Krynica Morska () is a town and coextensive municipality (''

gmina The gmina (Polish: , plural ''gminy'' ) is the basic unit of the administrative division of Poland, similar to a municipality. , there were 2,479 gminy throughout the country, encompassing over 43,000 villages. 940 gminy include cities and tow ...

'') on the

Vistula Spit The Vistula Spit (; ; ; ) is an aeolian sand spit, or peninsular stretch of land, separating Vistula Lagoon from Gdańsk Bay, in the Baltic Sea, with its tip separated from the mainland by the Strait of Baltiysk. The border between Poland (Pom ...

in northern

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

with 1,172 inhabitants as of 2023. It has been part of Nowy Dwór Gdański County in

Pomeranian Voivodeship Pomeranian Voivodeship ( ; ) is a Voivodeships of Poland, voivodeship, or province, in northwestern Poland. The provincial capital is Gdańsk. The voivodeship was established on January 1, 1999, out of the former voivodeships of Gdańsk Voivo ...

since 1999; previously it was in Elbląg Voivodeship from 1975 to 1998.

Overview

Before 1793 the area was part of the

Kingdom of Poland The Kingdom of Poland (; Latin: ''Regnum Poloniae'') was a monarchy in Central Europe during the Middle Ages, medieval period from 1025 until 1385. Background The West Slavs, West Slavic tribe of Polans (western), Polans who lived in what i ...

; from 1793-1945

Prussia Prussia (; ; Old Prussian: ''Prūsija'') was a Germans, German state centred on the North European Plain that originated from the 1525 secularization of the Prussia (region), Prussian part of the State of the Teutonic Order. For centuries, ...

(within

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

from 1871). The village was known as ''Kahlberg'' during that time. It was administered by the city of Danzig (now

Gdańsk Gdańsk is a city on the Baltic Sea, Baltic coast of northern Poland, and the capital of the Pomeranian Voivodeship. With a population of 486,492, Data for territorial unit 2261000. it is Poland's sixth-largest city and principal seaport. Gdań ...

) until 1842, and afterwards by the city of Elbing (now

Elbląg Elbląg (; ; ) is a city in the Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship, in northern Poland, located in the eastern edge of the Żuławy region with 127,390 inhabitants, as of December 2021. It is the capital of Elbląg County. Elbląg is one of the ol ...

). The settlement was first mentioned in 1424 and became a summer resort around 1840. When it came back under Polish rule after the Second World War, it was given the name Łysica (the

Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Polish people, people from Poland or of Polish descent * Polish chicken * Polish brothers (Mark Polish and Michael Polish, born 1970), American twin ...

root ''łys-'' corresponding to the

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

''kahl'', meaning "bald"). In 1958 it was renamed Krynica Morska ('' Krynica'' is an obsolete, poetic term for "

spring Spring(s) may refer to: Common uses * Spring (season), a season of the year * Spring (device), a mechanical device that stores energy * Spring (hydrology), a natural source of water * Spring (mathematics), a geometric surface in the shape of a he ...

"; ''Morska'' meaning "of the sea", i.e., "sea spring" or "seaside spring") as opposed to the other famous Polish resort of Krynica. In 1991 three former villages, Krynica Morska, Nowa Karczma, and

Przebrno Przebrno () is a neighborhood of the town of Krynica Morska on the Vistula Spit in northern Poland, located in the western part of the town. The village has sandy beaches on the shores of the Bay of Gdańsk on the northern side of the spit, an ...

Gmina Sztutowo __NOTOC__ Gmina Sztutowo is a rural gmina (administrative district) in Nowy Dwór Gdański County, Pomeranian Voivodeship, in northern Poland. The seat of gmina is Sztutowo, which lies approximately north of Nowy Dwór Gdański and east of the ...

were united into a new ''gmina'', Krynica Morska, which simultaneously was assigned the town status. Krynica Morska is the main tourist destination on the Vistula Spit. The administrative area of the town extends along most of the Polish part of the spit, up to the Russian border, also including a number of other localities such as

and Piaski (the latter being about from the border, which is not crossable at present). It has the smallest population of any urban commune (''gmina'') in Poland. Because of the inclusion of mainly rural areas of the spit within its boundaries, it has the lowest

population density Population density (in agriculture: Standing stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geog ...

of any town (''miasto'') in Poland, with 11.74 persons/km². The Lighthouse in Krynica Morska was originally built in 1895. It was destroyed in 1945 after being mined by retreating German forces. A new lighthouse, now open to visitors, was built in 1951. Adjacent to it is a small cemetery with a monument to the

Soviet The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

soldiers killed in the explosion that destroyed the original building.

Gallery

Wybrzeże - panoramio (3).jpg, Beach in Krynica Morska Krynica Morska July 2013 18.JPG, Port of Krynica Morska KrynicaMorskaUlicaGdańska.JPG, Gdańska street Teleexpressu 2 5.jpg, Heritage architecture Krynica Morska, port morski nad Zalewem Wiślanym (HB20).jpg

References

{{Authority control Cities and towns in Pomeranian Voivodeship Nowy Dwór Gdański County Resorts in Poland Port cities and towns of the Baltic Sea Port cities and towns in Poland