Kamień Pomorski (; csb, Kamiéń; german: Cammin or ''Kammin'') is a
town
A town is a human settlement. Towns are generally larger than villages and smaller than cities, though the criteria to distinguish between them vary considerably in different parts of the world.
Origin and use
The word "town" shares an ori ...
in the
West Pomeranian Voivodeship
The West Pomeranian Voivodeship, also known as the West Pomerania Province, is a voivodeship (province) in northwestern Poland. Its capital and largest city is Szczecin. Its area equals 22 892.48 km² (8,838.84 sq mi), and in 2021, it was i ...
of north-western
Poland
Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...
, on the
Baltic coast
The Baltic Sea is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that is enclosed by Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Sweden and the North and Central European Plain.
The sea stretches from 53°N to 66°N latitude and from 10 ...
. It is the seat of an urban-rural gmina (administrative district) in Kamień County which lies approximately 63 km to the north of the regional capital
Szczecin
Szczecin (, , german: Stettin ; sv, Stettin ; Latin: ''Sedinum'' or ''Stetinum'') 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 s ...
. It is the second seat of the Archdiocese of Szczecin-Kamień and the deanery of Kamień.
Kamień is the first known capital of the
Duchy of Pomerania
The Duchy of Pomerania (german: Herzogtum Pommern; pl, Księstwo Pomorskie; 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 ha ...
.
In 2015 the town had a population of 8,921 inhabitants.
Etymology and names
The name of the
town
A town is a human settlement. Towns are generally larger than villages and smaller than cities, though the criteria to distinguish between them vary considerably in different parts of the world.
Origin and use
The word "town" shares an ori ...
has its origins in the
Wendish language. The first mentions of the town appeared in the ''Life of Otton from Bamberg'',''Civitas ducis Camina'' by Herbord, ''Castrum magnum Gamin'' by Eb, and ''In urbe Games''.
Other names are ''Chamin'' and ''Camyna''. A bull of 14 October 1140 has the mention of ''Chamin cum taberna et foro''. In a bull of 25 February 1188 there is ''apud civitated Camyn''. Ultimately the name ''Camin'' was settled upon.
The name is associated with a massive glacial
boulder
In geology, a boulder (or rarely bowlder) is a rock fragment with size greater than in diameter. Smaller pieces are called cobbles and pebbles. While a boulder may be small enough to move or roll manually, others are extremely massive.
In c ...
(diameter of 20 m) situated in the Dziwna’s riverbed. This ''Royal Boulder'' has been used as a designator in ship transport.
Since 1959 the ''Royal Boulder'' has been protected as a
natural monument
A natural monument is a natural or natural/cultural feature of outstanding or unique value because of its inherent rarity, representative of aesthetic qualities or cultural significance.
Under World Commission on Protected Areas guidelines, na ...
.
There are three legends dealing with the ''Royal Boulder''.
The first one says that in 1121 Duke
Bolesław III Wrymouth
Bolesław III Wrymouth ( pl, Bolesław III Krzywousty; 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 ...
stood on it and welcomed sailors’ parades.
The second one describes the origins of the ''Royal Boulder''. The boulder was in fact a petrified toad that wreaked havoc in the Kamieński Bay. It was cursed by the Slovian god Trzygłów into a boulder.
The third one describes the story of a
devil
A devil is the personification of evil as it is conceived in various cultures and religious traditions. It is seen as the objectification of a hostile and destructive force. Jeffrey Burton Russell states that the different conceptions of t ...
, banished from a dwelling nearby, that promised to find a suitable partner for a certain
giant
In folklore, giants (from Ancient Greek: '' gigas'', cognate giga-) are beings of human-like appearance, but are at times prodigious in size and strength or bear an otherwise notable appearance. The word ''giant'' is first attested in 1297 fr ...
if it destroys said dwelling. Mistrustful giant wanted to see his future partner first and saw her he did. From the depth of the waters emerged a perfect match for the giant but in the exact moment a rooster crowed, the illusion of the future spouse was dropped and showed a devil. A furious giant threw into him a massive boulder. Devil wanted to run away and changed into a
toad
Toad is a common name for certain frogs, especially of the family Bufonidae, that are characterized by dry, leathery skin, short legs, and large bumps covering the parotoid glands.
A distinction between frogs and toads is not made in scient ...
, but it was too late, the boulder crushed him and confines him to this day.
History
![Mury obronne w Kamieniu Pomorskim - lipiec 2018 - 2](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/01/Mury_obronne_w_Kamieniu_Pomorskim_-_lipiec_2018_-_2.jpg)
The town's history dates back to a fishermen's settlement from the 10th and 11th centuries. The region became part of Poland soon after the creation of the state in the 10th century. As a result of the 12th-century fragmentation of Poland, it became part of the separate
Duchy of Pomerania
The Duchy of Pomerania (german: Herzogtum Pommern; pl, Księstwo Pomorskie; 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 ha ...
. The town became the seat of a
bishopric
In 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 provinces were administratively associate ...
in 1176 and a
Pomerania
Pomerania ( pl, Pomorze; german: Pommern; Kashubian: ''Pòmòrskô''; sv, Pommern) is a historical region on the southern shore of the Baltic Sea in Central Europe, split between Poland and Germany. The western part of Pomerania belongs to ...
n diocese. In 1180 a mint was established in Kamień. From time to time the Dukes of Pomerania would also reside in the town (it's their first known capital). By 1228 the
Dominicans were involved in the town's religious affairs, and in 1274 it received
Lübeck city rights
Lübeck (; Low German also ), officially the Hanseatic City of Lübeck (german: Hansestadt Lübeck), is a city in Northern Germany. With around 217,000 inhabitants, Lübeck is the second-largest city on the German Baltic coast and in the sta ...
.
Sweden
Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...
acquired control of the town at the
Peace of Westphalia
The Peace of Westphalia (german: Westfälischer Friede, ) is the collective name for two peace treaties signed in October 1648 in the Westphalian cities of Osnabrück and Münster. They ended the Thirty Years' War (1618–1648) and brought pea ...
ending the
Thirty Years' War
The Thirty Years' War was one of the longest and most destructive conflicts in European history
The history of Europe is traditionally divided into four time periods: prehistoric Europe (prior to about 800 BC), classical antiquity (80 ...
in 1648. Acquired by
Brandenburg-Prussia in 1679, the town was made part of the
Kingdom of Prussia
The Kingdom of Prussia (german: Königreich Preußen, ) was a German kingdom that constituted the state of Prussia between 1701 and 1918.Marriott, J. A. R., and Charles Grant Robertson. ''The Evolution of Prussia, the Making of an Empire''. Re ...
in 1701. From then until 1945 it remained part of Prussia, and from 1871 to 1945 it was also part of
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
. It was administered as part of the Prussian
Province of Pomerania.
In 1945 the region was placed under Polish administration under border changes promulgated at the
Potsdam Conference
The Potsdam Conference (german: Potsdamer Konferenz) was held at Potsdam in the Soviet occupation zone from July 17 to August 2, 1945, to allow the three leading Allies to plan the postwar peace, while avoiding the mistakes of the Paris Pe ...
. At the end of
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
and thereafter, the town's German residents
fled or were expelled. Polish settlers made the town their new home, some of whom had been expelled from the
eastern Polish areas annexed by the Soviet Union.
Geography
Location
Kamień Pomorski is located on in the pool of Dziwna’s strait that creates Kamieński Bay. The town lies by the two bays: Karpinka and
Promna
Promna is a village in Białobrzegi County, Masovian Voivodeship, in east-central Poland. It is the seat of the gmina (administrative district) called Gmina Promna. It lies approximately north of Białobrzegi and south of Warsaw
Warsaw ...
, approximately 90 km to
Szczecin
Szczecin (, , german: Stettin ; sv, Stettin ; Latin: ''Sedinum'' or ''Stetinum'') 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 s ...
. Kamień Pomorski lies in north-west part of the
West Pomeranian Voivodeship
The West Pomeranian Voivodeship, also known as the West Pomerania Province, is a voivodeship (province) in northwestern Poland. Its capital and largest city is Szczecin. Its area equals 22 892.48 km² (8,838.84 sq mi), and in 2021, it was i ...
. The centre of the city is located about 7 km to the
Baltic Sea
The Baltic Sea is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that is enclosed by Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Sweden and the North and Central European Plain.
The sea stretches from 53°N to 66°N latitude and from ...
, to which it has direct access.
Climate
Moderately warm,
oceanic climate
An oceanic climate, also known as a marine climate, is the humid temperate climate sub-type in Köppen classification ''Cfb'', typical of west coasts in higher middle latitudes of continents, generally featuring cool summers and mild winters ( ...
(Cfb in the
Köppen climate classification
The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, notabl ...
)
This climate is dominated all year round by the polar front, leading to changeable, often overcast weather. Summers are cool due to cool ocean currents, but winters are milder than other climates in similar latitudes, but usually very cloudy.
Average temperature changes between 7-8,3 °C. August is the warmest month in the year, and January – the coldest. Max temperature is between 32,1 – 33,1 °C, and min. temperature is between -18,6- -19,2 °C. Annual precipitation rate ranges from 550 mm to 650 mm. Length of growing period is 210–220 days. Winds blow mostly from the South-West and North-West direction.
[Program Ochrony Środowiska dla Gminy Kamień Pomorski, Szczecin, październik 2004 r.]
Tourism
The town is close to
Zalew Kamieński (Kamieński Bay). The Cathedral of St. John the Baptist ( pl, Katedra św. Jana Chrzciciela) is a local landmark. The cathedral is one of Poland's official national
Historic Monuments (''
Pomnik historii
Historic Monument ( pl, pomnik historii) is one of several categories of objects of cultural heritage (in the singular, '' zabytek'') in Poland.
To be recognized as a Polish historic monument, an object must be declared such by the President ...
''), as designated September 1, 2005 and tracked by the
National Heritage Board of Poland
The National Institute of Cultural Heritage of Poland ( pl, Narodowy Instytut Dziedzictwa NID) is a Polish governmental institution responsible for documenting cultural property and the intangible cultural heritage, as well as for supporting and ...
.
International relations
Kamień Pomorski is
twinned with:
Notable residents
*
Jaromar (c. 1267 – c. 1294) selected as
Bishop of Cammin
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 Kolberg (Kołobrzeg) area f ...
*
Klaus Uebe __NOTOC__
Klaus Uebe (1 May 1900 – 3 February 1968) was a Luftwaffe general and recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross of Nazi Germany.
Awards
* German Cross in Gold on 29 December 1942 as ''Oberstleutnant im Generalstab'' with com ...
(1900–1968), German Luftwaffe General
*
Klausjürgen Wussow
Klausjürgen Wussow (30 April 1929 – 19 June 2007) was a German stage, film and television actor.
Early life
Wussow was born in Cammin, Province of Pomerania, Weimar Germany (modern Kamień Pomorski, Poland). His father was a teacher and c ...
(1929–2007) a German stage, film and television actor
*
Uwe Johnson
Uwe or UWE may refer to
* Uwe (given name)
* University of the West of England, Bristol
* UML-based web engineering
* University Würzburg's Experimental miniaturized satellites for space research UWE-1 and UWE-2
* Uwe - Wreck in Blankenese
Blank ...
(1934–1984) a German writer, editor and scholar
*
Bogusław Mamiński
Bogusław Mamiński (born 18 December 1955 in Kamień Pomorski) is a retired long-distance runner from Poland, known for winning the silver medal in the men's 3,000m Steeplechase event at the 1982 European Championships in Athens, Greec ...
(born 1955) a retired long-distance runner
*
Adrian Benedyczak
Adrian Dawid Benedyczak (born 24 November 2000) is a Polish professional association football, footballer who plays as a Forward (association football), forward for Serie B club Parma Calcio 1913, Parma.
Club career
On 27 June 2021, Benedyczak j ...
(born 2000) a Polish professional
football
Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...
player
Gallery
File:Wolin Gate and Piast Tower in Kamień Pomorski bk5.JPG, Piast Tower (now a museum)
File:Kamień Pomorski, ratusz, XIV w tle.JPG, Town hall (c. 1350)
File:Ratusz w Kamieniu Pomorskim - lipiec 2018.jpg, Town hall (c. 1350)
File:Katedra w Kamieniu Pomorskim.JPG, Cathedral of St. John the Baptist
File:Kamień Pomorski, pałac biskupi P9180239.JPG, Bishop's palace
File:Pomnik Mieszka I Kamień Pomorski.jpg, A post-war monument
File:Kamień Pomorski sąd i areszt (1).jpg, Court building
See also
*
Bishopric of Cammin
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 Kolberg (Kołobrzeg) area f ...
*
Kamień Pomorski homeless hostel fire
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kamien Pomorski
Cities and towns in West Pomeranian Voivodeship
Kamień County
Spa towns in Poland