Szczecin facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Szczecin
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Top: View of the Cathedral, Old Town and Ducal Castle
Middle: The Oder river, National Sea Museum Bottom: Old Town Hall in Stare Miasto |
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Motto(s):
"Szczecin jest otwarty"
("Szczecin is open") |
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Country | Poland | ||
Voivodeship | West Pomeranian | ||
County | city county | ||
Established | 8th century | ||
Town rights | 1243 | ||
Area | |||
• City | 301 km2 (116 sq mi) | ||
Population
(31 December 2018)
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• City | 402,465 (7th) | ||
• Metro | 777,000 | ||
Time zone | UTC+1 (CET) | ||
• Summer (DST) | UTC+2 (CEST) | ||
Postal code |
PL-70-017
to 71–871 |
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Area code(s) | +48 91 | ||
Car plates | ZS | ||
Climate | Cfb |
Szczecin is the capital and largest city of the West Pomeranian Voivodeship in Poland. Located near the Baltic Sea and the German border, it is a major seaport and Poland's seventh-largest city. As of December 2018, the population was 402,465.
Szczecin is located on the Oder, south of the Szczecin Lagoon and the Bay of Pomerania. The city is situated along the southwestern shore of Dąbie Lake, on both sides of the Oder and on several large islands between the western and eastern branches of the river. Szczecin is adjacent to the town of Police and is the urban centre of the Szczecin agglomeration, an extended metropolitan area that includes communities in the German states of Brandenburg and Mecklenburg-Vorpommern.
The city's recorded history began in the 8th century as a Slavic Pomeranian stronghold, built at the site of the Ducal castle. In the 12th century, when Szczecin had become one of Pomerania's main urban centres, it lost its independence to Piast Poland, the Duchy of Saxony, the Holy Roman Empire and Denmark, and became completely German speaking by the 14th century. At the same time, the House of Griffins established themselves as local rulers and the population was Christianized. After the Treaty of Stettin in 1630, the town came under the control of the Swedish Empire and became in 1648 the Capital of Swedish Pomerania until 1720, when it was acquired by the Kingdom of Prussia and then the German Empire. Following World War II Stettin became part of Poland in accordance with the Potsdam Agreement, resulting in the almost complete expulsion of the pre-war population.
Szczecin is the administrative and industrial centre of West Pomeranian Voivodeship and is the site of the University of Szczecin, Pomeranian Medical University, Maritime University, West Pomeranian University of Technology, Szczecin Art Academy, and the see of the Szczecin-Kamień Catholic Archdiocese. From 1999 onwards, Szczecin has served as the site of the headquarters of NATO's Multinational Corps Northeast.
Szczecin was a candidate for the European Capital of Culture in 2016.
Sister cities
Images for kids
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Western Facade of St. Jacobs Cathedral in Szczecin
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View of the Old Town from the Oder river. Most of the medieval buildings in the city center were completely destroyed during World War II. The Ducal Castle can be seen in the background
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Two soldiers of the German Wehrmacht take a stroll along the riverfront in Stettin
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Throughout the war, Stettin (Szczecin) was a major port of disembarkation for Baltic Germans returning to the 'fatherland', and later in the war those fleeing the advancing Soviet Red Army
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Monument to Polish Endeavor (Pomnik Czynu Polaków), dedicated to three Generations of Poles in Western Pomerania: the pre-war Poles in Szczecin, the Poles who rebuilt the city after World War II and the modern generation
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Czerwony Ratusz – Red Rathaus
See also
In Spanish: Szczecin para niños