Wolin (; ) is a Polish island in 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 ...

, just off the Polish coast. Administratively, the island belongs to the

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 ...

. Wolin is separated from the island of

Usedom Usedom ( , ) is a Baltic Sea island in Pomerania, divided between Germany and Poland. It is the second largest Pomeranian island after Rügen, and the most populous island in the Baltic Sea. It lies north of the Szczecin Lagoon estuary of the ...

(Uznam) by the Strait of Świna, and from mainland

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 ...

by the Strait of Dziwna. The island has an area of and its highest point is Mount Grzywacz at 116 m above sea level. The number of inhabitants is 30,000. Eastern suburbs of the city of Świnoujście extend to the Wolin island, while the towns of Międzyzdroje and Wolin lie further east. Water from the river

Oder The Oder ( ; Czech and ) is a river in Central Europe. It is Poland's second-longest river and third-longest within its borders after the Vistula and its largest tributary the Warta. The Oder rises in the Czech Republic and flows through wes ...

flows into the Szczecin Lagoon and from there through the

Peene The Peene (; ) is a river in Germany. Geography The Westpeene, with the Ostpeene as its longer tributary, and the Kleine Peene/Teterower Peene (with a ''Peene '' without specification (or ''Nordpeene'') as its smaller and shorter affluent) f ...

west of Usedom, Świna and Dziwna into the Bay of Pomerania in the

. Most of the island consists of

forest A forest is an ecosystem characterized by a dense ecological community, community of trees. Hundreds of definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing, ...

s and postglacial hills. In the middle is the Wolin National Park. The island is the main tourist attraction of northwestern Poland, and it is crossed by several marked tourist trails, such as a trail from Międzyzdroje to Dziwnówek. There is a main, electrified rail line, which connects

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 ...

and Świnoujście, as well as the international road E65 ( national road 3 / S3 expressway) crossing the island. Some etymologists believe that the name is related to the name of the ancient historical region of

Volhynia Volhynia or Volynia ( ; see #Names and etymology, below) is a historic region in Central and Eastern Europe, between southeastern Poland, southwestern Belarus, and northwestern Ukraine. The borders of the region are not clearly defined, but in ...

. The origins of the name then would come from the resettled Volynians who named the island Volyn.

History

The ford across the river Dziwna on which Wolin is located has been used as far back as the

Stone Age The Stone Age was a broad prehistory, prehistoric period during which Rock (geology), stone was widely used to make stone tools with an edge, a point, or a percussion surface. The period lasted for roughly 3.4 million years and ended b ...

. Archaeological excavations of soil layers indicate that there was a settlement in the area during the

Migration period The Migration Period ( 300 to 600 AD), also known as the Barbarian Invasions, was a period in European history marked by large-scale migrations that saw the fall of the Western Roman Empire and subsequent settlement of its former territories ...

, at the turn of the 5th and 6th centuries. The place was then abandoned for approximately one hundred years. At the end of the 8th or the beginning of the 9th century, the area was levelled and a new settlement constructed. The earliest evidence of fortifications dates to the first half of the 9th century. In the second half of the 9th century, there was a central fortified area and two suburbs, to the north and south of the center. These became enclosed and fortified between the end of the 9th and the 10th centuries. A medieval document from the mid-9th century, called the ''

Bavarian Geographer The epithet "Bavarian Geographer" () is the conventional name for the anonymous author of a short Latin medieval text containing a list of the tribes in Central and Eastern Europe, headed . The name "Bavarian Geographer" was first bestowed (in its ...

'' after its anonymous creator, mentions the Slavic tribe of

Wolinians The Wolinians (, ) were a Lechites, Lechitic Pomerania during the Early Middle Ages, tribe in Early Middle Age Pomerania. They were first mentioned as "Velunzani" with 70 ''civitates'' by the Bavarian Geographer, ca. 845.Johannes Hoops, Herbert Jan ...

who had 70 strongholds at that time (''Uelunzani civitates LXX''). The town of Wolin was first mentioned in 965, by Ibrahim ibn Jakub, who referred to the place as ''Weltaba''. The period of greatest development during the medieval period was between the 9th and the 11th centuries. Around 896 AD a new port was constructed and the main part of the town acquired new, stronger fortifications, including a wooden palisade made of halved 50-centimetre wide tree trunks, a

rampart Rampart may refer to: * Rampart (fortification), a defensive wall or bank around a castle, fort or settlement Rampart may also refer to: * LAPD Rampart Division, a division of the Los Angeles Police Department ** Rampart scandal, a blanket ter ...

and a retaining wall. Archaeologists believe that in the

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 ...

Wolin was a great trade emporium, spreading along the shore for four kilometres and rivalling in importance

Birka Birka (''Birca'' in medieval sources), on the island of Björkö, Ekerö, Björkö (lit. "Birch Island") in present-day Sweden, was an important Viking Age trading center which handled goods from Scandinavia as well as many parts of Continent ...

and Hedeby. 20180802-DSC 5654

In 967, the island became controlled by

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 ...

, under the country's first historic ruler, Duke

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 ...

. However, it has not been established if Wolin became directly part of Poland, or if it was a

fief A fief (; ) was a central element in medieval contracts based on feudal law. It consisted of a form of property holding or other rights granted by an overlord to a vassal, who held it in fealty or "in fee" in return for a form of feudal alle ...

. Mieszko I encompassed the town of Wolin with defensive ramparts. Polish influences were not firm and they ended around 1007. In the following years, Wolin became famous for its pirates, who would plunder ships cruising the Baltic. As a reprisal, in 1043 it was attacked by the Norwegian king Magnus the Good. In the early 12th century, the island, as part of the Pomeranian duchy, was captured by the Polish monarch Boleslaw III Wrymouth. Shortly after, the inhabitants of Wolin accepted Christianity, and in 1140 pope Innocent II created a

diocese In Ecclesiastical polity, church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided Roman province, prov ...

there, with its capital in the town of Wolin. In 1170, the battle at Julin Bridge took place there. In 1185 the dukes of Pomerania became vassals 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 ...

, and in 1227, they fell under suzerainty 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 ...

. In 1535, Wolin accepted Protestant

Lutheranism 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 ...

. In 1630, 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 ...

, the island was captured by

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

. It passed to 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 ...

in 1720 as a result of the Treaty of Stockholm. From 1871, the island was 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 ...

. During

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 ...

, in February 1945, a German-perpetrated

death march A death march is a forced march of prisoners of war, other captives, or deportees in which individuals are left to die along the way. It is distinct from simple prisoner transport via foot march. Article 19 of the Geneva Convention requires tha ...

of Allied prisoners-of-war from the Stalag XX-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 ...

passed through the island. After

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German Reich, German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a Totalit ...

's defeat in the war, it became again part of Poland. In 1949–1950, a military hospital was based on the island, in which some 2,000 wounded or ill

Greeks Greeks or Hellenes (; , ) are an ethnic group and nation native to Greece, Greek Cypriots, Cyprus, Greeks in Albania, southern Albania, Greeks in Turkey#History, Anatolia, parts of Greeks in Italy, Italy and Egyptian Greeks, Egypt, and to a l ...

and Macedonians, partisans and refugees of the Greek Civil War, were treated by the Poles. In 2015, the Świnoujście LNG terminal was opened.

Connection with Jomsborg and Vineta

Archaeological finds on the island are not very rich but they dot an area of 20 hectares, making it the second largest Baltic marketplace of the

Viking Age The Viking Age (about ) was the period during the Middle Ages when Norsemen known as Vikings undertook large-scale raiding, colonising, conquest, and trading throughout Europe and reached North America. The Viking Age applies not only to their ...

after Hedeby. Some scholars have speculated that Wolin may have been the basis for the semi-legendary settlements Jomsborg and Vineta. However, others have rejected the identification, or even the historical existence of Jomsborg and Vineta (for example,

Gerard Labuda Gerard Labuda (; 28 December 1916 – 1 October 2010) was a Polish historian whose main fields of interest were the Middle Ages and the Western Slavs. He was born in Kashubia. He lived and died in Poznań, Poland. Life Labuda was born in N ...

). Gwyn Jones notes that the size of the town was exaggerated in contemporary sources, for example by

Adam of Bremen Adam of Bremen (; ; before 1050 – 12 October 1081/1085) was a German medieval chronicler. He lived and worked in the second half of the eleventh century. Adam is most famous for his chronicle '' Gesta Hammaburgensis ecclesiae pontificum'' ('' ...

who claimed Wolin/Jomsborg was "the largest town in Europe". Archaeological excavations, however, have found no evidence of a harbor big enough for 360 warships (as claimed by Adam) or of a major citadel. The town was inhabited by both Slavs and Scandinavians.Gwyn Jones. ''A History of the Vikings''. Oxford University Press, 2001. . Page 127. The Curmsun Disc - Obverse

A golden disc bearing the name of

Harald Bluetooth Harald "Bluetooth" Gormsson (; , died c. 985/86) was a king of Denmark and Norway. The son of King Gorm the Old and Thyra Dannebod, Harald ruled as king of Denmark from c. 958 – c. 986, introduced Christianization of Denmark, Christianity to D ...

and Jomsborg appeared in Sweden in autumn 2014. The disc, also called the

Curmsun Disc The Curmsun Disc is a convex-concave gold disc that gained scholarly attention in 2014 after an 11-year-old Polish girl in Sweden showed it to her history teacher. Some scholars have tentatively dated the disc to the 10th to 12th century, although ...

, is made of high gold content and has a weight of 25,23 gram. On the obverse there is a Latin inscription and on the reverse there is a Latin cross with four dots surrounded by an octagonal ridge. The inscription reads: "+ARALD CVRMSVN+REX AD TANER+SCON+JVMN+CIV ALDIN+" and translates as "Harald Gormsson king of

Danes Danes (, ), or Danish people, are an ethnic group and nationality native to Denmark and a modern nation identified with the country of Denmark. This connection may be ancestral, legal, historical, or cultural. History Early history Denmark ...

Scania Scania ( ), also known by its native name of Skåne (), is the southernmost of the historical provinces of Sweden, provinces () of Sweden. Located in the south tip of the geographical region of Götaland, the province is roughly conterminous w ...

, Jomsborg, town Aldinburg". It is assumed that the disc was a part of a Viking hoard found in 1840 in the Polish village Wiejkowo near the town of Wolin by Heinrich Boldt, the maternal great-great-grandfather of Hollywood actors and producers

Ben Affleck Benjamin Géza Affleck (born August 15, 1972) is an American actor and filmmaker. His accolades include two Academy Awards, two BAFTA Awards, and three Golden Globes. Affleck began his career as a child when he starred in the PBS educatio ...

and

Casey Affleck Casey Affleck (born Caleb Casey McGuire Affleck-Boldt; August 12, 1975) is an American actor. He is the recipient of List of awards and nominations received by Casey Affleck, various accolades, including an Academy Award, a British Academy Film ...

. The disc was rediscovered in 2014 by an eleven year old schoolgirl who found it in an old casket and then brought it to school.

Sights

Among the natural, historic and tourist sights of Wolin are: * Wolin National Park * Świnoujście Lighthouse, one of the tallest lighthouses in the world, the tallest lighthouse in Poland, and tallest brick lighthouse in the world *the town of Międzyzdroje with its beach,

pier A pier is a raised structure that rises above a body of water and usually juts out from its shore, typically supported by piling, piles or column, pillars, and provides above-water access to offshore areas. Frequent pier uses include fishing, b ...

, Nature Museum of the Wolin National Park,

wax museum A wax museum or waxworks usually consists of a collection of wax sculptures representing famous people from history and contemporary personalities exhibited in lifelike poses, wearing real clothes. Some wax museums have a special section dubbe ...

, Walk of Fame ('' Promenada Gwiazd''), Baltic Miniature Park (''Bałtycki Park Miniatur''), and spa park with the monument of

Fryderyk Chopin The Fryderyk is the annual award in Polish music. Its name refers to the original Polish spelling variant of Polish composer Frédéric Chopin's first name. Its status in the Polish public can be compared to the US Grammy and British BRIT Awar ...

* Gothic Saint Nicholas church in Wolin *Regional Museum in Wolin *Gerhard's Fort of Świnoujście Fortress with the Coastal Defense Museum ('' Muzeum Obrony Wybrzeża'') in Świnoujście *Medieval stronghold and viewing point in

Lubin Lubin (; ) is a city in Lower Silesian Voivodeship in south-western Poland. It is the administrative seat of Lubin County, and also of the rural district called Gmina Lubin, although it is not part of the territory of the latter, as the town for ...

*Miniature park in Dziwnów *Beach in Międzywodzie * Łuniewo

nature reserve A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, funga, or features of geologic ...

Latarnia Morska Świnoujście.jpg, Świnoujście Lighthouse Międzyzdroje - panoramio.jpg, Międzyzdroje beach Miedzyzdroje molo 2.jpg, Międzyzdroje Pier Wax museum Międzyzdroje 2011.jpg, Wax museum in Międzyzdroje Kolegiata św. Mokołaja Wolin.jpg, Saint Nicholas church in Wolin 560 z 02.08.1968 Świnoujście, Fort I 02.JPG, Gerhard's Fort in Świnoujście

Culture

Annually, the island is home to Europe's biggest Germanic-Slavic Viking festival. The officially protected traditional

alcoholic beverage Drinks containing alcohol (drug), alcohol are typically divided into three classes—beers, wines, and Distilled beverage, spirits—with alcohol content typically between 3% and 50%. Drinks with less than 0.5% are sometimes considered Non-al ...

of Wolin is ''Trójniak woliński leśny'' (as designated by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development of Poland). It is a type of local Polish mead of 12-14%

alcohol by volume Alcohol by volume (abbreviated as alc/vol or ABV) is a common measure of the amount of Alcohol (drug), alcohol contained in a given alcoholic beverage. It is defined as the volume the ethanol in the liquid would take if separated from the rest ...

Places on Wolin

Towns

* Dziwnów * Międzyzdroje * Świnoujście * Wolin

Villages

* Chynowo * Dargobądz * Darzowice * Domysłów * Jarzębowo * Karnocice * Kodrąb * Kodrąbek * Kołczewo * Korzęcin *

* Ładzin * Łuskowo * Międzywodzie * Mokrzyca Mała * Mokrzyca Wielka * Płocin * Rabiąż * Rekowo * Sierosław * Sułomino * Świętouść * Wapnica * Warnowo * Wicko * Wisełka * Unin * Zastań * Żółwino

Transport

Polish National roads 3 and 93, and Voivodeship road 102, pass through the island. The

Solidarity Szczecin–Goleniów Airport Solidarity Szczecin–Goleniów Airport ( Polish: ''Port Lotniczy Szczecin–Goleniów im. NSZZ Solidarność'') is the main domestic and international airport serving the city of Szczecin in Poland and is located northeast of the city, near th ...

is located approximately 60 km from the island. In 2023, the underwater Świnoujście Tunnel connecting the islands of Wolin and Usedom was officially opened. The project cost EUR 191 million constitutes the only fixed link between two parts of the city and between the rest of country.

Economy

The Świnoujście LNG terminal is located on the island.

Distances

* Szczecin-Goleniów "Solidarność" Airport ~ 60 km *

~ 90 km *

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 ...

~ 110 km *

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 ...

~ 220 km *

Rostock Rostock (; Polabian language, Polabian: ''Roztoc''), officially the Hanseatic and University City of Rostock (), is the largest city in the German States of Germany, state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and lies in the Mecklenburgian part of the sta ...

~ 240 km *

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a population of 1.4 million in the Urban area of Copenhagen, urban area. The city is situated on the islands of Zealand and Amager, separated from Malmö, Sweden, by the ...

~ 250 km *

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 ...