West Pomeranian Voivodeship is a

voivodeship A voivodeship ( ) or voivodate is the area administered by a voivode (governor) in several countries of central and eastern Europe. Voivodeships have existed since medieval times and the area of extent of voivodeship resembles that of a duchy in ...

(

province A province is an administrative division within a country or sovereign state, state. The term derives from the ancient Roman , which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire, Roman Empire's territorial possessions ou ...

) 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 ...

. Its capital and largest city is

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 ...

. Its area equals , and in 2021, it was inhabited by 1,682,003 people. It was established on 1 January 1999, out of the former

and Koszalin Voivodeships and parts of Gorzów,

Piła Piła (; ) is a city in northwestern Poland and the capital of Piła County, situated in the Greater Poland Voivodeship. Its population was 71,846, making it the city in the voivodeship after Poznań and Kalisz and the largest city in the north ...

and Słupsk Voivodeships, pursuant to the

Polish local government reforms The administrative division of Poland since 1999 has been based on three levels of subdivision. The territory of Poland is divided into ''voivodeships'' (provinces); these are further divided into ''powiats'' (counties or districts), and these i ...

adopted in 1998. It borders on

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 ...

to the east,

Greater Poland Voivodeship Greater Poland Voivodeship ( ) is a Voivodeships of Poland, voivodeship, or province, in west-central Poland. The province is named after the region called Greater Poland (''Wielkopolska'' ). The modern province includes most of this historic re ...

to the southeast,

Lubusz Voivodeship Lubusz Voivodeship ( ) is a voivodeships of Poland, voivodeship (province) in western Poland with a population of 972,140. Its regional capitals are Gorzów Wielkopolski and Zielona Góra. The region is characterized by a landscape of forests, lake ...

to the south, 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 ...

federal-states of Mecklenburg-West Pomerania and

Brandenburg Brandenburg, officially the State of Brandenburg, is a States of Germany, state in northeastern Germany. Brandenburg borders Poland and the states of Berlin, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Lower Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, and Saxony. It is the List of Ger ...

to the west, and 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 ...

to the north.Ustawa z dnia 24 lipca 1998 r. o wprowadzeniu zasadniczego trójstopniowego podziału terytorialnego państwa (Dz.U. z 1998 r. nr 96, poz. 603).

Geography and tourism

West Pomeranian Voivodeship is the fifth largest voivodeship of Poland in terms of area. The largest cities in the region are the capital

, as well as

Koszalin Koszalin (; ; , ) is a city in northwestern Poland, in Western Pomerania. It is located south of the Baltic Sea coast, and intersected by the river Dzierżęcinka. Koszalin is also a county-status city and capital of Koszalin County of West Pomera ...

Stargard Stargard (; 1945: ''Starogród'', 1950–2016: ''Stargard Szczeciński''; or ''Stargard an der Ihna''; ) is a city in northwestern Poland, located in the West Pomeranian Voivodeship. In 2021 it was inhabited by 67,293 people. It is situated on ...

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

Świnoujście Świnoujście (; ; ; meaning " Świna ivermouth"; ) 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 and Wolin, and Karsibór island, once ...

. This is a picturesque region of the

coast, with many beaches, lakes and woodlands. Szczecin,

and

Police The police are Law enforcement organization, a constituted body of Law enforcement officer, people empowered by a State (polity), state with the aim of Law enforcement, enforcing the law and protecting the Public order policing, public order ...

are important

port A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as Hamburg, Manch ...

s. Other major seaside towns include

Międzyzdroje Międzyzdroje (; ), historically known as Misdroy in English, is a city and a seaside resort in northwestern Poland on the island of Wolin on the Baltic coast. The city is located in the West Pomeranian Voivodeship, and is a seat of the Kamień C ...

, Dziwnów,

, and

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 ...

West Pomerania is also rich in various forms and styles of architecture that were built during the Middle Ages as well as the Gothic,

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) is a Periodization, period of history and a European cultural movement covering the 15th and 16th centuries. It marked the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and was characterized by an effort to revive and sur ...

, and

Baroque The Baroque ( , , ) is a Western Style (visual arts), style of Baroque architecture, architecture, Baroque music, music, Baroque dance, dance, Baroque painting, painting, Baroque sculpture, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished from ...

periods.

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 ...

, the birthplace of

Eric of Pomerania Erik of Pomerania ( 1381/1382 – 24 September 1459) ruled over the Kalmar Union from 1396 until 1439. He was initially co-ruler with his great-aunt Margaret I of Denmark, Margaret I until her death in 1412. Erik is known as Erik III as King of ...

, King of Denmark, Norway and Sweden, contains a preserved old town with the Gothic Our Lady of Częstochowa church, which holds the king's sarcophagus. The St. Mary's Church in Stargard and Saint John Co-Cathedral in

Kamień Pomorski Kamień Pomorski (; ; or ''Kammin'') is a spa town in the West Pomeranian Voivodeship of north-western Poland, on the Baltic coast. It is the seat of an urban-rural gmina (administrative district) in Kamień County which lies approximately 63&n ...

are considered two of the most precious Gothic churches of entire Poland, and as such are listed as Historic Monuments of Poland, whereas the Saint Stanislaus Kostka church in Chwarszczany is a nationally unique former

Knights Templar The Poor Fellow-Soldiers of Christ and of the Temple of Solomon, mainly known as the Knights Templar, was a Military order (religious society), military order of the Catholic Church, Catholic faith, and one of the most important military ord ...

church. In Cedynia, the westernmost town of Poland, there is a memorial commemorating the

Battle of Cedynia In the Battle of Cedynia or Zehden, an army of Mieszko I of Poland defeated forces of Hodo or Odo I, Margrave of the Saxon Ostmark, Odo I of Lusatia on 24 June 972, near the Oder river. Whether or not the battle actually took place near the mode ...

of 972, the oldest recorded battle in the history of Poland. The Świnoujście Lighthouse is the tallest brick lighthouse in the world. The War Cemetery in Stargard is the burial place of over 5,000 Allied soldiers and prisoners of war from both world wars, including Polish, French, Serbian/Yugoslav, Russian/Soviet, Italian, Romanian, Belgian, British, Moroccan, Portuguese and Dutch. There are also numerous World War II memorials, including memorials to Allied POWs from World War II at the former Oflag II-B, Oflag II-D and Stalag Luft IV German POW camps in

Choszczno Choszczno () is a town in the West Pomeranian Voivodeship, in north-western Poland. As of December 2021, the town has a population of 14,831. The town is in a marshy district between the river Stobnica and Klukom lake, southeast of Stargard and ...

, Kłomino and

Tychowo Tychowo (; ) is a town in Białogard County, West Pomeranian Voivodeship, in north-western Poland. It is the seat of the gmina (administrative district) called Gmina Tychowo. The town has an approximate population of 2,500. Tychowo is a place wi ...

, and a memorial to British pilots of the No. 617 Squadron RAF shot down by Germany in Karsibór,

. There is a diverse repertoire of theaters, festivals, museums and galleries. During a few-day long annual Sea Festival in

, a number of free

open-air concert A music festival is a community event with performances of singing and instrument playing that is often presented with a theme such as musical genre (e.g., rock, blues, folk, jazz, classical music), nationality, locality of musicians, or holi ...

s take place. In

during the summer, the FAMA Academic Youth Arts Festival takes place – an event with several years of tradition, which attracts not only young people but also older alumni. In

, there is a Festival Of The Stars, which draws many popular actors. In

Wolin Wolin (; ) is a Polish island in the Baltic Sea, just off the Polish coast. Administratively, the island belongs to the West Pomeranian Voivodeship. Wolin is separated from the island of Usedom (Uznam) by the Strait of Świna, and from mainla ...

, a Viking Festival takes place, which draws "Vikings" from all across Europe. Another draw to the area is a wide array of health resorts.

Brine Brine (or briny water) is a high-concentration solution of salt (typically sodium chloride or calcium chloride) in water. In diverse contexts, ''brine'' may refer to the salt solutions ranging from about 3.5% (a typical concentration of seawat ...

and

peloid Peloid is defined as a mature clay, mud or mud Suspension (chemistry), suspension or Dispersion (chemistry), dispersion with curative or cosmetic properties, consisting of a complex mixture of fine-grained materials of geological and/or biologic ...

, discovered in the 19th century, together with

geothermal Geothermal is related to energy and may refer to: * Geothermal energy, useful energy generated and stored in the Earth * Geothermal activity, the range of natural phenomena at or near the surface, associated with release of the Earth's internal he ...

water resources, are popular attractions in Świnoujście,

and Połczyn Zdrój. A notable phenomenon on a worldly scale is the Crooked Forest outside the town of

Gryfino Gryfino () is a town in Pomerania, northwestern Poland, with 21,393 inhabitants (2017). It is the capital of Gryfino County in West Pomeranian Voivodeship. The town is located on the Odra Wschodnia, the eastern branch of the Oder river, about ...

Cities and towns

The voivodeship contains five cities and 61 towns. These are listed below in descending order of population (according to official figures for 2019): The Polish districts of the historical region

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 ...

(the three westernmost districts of the West Pomeranian Voivodeship) had a population of about 520,000 in 2012 (cities of

and

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

combined) – while the German districts had a population of about 470,000 in 2012 (

Vorpommern-Rügen Vorpommern-Rügen is a Districts of Germany, district in the north of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany. It is bounded by (from the west and clockwise) the Baltic Sea and the districts Vorpommern-Greifswald, Mecklenburgische Seenplatte (district), M ...

and

Vorpommern-Greifswald Vorpommern-Greifswald is a district in the east of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany. It is bounded by (from the west and clockwise) the districts of Mecklenburgische Seenplatte and Vorpommern-Rügen, the Baltic Sea, Poland (West Pomeranian Voiv ...

combined). Overall, about 1 million people live in the historical region of Western Pomerania today, while the

Szczecin agglomeration The Szczecin metropolitan area is the urban agglomeration of the city of Szczecin and surrounding towns in the Poland, Polish-Germany, German border area. The Larger Urban Zone defined by Eurostat includes 777,806 people living on 5249 km2 i ...

reaches even further.

Administrative division

West Pomeranian Voivodeship is divided into 21 counties (

powiat A ''powiat'' (; ) is the second-level unit of local government and administration in Poland, equivalent to a county, district or prefecture (Local administrative unit, LAU-1 ormerly Nomenclature of Territorial Units for Statistics, NUTS-4 ...

s): three city counties and 18 land counties. These are further divided into 114

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 ...

s. The counties are listed in the following table (ordering within categories is by decreasing population in 2019):

Protected areas

Drawienski Park Narodowy - ptactwo wodne

Protected area Protected areas or conservation areas are locations which receive protection because of their recognized natural or cultural values. Protected areas are those areas in which human presence or the exploitation of natural resources (e.g. firewood ...

s in West Pomeranian Voivodeship include two

National Park A national park is a nature park designated for conservation (ethic), conservation purposes because of unparalleled national natural, historic, or cultural significance. It is an area of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that is protecte ...

s and seven Landscape Parks. These are listed below. * Drawno National Park (partly in Lubusz and

s) *

Wolin National Park Wolin National Park () is one of 23 national parks in Poland, situated on the island of Wolin in the far north-west of the country, in West Pomeranian Voivodeship. An IUCN category II protected area, it was established on 3 March 1960 and cover ...

* Barlinek-Gorzów Landscape Park (partly in Lubusz Voivodeship) *

Cedynia Landscape Park Cedynia Landscape Park () is a protected area ( Landscape Park) located in north-western Poland, adjacent to the German border. It was established on 1 April 1993, by order of the governor (voivode) of the then Szczecin Voivodeship. The Park cover ...

* Drawsko Landscape Park * Ińsko Landscape Park * Lower Odra Valley Landscape Park * Szczecin Landscape Park * Ujście Warty Landscape Park (partly in Lubusz Voivodeship)

Cuisine

Apart from nationwide

Polish cuisine Polish cuisine ( ) is a style of food preparation originating in and widely popular in Poland. Due to History of Poland, Poland's history, Polish cuisine has evolved over the centuries to be very eclectic, and shares many similarities with other ...

, the region has its local

traditional food Traditional foods are foods and Dish (food), dishes that are passed on through generations or which have been consumed for many generations. Traditional foods and dishes are traditional in nature, and may have a historic precedent in a national ...

s and beverages. The voivodeship is notable for production of honey, with several varieties listed as traditional foods by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development of Poland. As a coastal province, there are several local fish dishes, including the Szczecin-style and Kołobrzeg-style

herring Herring are various species of forage fish, belonging to the Order (biology), order Clupeiformes. Herring often move in large Shoaling and schooling, schools around fishing banks and near the coast, found particularly in shallow, temperate wate ...

Szczecinek Szczecinek (; ) is a historic city in Middle Pomerania, northwestern Poland, capital of Szczecinek County in the West Pomeranian Voivodeship, with a population of more than 40,000 (2011). The town's total area is . The turbulent history of Szcze ...

krówki Krówki (, plural; ''krówka'' Grammatical number, singular), literally a dimunitive form of the Polish word for "cow," are Poland, Polish fudge, semi-soft milk toffee candy, candies. When hand-made, they are hard and crispy on the outside, but th ...

, Szczecin

gingerbread Gingerbread refers to a broad category of baked goods, typically flavored with ginger root, ginger, cloves, nutmeg, and cinnamon and sweetened with honey, sugar, or molasses. Gingerbread foods vary, ranging from a moist loaf cake to forms nearly ...

and

strucla (type of poppy seed roll) are local delicacies. Traditional beverages include

mead Mead (), also called honey wine, and hydromel (particularly when low in alcohol content), is an alcoholic beverage made by fermenting honey mixed with water, and sometimes with added ingredients such as fruits, spices, grains, or hops. The alco ...

, produced in Cedynia and

beer Beer is an alcoholic beverage produced by the brewing and fermentation of starches from cereal grain—most commonly malted barley, although wheat, maize (corn), rice, and oats are also used. The grain is mashed to convert starch in the ...

from Lipiany and

and

nalewka Nalewka (), plural nalewki, is a traditional alcoholic beverage from Poland. Similar to medicinal tinctures, it is usually 40% to 45% alcohol by volume, though some can be as strong as 75%. Nalewka is created by macerating and / or infusing variou ...

from Dębina.

Demographics

After Germany's defeat in

World War II 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 ...

, the region became again part of Poland by way of the

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 ...

, which created territorial changes demanded 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 1948, 67 percent of the populace originated from central Poland,

Greater Poland Greater Poland, often known by its Polish name Wielkopolska (; ), is a Polish Polish historical regions, historical region of west-central Poland. Its chief and largest city is Poznań followed by Kalisz, the oldest city in Poland. The bound ...

and

Pomerelia Pomerelia, also known as Eastern Pomerania, Vistula Pomerania, and also before World War II as Polish Pomerania, is a historical sub-region of Pomerania on the southern shore of the Baltic Sea in northern Poland. Gdańsk Pomerania is largely c ...

while 25 percent came from the Polish areas annexed by the Soviet Union. Another 6 percent returned to Poland from Western Europe. About 50,000

Ukrainians Ukrainians (, ) are an East Slavs, East Slavic ethnic group native to Ukraine. Their native tongue is Ukrainian language, Ukrainian, and the majority adhere to Eastern Orthodox Church, Eastern Orthodoxy, forming the List of contemporary eth ...

were forcefully resettled to West Pomerania in the

Operation Vistula Operation Vistula (; ) was the codename for the 1947 forced resettlement of close to 150,000 Ukrainians in Poland, Ukrainians (including Rusyns, Boykos, and Lemkos) from the southeastern provinces of People's Republic of Poland, postwar Poland to ...

in 1947. In the 16th and 17th centuries, some Scots settled in several towns of the current West Pomeranian Voivodeship, i.e. Wałcz, Biały Bór, Człopa and

Gryfice Gryfice (pronounced ; )". 1880. is a historic town in Pomerania, north-western Poland, with 16,600 inhabitants (2017). It is the capital of Gryfice County in West Pomeranian Voivodeship. The town is situated approximately 22 kilometres from the B ...

, whereas in the 17th and 18th centuries French

Huguenots The Huguenots ( , ; ) are a Religious denomination, religious group of French people, French Protestants who held to the Reformed (Calvinist) tradition of Protestantism. The term, which may be derived from the name of a Swiss political leader, ...

settled in

, Szczecin and

Education and science

University of Szczecin The University of Szczecin () is a public university in Szczecin, western Poland. It is the biggest university in West Pomeranian Voivodeship, West Pomerania, with 33,267 students and a staff of nearly 1,200. Faculties The university consists o ...

(Polish ''Uniwersytet Szczeciński'') with 35,000 students * Technical University in Koszalin with 14,000 students () * West Pomeranian University of Technology in Szczecin with 15,300 students (), formed as a result of merger of Szczecin University of Technology () and University of Agriculture in Szczecin () * Pomeranian Medical University with 4,000 students () * The Szczecin Academy of Arts () * Maritime University of Szczecin () * The West Pomeranian Business School with 3,000 students () * Szczeciński Park Naukowo-Technologiczny (

science park A science park (also called a "university research park", "technology park", "technopark", "technopolis", "technopole", or a "science and technology park" TP is defined as being a property-based development that accommodates and fosters ...

)

Economy

The

Gross domestic product Gross domestic product (GDP) is a monetary measure of the total market value of all the final goods and services produced and rendered in a specific time period by a country or countries. GDP is often used to measure the economic performanc ...

(GDP) of the province was 18.3 billion euros in 2018, accounting for 3.7% of Polish economic output. GDP per capita adjusted for purchasing power was 17,700 euros or 59% of the EU27 average in the same year. The GDP per employee was 67% of the EU average. The Świnoujście LNG terminal, Poland's main liquefied natural gas import terminal, is located in the province.

Industrial, science and technology parks

* Goleniowski Park Przemysłowy (

industrial park An industrial park, also known as industrial estate or trading estate, is an area zoned and planned for the purpose of industrial development. An industrial park can be thought of as a more heavyweight version of a business park or office par ...

Goleniów Goleniów (; ) is a town in Pomerania, northwestern Poland with 22,844 inhabitants as of 2011. It is the capital of Goleniów County in West Pomeranian Voivodeship. The town's area is , and its geographical position is 53°33'N, 14°49'E. It is ...

) * Infrapark Police (

in Police, Poland) * Stargardzki Park Przemysłowy (

) * Szczeciński Park Naukowo-Technologiczny (

)

Transportation

There are two main international road routes that pass through the voivodeship: National road 3 (Poland) Świnoujście-Szczecin-Gorzów Wielkopolski-Zielona Góra-Legnica-Czech border (part of

European route E65 European route E65 is a north-south Class-A European route that begins in Malmö, Sweden and ends in Chania, Greece. The road is about in length. After crossing the Baltic Sea, it proceeds on land from north to south through Poland, the Czech Re ...

from Swedish

Malmö Malmö is the List of urban areas in Sweden by population, third-largest city in Sweden, after Stockholm and Gothenburg, and the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, sixth-largest city in Nordic countries, the Nordic region. Located on ...

to Chaniá in Greece) and

National road 6 (Poland) National Road 6 (, abbreviated DK 6) is a route belonging to the Polish national roads network. The route is in the north of Poland and runs from the German border, in Kołbaskowo- Nadrensee, to Łęgowo for 351 km. The route runs throug ...

Szczecin-Koszalin-Słupsk-Gdańsk (part of

European route E28 European route E28 is a west–east intermediate road in the international E-road network. Beginning at the Bundesautobahn 10 (''Berliner Ring'') near Berlin, Germany, it runs west–east for a length of to Minsk, Belarus. The section betwee ...

from

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

Minsk Minsk (, ; , ) is the capital and largest city of Belarus, located on the Svislach (Berezina), Svislach and the now subterranean Nyamiha, Niamiha rivers. As the capital, Minsk has a special administrative status in Belarus and is the administra ...

). Most of the National road 3 in the voivodeship is in a standard of an expressway ( Expressway S3 (Poland)). The National road 6 between German border and Rzęśnica is in the standard of autostrada (

A6 autostrada (Poland) The autostrada A6 in Poland is a short motorway that starts at the Polish/German border at Kołbaskowo/ Pomellen connecting to the German A11 autobahn. It forms a southern bypass of the Szczecin metropolitan area and terminates at Rzęśnica ...

), whereas part between Rzęścnica and Goleniów and bypasses of

and Nowogard are in standards of an expressway ( Expressway S6 (Poland)). Other important national roads are National road 10 (Poland) (German border-Szczecin-Piła-Bydgoscz-Toruń-Płońsk) and National road 11 (Poland) (Kołobrzeg-Koszalin-Piła-Poznań-Bytom). Apart from the above, some other national roads are located in the voivodeship. The voivodeship possesses also a well-developed network of regional roads. Main railways in the province are line no. 351 Szczecin-Poznań, line no. 273 Szczecin-Wrocław (so-called "Odra railway"), line no. 202 Stargard-Gdańsk, line no. 401 Szczecin-Świnoujście and line no. 404 Kołobrzeg-Szczecinek. The main railway stations of the province are Szczecin main station, Stargard and Koszalin. The stations are served by fast PKP Intercity trains which connect them with the capital

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 ...

, as well as other major Polish cities. In addition to these fast express services, inter-regional trains and intra-regional trains are operated by the firm

Przewozy Regionalne Polregio (formerly ''Przewozy Regionalne'') is a train operator in Poland, responsible for local and interregional passenger transportation. Each day it runs approximately 3,000 regional trains. In 2002 it carried 215 million passengers. T ...

. Szczecin main station possesses international train connections with

Schwerin Schwerin (; Mecklenburgisch-Vorpommersch dialect, Mecklenburgisch-Vorpommersch Low German: ''Swerin''; Polabian language, Polabian: ''Zwierzyn''; Latin: ''Suerina'', ''Suerinum'') is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Germ ...

and

Lübeck Lübeck (; or ; Latin: ), officially the Hanseatic League, Hanseatic City of Lübeck (), is a city in Northern Germany. With around 220,000 inhabitants, it is the second-largest city on the German Baltic Sea, Baltic coast and the second-larg ...

(operated by

DB Regio DB Regio AG () is a subsidiary of Deutsche Bahn which operates regional and commuter train services in Germany. It is a 100% subsidiary of the Deutsche Bahn Group and therefore part of the DB Regio business segment, which also includes DB Regionn ...

). Świnoujście has a direct train connection with

Stralsund Stralsund (; Swedish language, Swedish: ''Strålsund''), officially the Hanseatic League, Hanseatic City of Stralsund (German language, German: ''Hansestadt Stralsund''), is the fifth-largest city in the northeastern German federal state of Mecklen ...

, which is operated by

Usedomer Bäderbahn The Usedomer Bäderbahn (UBB) with its head office in Heringsdorf, northeastern Germany, is a 100 percent-owned subsidiary of the German national railway, Deutsche Bahn and the owner and operator of the railway network on the island of Usedom as w ...

. The only domestic and international airport in West Pomeranian Voivodeship is Szczecin-Goleniów "Solidarność" Airport. Also, part of the runway of an abandoned airport in Bagicz (near

) was converted to an airport licensed to service planes carrying not more than 20 passengers on board.

Sports

Football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

and

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 ...

enjoy the largest following in the voivodeship.

Curiosities

*In the 10th and 11th centuries,

was one of five largest cities of Poland, and the largest port city on the Baltic Sea. *

Sławno Sławno ( Kashubian: ''Słôwno'', ) is a town on the Wieprza river in Middle Pomerania region, north-western Poland, with 12,511 inhabitants (2019). It is the administrative seat of Gmina Sławno, though not part of it. The town is also the ...

and

were medieval ducal seats of the

House of Griffin The House of Griffin or Griffin dynasty, (; , ; Latin: ''Gryphes''), or House of Pomerania (see ), was a dynasty ruling the Duchy of Pomerania from the 12th century until 1637. The name "Griffins" was used by the dynasty after the 15th century ...

. *The West Pomeranian Voivodeship is one of four first-level administrative divisions containing the name of the region of Pomerania, the other being the

and

Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship * Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship is one of the 16 voivodeships (provinces) in Poland. * Kuyavian-Pomeranian is one of 13 Polish constituency of the European Parliament. * Kuyavian-Pomeranian Regional Assembly is the regional legislature of t ...

in Poland, and

Mecklenburg-Vorpommern Mecklenburg-Vorpommern (MV; ; ), also known by its Anglicisation, anglicized name Mecklenburg–Western Pomerania, is a Federated state, state in the north-east of Germany. Of the country's States of Germany, sixteen states, Mecklenburg-Vorpom ...

in Germany.

Gallery

File:Gora Czcibora pomnik.jpg,

Monument, Cedynia File:Golce Wal Pomorski 2007-05b.jpg, Plaque commemorating the battle of the Pomeranian Wall File:Baltivia2.jpg, Beach in

File:Czaplinek rynek (1).jpg, Czaplinek was once settled by Templars File:Jarosławiec, widok z latarni morskiej (2018).jpg, Jarosławiec File:Saint Stanislaus Kostka church in Chwarszczany (6).jpg, Saint Stanislaus Kostka church, Chwarszczany File:Połczyn Zdrój - panoramio (13).jpg, Sanatorium Gryf, Połczyn-Zdrój File:SM Nowe Warpno Ratusz 2019 (4).jpg, Town Hall, Nowe Warpno File:Miedzyzdroje plaza (1).jpg, Beach and pier,

File:Ogród Japoński-Przelewice.JPG, Dendrological Garden, Przelewice File:Gryfino kosciol NNMP zzewnatrz (1).jpg, Church of the Nativity,

File:Trzesącz.JPG, Ruins of the church in Trzęsacz File:Szczecin muzeum narodowe.jpg, National Museum in Szczecin File:Szczecin filharmonia (1).jpg, Szczecin Philharmonic File:Klif-gosan-070620056.jpg, Gosań cliff,

File:Kolobrzeg latarnia.jpg,

Lighthouse A lighthouse is a tower, building, or other type of physical structure designed to emit light from a system of lamps and lens (optics), lenses and to serve as a beacon for navigational aid for maritime pilots at sea or on inland waterways. Ligh ...

File:Darlowo3.jpg, Pomeranian Dukes' Castle in

File:Crooked Forest 3.jpg, Crooked Forest File:Kamień Pomorski, kościół katedralny p.w. śś. Wojciecha i Jana Chrzciciela.jpg, Cathedral of St. John the Baptist in

File:Wind turbines Cisowo 01.jpg, Wind turbines in Cisowo File:Jezioro Ostrowiec niedaleko Głuska.JPG, Lake Ostrowiec File:Stuchowo.JPG, Stuchowo Palace

Notes

References

External links

Westpomeranian System of Tourist Information

The Parliament of the Westpomeranian Voivodeship

Marshal's Office of the Westpomeranian Voivodeship

Voivode's Office of the Westpomeranian Voivodeship

Zrot : Official Tourism Site
(Polish, English, German)
Zart : Good Tourism Site
(Polish, English, German) {{Authority control States and territories established in 1999 1999 establishments in Poland Pomerania