Historical region in present-day northeast Germany
Historical region
Western Pomerania
Vorpommern
,
Pomorze Przednie
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Coat of arms
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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
]
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Country
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Germany
Poland
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Largest city
| Szczecin
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Time zone
| UTC+1
(
CET
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? Summer (
DST
)
| UTC+2
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CEST
)
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Historical
Western Pomerania
, also called
Cispomerania,
[1]
[2]
Fore Pomerania
,
Front Pomerania
or
Hither Pomerania
(
German
:
Vorpommern
;
Polish
:
Pomorze Przednie
), is the western extremity of the historic region of
Pomerania
forming the southern coast of the
Baltic Sea
, located mostly in north-eastern
Germany
, with a small portion in north-western
Poland
.
Western Pomerania's boundaries have changed through the centuries as it belonged to various countries such as Poland, the
Duchy of Pomerania
(later part of the
Holy Roman Empire
), Denmark, Sweden, as well as
Prussia
which incorporated it as the
Province of Pomerania
.
Today, the region embraces the whole area of
Pomerania
west of the
Oder River
, small bridgeheads east of the river, as well as the islands in the
Szczecin Lagoon
. Its majority forms part of Germany and has been divided between the states of
Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania
and
Brandenburg
, with the cities of
Stralsund
and
Greifswald
, as well as towns such as
Ribnitz-Damgarten
(Damgarten only),
Bergen auf Rugen
(
Rugen
Island),
Anklam
,
Wolgast
,
Demmin
,
Pasewalk
,
Grimmen
,
Sassnitz
(Rugen Island),
Ueckermunde
,
Torgelow
,
Barth
, and
Gartz
. The cities of
Szczecin
and
?winouj?cie
, as well as the towns of
Police
,
Goleniow
,
Wolin
,
Mi?dzyzdroje
,
Nowe Warpno
, and (the left-bank part of)
Dziwnow
are part of Poland. The German part forms about one-third of the present-day north-eastern
state
of
Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania
, while the Polish part constitutes the westernmost border areas of the
West Pomeranian Voivodeship
.
German Western Pomerania had a population of about 470,000 in 2012 (districts of
Vorpommern-Rugen
and
Vorpommern-Greifswald
combined) ? while the Polish districts of the region had a population of about 520,000 in 2012 (cities of
Szczecin
,
?winouj?cie
and
Police County
combined). So overall, about 1 million people live in the historical region of Western Pomerania today.
Terminology
[
edit
]
The German
prefix
Vor-
denotes a location closer to the speaker, and is the equivalent of "
Fore
"/"
Front
"/"
Hither
" in English and
Anterior
/
Citerior
/
Cis-
in Latin (with the corresponding
antonyms
in German, English and Latin being
Hinter-
, "
Hinder
"/"
Rear
"/"
Farther
" and
Posterior
/
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 is
Low German
:
Vorpommern
.
The name
Pomerania
comes from
Slavic
po more
, which means "land by the sea".
[3]
The
adjective
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) or
Pomorze Nadodrza?skie
(
Oder
Pomerania), have usually been applied to the entire narrower Pomerania, including
Farther Pomerania
, but excluding
Pomerelia
. In the narrower sense, the designation may also refer to the western part of the area only, alternatively called for precision
Pomorze Szczeci?skie
(
Szczecin
Pomerania), encompassing the entire German Pomerania combined with the Polish part of the
historical Middle Pomerania
up to
Rega
. In such case, the remainder of Farther Pomerania is called
Pomorze ?rodkowe
(
contemporary Middle Pomerania
) or
Pomorze Koszali?sko-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 called
wojewodztwo 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 neighbouring
wojewodztwo pomorskie
(
Pomeranian Voivodeship
). On the other hand, it stretches far more south than the historical region, to include the northern part of the historical
Neumark
(
D?bno
,
Chojna
,
Trzci?sko-Zdroj
,
My?liborz
,
Nowogrodek Pomorski
,
Lipiany
,
Barlinek
,
Pełczyce
,
Sucha?
,
Choszczno
,
Recz
,
Drawno
), as well as a strip the historical
Greater Poland
(
Tuczno
,
Człopa
,
Mirosławiec
,
Wałcz
,
Czaplinek
), or even a small part of
Pomerelia
(
Biały Bor
). As a consequence, the common understanding of the term
West Pomerania
has recently started to shift towards this current administrative extent. Similarly, borders of the German districts
Vorpommern-Rugen
and
Vorpommern-Greifswald
deviate from the historical ones in numerous locations.
The name
Pomorze 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 as
Pomorze Wołogoskie
(Wolgast Pomerania).
Geography
[
edit
]
The major feature of Western Pomerania is its long
Baltic Sea
and lagoons coastline. Typical is a distinct "double coast", whereby offshore islands separate lagoons (so-called
bodden
) from the open sea, forming a unique landscape. The islands
Kirr
,
Hiddensee
,
Ummanz
,
Danholm
,
Rugen
,
Ohe
,
Riems
,
Vilm
,
Greifswalder Oie
,
Usedom
,
Karsibor
and
Wolin
, as well as the islands of the city of
Szczecin
are located in Western Pomerania.
The largest city in Western Pomerania is
Szczecin
on the Polish side and
Stralsund
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 the
Peene Valley
.
Administrative subdivisions
[
edit
]
German Vorpommern is understood today as comprising the islands of Rugen and Usedom and the nearby mainland, roughly matching the administrative
districts
of
Vorpommern-Rugen
and
Vorpommern-Greifswald
, though those districts' boundaries with
Mecklenburg
proper do not match the pre-1945 demarcation.
The region is mentioned in the
Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania
state constitution as one of the two constituting regions of the state with the right to form a
Landschaftsverband
, 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-Rugen were historically part of Mecklenburg. The old western boundary line was preserved in the division between the two Protestant
church bodies
of the
Evangelical Lutheran State Church of Mecklenburg
and the
Pomeranian Evangelical Church
prior to their absorption into the
Evangelical Lutheran Church in Northern Germany
.
The Polish part encompasses the
cities with powiat rights
of Szczecin and ?winoujscie, the entire
Police County
,
Gmina Goleniow
in
Goleniow County
, as well as the part of
Kamie? County
located on the island of
Wolin
(
Gmina Mi?dzyzdroje
, western part of
Gmina Wolin
and western part of
Gmina Dziwnow
).
Cities and towns
[
edit
]
There are four cities in the region, namely
Szczecin
and
?winouj?cie
on the Polish side, as well as
Stralsund
and
Greifswald
on the German side of the border. Major towns in the German part of the region include
Bergen auf Rugen
,
Demmin
,
Anklam
,
Wolgast
and
Pasewalk
. The municipalities of
Binz
,
Zingst
,
Zinnowitz
and
Heringsdorf
do not have town rights, but are in fact semi-urban localities, with the latter of them covering the area known as Dreikaiserbader (three emperors baths) consisting of the former municipalities of
Ahlbeck
,
Bansin
and Heringsdorf. Towns in the Polish part include
Police
,
Goleniow
,
Wolin
,
Mi?dzyzdroje
,
Nowe Warpno
, and the left-bank part of
Dziwnow
. In addition, the highly populated villages of
Mierzyn
,
Przecław
,
Warzymice
and
Bezrzecze
constitute in fact direct residential extensions of the city of
Szczecin
, consisting mostly of large
housing estates
, thus having along with the resort locality of
Trzebie?
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 of
D?bie
, which currently is a neighbourhood of Szczecin; it also does not include the Brandenburgian city of
Schwedt
whose parts located north of
Wesel
, acquired in contemporary times, belong to historic Western Pomerania.
Economy
[
edit
]
Popular tourist resorts can be found all along the
Baltic
beaches of the Pomeranian part (Darß-Zingst) of the
Fischland-Darß-Zingst
peninsula and the islands of
Hiddensee
,
Rugen
,
Usedom
and
Wolin
. The old
Hanseatic towns
are also popular tourist destinations due to their
brick gothic
medieval architecture
, downtown
Stralsund
is a
UNESCO World Heritage Site
. Stralsund,
Greifswald
and
Wolgast
also have a
shipyard
industry, the
Volkswerft
in Stralsund and the
Peenewerft
in Wolgast produce large ships, while the
HanseYachts
shipyard in Greifswald is specialized in building
yachts
. In
Mukran
near
Sassnitz
on Rugen, there is an international ferry terminal linking Western Pomerania to Sweden, Denmark, Lithuania and other oversee countries. An industrial complex northeast of
Lubmin
near Greifswald includes a shut-down
nuclear power plant
which is being deconstructed, and the
Nord Stream 1
gas pipeline which come ashore at this site. In Greifswald, the
University of Greifswald
runs several institutions and the major hospitals of the region. Also, Greifswald is the site of innovative scientific research, like the
Wendelstein
physics research center and
biotechnology
enterprises, most notably the federal
Friedrich Loeffler Institute
for animal diseases like
BSE
.
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]
History
[
edit
]
Era before 1121
[
edit
]
In prehistoric times, the area was inhabited by
megalith
cultures. In the first half of the first millennium, the
East Germanic
Rugians
[10]
are reported in the area, who are known to later set up a kingdom far South in
Pannonia
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 the
Wilzen/
Veleti
, diverged into several small tribes, listed from Northwest to Southeast: The
Rujanes
or
Rani
around
Rugen
, the
Circipanes
around the
Pane (Peene)
River, the
Redarians
around the temple of
Rethra
, the
Wollinians
on the isle of
Wolin
, the
Tollensians
around the
Tollense
River and the
Ukrainians
around the
Uecker
River in the
Uckermark
. The collective term
Liutizians
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 as
Pomeranians
settled east of the
Oder
River.
In this era, large mixed
Slavic
and Scandinavian settlements were built at the natural havens of the bay-rich coast, the most important of which were
Ralswiek
(Rugen),
Altes Lager Menzlin
at the Peene River and
Wolin
, which is assumed to be identical with
Vineta
and
Jomsborg
. Important pagan temple sites were
Arkona
and Rethra. Other local strongholds were
Dimin
(
Demmin
) in the Circipan and
Stetin
(
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 German
Holy 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 of
Piasts
until 1007, had to pay tribute to the Poles after 1042, and were conquered again in 1121.
Duchy of Pomerania (1121/81?1637) and Principality of Rugen (1168?1325)
[
edit
]
In spite of his surrender or even with military help from the succeeding Poles, the
Pomeranian duke
Wartislaw I
of the
House of Griffins
successfully started conquering the areas west of his
burgh
in
Szczecin
the years after 1121. These lands were considerably weakened by previous warfare: The coast was raided by the
Danes
, which destroyed
Jomsborg
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 invited
Otto von Bamberg
to mission in his duchy east of the Oder River. By 1128, Wartislaw I had expanded his duchy west to the
County of Gutzkow
and
Circipania
and south to the
Uckermark
. He invited Otto von Bamberg again to mission in these pagan areas West of the Oder River, too. The former Liutizian principalities were turned into
castellanies
subordinate to the Pomeranian duke, who appointed the
castellans
. These castellanies were converted from their pagan to
Christian religion
in
Usedom
, 1128. Except for the Rani living North of the
Ryck
River and
Demmin
, 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 king
Boleslaw III
, Wartislaw's duchy regained independence. About ten years later, he was slain by pagans near
Stolpe
.
Stolpe Abbey
was erected at this site by Wartislaw's successor,
Ratibor I
.
The 1147
Wendish 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, the
Principality of Rugen
in northwestern Pomerania remained the last pagan state in Central Europe. In 1168, a Danish fleet led by Roskilde archbishop
Absalon
sacked Rugen
. The Arkona temple was sieged and destroyed. After this main temple's fall, Rugen's capitol
Charenza
(
Venzer Burgwall
) capitulated, all other temples were given to the Danes for destruction and
Jaromar I, Prince of Rugen
became a Danish vassal. The Rani then converted to Christianity.
From Rugen, 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 with
Henry 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 in
Bornhoved
by the Germans, Pomerania except for Rugen (until 1345 with the last Rugian duke's death) fell to the HRE.
Colonization and German settlement (since the 12th century)
[
edit
]
The Rugen 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 the
Harz 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 the
Duchy of Pomerania
, the areas north of the
Peene
River (
Principality of Rugia
) joined the duchy in 1325.
From that time onwards, the region shares a common history with
Farther Pomerania
.
Swedish (1630/48?1720/1815) and Prussian province (1720/1815?1945)
[
edit
]
Pomerania came under
Swedish military control in 1630
during the
Thirty Years' War
. Swedish sovereignty over Vorpommern, including Stettin, was confirmed by the
Peace of Westphalia
(1648) and the
Treaty of Stettin (1653)
, and from that time onwards much of the region formed
Swedish 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 the
Peene
river (
Old Western Pomerania
or
Altvorpommern
) came under Prussian sovereignty after the
Stockholm peace treaty in 1720
. Under the
Treaty of Kiel
, the remnants of Swedish Pomerania (
New Western Pomerania
or
Neuvorpommern
) were briefly transferred to Denmark in 1814, but the 1815
Congress of Vienna
ceded the territory to Prussia.
From 1815, all of Western Pomerania was integrated into the
Prussian
Province of Pomerania
, administered as the
Region of Stralsund
(New Western Pomerania) and
Region of Stettin
(the old Western Pomeranian region). Stralsund was fused into Stettin in 1932.
Postwar period 1945-1990
[
edit
]
At the end of
World War II
in 1945, a small area of Vorpommern including
Szczecin
? the region's principal city ? and
?winouj?cie
was transferred along with
Farther Pomerania
to Poland, and formed part of the
Szczecin Voivodeship
.
The bulk of Vorpommern became part of the newly constituted
Land
(state) of
Mecklenburg-Vorpommern
. The word "Vorpommern" was deleted from the state's name at the insistence of the Soviet military administration in 1947
[11]
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's
Bezirk Rostock
(coastal region) and
Bezirk Neubrandenburg
, with a small area around
Gartz
becoming part of
Bezirk Frankfurt/Oder
.
Contemporary: Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Brandenburg and West Pomeranian Voivodeship
[
edit
]
The 1945?1952 state was reconstituted, with minor border adjustments, as
Mecklenburg-Vorpommern
at the time of
German 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 of
Vorpommern-Rugen
and
Vorpommern-Greifswald
; however, some west central areas including
Demmin
and
Altentreptow
are within
Mecklenburgische Seenplatte
district, while the southernmost fragment (
Amt Gartz (Oder)
) remains part of the
Uckermark
district within
Brandenburg
. In 2012, the
Pomeranian Evangelical Church
merged with the Mecklenburgian and Northalbingian Evangelical Churches.
Since the administrative reform of 1999, the Polish part is located within the
West Pomeranian Voivodeship
and encompasses the
cities with powiat rights
Szczecin
and
?winouj?cie
, the
Police County
, the part of
Kamie? County
located on the island of
Wolin
(
Gmina Mi?dzyzdroje
, western part of
Gmina Wolin
including the town, and western part of
Gmina Dziwnow
), as well as
Gmina Goleniow
in
Goleniow County
.
See also
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
External links
[
edit
]
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Regions
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Administration
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Cities and towns
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Inhabited islands
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Peninsulae and
headlands
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Rivers
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Lakes
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Bays, lagoons
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National parks
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Archaeological cultures
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Peoples
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Major demographic events
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Languages and dialects
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Treaties
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1200–1500
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1500–1700
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1700–present
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54°05′00″N
13°23′00″E
/
54.0833°N 13.3833°E
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54.0833; 13.3833