Łeba | |
|---|---|
 Neptun hotel | |
 Flag  Coat of arms | |
  Łeba | |
| Coordinates:54°47′N17°33′E / 54.783°N 17.550°E /54.783; 17.550 | |
| Country |  Poland |
| Voivodeship | Pomeranian |
| County | Lębork |
| Gmina | Łeba(urban gmina) |
| First mentioned | 1282 |
| Town rights | 1357 |
| Area | |
• Total | 14.8 km2 (5.7 sq mi) |
| Population (31 December 2019) | |
• Total | 3,601[1] |
| • Density | 243/km2 (630/sq mi) |
| Time zone | UTC+1 (CET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+2 (CEST) |
| Postal code | 84–360 |
| Vehicle registration | GLE |
| Website | www |
Łeba ([ˈwɛba],Kashubian:Łeba;German:Leba) is a seaside town in thePomeranian Voivodeship of northernPoland.[2] It is located in the region ofGdańsk Pomerania (Pomerelia), nearŁebsko Lake and the mouth of theriver Łeba on theSlovincian Coast of theBaltic Sea.
ThePomerelian settlement of Łeba was first mentioned in a 1282 document ofMestwin II, Duke of Pomerania.[3] At that time the village was located about two kilometers (1.2 miles) west from the present mouth of the Łeba River. The church of St. Nicholas was mentioned in 1296.[3] Łeba was part of fragmented Poland until 1309, when it was annexed by theTeutonic Order aftertheir takeover of Gdańsk.[3] Łeba receivedmunicipal rights by theState of the Teutonic Order in 1357. Located at theŁebsko Lake at theBaltic Sea, it developed to a fishing port and a wood marketplace.
In 1440, the town joined thePrussian Confederation, which opposed Teutonic rule,[4] and upon the request of which KingCasimir IV Jagiellon reincorporated the territory to theKingdom of Poland in 1454.[5] WithLauenburg (Lębork) Land it became a Polishfief during theThirteen Years' War in 1455, held by theDukes of Pomerania.
Old Łeba was threatened for many centuries by floods and expanding sand dunes and therefore was rebuilt in a safer location after 1558. The town was reintegrated with the Polish Crown after the death of the last Pomeranian dukeBogislaw XIV as part of thePomeranian Voivodeship, until KingJohn II Casimir Vasa enfeoffed ElectorFrederick William I ofBrandenburg-Prussia with Lauenburg Land by the 1657Treaty of Bydgoszcz.
With theFirst Partition of Poland in 1772, Łeba was incorporated intoPrussia. Soon after a large port was built on instruction of the Prussian king, whereby a 34-metre (112-foot) broad channel between the Leba lake and theBaltic Sea was dug, which however did not weather the storms on the coast. Due to its picturesque setting, the Lebaseaside afterWorld War I became a popular resort forGermanbohémiens. The painterMax Pechstein and otherexpressionists frequented the place.
In the proximity of Leba there is a large former testing area for long-range rocket weapons operated by theRheinmetall company. On the Leba spit theGerman long-range rocketRheinbote was tested between 1941 and 1945. Also theV-1 flying bomb was tested there from 1943 to 1945. Between 1963 and 1973 33 Meteorsounding rockets were launched from Łeba.[6]
In March 1945, shortly before the end ofWorld War II, the region was occupied by theRed Army. Following thePotsdam Conference, after the end of the war the town became again part of Poland.Stalinforced thePolish People's Republic into theEastern Bloc. In 1989, theiron curtain fell and theThird Polish Republic was founded.
Łeba is at the end of voivodeship road 214. This road connects Łeba to the town of Lębork to the south.
Łeba is also linked to Lębork by a single track railway line. PKP Intercity operates a train from Lębork to Łeba 5 times a day. Regional trains also operate on this line.
Bus no 210 also connects Łeba to Lębork. The journey takes about 30 minutes.
There is an abundance of architectural and natural attractions near Łeba, above all theSłowiński National Park with its moving sand dunes, about 8 kilometres (5 miles) west of the city. Further objects of interest include:
Łeba has anoceanic climate (Köppen climate classification:Cfb).[9][10]
| Climate data for Łeba (1991–2020 normals, extremes 1951–present) | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °C (°F) | 12.1 (53.8) | 16.8 (62.2) | 22.6 (72.7) | 29.6 (85.3) | 32.4 (90.3) | 33.7 (92.7) | 34.9 (94.8) | 37.2 (99.0) | 32.1 (89.8) | 27.6 (81.7) | 20.3 (68.5) | 12.9 (55.2) | 37.2 (99.0) |
| Mean maximum °C (°F) | 7.9 (46.2) | 9.1 (48.4) | 14.5 (58.1) | 22.0 (71.6) | 26.1 (79.0) | 28.6 (83.5) | 29.6 (85.3) | 29.1 (84.4) | 24.6 (76.3) | 18.8 (65.8) | 12.7 (54.9) | 8.7 (47.7) | 31.4 (88.5) |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 2.4 (36.3) | 3.1 (37.6) | 6.0 (42.8) | 11.3 (52.3) | 15.7 (60.3) | 19.1 (66.4) | 21.5 (70.7) | 21.7 (71.1) | 17.9 (64.2) | 12.6 (54.7) | 7.2 (45.0) | 3.7 (38.7) | 11.9 (53.4) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | 0.2 (32.4) | 0.6 (33.1) | 2.7 (36.9) | 6.9 (44.4) | 11.2 (52.2) | 15.0 (59.0) | 17.5 (63.5) | 17.5 (63.5) | 13.9 (57.0) | 9.3 (48.7) | 4.9 (40.8) | 1.6 (34.9) | 8.4 (47.1) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | −2.1 (28.2) | −1.9 (28.6) | −0.2 (31.6) | 2.9 (37.2) | 6.9 (44.4) | 10.8 (51.4) | 13.5 (56.3) | 13.3 (55.9) | 10.2 (50.4) | 6.2 (43.2) | 2.5 (36.5) | −0.6 (30.9) | 5.1 (41.2) |
| Mean minimum °C (°F) | −11.7 (10.9) | −9.7 (14.5) | −7.3 (18.9) | −3.7 (25.3) | −0.2 (31.6) | 4.4 (39.9) | 7.8 (46.0) | 7.8 (46.0) | 3.6 (38.5) | −0.8 (30.6) | −4.0 (24.8) | −8.6 (16.5) | −14.5 (5.9) |
| Record low °C (°F) | −23.2 (−9.8) | −27.4 (−17.3) | −19.0 (−2.2) | −7.5 (18.5) | −4.8 (23.4) | −1.6 (29.1) | 4.1 (39.4) | 1.8 (35.2) | −2.5 (27.5) | −6.1 (21.0) | −15.4 (4.3) | −19.7 (−3.5) | −27.4 (−17.3) |
| Averageprecipitation mm (inches) | 43.0 (1.69) | 34.0 (1.34) | 37.7 (1.48) | 27.9 (1.10) | 48.7 (1.92) | 53.2 (2.09) | 73.3 (2.89) | 79.8 (3.14) | 75.1 (2.96) | 76.8 (3.02) | 58.9 (2.32) | 53.2 (2.09) | 661.7 (26.05) |
| Average extreme snow depth cm (inches) | 4.7 (1.9) | 5.9 (2.3) | 3.4 (1.3) | 0.5 (0.2) | 0.1 (0.0) | 0.0 (0.0) | 0.0 (0.0) | 0.0 (0.0) | 0.0 (0.0) | 0.3 (0.1) | 1.1 (0.4) | 4.4 (1.7) | 5.9 (2.3) |
| Average precipitation days(≥ 0.1 mm) | 17.57 | 16.14 | 14.00 | 10.80 | 11.27 | 12.27 | 13.53 | 14.63 | 14.90 | 16.10 | 17.53 | 19.03 | 177.77 |
| Average snowy days(≥ 0 cm) | 11.8 | 12.0 | 5.4 | 0.4 | 0.1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.2 | 1.5 | 7.1 | 38.5 |
| Averagerelative humidity (%) | 85.9 | 85.0 | 82.1 | 78.1 | 78.4 | 79.3 | 81.3 | 81.3 | 82.2 | 83.9 | 87.6 | 87.9 | 82.8 |
| Mean monthlysunshine hours | 42.8 | 67.1 | 133.1 | 213.6 | 281.3 | 277.2 | 274.7 | 249.0 | 176.1 | 109.8 | 48.3 | 31.6 | 1,904.5 |
| Source 1: Institute of Meteorology and Water Management[11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18] | |||||||||||||
| Source 2: Meteomodel.pl (records, relative humidity 1991–2020)[19][20][21] | |||||||||||||
Since the medieval Christianization of the region, the local population wasCatholic. After theReformation, the inhabitants of the town were predominantlyProtestants and the area was subjected toGermanisation. Since the end of World War II the population is predominantly composed ofPolish Roman Catholics.
| Year | Inhabitants | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 1782 | 503 | noJews.[22] |
| 1784 | 497[23] | |
| 1794 | 526 | no Jews.[22] |
| 1812 | 707 | incl. fourCatholics and 16 Jews.[22] |
| 1816 | 639 | incl. two Catholics and 12 Jews.[22] |
| 1831 | 806 | incl. seven Catholics and two Jews.[22] |
| 1843 | 948 | incl. four Catholics and two Jews.[22] |
| 1852 | 1,093 | incl. seven Catholics and eight Jews.[22][24] |
| 1861 | 1,236 | incl. seven Catholics, eight Jews and oneGerman Catholic.[22] |
| 1900 | 1,966[25] | |
| 1925 | 2,330[26] | |
| 1939 | 2,846[27] | |
| 1978 | 3,649[27] |
Łeba istwinned with:
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