Koszalin (; ; , ) is a city in northwestern

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 ...

, in Western

Pomerania Pomerania ( ; ; ; ) is a historical region on the southern shore of the Baltic Sea in Central Europe, split between Poland and Germany. The central and eastern part belongs to the West Pomeranian Voivodeship, West Pomeranian, Pomeranian Voivod ...

. It is located south of the

Baltic Sea The Baltic Sea is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that is enclosed by the countries of Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Sweden, and the North European Plain, North and Central European Plain regions. It is the ...

coast, and intersected by the river Dzierżęcinka. Koszalin is also a county-status city and capital of

Koszalin County __NOTOC__ Koszalin County () is a unit of territorial administration and local government (powiat) in West Pomeranian Voivodeship, north-western Poland, on the Baltic coast. It came into being on January 1, 1999, as a result of the Polish local g ...

West Pomeranian Voivodeship West Pomeranian Voivodeship is a Voivodeships of Poland, voivodeship (province) in northwestern Poland. Its capital and largest city is Szczecin. Its area equals , and in 2021, it was inhabited by 1,682,003 people. It was established on 1 Janua ...

. Founded in the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...

, Koszalin was a seaport until the 17th century, and one of the main cities of Central Pomerania (along with

Kołobrzeg Kołobrzeg (; ; ) is a port and spa city in the West Pomeranian Voivodeship in north-western Poland with about 47,000 inhabitants (). Kołobrzeg is located on the Parsęta River on the south coast of the Baltic Sea (in the middle of the section ...

and

Słupsk Słupsk (; ; ) is a city with powiat rights located on the Słupia River in the Pomeranian Voivodeship in northern Poland, in the historical region of Pomerania or more specifically in its part known in contemporary Poland as Central Pomerania ...

). From 1950 to 1998 it was the administrative capital of Central Pomerania, as the Koszalin Voivodeship, and remains its largest city. Located on the main

highway A highway is any public or private road or other public way on land. It includes not just major roads, but also other public roads and rights of way. In the United States, it is also used as an equivalent term to controlled-access highway, or ...

and railroad between the Tricity and

Szczecin Szczecin ( , , ; ; ; or ) is the capital city, capital and largest city of the West Pomeranian Voivodeship in northwestern Poland. Located near the Baltic Sea and the Poland-Germany border, German border, it is a major port, seaport, the la ...

, Koszalin is an important regional industrial, cultural and educational center. It is home to the Koszalin University of Technology,

Polish Air Force The Polish Air Force () is the aerial warfare Military branch, branch of the Polish Armed Forces. Until July 2004 it was officially known as ''Wojska Lotnicze i Obrony Powietrznej'' (). In 2014 it consisted of roughly 26,000 military personnel an ...

Training Center and the Polish Border Guard Academy. Its Gothic Cathedral serves as the seat of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Koszalin–Kołobrzeg. Koszalin is the host city of an annual festival of choirs of the

Polish diaspora The Polish diaspora comprises Polish people, Poles and people of Polish heritage or origin who live outside Poland. The Polish diaspora is also known in modern Polish language, Polish as ''Polonia'', the name for Poland in Latin and many Romance la ...

from various parts of the world.

History

Human settlement in Koszalin dates back to prehistoric times. Various traces of human settlement of the Funnelbeaker, Globular Amphora and Lusatian cultures and from

ancient Roman In modern historiography, ancient Rome is the Roman people, Roman civilisation from the founding of Rome, founding of the Italian city of Rome in the 8th century BC to the Fall of the Western Roman Empire, collapse of the Western Roman Em ...

times and

Early Middle Ages The Early Middle Ages (or early medieval period), sometimes controversially referred to as the Dark Ages (historiography), Dark Ages, is typically regarded by historians as lasting from the late 5th to the 10th century. They marked the start o ...

were discovered during

archaeological excavation In archaeology, excavation is the exposure, processing and recording of archaeological remains. An excavation site or "dig" is the area being studied. These locations range from one to several areas at a time during a project and can be condu ...

Middle Ages

The territory became part of the emerging Polish state under

Mieszko I Mieszko I (; – 25 May 992) was Duchy of Poland (966–1025), Duke of Poland from 960 until his death in 992 and the founder of the first unified History of Poland, Polish state, the Civitas Schinesghe. A member of the Piast dynasty, he was t ...

around 967. According to the Medieval Chronicle of Greater Poland (''Kronika Wielkopolska'') Koszalin was one of the Pomeranian cities captured and subjugated by Duke

Bolesław III Wrymouth Bolesław III Wrymouth (; 20 August 1086 – 28 October 1138), also known as Boleslaus the Wry-mouthed, was the duke of Lesser Poland, Silesia and Sandomierz between 1102 and 1107 and over the whole of Poland between 1107 and 1138. He was the onl ...

of Poland in 1107 (other towns included

, Kamień and Wolin). Afterwards, in the 12th century the area became part of the

Griffin The griffin, griffon, or gryphon (; Classical Latin: ''gryps'' or ''grypus''; Late and Medieval Latin: ''gryphes'', ''grypho'' etc.; Old French: ''griffon'') is a -4; we might wonder whether there's a point at which it's appropriate to talk ...

-ruled

Duchy of Pomerania The Duchy of Pomerania (; ; Latin: ''Ducatus Pomeraniae'') was a duchy in Pomerania on the southern coast of the Baltic Sea, ruled by dukes of the House of Pomerania (''Griffins''). The country existed in the Middle Ages between years 1121–11 ...

, a vassal state of

, which separated from Poland after the fragmentation of Poland into smaller duchies, and became a vassal of

Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...

in 1185 and a part of the

Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire, also known as the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation after 1512, was a polity in Central and Western Europe, usually headed by the Holy Roman Emperor. It developed in the Early Middle Ages, and lasted for a millennium ...

from 1227. In 1214, Bogislaw II,

Duke of Pomerania This is a list of the duchies and dukes of Pomerania. Dukes of the Slavic Pomeranian tribes (All Pomerania) The lands of Pomerania were firstly ruled by local tribes, who settled in Pomerania around the 10th and 11th centuries. Non-dynastic ...

, made a donation of a village known as Koszalice/Cossalitz by Chełmska Hill in Kołobrzeg Land to the

Norbertine The Order of Canons Regular of Prémontré (), also known as the Premonstratensians, the Norbertines and, in Britain and Ireland, as the White Canons (from the colour of their habit), is a religious order of canons regular in the Catholic Church ...

monastery in Białoboki near Trzebiatów. New, mostly

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 ...

, settlers from outside of Pomerania were invited to settle the territory. In 1248, the eastern part of Kołobrzeg Land, including the village, was transferred by Duke

Barnim I Barnim I the Good ( 1217/1219 – 13 November 1278), from the Griffin dynasty, was a Duke of Pomerania (''ducis Slauorum et Cassubie'') from 1220 until his death. Life Son of Duke Bogislaw II and Miroslava of Pomerelia, he succeeded to the Duc ...

to the

Roman Catholic Diocese of Kammin The Bishopric of Cammin (also Kammin, Kamień Pomorski) was both a former Roman Catholic diocese in the Duchy of Pomerania from 1140 to 1544, and a secular territory of the Holy Roman Empire (Prince-Bishopric) in the Kołobrzeg area from 1248 t ...

.Gerhard Köbler, ''Historisches Lexikon der Deutschen Länder: die deutschen Territorien vom Mittelalter bis zur Gegenwart'', 7th edition, C.H. Beck, 2007, p. 113, On 23 May 1266, Kammin bishop Hermann von Gleichen granted a charter to the village, granting it

Lübeck law The Lübeck law () was the family of codified municipal law developed at Lübeck, which became a free imperial city in 1226 and is located in present-day Schleswig-Holstein. It was the second most prevalent form of municipal law in medieval and e ...

, local government, autonomy and multiple privileges to attract German settlers from the west. When in 1276 the bishops became the sovereign in neighboring

, they moved their residence there, while the administration of the diocese was done from Koszalin. In 1278 a

Cistercian The Cistercians (), officially the Order of Cistercians (, abbreviated as OCist or SOCist), are a Catholic religious order of monks and nuns that branched off from the Benedictines and follow the Rule of Saint Benedict, as well as the contri ...

monastery was established, which took care of the local parish church and St. Mary chapel on Chełmska Hill. The city obtained direct access to the

when it gained the village of Jamno (1331), parts of Lake Jamno, a spit between the lake and the sea and the castle of Unieście in 1353. Thence, it participated in the Baltic Sea trade as a member of the

Hanseatic League The Hanseatic League was a Middle Ages, medieval commercial and defensive network of merchant guilds and market towns in Central Europe, Central and Northern Europe, Northern Europe. Growing from a few Northern Germany, North German towns in the ...

(from 1386), which led to several conflicts with the competing seaports of at Kołobrzeg and

Darłowo Darłowo (; ; ) is a seaside town on the Slovincian Coast of north-western Poland, south of the Baltic Sea, with 13,324 inhabitants as of December 2021. Administratively, it is located in Sławno County in West Pomeranian Voivodeship. The earlie ...

. From 1356 until 1417/1422, the city was part of the Duchy of Pomerania-Wolgast. In 1446 Koszalin fought a victorious battle against the nearby rival city of

. In 1475 a conflict between the city of Koszalin and the Pomeranian duke Bogislaw X broke out, resulting in the kidnapping and temporary imprisonment of the duke in Koszalin.

Early Modern Age

As a result of German colonization, the town became mostly German-speaking, putting indigenous Slavic speakers at disadvantage. In 1516 local Germans enforced a ban on buying goods from Slavic speakers. It was also forbidden to accept native Slavs to craft guilds, which indicates ethnic discrimination. In 1531 riots took place between supporters and opponents of the

Protestant Reformation The Reformation, also known as the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation, was a time of major theological movement in Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the papacy and ...

. In 1534 the city became mostly

Lutheran Lutheranism is a major branch of Protestantism that emerged under the work of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German friar and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practices of the Catholic Church launched ...

under the influence of Johannes Bugenhagen. In 1568, John Frederick, Duke of Pomerania and bishop of Cammin, started constructing a residence, finished by his successor Casimir VI of Pomerania in 1582. After the 1637 death of the last Pomeranian duke, Bogislaw XIV, the city passed to his cousin, Bishop Ernst Bogislaw von Croÿ of Kammin. Occupied by Swedish troops during the

Thirty Years' War The Thirty Years' War, fought primarily in Central Europe between 1618 and 1648, was one of the most destructive conflicts in History of Europe, European history. An estimated 4.5 to 8 million soldiers and civilians died from battle, famine ...

in 1637, some of the city's inhabitants sought refuge in nearby Poland. The city was granted to Brandenburg-Prussia after the

Treaty of Westphalia The Peace of Westphalia (, ) is the collective name for two Peace treaty, peace treaties signed in October 1648 in the Westphalian cities of Osnabrück and Münster. They ended the Thirty Years' War (1618–1648) and brought peace to the Holy R ...

(1648) and the Treaty of Stettin (1653), and with all of

Farther Pomerania Farther Pomerania, Hinder Pomerania, Rear Pomerania or Eastern Pomerania (; ), is a subregion of the historic region of Pomerania in north-western Poland, mostly within the West Pomeranian Voivodeship, while its easternmost parts are within the Po ...

became part of the Brandenburgian Pomerania. Now renamed Cöslin as part of the

Kingdom of Prussia The Kingdom of Prussia (, ) was a German state that existed from 1701 to 1918.Marriott, J. A. R., and Charles Grant Robertson. ''The Evolution of Prussia, the Making of an Empire''. Rev. ed. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1946. It played a signif ...

, the city was heavily damaged by a fire in 1718, but was rebuilt in the following years. In 1764 on the Chełmska Hill, now located within the city limits, a Pole Jan Gelczewski founded a paper mill that supplied numerous city offices.

Late Modern Age

The city was occupied by French troops in 1807 after the

War of the Fourth Coalition The War of the Fourth Coalition () was a war spanning 1806–1807 that saw a multinational coalition fight against Napoleon's First French Empire, French Empire, subsequently being defeated. The main coalition partners were Kingdom of Prussia, ...

. Following the

Napoleonic wars {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Napoleonic Wars , partof = the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars , image = Napoleonic Wars (revision).jpg , caption = Left to right, top to bottom:Battl ...

, it became the capital of Fürstenthum District (

county A county () is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesL. Brookes (ed.) '' Chambers Dictionary''. Edinburgh: Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, 2005. in some nations. The term is derived from the Old French denoti ...

) and Regierungsbezirk Cöslin ( government region) within the Province of Pomerania. The Fürstenthum District was dissolved on 1 September 1872 and replaced with the Cöslin District on December 13. Between 1829 and 1845, a road connecting Cöslin (Koszalin) with Stettin (Szczecin) and Danzig (Gdańsk) was built. Part of this road, from Cöslin (Koszalin) to the nearby town of

Sianów Sianów (Polish pronunciation: ; ) is a town in northern Poland, in West Pomeranian Voivodeship, in Koszalin County, seat of Gmina Sianów. It has 6,555 inhabitants (2010). Sianów is a member of Cittaslow. History The territory became part of ...

, was built in 1833 by around one hundred former Polish insurgents. In 1869, the Saint Joseph church was built by local

Poles Pole or poles may refer to: People *Poles (people), another term for Polish people, from the country of Poland * Pole (surname), including a list of people with the name * Pole (musician) (Stefan Betke, born 1967), German electronic music artist ...

. The town became part of the

German Empire The German Empire (),; ; World Book, Inc. ''The World Book dictionary, Volume 1''. World Book, Inc., 2003. p. 572. States that Deutsches Reich translates as "German Realm" and was a former official name of Germany. also referred to as Imperia ...

in 1871 during the

unification of Germany The unification of Germany (, ) was a process of building the first nation-state for Germans with federalism, federal features based on the concept of Lesser Germany (one without Habsburgs' multi-ethnic Austria or its German-speaking part). I ...

. The railroad from Stettin through Cöslin and Stolp (Słupsk) to Danzig was constructed from 1858 to 1878. A military cadet school created by

Frederick the Great Frederick II (; 24 January 171217 August 1786) was the monarch of Prussia from 1740 until his death in 1786. He was the last Hohenzollern monarch titled ''King in Prussia'', declaring himself ''King of Prussia'' after annexing Royal Prussia ...

in 1776 was moved from Kulm (Chełmno) to the city in 1890. The ''Kösliner Zeitung'' was as a local newspaper published in Köslin. After the

Nazi Party The Nazi Party, officially the National Socialist German Workers' Party ( or NSDAP), was a far-right politics, far-right political party in Germany active between 1920 and 1945 that created and supported the ideology of Nazism. Its precursor ...

took power in Germany in 1933, a

Gestapo The (, ), Syllabic abbreviation, abbreviated Gestapo (), was the official secret police of Nazi Germany and in German-occupied Europe. The force was created by Hermann Göring in 1933 by combining the various political police agencies of F ...

station was established in the city and mass arrests of Nazi opponents were carried out. After the

Nazi Nazism (), formally named National Socialism (NS; , ), is the far-right politics, far-right Totalitarianism, totalitarian socio-political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Germany. During H ...

s had closed down

Dietrich Bonhoeffer Dietrich Bonhoeffer (; 4 February 1906 – 9 April 1945) was a German Lutheran pastor, neo-orthodox theologian and anti-Nazi dissident who was a key founding member of the Confessing Church. His writings on Christianity's role in the s ...

's seminar in Finkenwalde (Zdroje) in 1937, Bonhoeffer chose the town as one of the sites where he illegally continued to educate

vicar A vicar (; Latin: '' vicarius'') is a representative, deputy or substitute; anyone acting "in the person of" or agent for a superior (compare "vicarious" in the sense of "at second hand"). Linguistically, ''vicar'' is cognate with the English p ...

s of the

Confessing Church The Confessing Church (, ) was a movement within German Protestantism in Nazi Germany that arose in opposition to government-sponsored efforts to unify all of the Protestant churches into a single pro-Nazi German Evangelical Church. See dro ...

.Peter Zimmerling, ''Bonhoeffer als praktischer Theologe'', Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 2006, p.59, During the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

Köslin was the site of the first school for the "rocket troops" created on orders of

Walter Dornberger Major-General Dr. Walter Robert Dornberger (6 September 1895 – 26 June 1980) was a German Army artillery officer whose career spanned World War I and World War II. He was a leader of Nazi Germany's V-2 rocket programme and other projects a ...

, the

Wehrmacht The ''Wehrmacht'' (, ) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the German Army (1935–1945), ''Heer'' (army), the ''Kriegsmarine'' (navy) and the ''Luftwaffe'' (air force). The designation "''Wehrmac ...

's head of the V-2 design and development program. The Polish resistance conducted espionage of German activity and distributed

Polish underground press The Polish underground press, devoted to prohibited materials ( sl. , lit. semitransparent blotting paper or, alternatively, , lit. second circulation), has a long history of combatting censorship of oppressive regimes in Poland. It existed th ...

in the city. The Nazis brought many

prisoners of war A prisoner of war (POW) is a person held captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610. Belligerents hold prisoners of war for a ...

and forced labourers to the city, mainly Poles, but also

Italians Italians (, ) are a European peoples, European ethnic group native to the Italian geographical region. Italians share a common Italian culture, culture, History of Italy, history, Cultural heritage, ancestry and Italian language, language. ...

and French. The Germans operated several forced labour camps in the city, including a subcamp of the Stalag II-B

POW camp A prisoner-of-war camp (often abbreviated as POW camp) is a site for the containment of enemy fighters captured as prisoners of war by a belligerent power in time of war. There are significant differences among POW camps, internment camps, an ...

. Polish forced labourers constituted up to 10% of the city's population during the war. Germany also operated a prison in the city, with forced labour subcamps in the region. After crushing the

Warsaw Uprising The Warsaw Uprising (; ), sometimes referred to as the August Uprising (), or the Battle of Warsaw, was a major World War II operation by the Polish resistance movement in World War II, Polish underground resistance to liberate Warsaw from ...

, the Germans brought several transports of Poles from

Warsaw Warsaw, officially the Capital City of Warsaw, is the capital and List of cities and towns in Poland, largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the Vistula, River Vistula in east-central Poland. Its population is officially estimated at ...

to the city, mainly women and children.

After World War II

On 4 March 1945, the city was captured by the

Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army, often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Republic and, from 1922, the Soviet Union. The army was established in January 1918 by a decree of the Council of People ...

. Under the border changes forced by the

Soviet Union 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 ...

in the post-war

Potsdam Agreement The Potsdam Agreement () was the agreement among three of the Allies of World War II: the United Kingdom, the United States, and the Soviet Union after the war ended in Europe that was signed on 1 August 1945 and published the following day. A ...

, Koszalin became part of Poland as part of the so-called

Recovered Territories The Recovered Territories or Regained Lands () are the lands east of the Oder–Neisse line, Oder-Neisse line that over the centuries were gradually lost by Poland and colonized by the Germans, and that returned to Poland after World War II. T ...

. The city's German population that had not yet fled was expelled to the remainder of post-war Germany in accordance to the Potsdam Agreement. The city was resettled by Poles and

Kashubians The Kashubians (; ; ), also known as Cassubians or Kashubs, are a Lechitic ( West Slavic) ethnic group native to the historical region of Pomerania, including its eastern part called Pomerelia, in north-central Poland. Their settlement area is ...

, many of whom had been expelled from Polish territory annexed by the Soviets. As early as March 1945 a Polish police unit was established, consisting of former forced labourers and

, however, the Soviets, still present in the city, plundered local industrial factories in April. From May 1945, life in the destroyed city was being organized, the first post-war schools, shops and service premises were established. In 1946, the first public library was opened, whose director was later Maria Pilecka, the sister of Polish national hero

Witold Pilecki Witold Pilecki (; 13 May 190125 May 1948), known by the codenames ''Roman Jezierski'', ''Tomasz Serafiński'', ''Druh'' and ''Witold'', was a Polish World War II cavalry officer, intelligence agent, and resistance leader. As a youth, Pilecki ...

. In March 1946, the

anti-communist Anti-communism is political and ideological opposition to communist beliefs, groups, and individuals. Organized anti-communism developed after the 1917 October Revolution in Russia, and it reached global dimensions during the Cold War, when th ...

Home Army 5th Wilno Brigade was active in Koszalin. In July 1947, the last units of the

Soviet Army The Soviet Ground Forces () was the land warfare service branch of the Soviet Armed Forces from 1946 to 1992. It was preceded by the Red Army. After the Soviet Union ceased to exist in December 1991, the Ground Forces remained under th ...

left Koszalin, and from that time only Polish troops were stationed in the city. In 1953 a local radio station was founded in Koszalin. Koszalin plac Zwyciestwa

Initially, Koszalin was the first post-war regional capital of Polish Western Pomerania, before the administration finally moved to

in February 1946, after which the region was named the Szczecin Voivodeship. In 1950 this voivodeship was divided into a truncated Szczecin Voivodeship and Koszalin Voivodeship. In years 1950-75 Koszalin was the capital of the enlarged Koszalin Voivodeship sometimes called

Middle Pomerania The term Middle or Central Pomerania can refer to two distinct areas, depending on whether it is used as a translation of the corresponding German or Polish terms Mittelpommern (also Mittelpommerscher Keil) or Pomorze Środkowe, respectively. Mi ...

due to becoming the fastest growing city in Poland. In years 1975-98 it was the capital of the smaller Koszalin Voivodeship. As a result of the Local Government Reorganization Act (1998) Koszalin became part of the

(effective 1 January 1999) regardless of an earlier proposal for a new Middle Pomeranian Voivodeship covering approximately the area of former Koszalin Voivodeship (1950–75). In 1991, Koszalin was visited by

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II (born Karol Józef Wojtyła; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 16 October 1978 until Death and funeral of Pope John Paul II, his death in 2005. In his you ...

.Laskowski, p. 7 On the fifth anniversary of his visit, his monument was unveiled in the city center.

Landmarks

The city borders on Chełmska Hill (), a site of

pagan Paganism (, later 'civilian') is a term first used in the fourth century by early Christians for people in the Roman Empire who practiced polytheism, or ethnic religions other than Christianity, Judaism, and Samaritanism. In the time of the ...

worship in prehistory, and upon which is now built the tower "sanctuary of the covenant", which was consecrated by

in 1991, and is currently a pilgrimage site. Also an observation tower is located on the hill. At the entrance to the sanctuary there is a monument dedicated to the Polish November insurgents of 1831, who, imprisoned by Prussian authorities, built a road connecting Koszalin with nearby

. Koszalin's most distinctive landmark is the Gothic St. Mary's Cathedral, dating from the early 14th century. Positioned in front of the cathedral is a monument commemorating John Paul II's visit to the city. Other city landmarks include the Park of the Dukes of Pomerania (''Park Książąt Pomorskich''), the Koszalin Museum, the main post office, the 16th-century Wedding Palace and the Culture Centre 105 ('' Centrum Kultury 105''). The city also has monuments dedicated to Polish national heroes:

Józef Piłsudski Józef Klemens Piłsudski (; 5 December 1867 – 12 May 1935) was a Polish statesman who served as the Chief of State (Poland), Chief of State (1918–1922) and first Marshal of Poland (from 1920). In the aftermath of World War I, he beca ...

Władysław Anders Władysław Albert Anders (11 August 1892 – 12 May 1970) was a Polish military officer and politician, and prominent member of the Polish government-in-exile in London. Born in Krośniewice-Błonie, then part of the Russian Empire, he serv ...

, Kazimierz Pułaski,

Władysław Sikorski Władysław Eugeniusz Sikorski (; 20 May 18814 July 1943) was a Polish military and political leader. Before World War I, Sikorski established and participated in several underground organizations that promoted the cause of Polish independenc ...

, as well monuments of the 19th-century Polish poets

Cyprian Norwid Cyprian Kamil Norwid (; – 23 May 1883) was a Polish poet, dramatist, painter, sculptor, and philosopher. He is now considered one of the four most important Polish Romanticism, Polish Romantic poets, though scholars still debate whether he is ...

and

Adam Mickiewicz Adam Bernard Mickiewicz (24 December 179826 November 1855) was a Polish poet, dramatist, essayist, publicist, translator and political activist. He is regarded as national poet in Poland, Lithuania and Belarus. He also largely influenced Ukra ...

. File:Góra Chełmska - wieża widokowa 3.jpg, Observation tower on Góra Chełmska File:Rb mlyn3.jpg, Koszalin Museum File:Filharmonia Koszalińska w Koszalinie.jpg, The new building of the Koszalin Philharmonic File:Pdsoki Koszalin willa TPPR 03.jpg, A historic villa on Zwycięstwa Street File:Koszalin-Park.JPG, Park of the Dukes of Pomerania (''Park Książąt Pomorskich'') File:Koszalin - Bohaterowi Obojga Narodów.jpg, Memorial stone dedicated to Kazimierz Pułaski in the Amphitheater Park

Nearby cities and villages

Nearby cities: *

Mielno Mielno ( ; or ) is a resort town in Koszalin County, West Pomeranian Voivodeship, in north-western Poland. It is the seat of the gmina (administrative district) called Gmina Mielno. It lies approximately north-west of Koszalin and north-east ...

* Polanów * Bobolice Nearby villages: * Manowo * Skwierzynka * Kędzierzyn * Niekłonice * Świeszyno * Stare Bielice *

Biesiekierz Biesiekierz () is a village in Koszalin County, West Pomeranian Voivodeship, in north-western Poland. It is the seat of the gmina (administrative district) called Gmina Biesiekierz. It lies approximately south-west of Koszalin and north-east of ...

* Nowe Bielice * Bonin

Demographics

Climate

The climate is oceanic (

Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Bernd Köppen (1951–2014), German pianist and composer * Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan * Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author ...

: ''Cfb'') with some

humid continental Humidity is the concentration of water vapor present in the air. Water vapor, the gaseous state of water, is generally invisible to the human eye. Humidity indicates the likelihood for precipitation, dew, or fog to be present. Humidity depe ...

characteristics (''Dfb''), usually categorized if the 0 °C isotherm is used (for the same classification). Being in

Western Pomerania Historical Western Pomerania, also called Cispomerania, Fore Pomerania, Front Pomerania or Hither Pomerania (; ), is the western extremity of the historic region of Pomerania, located mostly in north-eastern Germany, with a small portion in no ...

and near the

, it has a much more moderate climate than the other large Polish cities. The summers are warm and practically never hot as in the south and the winters are often more moderate than the northeast and east, although still cold, yet it is not as mild as

Western Europe Western Europe is the western region of Europe. The region's extent varies depending on context. The concept of "the West" appeared in Europe in juxtaposition to "the East" and originally applied to the Western half of the ancient Mediterranean ...

. Daily averages below freezing point can be found in January and February, while in the summer they are between 15 and 16 °C, relatively cool. The average annual precipitation is 704 mm, distributed during the year. Koszalin is one of the sunniest cities in the country.Archived
December 27, 2018, at the

Wayback Machine The Wayback Machine is a digital archive of the World Wide Web founded by Internet Archive, an American nonprofit organization based in San Francisco, California. Launched for public access in 2001, the service allows users to go "back in ...

Sports

* AZS Koszalin - men's

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

team, playing in the

Polish Basketball League Polska Liga Koszykówki (PLK) (English language, English: Polish Basketball League), officially known as the Orlen Basket Liga due to its sponsorship by Orlen, is a professional men's club basketball list of basketball leagues, league in Poland. I ...

(the top division) * AZS Politechnika Koszalin - women's

handball Handball (also known as team handball, European handball, Olympic handball or indoor handball) is a team sport in which two teams of seven players each (six outcourt players and a goalkeeper) pass a ball using their hands with the aim of thr ...

team playing in Polish Ekstraklasa Women's Handball League: 3rd place in 1st league in 2003/2004 season; promoted to Premiership in 2004/2005 season. * Gwardia Koszalin - football team, currently playing in the fourth Polish division. * Bałtyk Koszalin - football team, currently playing in the fourth Polish division * Tennis - Bałtyk Koszalin *Rugby - Rugby Club Koszalin * Motorsport - Klub Motor Sport Koszalin * American Football - Korsarze Koszalin

Film festival

The city has organised an annual

film festival A film festival is an organized, extended presentation of films in one or more movie theater, cinemas or screening venues, usually annually and in a single city or region. Some film festivals show films outdoors or online. Films may be of recent ...

since 1973 titled the Koszalin Festival of Film Debuts "The Youth and Film" ( Polish: ''Koszaliński Festiwal Debiutów Filmowych "Młodzi i Film"'') with the aim to promote young filmmakers. Since 2007, the festival has been a competition review of Polish debuts (

feature Feature may refer to: Computing * Feature recognition, could be a hole, pocket, or notch * Feature (computer vision), could be an edge, corner or blob * Feature (machine learning), in statistics: individual measurable properties of the phenome ...

and

short film A short film is a film with a low running time. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) defines a short film as "an original motion picture that has a running time of not more than 40 minutes including all credits". Other film o ...

documentaries A documentary film (often described simply as a documentary) is a nonfiction motion picture intended to "document reality, primarily for instruction, education or maintaining a historical record". The American author and media analyst Bill ...

and animations). Besides the competition, there are retrospectives, workshops, and discussions about young cinema entitled "Honesty to Honesty" (Polish: ''Szczerość za szczerość''). The festival is known to be the oldest festival of young cinema in Poland. Among the filmmakers who debuted with their films at the festival are Krzysztof Zanussi,

Krzysztof Kieślowski Krzysztof Kieślowski (, 27 June 1941 – 14 March 1996) was a Polish film director and screenwriter. He is known internationally for ''Dekalog'' (1989), ''The Double Life of Veronique'' (1991), and the Three Colours trilogy, ''Three Colours'' ...

Agnieszka Holland Agnieszka Holland (; born 28 November 1948) is a Polish film and television director and screenwriter, best known for her cultural and political contributions to Polish cinema. She began her career as an assistant to directors Krzysztof Zanuss ...

Filip Bajon Filip Michał Bajon (born 25 August 1947) is a Polish people, Polish film director and screenwriter. Selected filmography References External links

* 1947 births Living people Film people from Poznań Polish film directors Polish ...

and Barbara Sass.

Major corporations

* Zakład Energetyczny Koszalin SA * Brok Brewery SA * NordGlass AutoGlass * TWIP Foundation

Education

Koszalin University of Technology 2010-08

* Koszalin University of Technology (Politechnika Koszalińska) * Baltic College (Bałtycka Wyższa Szkoła Humanistyczna) * Air Force training center (Centrum Szkolenia Sił Powietrznych im. Romualda Traugutta) * Koszalin University of Humanities (Koszalińska Wyższa Szkoła Nauk Humanistycznych) * State Higher Vocational School in Koszalin (Państwowa Wyższa Szkoła Zawodowa w Koszalinie) * Major Seminary of the Diocese of Koszalin-Kolobrzeska in Koszalin (Wyższe Seminarium Duchowne Diecezji Koszalińsko-Kołobrzeskiej w Koszalinie) * Team State School of Music (Zespół Państwowych Szkół Muzycznych im. Grażyny Bacewicz) * School Arts Team (Zespół Szkół Plastycznych im. Władysława Hasiora) * 1st. High School Stanisława Dubois (Dubois or colloquially Dibulec) * 2nd. High School Władysława Broniewskiego (colloquially Bronek) * 5th. High School Stanisława Lema (Jedności) * 6th. High School Cypriana Norwida (Podgórna)

Notable people

* Daniel Liczko (1615–1662), Sergeant of the Dutch colonial army in

New Amsterdam New Amsterdam (, ) was a 17th-century Dutch Empire, Dutch settlement established at the southern tip of Manhattan Island that served as the seat of the colonial government in New Netherland. The initial trading ''Factory (trading post), fac ...

* Ewald Christian von Kleist (1715–1759), poet and cavalry officer *

Rudolf Clausius Rudolf Julius Emanuel Clausius (; 2 January 1822 – 24 August 1888) was a German physicist and mathematician and is considered one of the central founding fathers of the science of thermodynamics. By his restatement of Sadi Carnot's principle ...

(1822–1888), physicist and mathematician and a founder of thermodynamics * Karl Adolf Lorenz (1837–1923), conductor, composer and music pedagogue * Hans Richert (1869–1940), school reformer * Hans Grade (1879–1946), aviation pioneer * Fritz von Brodowski (1886–1944), German army general, controversially killed while in French custody during WWII * Georg Wendt (1889–1948), politician, member of the SPD and SED * Friedrich-Karl Burckhardt (1889–1962), World War I flying ace * Peter von Heydebreck (1889–1934),

NSDAP The Nazi Party, officially the National Socialist German Workers' Party ( or NSDAP), was a far-right political party in Germany active between 1920 and 1945 that created and supported the ideology of Nazism. Its precursor, the German Workers ...

politician * Paul Dahlke (1904–1984), stage and film actor * Heinz Pollay (1908–1979), dressage horse rider, competed in the

1936 Events January–February * January 20 – The Prince of Wales succeeds to the throne of the United Kingdom as King Edward VIII, following the death of his father, George V, at Sandringham House. * January 28 – Death and state funer ...

and

1952 Summer Olympics The 1952 Summer Olympics (, ), officially known as the Games of the XV Olympiad (, ) and commonly known as Helsinki 1952, were an international multi-sport event held from 19 July to 3 August 1952 in Helsinki, Finland. After Japan declared in ...

* Martin Ruhnke (1921–2004), musicologist * Hans-Joachim Preil (1923–1999), actor and comedian * Leslie Brent (1925–2019), immunologist and zoologist * Waltraud Nowarra (1940–2007), chess player * Vladimir Berdnikov (born 1946), painter and glass artist *

Mirosław Okoński Mirosław Okoński (born 8 December 1958 in Koszalin) is a Polish former professional Association football, footballer who played as an attacking midfielder. Club career Okoński started his football career in 1969, in the second division of th ...

(born 1958), footballer, played 418 pro games and 29 for Poland * Kuba Wojewódzki (born 1963), journalist, TV personality, drummer and comedian * Mirosław Trzeciak (born 1968), footballer, director of sport development of Legia Warszawa * Marcin Horbacz (born 1974), modern pentathlete, competed at the

2008 Summer Olympics The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and officially branded as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes fro ...

* Adam Sztaba (born 1975), composer, music producer, conductor, arranger and pianist * Maciej Stachowiak (born 1976), software engineer at

Apple Inc. Apple Inc. is an American multinational corporation and technology company headquartered in Cupertino, California, in Silicon Valley. It is best known for its consumer electronics, software, and services. Founded in 1976 as Apple Comput ...

* Kasia Cerekwicka (born 1980), pop singer * Marzena Diakun (born 1981), conductor * Jakub Różalski (born 1981), artist and illustrator * Paweł Spisak (born 1981), equestrian, competed at the 2004, 2008, 2012 and 2016 Summer Olympics * Sebastian Mila (born 1982), Polish professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

* Schwesta Ewa (born 1984), musician, moved to Germany as a child * Joanna Majdan (born 1988), chess player * Daria Zawiałow (born 1992), singer-songwriter * Kacper Kozłowski (born 2003), Polish professional

Twin towns – sister cities

Koszalin is twinned with: *

Albano Laziale Albano Laziale (;; ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Rome Capital, on the Alban Hills, in the Italian region of Lazio. Rome is distant. It is bounded by other communes of Castel Gandolfo, Rocca di Papa, Ariccia and ...

, Italy *

Bourges Bourges ( ; ; ''Borges'' in Berrichon) is a commune in central France on the river Yèvre (Cher), Yèvre. It is the capital of the Departments of France, department of Cher (department), Cher, and also was the capital city of the former provin ...

, France *

Fuzhou Fuzhou is the capital of Fujian, China. The city lies between the Min River (Fujian), Min River estuary to the south and the city of Ningde to the north. Together, Fuzhou and Ningde make up the Eastern Min, Mindong linguistic and cultural regi ...

, China * Gladsaxe, Denmark *

Ivano-Frankivsk Ivano-Frankivsk (, ), formerly Stanyslaviv, Stanislav and Stanisławów, is a city in western Ukraine. It serves as the administrative centre of Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast as well as Ivano-Frankivsk Raion within the oblast. Ivano-Frankivsk also host ...

, Ukraine *

Kristianstad Kristianstad ( , ) is a Urban areas in Sweden, city and the seat of Kristianstad Municipality, Scania County, Sweden with 41,198 inhabitants in 2023. Since the 1990s, the city has gone from being a garrison town to a developed commercial city, ...

, Sweden *

Lida Lida is a city in Grodno Region, western Belarus, located west of Minsk. It serves as the administrative center of Lida District. As of 2025, it has a population of 103,262. Etymology The name ''Lida'' arises from its Lithuanian name ''Ly ...

, Belarus *

Neubrandenburg Neubrandenburg (, Low German ''Niegenbramborg'', both lit. ''New Brandenburg an der Havel, Brandenburg'') is a city in the southeast of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany. It is located on the shore of a lake called Tollensesee and forms the urban c ...

, Germany *

Neumünster Neumünster () is a city in the middle of Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. With more than 79,000 registered inhabitants, it is the fourth-largest municipality in Schleswig-Holstein (behind Kiel, Lübeck and Flensburg). The ''Holstenhallen'' and ...

, Germany *

Schwedt Schwedt (or Schwedt/Oder; ) is a town in Brandenburg, in northeastern Germany. With the official status of a ''Große Kreisstadt, Große kreisangehörige Stadt'' (major district town), it is the largest town of the Uckermark (district), Uckermark ...

, Germany *

Seinäjoki Seinäjoki (; "Wall River"; , formerly ) is a city in Finland and the regional capital of South Ostrobothnia. Seinäjoki is located in the western interior of the country and along the Seinäjoki (river), River Seinäjoki. The population of Sein ...

, Finland * Tempelhof-Schöneberg (Berlin), Germany *

Trakai Trakai (; see Trakai#Names and etymology, names section for alternative and historic names) is a city and lake resort in Lithuania. It lies west of Vilnius, the capital of Lithuania or just from the administrative limits of the Lithuanian capi ...

, Lithuania

References

External links

Official City Authorities site
{{Authority control 1266 establishments in Europe Cities and towns in West Pomeranian Voivodeship City counties of Poland Members of the Hanseatic League 13th-century establishments in Poland Populated riverside places in Poland

History

Middle Ages

Early Modern Age

Late Modern Age

After World War II

Landmarks

Nearby cities and villages

Demographics

Climate

Sports

Film festival

Major corporations

Education

Notable people

Twin towns – sister cities

See also

References

External links