again in 1121.
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In spite of his surrender or even with military help from the succeeding Poles, thePomeranian dukeWartislaw I of theHouse of Griffins successfully started conquering the areas west of hisburgh inSzczecin the years after 1121. These lands were considerably weakened by previous warfare: The coast was raided by theDanes, which destroyedJomsborg in 1043, shifting the power in the Oder delta South to Pomeranian Stettin.Rethra was raided and devastated by the Germans in winter 1068/69, the Lutizian alliance fell apart, and instead the Lutizian tribes started fighting against each other ("Liutizischer Bruderkrieg", Liutizian civil war).
Wartislaw's aim was not only the expansion of his duchy, but also the spread of the Christian faith. In 1124, he invitedOtto von Bamberg to mission in his duchy east of the Oder River. By 1128, Wartislaw I had expanded his duchy west to theCounty of Gützkow andCircipania and south to theUckermark. He invited Otto von Bamberg again to mission in these pagan areas West of the Oder River, too. The former Liutizian principalities were turned intocastellanies subordinate to the Pomeranian duke, who appointed thecastellans. These castellanies were converted from their pagan toChristian religion inUsedom, 1128. Except for the Rani living North of theRyck River andDemmin, all western Pomeranian territories had become united and Christian. Wartislaw's dependency on Poland loosened in the following years and, in 1135 with the death of Polish kingBoleslaw III, Wartislaw's duchy regained independence. About ten years later, he was slain by pagans nearStolpe.Stolpe Abbey was erected at this site by Wartislaw's successor,Ratibor I.
The 1147Wendish Crusade initiated by the Holy Roman Empire ended when the Demmin and Stettin citizens persuaded the crusaders that they were already Christians.
By the middle of the 12th century, thePrincipality of Rügen in northwestern Pomerania remained the last pagan state in Central Europe. In 1168, a Danish fleet led by Roskilde archbishopAbsalonsacked Rügen. The Arkona temple was sieged and destroyed. After this main temple's fall, Rügen's capitolCharenza (Venzer Burgwall) capitulated, all other temples were given to the Danes for destruction andJaromar I, Prince of Rügen became a Danish vassal. The Rani then converted to Christianity.
From Rügen, which still had a strong navy and army, the Danish put pressure on Pomerania. Bogislaw I duke of Pomerania made his duchy a part of the Holy Roman Empire (HRE) in 1181, after he had allied withHenry the Lion since 1164. But the new alliance did not prevent the Danes from successfully raiding and in 1186 conquering all of Pomerania. Danish rule ended when in 1227 the Danish navy was defeated inBornhöved by the Germans, Pomerania except for Rügen (until 1345 with the last Rugian duke's death) fell to the HRE.
The Rügen and Pomerania dukes called in many German settlers and aristocrats to resettle parts of their duchies devastated in the wars before and to settle new areas by turning woodland into fields. Settlers came from North German Lower Saxony. Some settlers from theHarz mountains in central Germany settled near Stettin. Cities and monasteries were founded. Between the 12th century and 13th century, Western Pomerania changed from a pagan and Slavic to a Christian and German country (Ostsiedlung). The Slavs (Wends) were first excluded from the villages and privileges of the German settlers. They later merged[citation needed] with the German majority. Western Pomerania then was part of theDuchy of Pomerania, the areas north of thePeene River (Principality of Rugia) joined the duchy in 1325.
From that time onwards, the region shares a common history withFarther Pomerania.
Pomerania came underSwedish military control in 1630 during theThirty Years' War. Swedish sovereignty over Vorpommern, including Stettin, was confirmed by thePeace of Westphalia (1648) and theTreaty of Stettin (1653), and from that time onwards much of the region formedSwedish Pomerania. Possession of this region remained an issue of conflict in European politics and Swedish rule was a period marked by the ravages of warfare.
A part of the region south of thePeene river (Old Western Pomerania) came under Prussian sovereignty after theStockholm peace treaty in 1720. Under theTreaty of Kiel, the remnants of Swedish Pomerania (New Western Pomerania) were briefly transferred to Denmark in 1814, but the 1815Congress of Vienna ceded the territory to Prussia.
From 1815, all of Western Pomerania was integrated into thePrussianProvince of Pomerania, administered as theRegion of Stralsund (New Western Pomerania) andRegion of Stettin (the old Western Pomeranian region). Stralsund was fused into Stettin in 1932.
From May to September 1939, before and during the Germaninvasion of Poland, which startedWorld War II,Polish people in the region, particularly in Szczecin, were targeted by Nazi repressions, with Polish organizations attacked and Polish leaders, activists, entrepreneurs, and even some staff of the Consulate of Poland, arrested by theGestapo.[11] During the war, Germany operated the Stalag II-C, Stalag 322,Stalag Luft I andStalag Luft IIprisoner-of-war camps for British, American,French, Belgian, Serbian andSoviet POWs with numerousforced labour subcamps in the region.[12] ThePolish resistance movement was active in Szczecin and conducted espionage of theKriegsmarine, infiltrated the local German industry, distributed underground Polish press,[13] and facilitated escapes of Polish and British POWs who fled from German POW camps via the city's port toneutral Sweden (see also:Poland–Sweden relations).[14]
In the final stages of the war, in 1945, German-perpetrateddeath marches ofAllied POWs fromStalag XX-B andStalag Luft IV passed through the region.[15][16]
At the end ofWorld War II in 1945, a small area of Hither Pomerania includingSzczecin – the region's principal city – andŚwinoujście was transferred along withFarther Pomerania to Poland, and formed part of theSzczecin Voivodeship.
The bulk of Vorpommern became part of the newly constitutedLand (state) ofMecklenburg-Vorpommern. The word "Vorpommern" was deleted from the state's name at the insistence of the Soviet military administration in 1947[17] and the entire state of Mecklenburg was abolished by East Germany (German Democratic Republic, GDR) in 1952. The Pomeranian districts were made part of the GDR'sBezirk Rostock (coastal region) andBezirk Neubrandenburg, with a small area aroundGartz becoming part ofBezirk Frankfurt/Oder.
The 1945–1952 state was reconstituted, with minor border adjustments, asMecklenburg-Vorpommern at the time ofGerman reunification in 1990. Vorpommern is a constitutional region of the state, yet not an administrative entity.
After the administrative reforms of September 2011, the bulk of Western Pomerania is within the districts ofVorpommern-Rügen andVorpommern-Greifswald; however, some west central areas includingDemmin andAltentreptow are withinMecklenburgische Seenplatte district, while the southernmost fragment (Amt Gartz (Oder)) remains part of theUckermark district withinBrandenburg. In 2012, thePomeranian Evangelical Church merged with the Mecklenburgian and Northalbingian Evangelical Churches.
Since the administrative reform of 1999, the Polish part is located within theWest Pomeranian Voivodeship and encompasses thecities with powiat rightsSzczecin andŚwinoujście, thePolice County, the part ofKamień County located on the island ofWolin (Gmina Międzyzdroje, western part ofGmina Wolin including the town, and western part ofGmina Dziwnów), as well asGmina Goleniów inGoleniów County.
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54°05′00″N13°23′00″E / 54.0833°N 13.3833°E /54.0833; 13.3833
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