Szczecin, historically known in English as Stettin, is the capital and largest city of the West Pomeranian Voivodeship in northwestern Poland. Located near the Baltic Sea and the German border, it is a major seaport, the largest city of northwestern Poland, and seventh-largest city of Poland. As of 31 December 2022, the population was 391,566.
Szczecin is located on the Oder River, south of the Szczecin Lagoon and the Bay of Pomerania. The city is situated along the southwestern shore of Dąbie Lake, on both sides of the Oder and on several large islands between the western and eastern branches of the river. It is also surrounded by dense forests, shrubland and heaths, chiefly the Wkrzańska Heath shared with Germany (Ueckermünde) and the Szczecin Landscape Park. Szczecin is adjacent to the town of Police and is the urban centre of the Szczecin agglomeration, an extended metropolitan area that includes communities in the German states of Brandenburg and Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania.
The city's recorded history began in the 8th century as a Lechitic Pomeranian stronghold, built at the site of the Ducal Castle. In the 10th century, Szczecin first became part of the emerging Polish state. In the following centuries it was the capital of the Duchy of Pomerania ruled by the local House of Griffin, which at various times was under the suzerainty of Poland, the Duchy of Saxony, the Holy Roman Empire and Denmark. In 1630, the city came under the control of the Swedish Empire and became in 1648 the capital of Swedish Pomerania until 1720, when it was acquired by Prussia. Following World War II the city became part of Poland again in accordance with the Potsdam Agreement, resulting in a nearly complete population exchange. Szczecin was the site of large Polish protests in 1970 and 1980. In 1980, the first agreement between the protesters and the communist regime was signed in Szczecin, which paved the way for the creation of Solidarity, which contributed to the fall of communism.
Szczecin is the administrative and industrial centre of West Pomeranian Voivodeship and is the site of the University of Szczecin, Pomeranian Medical University, Maritime University, West Pomeranian University of Technology, Szczecin Art Academy, and the see of the Szczecin-Kamień Catholic Archdiocese. From 1999 onwards, Szczecin has served as the site of the headquarters of NATO's Multinational Corps Northeast. The city was a candidate for the European Capital of Culture in 2016. Its chief landmarks include the Szczecin Cathedral, the Ducal Castle, the National Museum and the Szczecin Philharmonic.
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Name and etymology
Szczecin and Stettin are the Polish and German equivalents of the same name, which is of Proto-Slavic origin, though the exact etymology is the subject of ongoing research.
In her Etymological Dictionary of Geographical Names of Poland, Maria Malec lists 11 theories regarding the origin of the name, including derivations from either: an Old Slavic word for 'hill peak' (Polish: szczyt), the plant fuller's teasel (Polish: szczeć), or the personal name Szczota.
The city's name is first recorded as Stetin in a document dating from 1112–1118. It continued to appear in this or closely related forms (e.g. Stetyn in 1188). The name Stettin is first documented in 1253. This spelling gradually became established over the following centuries, though other variants remained in use during the High Middle Ages – such as Stettyn in 1259 and Stethin in 1271.
Other medieval names for the town are Burstaborg (in the Knytlinga saga) and Burstenburgh (in the Annals of Waldemar). These names, which literally mean 'brush burgh', are likely derived from the translation of the city's Slavic name (assuming the second derivation mentioned above).
The Latin names of the city are Sedinum or Stetinum.
History
Middle Ages
The recorded history of Szczecin began in the eighth century, when Vikings and West Slavs settled in Pomerania. The West Slavs, or Lechites, erected a new stronghold on the site of the modern castle.
Since the 9th century, the stronghold was fortified and expanded toward the Oder bank. Mieszko I of Poland took control of Pomerania during the Early Middle Ages and the region became part of Poland in the 10th century. However, Mieszko II Lambert (1025–1034) effectively lost control over the area and had to accept German suzerainty over the area of the Oder lagoon. Subsequent Polish rulers, the Holy Roman Empire, and the Liutician federation all aimed to control the territory.
After the decline of the neighbouring regional centre Wolin in the 12th century, the city became an important and powerful seaport of the Baltic Sea.
In a campaign in the winter of 1121–1122, Bolesław III Wrymouth, Duke of Poland, gained control of the region, including the city of Szczecin and its stronghold. The Polish ruler initiated Christianization, entrusting this task to Otto of Bamberg, and the inhabitants were Christianised by two missions of Otto in 1124 and 1128. At this time, the first Christian church of Saints Peter and Paul was erected. The Poles' minted coins were commonly used in trade in this period. The population of the city at that time is estimated to be at around 5,000–9,000 people.
Polish rule ended with Boleslaw's death in 1138. During the Wendish Crusade in 1147, a contingent led by the German margrave Albert the Bear, an enemy of Slavic presence in the region, papal legate, bishop Anselm of Havelberg and Konrad of Meissen besieged the town. There, a Polish contingent supplied by Mieszko III the Old joined the crusaders. However, the citizens had placed crosses around the fortifications, indicating they already had been Christianised. Duke Ratibor I of Pomerania, negotiated the disbanding of the crusading forces.
After the Battle of Verchen in 1164, Stettin duke Bogusław I, Duke of Pomerania became a vassal of the Duchy of Saxony's Henry the Lion. In 1173, Stettin castellan Wartislaw II, could not resist a Danish attack and became vassal of Denmark. In 1181, Bogusław became a vassal of the Holy Roman Empire. In 1185, Bogusław again became a Danish vassal. Despite falling under foreign suzerainty, local dukes maintained close ties with the fragmented Polish realm, and future Polish monarch Władysław III Spindleshanks stayed at the local court of Duke Bogusław I in 1186, on behalf of his father Mieszko III the Old, Duke of Greater Poland, who also periodically was the High Duke of Poland. Following a conflict between his heirs and Canute VI of Denmark, the settlement was destroyed in 1189, but the fortress was reconstructed and manned with a Danish force in 1190. While the empire restored its superiority over the Duchy of Pomerania in the Battle of Bornhöved in 1227, Stettin was one of two bridgeheads remaining under Danish control (until 1235; Wolgast until 1241/43 or 1250).
17th to 18th centuries
Following the Treaty of Stettin of 1630, the town (along with most of Pomerania) was allied to and occupied by the Swedish Empire, which managed to keep the western parts of Pomerania after the death of Bogislaw XIV in 1637. From the Peace of Westphalia in 1648, Stettin became the capital of Swedish Pomerania. Stettin was turned into a major Swedish fortress, which was repeatedly besieged in subsequent wars. In 1677, the city was successfully besieged by a Danish, Brandenburger, and Lüneburger army. Stettin remained under Swedish control after the Treaty of Saint-Germain-en-Laye (1679), but due to the downfall of the Swedish Empire after Charles XII, the city went to Prussia in 1720. Instead Stralsund became capital of the last remaining parts of Swedish Pomerania 1720–1815.
The city was on the path of Polish forces led by Hetman Stefan Czarniecki moving from Denmark during the Second Northern War. Czarniecki, who led his forces to the city, is today mentioned in the Polish anthem, and numerous locations in the city honour his name.
Wars inhibited the city's economic prosperity, which had undergone a deep crisis during the devastation of the Thirty Years' War and was further impeded by the new Swedish-Brandenburg-Prussian frontier, cutting Stettin off from its traditional Farther Pomeranian hinterland. Due to a Plague during the Great Northern War, the city's population dropped from 6,000 people in 1709 to 4,000 in 1711. In 1720, after the Great Northern War, Sweden was forced to cede the city to King Frederick William I of Prussia. Stettin was made the capital city of the Prussian Pomeranian province, since 1815 reorganised as the Province of Pomerania. In 1816, the city had 26,000 inhabitants.
The Prussian administration deprived the city of its right to administrative autonomy, abolished guild privileges as well as its status as a staple town, and subsidised manufacturers. Also, colonists were settled in the city, primarily French Huguenots. The French settlers, who numbered more than 600, established a prosperous community, greatly contributed to the city's economic revival, and were treated with reluctance by the German burghers and city authorities.
19th to 20th centuries
In October 1806, during the War of the Fourth Coalition, believing that he was facing a much larger force, and after receiving a threat of harsh treatment of the city, the Prussian commander Lieutenant General Friedrich von Romberg agreed to surrender the city to the French led by General Lasalle. In fact, Lasalle had only 800 men against Romberg's 5,300 men. In March 1809 Romberg was convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment for giving up Stettin without a fight. In 1809, also Polish troops were stationed in the city, while the French remained until 1813.
From 1683 to 1812, one Jew was permitted to reside in Stettin, and an additional Jew was allowed to spend a night in the city in case of "urgent business". These permissions were repeatedly withdrawn between 1691 and 1716, also between 1726 and 1730 although else the Swedish regulation was continued by the Prussian administration. Only after the Prussian Edict of Emancipation of 11 March 1812, which granted Prussian citizenship to all Jews living in the kingdom, did a Jewish community emerge in Stettin, with the first Jews settling in the town in 1814. Construction of a synagogue started in 1834; the community also owned a religious and a secular school, an orphanage since 1855, and a retirement home since 1893. The Jewish community had between 1,000 and 1,200 members by 1873 and between 2,800 and 3,000 members by 1927–28. These numbers dropped to 2,701 in 1930 and to 2,322 in late 1934.
After the Franco Prussian war of 1870–1871, 1,700 French POWs were imprisoned there in deplorable conditions, resulting in the deaths of 600; After the war, Stettin remained a fortress until 1873. When part of the defensive structures were levelled, a new neighbourhood, Neustadt ("New Town") as well as water pipes, sewerage and drainage, and gas works were built to meet the demands of the growing population.
Stettin developed into a major Prussian port and following the unification of Germany in 1871 became part of the German Empire. While most of the province retained its agrarian character, Stettin was industrialised, and its population rose from 27,000 in 1813 to 210,000 in 1900 and 255,500 in 1925. Major industries that flourished in Stettin from 1840 were shipbuilding, chemical and food industries, and machinery construction. Starting in 1843, Stettin became connected to the major German and Pomeranian cities by railways, and the water connection to the Bay of Pomerania was enhanced by the construction of the Kaiserfahrt (now Piast) canal. The city was also a scientific centre; for example, it was home to the Entomological Society of Stettin.
Geography
Climate
Szczecin has an oceanic climate (Köppen: Cfb), typical of Western Pomerania. The winters are colder than on the immediate coast and the summers are warm, but still with some moderation, especially due to the Baltic Sea.
The average air temperature in Szczecin ranges from 8 to 8.4 °C. The hottest month is July with a temperature of 15.8 °C to 20.3 °C, the coldest January from -1.1 °C to 2.6 °C. Air temperature below 0 °C occurs on average over 86 days a year, most frequently in January and February. The average annual rainfall is 537 mm, the average rainfall in the cool half-year is 225 mm, and in the warmer half-year is 350 mm. On average, 167 days with precipitation occurs.
See or edit raw graph data.
Architecture and urban planning
Szczecin's architectural style reflects trends popular in the last half of the 19th century and the first years of the 20th century: Academic art (historicist Gründerzeit) and Art Nouveau. In many areas built after 1945, especially in the city centre, which had been partly destroyed due to Allied bombing, social realism is prevalent.
The city has an abundance of green areas: parks and avenues – wide streets with trees planted in the island separating opposing traffic (where often tram tracks are laid); and roundabouts corresponding to the Orion constellation. Szczecin's city plan resembles that of Paris, mostly because Szczecin was remodelled in the 1880s according to a design by Georges-Eugène Haussmann, who had redesigned Paris under Napoléon III. This pattern of street design is still used in Szczecin, as many recently built (or modified) city areas include roundabouts and avenues.
During the city's reconstruction in the aftermath of World War II, the communist authorities of Poland wanted the city's architecture to reflect an old Polish Piast era. Since no buildings from that time existed, instead Gothic as well as Renaissance buildings were picked as worthy of conservation. The motivation behind this decision was that Renaissance architecture was used by the Griffin dynasty, which had Lechitic and West Slavic roots and was seen to be of Piast extraction by some historians. This view was manifested, for example, by erecting respective memorials, and the naming of streets and enterprises, while German traces were replaced by symbols of three main categories: Piasts, the martyrdom of Poles, and gratitude to the Soviet and Polish armies which had ended the Nazi atrocities against Polish citizens.
The ruins of the former Griffin residence, initially renamed "Piast Palace", also played a central role in this concept and were reconstructed in Renaissance style, with all traces of later eras removed. In general, post-Renaissance buildings, especially those from the 19th and early 20th centuries, were deemed unworthy of conservation until the 1970s, and were in part used in the "Bricks for Warsaw" campaign (an effort to rebuild Warsaw after it had been systematically razed following the Warsaw Uprising): with 38 million bricks, Szczecin became Poland's largest brick supplier. The Old Town was rebuilt in the late 1990s, with new buildings, some of which were reconstructions of buildings destroyed in World War II.
Municipal administration
The city is administratively divided into districts (Polish: dzielnica), which are further divided into smaller neighbourhoods. The governing bodies of the latter serve the role of auxiliary local government bodies called Neighbourhood Councils (Polish: Rady Osiedla). Elections for neighbourhood councils are held up to six months after each City Council election. Voter turnout is rather low (on 20 May 2007 it ranged from 1.03% to 27.75% and was 3.78% on average). Councillors are responsible mostly for small infrastructure like trees, park benches, playgrounds, etc. Other functions are mostly advisory.
Dzielnica Śródmieście (City Centre) includes: Centrum, Drzetowo-Grabowo, Łękno, Międzyodrze-Wyspa Pucka, Niebuszewo-Bolinko, Nowe Miasto, Stare Miasto, Śródmieście-Północ, Śródmieście-Zachód, Turzyn.
Dzielnica Północ (North) includes: Bukowo, Golęcino-Gocław, Niebuszewo, Skolwin, Stołczyn, Warszewo, Żelechowa.
Dzielnica Zachód (West) includes: Arkońskie-Niemierzyn, Głębokie-Pilchowo, Gumieńce, Krzekowo-Bezrzecze, Osów, Pogodno, Pomorzany, Świerczewo, Zawadzkiego-Klonowica.
Dzielnica Prawobrzeże (Right-Bank) includes: Bukowe-Klęskowo, Dąbie, Kijewo, Osiedle Majowe, Osiedle Słoneczne, Płonia-Śmierdnica-Jezierzyce, Podjuchy, Wielgowo-Sławociesze, Załom, Zdroje, Żydowce-Klucz.
Other historical neighbourhoods
Babin, Barnucin, Basen Górniczy, Błędów, Boleszyce, Bystrzyk, Cieszyce, Cieśnik, Dolina, Drzetowo, Dunikowo, Glinki, Grabowo, Jezierzyce, Kaliny, Kępa Barnicka, Kijewko, Kluczewko, Kłobucko, Kniewo, Kraśnica, Krzekoszów, Lotnisko, Łasztownia, Niemierzyn, Odolany, Oleszna, Podbórz, Port, Osiedle Przyjaźni, Rogatka, Rudnik, Sienna, Skoki, Słowieńsko, Sosnówko, Starków, Stoki, Struga, Śmierdnica, os.Świerczewskie, Trzebusz, Urok, Widok, Zdunowo.
Demographics
Since the 12th-century Christianization of the city, the majority of the population were Catholics, then since the Renaissance era, up to the end of World War II, the majority of the population were Protestants (93% in 1890), and since 1945, the majority are again Catholics. Historically, the number of inhabitants doubled from 6,081 in 1720, to 12,360 in 1740, and reached 21,255 in 1812, with only 476 Catholics and 5 Jews. By 1852 the population was 48,028, and 58,487 ten years later (1861), including 1,065 Catholics and 1,438 Jews. In 1885, it was 99,543, and by 1905 it ballooned to 224,119 settlers (incl. the military), among them 209,152 Protestants, 8,635 Catholics and 3,010 Jews. In 1939, the number of inhabitants reached 268,421 persons according to German sources including 233,424 Protestants, 10,845 Catholics, and 1,102 Jews. The current population of Szczecin by comparison was 406,427 in 2009. Following the Revolution of Dignity, Szczecin, much like most other major urban centers in Poland, saw an unprecedented influx of foreign nationals, an overwhelming majority of them Ukrainians; in July 2017 26,000 of them were officially registered as living and working in Szczecin, with unofficial estimates going as high as 50,000, thus making up more than 10% of the city's inhabitants.
Number of inhabitants over the centuries
Politics
Recently, the city has favoured the centre right Civic Platform. Nearly two-thirds (64.54%) of votes cast in the second round of the 2010 presidential election went to the Civic Platform's Bronisław Komorowski, and in the following year's Polish parliamentary election the party won 46.75% of the vote in the Szczecin constituency with Law and Justice second garnering 21.66% and Palikot's Movement third with 11.8%.
Members of European Parliament (MEPs) from Szczecin
Sławomir Nitras, PO, former MP in the Polish lower house of Parliament.
Bogusław Liberadzki, SLD-UP, economist, former Minister of Transport.
Marek Gróbarczyk, PiS, engineer and manager, Minister of Maritime Economy.
Museums and galleries
National Museum in Szczecin (Polish: Muzeum Narodowe w Szczecinie) is the largest cultural institution in the West Pomeranian Voivodeship. It has branches:
The Main Building of Muzeum Narodowe w Szczecinie, Wały Chrobrego 3 Street.
Szczecin's History Museum (Polish Muzeum Historii Szczecina) in the Old Town Hall, Szczecin, Księcia Mściwoja II Street.
The Old Art Gallery of the National Museum, Staromłyńska Street 27.
The Museum of Contemporary Art, Staromłyńska 1 Street.
The Narrow Gauge Railway Exhibition in Gryfice
Planned investments: Dialogue Center Breakthroughs (Polish Centrum Dialogu Przełomy) and Maritime Science Centre (Polish Muzeum Morskie – Centrum Nauki).
Literature Museum (Polish Muzeum Literatury)
EUREKA – the miracles of science.
The Castle Museum (Polish Muzeum Zamkowe) in the Pomeranian Dukes' Castle, Szczecin.
Museum of Technology and Transport (Polish Muzeum Techniki i Komunikacji – Zajezdnia Sztuki).
Arts and entertainment
There are a few theatres and cinemas in Szczecin:
The Castle Cinema (Polish Kino Zamek)
Pionier 1909 Cinema (Polish Kino Pionier 1909)
Kana Theatre (Polish Teatr Kana)
Modern Theatre (Polish Teatr Współczesny)
Opera in the Castle (Polish Opera na Zamku)
Polish Theatre in Szczecin (Polish Teatr Polski w Szczecinie)
The Cellar by the Vault Cabaret (Polish Kabaret Piwnica przy Krypcie)
The Crypt Theatre (Polish Teatr Krypta)
The Pleciuga Puppetry Theatre (Polish Teatr Lalek Pleciuga)
The Niema Theatre (Polish Teatr Niema)
Szczecin Philharmonic
and many historic places as:
Bismarck tower, Szczecin
(ruins of) The Quistorp's Tower (Polish Wieża Quistorpa)
Napoleon mound (at the intersection of Klonowica Street and Unii Lubelskiej Street)
The statue, Monument of Sailor stands at the Grunwald Square at John Paul II Avenue.
Local cuisine
The local cuisine in Szczecin was mostly shaped in the mid-20th century by people who settled in the city from other parts and regions of Poland, including the former Eastern Borderlands. The most renowned dishes of the area are pasztecik szczeciński and paprykarz szczeciński. Other local traditional foods and drinks include Szczecin gingerbread and beer.
Pasztecik szczeciński is a deep-fried yeast dough traditionally stuffed with minced meat (pork and beef) or vegetarian filling - cheese and mushrooms or cabbage and mushrooms, served in specialised bars as a fast food. Pasztecik szczeciński is usually served with clear red borscht.
Paprykarz szczeciński is a paste made by mixing fish paste (around 50%) with rice, onion, tomato concentrate, vegetable oil, salt and a mixture of spices including chili powder to put it on a sandwich. It is available in most grocery stores in the country.
Szczecin gingerbread (pierniki szczecińskie) is a traditional local gingerbread glazed with chocolate or sugar with decorations mostly referring either to the city's architecture or to maritime motifs.
Szczecin beer (piwo szczecińskie) includes various types of traditional local Polish beer: light, amber, and wheat beer. The city's brewing traditions go back over a thousand years.
The word "szczeciński" or "szczecińskie" in the names of the products is an adjective from the name of the city of Szczecin, the place of its origin.
Sports
There are many popular professional sports teams in Szczecin area. The most popular sport today is probably football thanks to Pogoń Szczecin. Amateur sports are played by thousands of Szczecin citizens and also in schools of all levels (elementary, secondary, university).
Other notable teams include:
Arkonia Szczecin – football team, which competes in the lower divisions, but played in the top division in the past, and one of the most successful Polish water polo clubs
KS Stal Szczecin – 15 youth and junior teams, 1 senior, being in 4th regional league in the 2008/2009 season
KS Piast Szczecin – women's volleyball team, (Seria A in the 2003/2004 and 2004/2005 seasons)
Łącznościowiec Szczecin - women's handball team
OSoT Szczecin - trains Polish and foreign pole vaulters
SEJK Pogoń Szczecin - sailing team
Wicher Warszewo – futsal team playing in Środowiskowa Liga Futsalu (Futsal League) – two regional Futsal League: 2nd place in 2006/2007 season – promotion in the first regional Futsal League
Husaria Szczecin – A karate kyoukishin and diving sports club
Szczecin Titans (formerly Szczecin Dukes) – senior baseball team
As can be seen above, many teams in Szczecin are named after Pogoń Lwów, a team from the Eastern Borderlands.
Amateur leagues
Halowa Amatorska Liga Pilkarska – Hall Amateur Football League
Halowa Liga Pilki Noznej – Hall Football League
Szczecinska Liga Amatorskiej Koszykowki – Szczecin Amateur Basketball League
Szczecinska Amatorska Liga Pilki Siatkowej – Szczecin Amateur Volleyball League – women league, 1st, 2nd and 3rd men league
Elita Professional Sport – Elita Hall Football League – 1st and 2nd league, futsal cup
Kaskada Szczecin Rugby Club – club rugby – 7 and 15 league, rugby cup
Every year in September the men's tennis tournament Pekao Szczecin Open is held in Szczecin. In August, a marathon is organized in Szczecin.
Economy and transport
Economy
Szczecin is a center of the maritime economy; it employs 13,279 people. The seaport of Szczecin serves shipowners from all over the world and is the home port of two shipping companies: Polsteam and Euroafrica. In addition, other maritime-related companies are headquartered here.
In 2013, a subzone of the Szczecin-Kostrzyn-Slubice Special Economic Zone was established.
As of September 2016, the number of registered unemployed in Szczecin included about 8,400 residents, representing an unemployment rate of 5.0% to the economically active population.
The average employee salary in October 2012 was PLN 3,807.73, with the number of employed workers in Szczecin - 90,754 people. According to data from the District Labor Office in Szczecin, effective 1 January 2023, the minimum wage is PLN 3,490, while the average salary of residents of the capital of West Pomerania is at PLN 6,733.49.
In 2009, the average gross monthly salary in the enterprise sector in Szczecin was PLN 3,439.94.
Szczecin's GDP is PLN 20.255 billion, which is 1/3 of the GDP of the entire province. There are 49497 zlotys per capita, about 40% more than the result for the province.
Air
Szczecin is served by Solidarity Szczecin–Goleniów Airport, which is 47 kilometres (29 miles) northeast of central Szczecin. There is also a grass airstrip within city limits, the Szczecin-Dąbie Airstrip.
Trams
Szczecin has a tram network comprising 12 tram lines serving 95 tram stops and measuring 110.77 km (69 mi) in length. Tram transport is operated by the Tramwaje Szczecińskie (TS).
Szczecin's first horse tram opened in 1879, running from Gałczyńskiego Square to Staszica Street. In 1896, the first line using electric traction was opened. By 1900, the horse trams had been entirely replaced by electric trams.
Buses
Szczecin has a bus network of 70 bus routes. Bus transport is operated by 4 companies: SPA Dąbie, SPA Klonowica, SPPK and PKS Szczecin.
Of all bus routes, 50 lines are designated as normal. At nighttime, Szczecin is served by a night bus network of 16 routes. There are also 7 express bus lines, which do not serve all stops on their route.
Roads
The recently upgraded A6 motorway serves as the southern bypass of the city, and connects to the German A11 autobahn (portions of which are currently undergoing upgrade), from where one can reach Berlin in about 90 minutes (about 150 km (93 mi)). Other important highways are the S3 Expressway, linking Szczecin with the more southern cities of Gorzów Wielkopolski, Zielona Góra and Legnica, and the S6 Expressway, connecting Szczecin with Koszalin (and eventually Gdańsk once the easternmost section is completed). Through intersections with other highways, Szczecin has convenient highway connections with a number of other major Polish cities, such as Poznań, Łódź, Wrocław, Katowice, Warsaw and Kraków. Also planned is the construction of the S10 highway to connect the city with Bydgoszcz, Toruń, Płock and Warsaw.
Rail
The main railway station – Szczecin Główny railway station – is situated in the city centre (Kolumba Street). Szczecin has good railway connections with "Solidarity" Szczecin–Goleniów Airport and the rest of Poland, e.g., Świnoujście, Kołobrzeg, Poznań, Wrocław, Warsaw and Gdańsk. Szczecin is also connected with Germany (Berlin (Gesundbrunnen) and through Pasewalk to Neubrandenburg and Lübeck), but only by two single-track, non-electrified lines. Because of this, the rail connection between Berlin and Szczecin is much slower and less convenient than what is typical for two European cities of that size and proximity.
Port
The Port of Szczecin is the third largest in Poland and handles over 32 million tons of cargo annually. It is a harbour of the Baltic Sea and the Oder river.
Education and science
University of Szczecin (Polish: Uniwersytet Szczeciński), with 35,000 students; rector: Waldemar Tarczyński
West Pomeranian University of Technology (Polish: Zachodniopomorski Uniwersytet Technologiczny)
Pomeranian Medical University (Polish: Pomorski Uniwersytet Medyczny)
Art Academy of Szczecin (Polish: Akademia Sztuki)
Maritime University of Szczecin (Polish: Akademia Morska w Szczecinie)
WSB Merito Universities – WSB Merito University in Poznań, departments of Economics
The West Pomeranian Business School (Polish: Zachodniopomorska Szkoła Biznesu)
Higher School of Public Administration in Szczecin (Polish: Wyższa Szkoła Administracji Publicznej w Szczecinie)
High Theological Seminary in Szczecin (Polish: Arcybiskupie Wyższe Seminarium Duchowne w Szczecinie)
Higher School of Applied Arts (Polish: Wyższa Szkoła Sztuki Użytkowej)
Academy of European Integration (Polish: Wyższa Szkoła Integracji Europejskiej)
Wyższa Szkoła Ekonomiczno-Turystyczna
Wyższa Szkoła Humanistyczna TWP
Wyższa Szkoła Języków Obcych
Wyższa Szkoła Techniczno-Ekonomiczna
Scientific and regional organisations
Western Pomeranian Institute (Polish: Instytut Zachodnio-Pomorski)
Szczecin Scientific Society (Polish: Szczecińskie Towarzystwo Naukowe)
local branches of Polish scientific societies in many disciplines, including Polish Philosophical Society, Polish Historical Society, Polish Philological Society, Polish Mathematical Society, Polish Economic Society, Polish Geographical Society, Polish Copernicus Society of Naturalists, Polish Phytopathological Society, Polish Parasitological Society and many medical societies
local branches of students' societies, e.g., AIESEC, International Federation of Medical Students' Associations (IFMSA) and Polish Association of Dental Students
Famous people
Over the long course of its history Szczecin has been a place of birth and of residence for many famous individuals, including Empress Catherine the Great of Russia, composer Carl Loewe, writer Alfred Döblin, actress Dita Parlo, mathematician Hermann Günther Grassmann, Roman Catholic priest Carl Lampert, poet Konstanty Ildefons Gałczyński, Helena Majdaniec – "the queen of Polish Twist", and singer Violetta Villas.
International relations
Consulates
There are 15 honorary consulates in Szczecin, of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Moldova, Norway, Sweden and Ukraine.
Twin towns and sister cities
Szczecin is twinned with: