Świnoujście (Polish: [ɕfʲinɔˈujɕt͡ɕɛ] ⓘ; German: Swinemünde German pronunciation: [ˌsviːnəˈmʏndə]; Low German: Swienemünn; meaning "Świna [river] mouth"; Kashubian: Swina) is a city in Western Pomerania and seaport on the Baltic Sea and Szczecin Lagoon, in the extreme north-west of Poland, mainly on the islands of Usedom, Wolin, and Karsibór, the latter once part of Usedom, now separated by the Piast Canal to facilitate ship access to Szczecin.
Świnoujście borders the German seaside resort of Ahlbeck on Usedom, connected by a street and 12 km (7 mi) of beach promenade.
Since 1999, Świnoujście has been a city with powiat rights, within West Pomeranian Voivodeship. The city lies in the geographic region of Pomerania and had a population of 38,728 in 2024. Świnoujście is one of the most important areas of the Szczecin metropolitan area. The Świnoujście LNG terminal, opened in 2015, is in the city. In 2023, the Świnoujście Tunnel connecting the islands of Wolin and Usedom was opened.
Despite its relatively small population, Świnoujście is Poland's ninth-largest city by area.
History
The first human settlements in areas that are now Świnoujście appeared five thousand years ago, as confirmed by archaeological findings. The area was included in the emerging Polish state in the 10th century by its first ruler Mieszko I.
In the early 12th century, the island became part of the Duchy of Pomerania, founded as a vassal duchy of Poland. In later centuries, local Pomeranian princes ruled the area, and on both sides of the river, they built fortified castles, which were destroyed by the Danish invasions in 1170 and 1173. Between 1185 and 1227, the settlement was part of a Danish fief.
In 1297, Duke Bogusław IV granted merchants who entered through Świna protection and exemption from customs duties on the return journey, and most of the larger cities of Pomerania were eventually granted full exemption from customs duties on the Świna, yet the local castle was still destroyed by the city of Szczecin in 1457. The village of Świna was mentioned in 1418.
During the Thirty Years' War (1618–1648) the city became part of the Swedish Empire.
The strait Świna (Swine) was formerly flanked by the fishing villages of Westswine and Ostswine. Towards the beginning of the 17th century, it was made navigable for large ships. The Kingdom of Prussia gained the area in 1720 from Sweden, and included it in her Pomeranian province. Swinemünde was founded on the site of Westswine in 1748, fortified, and received town privileges from King Frederick II of Prussia in 1765. It served as the outer port of Stettin (Szczecin) and was administered within the Province of Pomerania. During the Seven Years' War, the Swedes attempted to block the port. Swinemünde became part of the German Empire after the Kingdom of Prussia completed the unification of Germany in 1871.
The town had broad, unpaved streets and one-story houses built in the Dutch style, which gave it an almost rustic appearance. Its industries, beyond some fishing, were entirely connected with its shipping. The river mouth, which was the entrance to the harbor and regarded as the best on the Prussian Baltic coast, was then protected by two curving long breakwaters, and was strongly fortified. On the island of Wolin, on the other side of the narrow Świna, a great lighthouse was erected. In 1897 the canal of the Kaiserfahrt was opened to navigation, and this waterway between the Stettin harbour and the Baltic Sea was deepened between 1900 and 1901. From then on Stettin could be reached directly by ships, and Swinemünde's importance diminished somewhat.
During World War II, Germany operated a forced labour subcamp of the Stalag II-D prisoner-of-war camp in the city. In February 1945, German-perpetrated death marches of Allied prisoners of war from the Stalag XX-B and Stalag Luft IV POW camps passed through the city. On 12 March 1945 during World War II, refugee-crowded Swinemünde suffered heavy destruction by the USAAF, an estimated 5,000 to 23,000 were killed, most of whom are buried on the Golm War Cemetery west of the town, on the German side of the border. The city and port were also destroyed during the Allied air raids on 12 March and 16 April 1945. On 16 April 1945, a British heavy bomber of the No. 617 Squadron RAF was shot down by the Germans, and is now commemorated with a memorial on the Karsibór island within the city limits. The unfinished German aircraft carrier Graf Zeppelin was scuttled in the harbor in an attempt to prevent its capture by the advancing Red Army (it was nevertheless refloated by the Soviets later). The German battleship Schlesien had also participated in the defence of the city, before it too was scuttled. After the German forces defending the city were evacuated, Soviet forces occupied the city on the night of 4–5 May 1945.
After Germany's defeat in the war, Polish administrations had also established themselves in Swinemünde, but were forced to withdraw by the Soviet occupying forces. A post-war German administration was also established. When the Polish made a third attempt to take over administration in early July, the Soviets no longer resisted. At the Allied Nations imposed new borders in Central and Eastern Europe at the Potsdam Conference. Initial plans for the German-Polish border had the border line run “through” Swinemünde. However, during the negotiations in Potsdam, this was changed to “immediately west of Swinemünde” at Stalin’s request. The entire German population was expelled and Poles repopulated the city. The Treaty of Zgorzelec signed between the People's Republic of Poland and the German Democratic Republic affirmed, under Soviet pressure, the new border, and the German–Polish Border Treaty of 1990 officially affirmed the existing borders after the fall of the Iron Curtain.
In the winter of 1945, some members of the communist Polish Security Forces carried out atrocities against local Germans. An investigation in 2008 estimated that over 40 German civilians were killed. Nine men were charged with the murder and maltreatment of Germans, and in 1947, after one escaped and one hanged himself, seven of them stood trial. The harshest sentence given in that trial was four years' imprisonment, for theft. In another trial, the town's chief of police, Jan Zientara, was sentenced to eight years, for organizing robberies of German civilians.
In 1948, the reconstruction of the port of Świnoujście from martial to commercial and fishing began. The construction of a large fish farm began, a huge swimming pool and industrial buildings were built, and three years later the Fisheries Base was commissioned. Within three years, a large fish factory was established, managed by the independent Przedsiębiorstwo Usług Rybackie Odra in Świnoujście.
The port of Świnoujście was one of the three Polish ports through which Greeks and Macedonians, refugees of the Greek Civil War, reached Poland. The refugees were then transported to new homes in Poland, while wounded ones were sent to a nearby hospital on the Wolin island.
It was not until 27 November 1950, that the GDR government agreed to transfer to Poland the water intake for the city of Świnoujście, located at Lake Wolgastsee and demarcating the border there again. In June 1951, an area of 76.5 hectares (189 acres) was incorporated into Poland together with a water treatment station, creating a characteristic promontory protruding into the German area (the so-called Worek, (53 54 49.11 N 14 11′11.18 E). In return, Germany was granted a similar area between the water intake and the Pomeranian Bay.
The spa part of the city was occupied by the Soviet Armed Forces until 1957, and until the turn of the 1980s and 1990s, there was a base of Soviet warships with facilities in Świnoujście. Until 1972, the city belonged to the Wolin poviat. In 1959, the "Uzdrowisko Świnoujście" State Enterprise was established. Currently Uzdrowisko Świnoujście S.A. belongs to the largest and most modern in Poland, and its greatest asset is still bromide-iodide-sodium brine discovered a hundred years ago.
In the 1960s and 1970s, a seaport was created, which together with Szczecin created a complex of ports Szczecin-Świnoujście. In 1964, ferry shipping to Scandinavia was resumed. From 1975 to 1998, it was administratively part of the Szczecin Voivodeship.
In 2015, the Świnoujście LNG terminal was opened, named after the late Polish President Lech Kaczyński, during whose presidency its construction was initiated.
Geography
The city is located on the Strait of Świna, which in its northern part connects with the Baltic Sea, and in the south with the Szczecin Lagoon. It is situated on three inhabited islands: Usedom (35,712 inhabitants in 2010), Wolin (4,317 inhabitants), Karsibór (703 inhabitants) and 41 smaller uninhabited islands. Świnoujście is located in the northwestern edge of the West Pomeranian Voivodeship (with coordinates 53 ° 54′N 14 ° 14′E). According to data from 1 January 2024, the area of the urban commune is 202.7 km2 (78.3 sq mi). Every year, the city's area increases by applying sand on the beach by sea currents. Sands settling at the shore caused the shoreline to shift by 1.5 km (0.93 mi) over the last 200 years. Currently, the beach in the widest section is 200 meters (660 ft), making the beach in Świnoujście the widest beach in Poland.
Climate
Świnoujście is situated in the oceanic climate, which is characterized by mild winters and relatively cool summers. A very large influence on the climate of the city is the location of the Baltic Sea. Świnoujście is often the warmest city in Poland during winter.
Districts of Świnoujście
- Przytór
- Karsibór
- Wydrzany
- Łunowo
- Warszów
- Ognica
Infrastructure
Transport
Sea
The town is located on both banks of the Świna Channel, which are connected by regular ferries and the underwater Świnoujście Tunnel that was opened in 2023. The project cost EUR 191 million and constitutes the only fixed link between two parts of the city and between the rest of country.
Świnoujście has the largest and most modern ferry terminal in Poland, with regular connections to Denmark and Sweden. The city hosts the headquarters of POLSCA Baltic Ferries, a Polish maritime ferry operator. The city lies at the northern terminus of the S3 expressway, which is, in turn, part of the European route E65 running across Europe from Sweden to Greece.
Rail
Świnoujście is served by several railway stations: Świnoujście, Świnoujście Centrum, Świnoujście Port, Świnoujście Przytór, and Świnoujście Warszów, with regular regional services (Polregio) to Szczecin and long-distance services (PKP Intercity) to other cities in Poland; such as Poznań, Katowice, Bielsko-Biała, Kraków and Warsaw. Historically, numerous other railway stations have served the city, however these have since been either closed or replaced by existing ones.
Road
Land border controls were abolished 21 December 2007, and free automobile traffic to and from Germany was allowed for the first time since 1945, as Poland implemented the Schengen Agreement. From 20 September 2008, the city has a railway connection to its western portion as well, when the railway line to Ahlbeck was extended eastward to Świnoujście ("Świnoujście Centrum") giving it a direct link to the German railway network. The nearest airport at Heringsdorf in Germany, 13 kilometres (8 miles) west of Świnoujście, will likely become more important for travelling to the city, if it ever acquires year-round scheduled passenger connections; it currently has a number of summer connections to German cities only. The nearest airport with year-round traffic is the Szczecin-Goleniów "Solidarność" Airport, 80 km (50 mi) to the southeast in Poland.
Air
The city does not have an airport. The nearest airport is Heringsdorf Airport in Germany located 11 km (7 mi) south west. However, the airport only provides some direct routes to other parts of Germany, Luxembourg and Switzerland. If residents want to fly to other domestic destinations in Poland, they would need to fly from Solidarity Szczecin-Goleniów Airport as it provides air services to Warsaw which are operated by LOT Polish Airlines. The airport is located 76 km (47 mi) south east of Świnoujście.