It lies north of theSzczecin Lagoonestuary of theOder river. About 80% of the island belongs to the German district ofVorpommern-Greifswald in the state ofMecklenburg-Vorpommern. The eastern part and the largest city on the island,Świnoujście, are part of the PolishWest Pomeranian Voivodeship. The island's total area is 445 square kilometres (172 square miles) – 373 square kilometres (144 square miles) in the German part and 72 square kilometres (28 square miles) in the Polish part. Its population is 76,500 (German part 31,500; Polish part 45,000).
With an annual average of 1,906 hours of sunshine, Usedom is the sunniest region of both Germany and Poland, and it is also one of the sunniest islands in the Baltic Sea,[1] hence its nickname "Sun Island" (German:Sonneninsel,Polish:Wyspa Słońca[2]).
The island is separated from the neighbouring island ofWolin to the east by the Strait ofŚwina, which is the main route connecting Szczecin Bay withPomeranian Bay, a part of the Baltic Sea. The strait between the island and the mainland is called thePeenestrom; it is a downstream extension of thevalley of the Peene river, which flows into the westernmost part of theSzczecin Lagoon. The island is mostly flat, and partly covered by marshes.
The largest town on the island isŚwinoujście, which has a total population of 41,500. The western part of Świnoujście covers the entire Polish part of the island. Another town,Usedom, gives its name to the island. The largest municipalities in the German part areHeringsdorf (from 2005 to 2006 calledDreikaiserbäder, literally "The Three Imperial Spas") andZinnowitz.
The hinterland is calledAchterland, referring to theAchterwasserlagoon (Rear Waters). It is characterized by unspoilt forests, lagoon landscapes, and hills, as well as calm villages such asLoddin andBalmer See with itsgolf course.
Main economic activities includetourism, health andlife sciences,retail,agriculture, fishing, animal husbandry, food processing, and timber production.
In 1945 the eastern part of the island, together with the city and port of Swinemünde (nowŚwinoujście), was assigned toPoland under border changes promulgated at thePotsdam Conference, and the surviving German inhabitants of the town were expelled to the west. The territory was repopulated with Poles, most of whom had beenexpelled by the Soviets from what had beeneastern Poland.
Usedom is one of Germany's major holiday and recreation areas due to its beaches, its natural environment, and seaside towns such as Ahlbeck, Heringsdorf and Bansin, which, since theGründerzeit in the 19th century, have been frequented by the German and international nobility as well as the general public.[10]
According toThe Guardian, the island, as of 2022, "... is known by some as the 'bathtub of Berlin' and by others, slightly more poetically, as 'sun island'," but "... remains largely undiscovered by international visitors."[10]
Hotels andbed and breakfast establishments are available on both sides of theGerman-Polish border. Many of them are decorated in nautical themes, and seafood is a major drawcard.[10] St. Peter's Church in Benz is featured in the works of several artists, including the German-American painterLyonel Feininger who spent summer vacations on the island from 1909 to 1918.[11][12] In addition to the coastline, thehinterland features nature reserves, castles, lakes and historic villages.
Points of interest in the German part of the island include:
^Kratz, Gustav (1865).Die Städte der Provinz Pommern. Abriss ihrer Geschichte, zumeist nach Urkunden (in German). Berlin. p. 534.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
^D. J. Medley,The church and the empire, Kessinger Publishing, 2004, p. 152
^Kaszuba, Sylwia (2021). "Marsz 1945". In Grudziecka, Beata (ed.).Stalag XX B: historia nieopowiedziana (in Polish). Malbork: Muzeum Miasta Malborka. p. 108.ISBN978-83-950992-2-9.
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