Pomerania ( pl, Pomorze; german: Pommern; Kashubian: ''Pòmòrskô''; sv, Pommern) is a historical region on the southern shore of 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 ...

in Central Europe, split between Poland and Germany. The western part of Pomerania belongs to the German states of

Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania Mecklenburg-Vorpommern (MV; ; nds, Mäkelborg-Vörpommern), also known by its anglicized name Mecklenburg–Western Pomerania, is a state in the north-east of Germany. Of the country's sixteen states, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern ranks 14th in po ...

and

Brandenburg Brandenburg (; nds, Brannenborg; dsb, Bramborska ) is a states of Germany, state in the northeast of Germany bordering the states of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Lower Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, and Saxony, as well as the country of Poland. With an ar ...

, while the eastern part belongs to the West Pomeranian, Pomeranian and Kuyavian-Pomeranian voivodeships of Poland. Its historical border in the west is the Mecklenburg-Western Pomeranian border ''

Urstromtal An ''urstromtal'' (plural: ''Urstromtäler'') is a type of broad glacial valley, for example, in northern Central Europe, that appeared during the ice ages, or individual glacial periods of an ice age, at the edge of the Scandinavian ice sheet and ...

'' which now constitutes the border between the

Mecklenburg Mecklenburg (; nds, label=Low German, Mękel(n)borg ) is a historical region in northern Germany comprising the western and larger part of the federal-state Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. The largest cities of the region are Rostock, Schwerin ...

ian and Pomeranian part of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, while it is bounded by the

Vistula The Vistula (; pl, Wisła, ) is the longest river in Poland and the ninth-longest river in Europe, at in length. The drainage basin, reaching into three other nations, covers , of which is in Poland. The Vistula rises at Barania Góra in ...

River in the east. The easternmost part of Pomerania is alternatively known as

Pomerelia Pomerelia,, la, Pomerellia, Pomerania, pl, Pomerelia (rarely used) also known as Eastern Pomerania,, csb, Pòrénkòwô Pòmòrskô Vistula Pomerania, prior to World War II also known as Polish Pomerania, is a historical sub-region of Pome ...

, consisting of four sub-regions: Kashubia inhabited by ethnic Kashubians, Kociewie, Tuchola Forest and Chełmno Land. Pomerania has a relatively low population density, with its largest cities being

Gdańsk Gdańsk ( , also ; ; csb, Gduńsk;Stefan Ramułt, ''Słownik języka pomorskiego, czyli kaszubskiego'', Kraków 1893, Gdańsk 2003, ISBN 83-87408-64-6. , Johann Georg Theodor Grässe, ''Orbis latinus oder Verzeichniss der lateinischen Benen ...

and

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 ...

. Outside its urban areas, it is characterized by farmland, dotted with numerous lakes, forests, and small towns. In the west of Pomerania lie several islands, the largest of which are

Rügen Rügen (; la, Rugia, ) is Germany's largest island. It is located off the Pomeranian coast in the Baltic Sea and belongs to the state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. The "gateway" to Rügen island is the Hanseatic city of Stralsund, where ...

, the largest island in Germany,

Usedom Usedom (german: Usedom , pl, Uznam ) 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 is north of the Szczecin ...

/Uznam, and

Wolin Wolin (; formerly german: Wollin ) is the name both of a Polish island in the Baltic Sea, just off the Polish coast, and a town on that island. Administratively, the island belongs to the West Pomeranian Voivodeship. Wolin is separated from the ...

, the largest island in Poland. The region has a rich and complicated political and demographic history at the intersection of several cultures.

Geography

Borders

Pomerania is the area along the Bay of Pomerania of the

between the rivers Recknitz, Trebel,

Tollense The Tollense (, from Slavic ''dolenica'' "lowland, (flat) valley") is a river in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern in northeastern Germany, right tributary of the Peene. It has a total length of 95.8 km. The upper course begins near a small lake nam ...

and Augraben in the west and

in the east.The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition, 2000, Pomerani

/ref> It formerly reached perhaps as far south as the Noteć river, but since the 13th century its southern boundary has been placed further north.

Landscape

Most of the region is coastal lowland, being part of the Central European Plain, but its southern, hilly parts belong to the

Baltic Ridge Baltic may refer to: Peoples and languages *Baltic languages, a subfamily of Indo-European languages, including Lithuanian, Latvian and extinct Old Prussian * Balts (or Baltic peoples), ethnic groups speaking the Baltic languages and/or originati ...

, a belt of terminal

moraine A moraine is any accumulation of unconsolidated debris (regolith and rock), sometimes referred to as glacial till, that occurs in both currently and formerly glaciated regions, and that has been previously carried along by a glacier or ice shee ...

s formed during the

Pleistocene The Pleistocene ( , often referred to as the ''Ice age'') is the geological Epoch (geology), epoch that lasted from about 2,580,000 to 11,700 years ago, spanning the Earth's most recent period of repeated glaciations. Before a change was fina ...

. Within this ridge, a chain of moraine-dammed lakes constitutes the Pomeranian Lake District. The soil is generally rather poor, sometimes sandy or marshy. The western coastline is jagged, with many peninsulas (such as Darß– Zingst) and islands (including

, and

) enclosing numerous bays ( Bodden) and lagoons (the biggest being the

Lagoon of Szczecin Szczecin Lagoon ( pl, Zalew Szczeciński, german: Stettiner Haff, since 1945 sometimes also ''Oderhaff'' (Oder lagoon) or ''Pommersches Haff'' (Pomeranian lagoon)) is a lagoon in the Oder estuary, shared by Germany and Poland. It is separated f ...

). The eastern coastline is smooth. Łebsko and several other lakes were formerly bays, but have been cut off from the sea. The easternmost coastline along the Gdańsk Bay (with the Bay of Puck) and

Vistula Lagoon The Vistula Lagoon ( pl, Zalew Wiślany; russian: Калининградский залив, transliterated: ''Kaliningradskiy Zaliv''; german: Frisches Haff; lt, Aistmarės) is a brackish water lagoon on the Baltic Sea roughly 56 miles (90 ...

, has the

Hel Peninsula Hel Peninsula (; pl, Mierzeja Helska, Półwysep Helski; csb, Hélskô Sztremlëzna; german: Halbinsel Hela or ''Putziger Nehrung'') is a sand bar peninsula in northern Poland separating the Bay of Puck from the open Baltic Sea. It is loc ...

and the

Vistula peninsula The Vistula Spit ( pl, Mierzeja Wiślana; russian: Балтийская коса; german: Frische Nehrung) is an aeolian sand spit, or peninsular stretch of land that separates Vistula Lagoon from Gdańsk Bay, in the Baltic Sea, with its tip sepa ...

jutting out into the Baltic.

Subregions

The Pomeranian region has the following administrative divisions: *

Western Pomerania Historical Western Pomerania, also called Cispomerania, Fore Pomerania, Front Pomerania or Hither Pomerania (german: Vorpommern), is the western extremity of the historic region of Pomerania forming the southern coast of the Baltic Sea, Weste ...

(''Vorpommern'') in northeastern Germany, stretching from the Recknitz river to the Oder–Neisse line. This region is part of the

federal state A federation (also known as a federal state) is a political entity characterized by a union of partially self-governing provinces, states, or other regions under a central federal government ( federalism). In a federation, the self-governi ...

. The southernmost part of historical Western Pomerania (the

Gartz Gartz is a town in the Uckermark district in Brandenburg, Germany. It is located on the West bank of the Oder River, on the border with Poland, about 20 km south of Szczecin, Poland. It is located within the historic region of Western Pomeran ...

area) is now in

, while its historical eastern parts (the

Oder The Oder ( , ; Czech, Lower Sorbian and ; ) is a river in Central Europe. It is Poland's second-longest river in total length and third-longest within its borders after the Vistula and Warta. The Oder rises in the Czech Republic and flows thr ...

estuary) are now in Poland. Western Pomerania comprises the historical regions inhabited by Western Slavic tribes Rugians and Volinians, otherwise the Principality of Rügen and the

County of Gützkow The County of Gützkow (german: Grafschaft Gützkow) was a county in the Duchy of Pomerania in the High Middle Ages. It was established in 1129 from the Castellany of Gützkow. Following the death of its last count in 1359, it was reestablished i ...

. * 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 ...

(''Zachodniopomorskie'') in Poland, stretching from the Oder–Neisse line to the

Wieprza Wieprza (german: Wipper) is a river in north-western Poland in the region of Pomerania, a tributary of the Baltic Sea, with a length of and a basin area of . Towns * Kępice * Sławno * Darłowo See also *Rivers of Poland *List of rivers of Eur ...

river, encompassing most of historical Pomerania in the narrow sense (as well as small parts of historic

Greater Poland Greater Poland, often known by its Polish name Wielkopolska (; german: Großpolen, sv, Storpolen, la, Polonia Maior), is a Polish historical regions, historical region of west-central Poland. Its chief and largest city is Poznań followed ...

and Lubusz Land). * The

Pomeranian Voivodeship Pomeranian Voivodeship, Pomorskie Region, or Pomerania Province (Polish: ''Województwo pomorskie'' ; ( Kashubian: ''Pòmòrsczé wòjewództwò'' ), is a voivodeship, or province, in northwestern Poland. The provincial capital is Gdańsk. The ...

, with similar borders to

, stretching from the Wieprza river to the

delta in the vicinity of

. * The northern half of the Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship, comprising most of Tuchola Forest and Chełmno Land. The bulk of

Farther Pomerania Farther Pomerania, Hinder Pomerania, Rear Pomerania or Eastern Pomerania (german: Hinterpommern, Ostpommern), is the part of Pomerania which comprised the eastern part of the Duchy and later Province of Pomerania. It stretched roughly from the Od ...

is included within the modern West Pomeranian Voivodeship, but its easternmost parts (the Słupsk area) now constitute the northwest of Pomeranian Voivodeship. Farther Pomerania in turn comprises several other historical subregions, most notably the Principality of Cammin, the County of Naugard, and the

Lands of Schlawe and Stolp The Schlawe and Stolp Land, also known as Słupsk and Sławno Land, is a historical region in Pomerania, centered on the towns of Sławno (''Schlawe'') and Słupsk (''Stolp'') in Farther Pomerania, in present-day Poland. The area is of some his ...

, The

Lauenburg and Bütow Land Lauenburg and Bütow Land (german: Länder or , csb, Lãbòrskò-bëtowskô Zemia, pl, Ziemia lęborsko-bytowska) formed a historical region in the western part of Pomerelia (Polish and papal historiography) or in the eastern part of Farther Pom ...

is considered a part of

( Kashubia) by the Polish historiography, and of

by the German historiography. Parts of Pomerania and surrounding regions have constituted a

euroregion In European politics, the term Euroregion usually refers to a transnational co-operation structure between two (or more) contiguous territories located in different European countries. Euroregions represent a specific type of cross-border region. ...

since 1995. The Pomerania euroregion comprises Hither Pomerania and Uckermark in Germany, West Pomerania in Poland, and

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

in Sweden. File:Niechorze Widok z latarni 3 (Piotr Kuczynski).jpg, Typical Pomeranian beach (

) File:Małe regaty na jeziorze Wdzydze.jpg, Wdzydze Lake (

) File:Poland Turkusowe Lake.jpg,

Wolin National Park Wolin National Park ( pl, Woliński Park Narodowy) 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. It was established on 3 March 1960 and covers an are ...

(

) File:2 SPN 01.jpg,

Słowiński National Park Słowiński National Park ( pl, Słowiński Park Narodowy) is a national park in Pomeranian Voivodeship, northern Poland. It is situated on the Baltic coast, between Łeba and Rowy. The northern boundary of the park consists of of coastline ...

(

) File:Usedomer Strand.jpg,

/Uznam (

) File:Kap Arkona2.jpg, Cape Arkona (

)

Etymology

Lechitic languages The Lechitic (or Lekhitic) languages are a language subgroup consisting of Polish and several other languages and dialects that were once spoken in the area that is now Poland and eastern Germany. It is one of the branches of the larger West Sl ...

the prefix "po-" means ''along''; unlike the word "po", which means ''after''. Pomorze, therefore, means ''Along the Sea''. This construction is similar to toponyms Pogórze (''Along the Mountains''),

Polesie Polesia, Polesie, or Polesye, uk, Полісся (Polissia), pl, Polesie, russian: Полесье (Polesye) is a natural and historical region that starts from the farthest edge of Central Europe and encompasses Eastern Europe, including East ...

(''Along the Forest''), Porzecze (''Along the River''), etc. Pomerania was first mentioned in an

imperial Imperial is that which relates to an empire, emperor, or imperialism. Imperial or The Imperial may also refer to: Places United States * Imperial, California * Imperial, Missouri * Imperial, Nebraska * Imperial, Pennsylvania * Imperial, Texa ...

document of 1046, referring to a ''Zemuzil dux Bomeranorum'' ( Zemuzil, Duke of the Pomeranians). Pomerania is mentioned repeatedly in the chronicles of

Adam of Bremen Adam of Bremen ( la, Adamus Bremensis; german: Adam von 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 ...

(c. 1070) and

Gallus Anonymous ''Gallus Anonymus'' ( Polonized variant: ''Gall '') is the name traditionally given to the anonymous author of ''Gesta principum Polonorum'' (Deeds of the Princes of the Poles), composed in Latin between 1112 and 1118. ''Gallus'' is generally rega ...

(ca. 1113).

Terminology

The term "West Pomerania" is ambiguous, since it may refer to either Hither Pomerania (in German usage and historical usage based on German terminology) or to combined Hither and Farther Pomerania or the West Pomeranian Voivodeship (in Polish usage). The term "East Pomerania" may similarly carry different meanings, referring either to

(in German usage and historical usage based on German terminologye.g.

here Here is an adverb that means "in, on, or at this place". It may also refer to: Software * Here Technologies, a mapping company * Here WeGo (formerly Here Maps), a mobile app and map website by Here Television * Here TV (formerly "here!"), a TV ...

(Sheperd Atlas), or i
old Enc Britannica
/ref>), or to Pomerelia or the Pomeranian Voivodeship (in Polish usage). }
pl, Ziemia lęborsko-bytowska) , Człuchów,
Chojnice,

Kościerzyna Kościerzyna ( Kashubian and Pomeranian: ''Kòscérzëna''; formerly german: Berent, ) is a town in Kashubia in Gdańsk Pomerania region, northern Poland, with some 24,000 inhabitants. It has been the capital of Kościerzyna County in Pomerania ...

Kartuzy Kartuzy () ( Kashubian ''Kartuzë'', ''Kartëzë'', or ''Kartuzé''; formerly german: Karthaus) is a town in northern Poland, located in the historic Eastern Pomerania (Pomerelia) region. It is the capital of Kartuzy County in Pomeranian Voivodesh ...

Żukowo Żukowo ( csb, Żukòwò, german: Zuckau, la, Sucovia) is a town in the Kartuzy County, in the Pomeranian Voivodeship of northern Poland, in the geographical region of Kashubia, with 6,236 inhabitants (2005). It is located along the Radunia ri ...

,
Puck,

Władysławowo Władysławowo ( Kashubian/ Pomeranian: ''Wiôlgô Wies'', german: Großendorf) is a city on the south coast of the Baltic Sea in Kashubia in the Pomerelia region, northern Poland, with 15,015 (2009) inhabitants. History In 1634 engineer Fryde ...

Jastarnia Jastarnia ( csb, Jastarniô, german: Heisternest) is a resort town in Puck County, Pomeranian Voivodship, northern Poland. It is located on the Hel Peninsula on the Baltic Sea. It is a popular Polish seaside resort and small fishing port. The m ...

,
Hel , Wejherowo,
Reda,
Rumia,
(so-called

Little Kashubian Tricity Little Kashubian Tricity ( pl, Małe Trójmiasto Kaszubskie, csb, Môłi Kaszëbsczi Trójgard) is a name used for an urban area in northern Poland comprising the three towns of Rumia, Reda and Wejherowo, located in Wejherowo County, Pomeranian V ...

)
Gdynia,
Sopot,

( Tricity)
Pruszcz Gdański,
Nowy Staw , Starogard Gdański,

Skarszewy Skarszewy ( csb, Skarszewò, german: Schöneck in Westpreußen) is a small town south of Gdańsk in Starogard Gdański County, Pomeranian Voivodeship, northern Poland. It is located between Kościerzyna and Tczew. Population: 6 809 (30 June ...

,
Pelplin,
Tczew,
Gniew , Świecie,

Nowe Nowe (german: Neuenburg in Westpreußen, 1942-1945: ''Neuenburg (Weichsel)'') is a town in Świecie County, Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship, Poland, with 6,270 inhabitants (2004). Geographical location Nowe is located approximately 75 kilome ...

Tuchola Tuchola (german: Tuchel; csb, Tëchòlô) is a town in the Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship in northern Poland. The Pomeranian town, which is the seat of Tuchola County, had a population of 13,418 . Geographical location Tuchola lies about n ...

,
Pruszcz ,

Toruń )'' , image_skyline = , image_caption = , image_flag = POL Toruń flag.svg , image_shield = POL Toruń COA.svg , nickname = City of Angels, Gingerbread city, Copernicus Town , pushpin_map = Kuyavian-Pom ...

Grudziądz Grudziądz ( la, Graudentum, Graudentium, german: Graudenz) is a city in northern Poland, with 92,552 inhabitants (2021). Located on the Vistula River, it lies within the Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship and is the fourth-largest city in its prov ...

,
Chełmno,

Chełmża Chełmża (german: Kulmsee, earlier ''Culmsee''), is a town in north-central Poland, in the Toruń County, Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship. It is located at around . It is one of the historic centers of Chełmno Land. Geography The town Chełm� ...

Wąbrzeźno Wąbrzeźno (german: Briesen) is a town in Poland, in the Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship, about northeast of Toruń. It is the capital of the Wąbrzeźno County. The population is 13,971 inhabitants (2004). History Along with Chełmno Land ...

Kowalewo Pomorskie Kowalewo Pomorskie (german: Schönsee) is a town in north-central Poland, in Golub-Dobrzyń County, Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship. It is the capital of the Gmina Kowalewo Pomorskie. According to data from December 31, 2004, Kowalewo Pomorsk ...

Jabłonowo Pomorskie Jabłonowo Pomorskie (Polish pronunciation: ; german: Jablonowo, 1903-1945: ''Goßlershausen'') is a town in the Brodnica powiat of the Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship, Poland. As of 2018, the town had a population of 3,783. It is located in the C ...

Radzyń Chełmiński Radzyń Chełmiński (; german: Rehden) is a town in Grudziądz County, Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship, Poland, with 1,946 inhabitants (2004). History Radzyń is located within the historic Chełmno Land, which became part of the emerging Polish ...

Łasin Łasin (german: Lessen) is a town in Grudziądz County, Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship, Poland, with 3,271 inhabitants (2004). It is the seat of the gmina (administrative district) called Gmina Łasin. It lies approximately east of Grudzią ...

,
Brodnica (part north of

Drwęca The Drwęca ('; german: Drewenz; lt, Druvinčia) is a river in northern Poland and a tributary of the Vistula river near Toruń (German: ''Thorn''), forming a part of the city's administrative boundary. It has a length of 231 km and a basin ...

with historic center),
Golub , - style="text-align:center;" , style="background:#c2e6ff; text-align:left;", Current countries , colspan="6", Germany , colspan="12", Poland , - style="text-align:center;" , rowspan="2" style="background:#c2e6ff; text-align:left;", Current administrative regions , colspan="5" rowspan="1", Land

Mecklenburg-Vorpommern Mecklenburg-Vorpommern (MV; ; nds, Mäkelborg-Vörpommern), also known by its anglicized name Mecklenburg–Western Pomerania, is a state in the north-east of Germany. Of the country's sixteen states, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern ranks 14th in po ...

(State of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania) , colspan="1" rowspan="1", Land

(State of Brandenburg) , colspan="4" rowspan="2", województwo zachodniopomorskie
(

) , colspan="5" rowspan="2", województwo pomorskie
(

) , colspan="3" rowspan="2", województwo kujawsko-pomorskie
( Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship) , - style="text-align:center;" , colspan="1" rowspan="1", Vorpommern-Rügen District , colspan="1" rowspan="1",

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 Voivodes ...

District , colspan="1" rowspan="1", Mecklenburgische Seenplatte District , colspan="2" rowspan="1",

District , colspan="1" rowspan="1", Uckermark District , - style="text-align:center;" , rowspan="5" style="background:#c2e6ff; text-align:left;", German terminology
(corresponding English term) , colspan="12", PommernThe Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition, 2001–07

(Pomerania) , colspan="6", Pomerellen, Pommerellen
(

)
After

Partitions of Poland The Partitions of Poland were three partitions of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth that took place toward the end of the 18th century and ended the existence of the state, resulting in the elimination of sovereign Poland and Lithuania for 12 ...

, part of the wider Westpreussen
(

West Prussia The Province of West Prussia (german: Provinz Westpreußen; csb, Zôpadné Prësë; pl, Prusy Zachodnie) was a province of Prussia from 1773 to 1829 and 1878 to 1920. West Prussia was established as a province of the Kingdom of Prussia in 177 ...

)
before

, part of the wider Königlich-Preußen or Preußen Königlichen Anteils
( Royal Prussia) , - style="text-align:center;" , colspan="7", Vorpommern
in modern usage the part located in Germany only
(Hither Pomerania, Fore Pomerania)
, colspan="5" rowspan="2", Hinterpommern
(Farther/Further Pomerania, Rear Pomerania) , colspan="2" rowspan="4", Kaschubei
( Kashubia)
areas south-east of Könitz ( Schwarzwasser, Czersk): Tucheler Heide
( Tuchola Forest),
Koschneiderei , colspan="2" rowspan="4", Kociewie , rowspan="4", Tucheler Heide
( Tuchola Forest),
Koschneiderei , rowspan="4", Kulmerland
( Chełmno Land) , - style="text-align:center;" , colspan="2", Neuvorpommern
(New Hither Pomerania) , colspan="5", Altvorpommern
(Old Hither Pomerania) , - style="text-align:center;" , colspan="3" rowspan="2", Westpommern
(Western Pomerania) , style='border-style: solid solid none solid;' colspan="6", Mittelpommern
(Middle Pomerania) , colspan="3" rowspan="2", Ostpommern
(Eastern Pomerania) , - style="text-align:center;" , style='border-style: none dotted solid solid;' colspan="1", , style='border-style: dotted dotted solid dotted;' colspan="4", Mittelpommerscher Keil
(Middle Pomeranian Wedge)
excluding

Świnoujście Świnoujście (; german: Swinemünde ; nds, Swienemünn; all three meaning "Świna ivermouth"; csb, Swina) is a city and seaport on the Baltic Sea and Szczecin Lagoon, located in the extreme north-west of Poland. Situated mainly on the islands o ...

Międzyzdroje Międzyzdroje (;), 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 County and the ...

and

Dziwnów Dziwnów (formerly german: Dievenow) is a town in north-western Poland situated on the Baltic Sea at the mouth of the river Dziwna which divides it into the right-bank part containing the center of the town, belonging to historical Farther Pome ...

, style='border-style: none solid solid dotted;' colspan="1", , - style="text-align:center;" , rowspan="3" style="background:#c2e6ff; text-align:left;", Polish terminology
(corresponding English term) , colspan="11", Pomorze Zachodnie
(Western Pomerania)
Pomorze Nadodrzańskie
(

Pomerania)
, colspan="7",

Pomorze Wschodnie Pomerelia,, la, Pomerellia, Pomerania, pl, Pomerelia (rarely used) also known as Eastern Pomerania,, csb, Pòrénkòwô Pòmòrskô Vistula Pomerania, prior to World War II also known as Polish Pomerania, is a List of historical regions of ...

(Eastern Pomerania)
Pomorze Nadwiślańskie
(

Pomerania)
before

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 ...

simply Pomorze
(Pomerelia, literally Pomerania)
before

, part of the wider Prusy Królewskie
(Royal Prussia) , - style="text-align:center;" , colspan="6", Pomorze Zaodrzańskie
(Trans-Oder Pomerania)
Pomorze Wołogoskie
(Wołogoszcz or german: Wolgast Pomerania) , colspan="3", Pomorze Szczecińskie
(Szczecin Pomerania)
Pomorze Zachodnie w węższym znaczeniu
(Western Pomerania in narrower sense)
, colspan="2", Pomorze Środkowe
(Middle Pomerania)
Pomorze Koszalińsko-Słupskie
(Koszalin and Słupsk Pomerania) , colspan="6", Pomorze Gdańskie
(Gdańsk Pomerania)
, rowspan="2", Ziemia chełmińska
( Chełmno Land)
ethnocultural region
, - style="text-align:center;" , colspan="7", Pomorze Przednie
(Hither Pomerania, Fore Pomerania) in modern usage the part located in Germany only , colspan="4", Pomorze Tylne
(Farther/Further Pomerania, Rear Pomerania) usage limited mainly to translations of German texts , colspan="3",

Kaszuby Kaszuby may refer to: *Kashubia pl, Kaszuby , native_name_lang = csb, de, csb , settlement_type = Historical region , anthem = Zemia Rodnô , image_map = Kashubians ...

(Kashubia)
ethnocultural region
areas south-east of Chojnice (

Czarna Woda Czarna Woda (; formerly german: Schwarzwasser) is a town in Starogard County, Pomeranian Voivodeship, Poland, with 2,735 inhabitants as of December 2021. The town's name translates to "Black Water". Gallery File:Most kolejowy Chojnice - Tcze ...

, Czersk): Bory Tucholskie
( Tuchola Forest)
ethnocultural region,
Kosznajderia
former ethnocultural region , colspan="2", Kociewie
ethnocultural region , Bory Tucholskie
( Tuchola Forest)
ethnocultural region,
Kosznajderia
former ethnocultural region , - style="text-align:center;" , rowspan="2" style="background:#c2e6ff; text-align:left;", Kashubian terminology
(corresponding English term) , colspan="11" rowspan="2", Zôpadnô Pòmòrskô
(Western Pomerania) , colspan="1" rowspan="1", Lãbòrskò-bëtowskô Zemia
(

)
, colspan="6" rowspan="1", Pòrénkòwô Pòmòrskô
(Eastern Pomerania) , - style="text-align:center;" , colspan="3" rowspan="1" , Kaszëbë
(Kashubia
ethnocultural region) , colspan="2" rowspan="1", Kòcéwskô ( Kociewie)
ethnocultural region , colspan="1" rowspan="1", Tëchòlsczé Bòrë ( Tuchola Forest)
ethnocultural region,
Kòsznajderiô (Kosznajderia)
former ethnocultural region , colspan="1" rowspan="1", Chełmińskô Zemia ( Chełmno Land)
ethnocultural region

History

Prehistory to the Middle Ages (circa 400 A.D. – 1400 A.D.)

Settlement in the area called Pomerania for the last 1,000 years started by the end of the

Vistula Glacial Stage The Weichselian glaciation was the last glacial period and its associated glaciation in northern parts of Europe. In the Alpine region it corresponds to the Würm glaciation. It was characterized by a large ice sheet (the Fenno-Scandian ice sheet) ...

, some 13,000 years ago. Archeological traces have been found of various cultures during the Stone and

Bronze Age The Bronze Age is a historic period, lasting approximately from 3300 BC to 1200 BC, characterized by the use of bronze, the presence of writing in some areas, and other early features of urban civilization. The Bronze Age is the second pri ...

Baltic peoples The Balts or Baltic peoples ( lt, baltai, lv, balti) are an ethno-linguistic group of peoples who speak the Baltic languages of the Balto-Slavic branch of the Indo-European languages. One of the features of Baltic languages is the number ...

Germanic peoples The Germanic peoples were historical groups of people that once occupied Central Europe and Scandinavia during antiquity and into the early Middle Ages. Since the 19th century, they have traditionally been defined by the use of ancient and ear ...

and Veneti during the

Iron Age The Iron Age is the final epoch of the three-age division of the prehistory and protohistory of humanity. It was preceded by the Stone Age (Paleolithic, Mesolithic, Neolithic) and the Bronze Age (Chalcolithic). The concept has been mostly appl ...

and, in the Dark Ages, West Slavic tribes and

Vikings Vikings ; non, víkingr is the modern name given to seafaring people originally from Scandinavia (present-day Denmark, Norway and Sweden), who from the late 8th to the late 11th centuries raided, pirated, traded and se ...

.Jan M Piskorski, ''Pommern im Wandel der Zeiten'', 1999, pp.18ff, Horst Wernicke, ''Greifswald, Geschichte der Stadt'', Helms, 2000, pp.16ff, Johannes Hoops, Reallexikon der germanischen Altertumskunde, Walter de Gruyter, p.422, Werner Buchholz, ''Pommern'', Siedler, 1999, pp.22,23, Joachim Herrmann, ''Die Slawen in Deutschland'', Akademie-Verlag Berlin, 1985, pp.pp.237ff,244ff Starting in the 10th century, early Polish rulers subdued the region, successfully integrating the eastern part with Poland, while the western part fell under the suzerainty of Denmark and the

Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire was a Polity, political entity in Western Europe, Western, Central Europe, Central, and Southern Europe that developed during the Early Middle Ages and continued until its Dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire, dissolution i ...

in the late 12th century.Joachim Herrmann, ''Die Slawen in Deutschland'', Akademie-Verlag Berlin, 1985, pp.261,345ffNora Berend, ''Christianization and the Rise of Christian Monarchy: Scandinavia, Central Europe and Rus' C. 900–1200'', Cambridge University Press, 2007, p.293, , David Warner, ''Ottonian Germany: The Chronicon of Thietmar of Merseburg'', Manchester University Press, 2001, p.358, , Michael Borgolte, Benjamin Scheller, ''Polen und Deutschland vor 1000 Jahren: Die Berliner Tagung über den "Akt von Gnesen"'', Akademie Verlag, 2002, p.282, ,

, established during the reign of

Mieszko I of Poland Mieszko I (; – 25 May 992) was the first ruler of Poland and the founder of the first independent Polish state, the Duchy of Poland. His reign stretched from 960 to his death and he was a member of the Piast dynasty, a son of Siemomysł and ...

has since become Poland's main port (apart from periods of Poland losing control over the region). In the 12th century, the Duchy of Pomerania (western part), as a vassal state of Poland, became Christian under saint

Otto of Bamberg Otto of Bamberg (1060 or 1061 – 30 June 1139) was a German missionary and papal legate who converted much of medieval Pomerania to Christianity. He was the bishop of Bamberg from 1102 until his death. He was canonized in 1189. Early life Th ...

(''the Apostle of the Pomeranians''); at the same time

(eastern part) became a part of

diocese of Włocławek 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 ...

within Poland. Since the late 12th-early 13th century, the

Griffin The griffin, griffon, or gryphon (Ancient Greek: , ''gryps''; Classical Latin: ''grȳps'' or ''grȳpus''; Late Latin, Late and Medieval Latin: ''gryphes'', ''grypho'' etc.; Old French: ''griffon'') is a legendary creature with the body, tail ...

Duchy of Pomerania stayed with the Holy Roman Empire and the

Principality of Rugia A principality (or sometimes princedom) can either be a monarchical feudatory or a sovereign state, ruled or reigned over by a regnant-monarch with the title of prince and/or princess, or by a monarch with another title considered to fall under ...

with Denmark, while Pomerelia, under the ruling of Samborides, was a part of Poland.Jan M Piskorski, Pommern im Wandel der Zeiten, 1999, pp.35ff, Gerhard Krause, Horst Robert Balz, Gerhard Müller, ''Theologische Realenzyklopädie'', Walter de Gruyter, 1997, pp.40ff, Jan M. Piskorski, Pommern im Wandel der Zeiten, 1999, p.43, Pomerania, during its alliance in the

, shared borders with West Slavic state Oldenburg, as well as Poland and the expanding

Margraviate of Brandenburg The Margraviate of Brandenburg (german: link=no, Markgrafschaft Brandenburg) was a major principality of the Holy Roman Empire from 1157 to 1806 that played a pivotal role in the history of Germany and Central Europe. Brandenburg developed out o ...

. In the early 14th century the

Teutonic Knights The Order of Brothers of the German House of Saint Mary in Jerusalem, commonly known as the Teutonic Order, is a Catholic religious institution founded as a military society in Acre, Kingdom of Jerusalem. It was formed to aid Christians on ...

invaded and annexed Pomerelia from Poland into their monastic state, which already included historical

Prussia Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an em ...

. As a result of the Teutonic rule, in German terminology the name of Prussia was also extended to conquered Polish lands like Gdańsk Pomerania, although it was not inhabited by

Baltic Baltic may refer to: Peoples and languages * Baltic languages, a subfamily of Indo-European languages, including Lithuanian, Latvian and extinct Old Prussian *Balts (or Baltic peoples), ethnic groups speaking the Baltic languages and/or originati ...

Prussians but Lechitic Poles. Meanwhile, the

Ostsiedlung (, literally "East-settling") is the term for the Early Medieval and High Medieval migration-period when ethnic Germans moved into the territories in the eastern part of Francia, East Francia, and the Holy Roman Empire (that Germans had al ...

started to turn Slavic narrow Pomerania into an increasingly German-settled area; the remaining Wends and Polish people, often known as Kashubians, continued to settle within Pomerelia.Jan M Piskorski, Pommern im Wandel der Zeiten, 1999, pp.77ff, In 1325 the line of the princes of Rügen died out, and the principality was inherited by the Griffins.

Renaissance (circa 1400–1700) to Early Modern Age

In 1466, with the

Teutonic Order The Order of Brothers of the German House of Saint Mary in Jerusalem, commonly known as the Teutonic Order, is a Catholic religious institution founded as a military society in Acre, Kingdom of Jerusalem. It was formed to aid Christians on ...

's defeat in the Thirteen Years' War, Pomerelia became again subject to the Polish Crown and formed the

within the province of Royal Prussia. While the German population in the Duchy of Pomerania adopted the

Protestant reformation The Reformation (alternatively named the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation) was a major movement within Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the Catholic Church and in ...

in 1534,Werner Buchholz, Pommern, Siedler, 1999, pp.205–212, Gerhard Krause, Horst Robert Balz, Gerhard Müller, ''Theologische Realenzyklopädie'', Walter de Gruyter, 1997, pp.43ff, the Polish (along with Kashubian) population remained with the

Roman Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

. 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 ...

severely ravaged and depopulated narrow Pomerania; few years later this same happened to Pomerelia (''the Deluge''). With the extinction of the

Griffin house Griffin House may refer to: People *Griffin House (musician), American musician Places ;in Canada *Griffin House (Ancaster), a 19th-century house and museum, site along the Underground Railroad ;in the United States ''(by state then town or city) ...

during the same period, the Duchy of Pomerania was divided between the Swedish Empire and

Brandenburg-Prussia Brandenburg-Prussia (german: Brandenburg-Preußen; ) is the historiographic denomination for the early modern realm of the Brandenburgian Hohenzollerns between 1618 and 1701. Based in the Electorate of Brandenburg, the main branch of the Hohenz ...

in 1648, while Pomerelia remained in with the Polish Crown.

Modern Age

German Empire - Prussia - Pomerania (1871)

gained the southern parts of Swedish Pomerania in 1720,Werner Buchholz, Pommern, Siedler, 1999, invaded and annexed Pomerelia from Poland in 1772 and 1793, and gained the remainder of Swedish Pomerania in 1815, after the

Napoleonic Wars The Napoleonic Wars (1803–1815) were a series of major global conflicts pitting the French Empire and its allies, led by Napoleon I, against a fluctuating array of European states formed into various coalitions. It produced a period of Fren ...

. The former Brandenburg-Prussian Pomerania and the former Swedish parts were reorganized into the Prussian Province of Pomerania, while

was made part of the Province of West Prussia. With Prussia, both provinces joined the newly constituted

German Empire The German Empire (),Herbert Tuttle wrote in September 1881 that the term "Reich" does not literally connote an empire as has been commonly assumed by English-speaking people. The term literally denotes an empire – particularly a hereditary ...

in 1871. Under German rule, the Polish minority suffered discrimination and oppressive measures aimed at eradicating its culture. Following the German Empire's defeat in World War I, however, Pomorze Gdańskie/

was returned to the rebuilt Polish state as part of the so-called Polish Corridor), while German-majority Gdansk/Danzig was transformed into the independent

Free City of Danzig The Free City of Danzig (german: Freie Stadt Danzig; pl, Wolne Miasto Gdańsk; csb, Wòlny Gard Gduńsk) was a city-state under the protection of the League of Nations between 1920 and 1939, consisting of the Baltic Sea port of Danzig (now Gda ...

. In 1938 Germany's Province of Pomerania was expanded to include northern parts of the former Province of

Posen–West Prussia The Frontier March of Posen-West Prussia (german: Grenzmark Posen-Westpreußen, pl, Marchia Graniczna Poznańsko-Zachodniopruska) was a province of Prussia from 1922 to 1938. Posen-West Prussia was established in 1922 as a province of the Free ...

, and in late 1939 the annexed Pomorze Gdańskie/Polish Corridor became part of the wartime

Reichsgau Danzig-West Prussia Reichsgau Danzig-West Prussia (german: Reichsgau Danzig-Westpreußen) was an administrative division of Nazi Germany created on 8 October 1939 from annexed territory of the Free City of Danzig, the Greater Pomeranian Voivodship (Polish Corridor), ...

. The

Nazis Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Na ...

deported the Pomeranian Jews to a reservation near Lublin in Pomerelia. The Polish population suffered heavily during the Nazi oppression; more than 40,000 died in executions, death camps, prisons and forced labour, primarily those who were teachers, businessmen, priests, politicians, former army officers, and civil servants. Thousands of Poles and Kashubians suffered deportation, their homes taken over by the German military and civil servants, as well as some Baltic Germans resettled there between 1940 and 1943. After

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...

's defeat in World War II, the German–Polish border was shifted west to the Oder–Neisse line, and all of Pomerania was in the

Soviet Occupation Zone The Soviet Occupation Zone ( or german: Ostzone, label=none, "East Zone"; , ''Sovetskaya okkupatsionnaya zona Germanii'', "Soviet Occupation Zone of Germany") was an area of Germany in Central Europe that was occupied by the Soviet Union as a c ...

.Jan M Piskorski, Pommern im Wandel der Zeiten, The German inhabitants of the former eastern territories of Germany and Poles of German ethnicity from Pomerelia were expelled. Between 1945 and 1948, millions of ethnic Germans (Volksdeutsche) and German citizens (Reichsdeutsche), were removed from former German territory now governed by Poland and other Eastern European countries. Many German civilians were sent to internment and labor camps where they were used as forced labor as part of German reparations to countries in Eastern Europe. The death toll attributable to the flight and expulsions is disputed, with low-range estimates in the hundreds of thousands (see:

Flight and Expulsion of Germans 1944-1950 Flight or flying is the process by which an object moves through a space without contacting any planetary surface, either within an atmosphere (i.e. air flight or aviation) or through the vacuum of outer space (i.e. spaceflight). This can be ...

). The area was resettled primarily with Poles of Polish ethnicity, (some themselves expellees from former eastern Poland) and some Poles of Ukrainian ethnicity (resettled under Operation Vistula) and few

Polish Jews The history of the Jews in Poland dates back at least 1,000 years. For centuries, Poland was home to the largest and most significant Ashkenazi Jewish community in the world. Poland was a principal center of Jewish culture, because of the lo ...

. Most of Hither or

(''Vorpommern'') remained in Germany, and most of the expelled Pomeranians found refuge there, later many moved on to other German regions and abroad. Today German Hither Pomerania forms the eastern part of the state of

, while the Polish part is divided mainly between the West Pomeranian, Pomeranian voivodeships, with their capitals in Szczecin and

. During the 1980s, the

Solidarity ''Solidarity'' is an awareness of shared interests, objectives, standards, and sympathies creating a psychological sense of unity of groups or classes. It is based on class collaboration.''Merriam Webster'', http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictio ...

and '' Die Wende'' ("the change") movements overthrew the

Communist regimes A communist state, also known as a Marxist–Leninist state, is a one-party state that is administered and governed by a communist party guided by Marxism–Leninism. Marxism–Leninism was the state ideology of the Soviet Union, the Comint ...

implemented during the post-war era; since then, Pomerania is democratically governed. Pomeranian dialect and traditions still live in the country of Brazil in a colony where the language is still spoken. The arrival of Pomerania immigrants with Germans and Italians helped form the state of Espírito Santo since the early 1930s. Their importance and respect are one of the cultural signatures of the area. The Brazilian city of

Pomerode Pomerode () is a Brazilian municipality in the state of Santa Catarina, in Southern Brazil. It is located in the valley of the Itajaí-Açu river, not very far from the city of Blumenau, one of the largest cities in the state. Pomerode is known ...

(in the state of Santa Catarina) was founded by Pomeranian Germans in 1861 and is considered the most typically German of all the German towns of southern Brazil.

Demographics

The German part of

is inhabited by German Pomeranians. In other parts, Poles are the dominant ethnic group since the

territorial changes of Poland after World War II At the end of World War II, Poland underwent major changes to the location of its international border. In 1945, after the defeat of Nazi Germany, the Oder–Neisse line became its western border, resulting in gaining the Recovered Territories f ...

, and the resulting Polonization. Kashubians, descendants of the medieval West Slavic Pomeranians, are numerous in rural

. German

Hither Pomerania Historical Western Pomerania, also called Cispomerania, Fore Pomerania, Front Pomerania or Hither Pomerania (german: Vorpommern), is the western extremity of the historic region of Pomerania forming the southern coast of the Baltic Sea, Weste ...

had a population of about 470,000 in 2012 (districts of Vorpommern-Rügen and

combined) – while the Polish districts of Hither Pomerania had a population of about 580,000 in 2012 (

and

cities with powiat rights A city with powiat rights ( pl, miasto na prawach powiatu) is in Poland a designation denoting 66 of the 107 cities (the urban gminas which are governed by a city mayor or ''prezydent miasta'') which exercise also the powers and duties of a county ...

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

, as well as Goleniów

and

gminas combined). So overall, about 1.15 million people live in the historical region of Hither Pomerania today, while the

Szczecin metropolitan area Szczecin agglomeration or Stettin agglomeration 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 ...

reaches even further. Pomerelia is dominated by the Tricity

metropolitan area A metropolitan area or metro is a region that consists of a densely populated urban agglomeration and its surrounding territories sharing industries, commercial areas, transport network, infrastructures and housing. A metro area usually com ...

(Pomeranian Voivodeship) with its population in 2012 estimated at least at 1,035,000 and the area at 1,332,51 km², encompassing the Tricity itself with a population of 748,986 combining the eponymous three cities of

(population 460,427), Gdynia (population 248,726) and Sopot (population 38,217), as well as the

with a population of 120,158 people (2012), formed by the City of Wejherowo (population 50,310 in 2012) and the towns (urban gminas) of Rumia (population 49,230 in 2020) and Reda (population 26,011 in 2019). The area also includes two smaller towns of

and Pruszcz Gdański belonging to the eponymous urban-rural gminas, and a number of rural gminas.

Cities in Pomerania

Altogether, there are 16 cities in the broad-sense Pomerania, understood as comprising also

. Their list is presented below and includes the 14 municipalities in Poland electing a city mayor ( pl, prezydent miasta) instead of a town mayor ( pl, burmistrz), with 9 of them holding the status of a city with powiat rights ( pl, miasto na prawach powiatu, an independent city), as well as the 2 municipalities in Germany holding the status of a district-belonging city (german: link=no, Große kreisangehörige Stadt), as no city of the German part of Pomerania holds currently any higher status, such as a partially of fully independent city (german: link=no, Große selbständige Stadt, ''Kreisfreie Stadt'', or ''Stadtkreis''), or a

city-state A city-state is an independent sovereign city which serves as the center of political, economic, and cultural life over its contiguous territory. They have existed in many parts of the world since the dawn of history, including cities such as ...

(german: link=no, Stadtstaat).

Cities in the historical region of Hither Pomerania

( city with powiat rights,

): 408,913; up to 763,321 in the metropolitan area *

Stralsund Stralsund (; Swedish: ''Strålsund''), officially the Hanseatic City of Stralsund (German: ''Hansestadt Stralsund''), is the fifth-largest city in the northeastern German federal state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania after Rostock, Schwerin, Neub ...

(

Vorpommern-Rügen district Vorpommern-Rügen is a 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 and Rostock. The district seat is t ...

): 59,418 * Greifswald (

Low German : : : : : (70,000) (30,000) (8,000) , familycolor = Indo-European , fam2 = Germanic , fam3 = West Germanic , fam4 = North Sea Germanic , ancestor = Old Saxon , ancestor2 = Middle L ...

: ''Griepswohld'';

Vorpommern-Greifswald district 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 Voivod ...

): 59,232 *

( city with powiat rights, West Pomeranian Voivodeship); 40,864 * In addition, the Brandenburgian city of Schwedt expanded in the contemporary times, so that its neighbourhoods north of

Welse Welse is a river of Brandenburg, Germany. It flows into the Hohensaaten-Friedrichsthaler Wasserstraße, a shipping canal parallel to the Oder, north of Schwedt. See also *List of rivers of Brandenburg A list of rivers of Brandenburg, Germany: ...

are located in historical Hither Pomeraniq File:Szczecin Zamek Ksiazat Pomorskich (od pln-zach).jpg,

File:Stralsund, Blick von der Marienkirche (2013-07-07-), by Klugschnacker in Wikipedia (7).JPG,

Cities in the historical region of Farther Pomerania

* Koszalin ( city with powiat rights, West Pomeranian Voivodeship): 109,343 * Słupsk ( city with powiat rights,

): 94,849 *

Stargard Stargard (; 1945: ''Starogród'', 1950–2016: ''Stargard Szczeciński''; formerly German language, German: ''Stargard in Pommern'', or ''Stargard an der Ihna''; csb, Stôrgard) is a city in northwestern Poland, located in the West Pomeranian V ...

(

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

, West Pomeranian Voivodeship): 69,724 *

Kołobrzeg Kołobrzeg ( ; csb, Kòlbrzég; german: Kolberg, ), ; csb, Kòlbrzég , is a port 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 o ...

(

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

, West Pomeranian Voivodeship); 46,259

Cities in the historical region of Pomerelia

* Tricity (Pomeranian Voivodeship): 748,986; the Tricity

(Pomeranian Voivodeship): population in 2012; at least 1,035,000 area 1,332,51 km² **

( city with powiat rights, Pomeranian Voivodeship): 460,427 ** Gdynia ( city with powiat rights, Pomeranian Voivodeship): 248,726 ** Sopot ( city with powiat rights, Pomeranian Voivodeship): 38,217 *

( city with powiat rights, Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship): 205,934 *

( city with powiat rights, Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship): 96,042 * Tczew (

Tczew County __NOTOC__ Tczew County ( pl, powiat tczewski, csb, Dërszewo kréj) is a unit of territorial administration and local government (powiat) in Pomeranian Voivodeship, northern Poland. It came into being on January 1, 1999, as a result of the Polish ...

, Pomeranian Voivodeship): 60,279 * Wejherowo (

Wejherowo County __NOTOC__ Wejherowo County ( csb, Wejrowsczi kréz, pl, powiat wejherowski) is a unit of territorial administration and local government (powiat) in Pomeranian Voivodeship, northern Poland, on the Baltic coast. It came into being on January 1, 199 ...

, Pomeranian Voivodeship): 50,375 * Starogard Gdański (

Starogard County __NOTOC__ Starogard County ( pl, powiat starogardzki, csb, Starogarda kréj) is a unit of territorial administration and local government (powiat) in Pomeranian Voivodeship, northern Poland. The name is a combination of two terms: stari which is ...

, Pomeranian Voivodeship): 44,470 File:Długie Pobrzeże in Gdańsk (Motława).jpg,

Culture

Languages and dialects

In the German part of Pomerania,

Standard German Standard High German (SHG), less precisely Standard German or High German (not to be confused with High German dialects, more precisely Upper German dialects) (german: Standardhochdeutsch, , or, in Switzerland, ), is the standardized variety ...

and the East Low German Mecklenburgisch-Vorpommersch and Central Pomeranian dialects are spoken, though Standard German dominates.

Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Poles, people from Poland or of Polish descent * Polish chicken *Polish brothers (Mark Polish and Michael Polish, born 1970), American twin screenwr ...

is the dominating language in the Polish part; Kashubian dialects are also spoken by the Kashubians in

East Pomeranian East Pomeranian (''Ostpommersch'') is an East Low German dialect that is either moribund or used to be spoken in what was roughly Pomerania (now northwestern Poland; previously part of Germany until the end of World War II) and today is also sp ...

, the East Low German dialect of

and western Pomerelia, Low Prussian, the East Low German dialect of eastern Pomerelia, and

were dominating in Pomerania east of the Oder-Neisse line before most of its speakers were expelled after World War II.

Slovincian Slovincian may refer to: * Slovincian language * Slovincians Slovincians, also known as Łeba Kashubians, is a near-extinct ethnic subgroup of the Kashubian people, who originated from the north western Kashubia, located in the Pomeranian Voivodes ...

was spoken at the

n–Pomerelian frontier, but is now extinct. Kashubian and East Low German are also spoken by the descendants of émigrées, most notably in the Americas (e.g. Argentina, Brazil, Chile and Canada).

Cuisine

: ''For typical food and beverages of the region, see

Pomeranian cuisine Pomeranian cuisine generally refers to dishes typical of the area that once formed the historic Province of Pomerania in northeast Germany and which included Stettin (now Szczecin) and Further Pomerania. It is characterised by ingredients produce ...

.''

Museums

Wik 22 Szczecin Pałac Sejmu Stanów Pomorskich

At least 50 museums in Poland cover the history of Pomerania, the most important of them being the

District Museum in Toruń Toruń Regional Museum ( pl, Muzeum Okręgowe w Toruniu), located in the ''Ratusz'' hall of Toruń, is one of the oldest and largest museums in Poland. It started in 1594 as the mere Cabinet of Curiosities at the library of the academic Gimnazjum ...

, the Museum in Grudziądz, the National Museum in

, the

National Maritime Museum, Gdańsk The National Maritime Museum in Gdańsk ( pl, Narodowe Muzeum Morskie) is a maritime museum in Gdańsk, Poland, established on 1 January 1962. It is dedicated to gathering, researching and preserving artifacts and documents concerning ship transp ...

, the

Museum of the Second World War The Museum of the Second World War () is a state cultural institution and museum established in 2008 in Gdańsk, Poland which is devoted to the Second World War. Its exhibits opened in 2017. The ''Kwadrat'' architectural team won an architect ...

in Gdańsk, the Museum of Sopot, the

Emigration Museum The Emigration Museum (in Polish: Muzeum Emigracji) is a museum located in the city of Gdynia, Poland. Opened to the public on 16 May 2015, it showcases 200 years of Polish emigrations, from the 19th century to modern days. It is located in the fo ...

in Gdynia, the Museum of Polish Navy in Gdynia, the Museum of Kociewie in Starogard Gdański, the Museum of Kashubian and Pomeranian Literature and Music in Wejherowo, the Kashubian Museum in Kartuzy, the Central Pomerania Museum in Słupsk, the Darłowo Museum, the Koszalin Museum, the Museum of Polish Arms in Kołobrzeg, the Museum of Archeology and History in Stargard, the

National Museum A national museum is a museum maintained and funded by a national government. In many countries it denotes a museum run by the central government, while other museums are run by regional or local governments. In other countries a much greater numb ...

, and the Museum of Maritime Fisheries in Świnoujście, The

Pomeranian State Museum The Pomeranian State Museum (german: Pommersches Landesmuseum) in Greifswald, Western Pomerania, is a public museum primarily dedicated to Pomeranian history and arts. The largest exhibitions show archeological findings and artefacts from the ...

in Greifswald, as well as the

Stralsund Museum The Stralsund Museum (until 2015: ''Stralsund Museum of Cultural History'', ''Kulturhistorisches Museum'') is museum in the Hanseatic city Stralsund, Germany. It is headquartered in a former convent of the Dominicans, the St. Catherine's Monaste ...

, both have a variety of archeological findings and artefacts dedicated to the history of Pomerania from the different periods covered in this article.

Education

Universities

There are four traditional (non-profiled and multi-faculty,

public In public relations and communication science, publics are groups of individual people, and the public (a.k.a. the general public) is the totality of such groupings. This is a different concept to the sociological concept of the ''Öffentlichkei ...

research Research is "creativity, creative and systematic work undertaken to increase the stock of knowledge". It involves the collection, organization and analysis of evidence to increase understanding of a topic, characterized by a particular att ...

) universities in the region, namely the University of Greifswald, the University of Szczecin, the University of Gdańsk and the Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń, the oldest of which, the University of Greifswald, was founded when Greifswald belonged to Duchy of Pomerania, thus being one of the oldest universities in the world.

Economy

Agriculture primarily consists of raising livestock, forestry, fishery, and the cultivation of

cereals A cereal is any grass cultivated for the edible components of its grain (botanically, a type of fruit called a caryopsis), composed of the endosperm, germ, and bran. Cereal grain crops are grown in greater quantities and provide more food en ...

sugar beets Sugar is the generic name for sweet-tasting, soluble carbohydrates, many of which are used in food. Simple sugars, also called monosaccharides, include glucose, fructose, and galactose. Compound sugars, also called disaccharides or double s ...

, and potatoes. Industrial food processing is increasingly relevant in the region. Key producing industries are

shipyard A shipyard, also called a dockyard or boatyard, is a place where ships are built and repaired. These can be yachts, military vessels, cruise liners or other cargo or passenger ships. Dockyards are sometimes more associated with maintenance a ...

s, mechanical engineering facilities (i.a.

renewable energy Renewable energy is energy that is collected from renewable resources that are naturally replenished on a human timescale. It includes sources such as sunlight, wind, the movement of water, and geothermal heat. Although most renewable energy ...

components), and

sugar refineries A sugar refinery is a refinery which processes raw sugar from cane or beets into white refined sugar. Many cane sugar mills produce raw sugar, which is sugar that still contains molasses, giving it more colour (and impurities) than the white ...

, along with paper and wood fabricators. Service industries today are an important economical factor in Pomerania, most notably with logistics, information technology,

life science Life is a quality that distinguishes matter that has biological processes, such as signaling and self-sustaining processes, from that which does not, and is defined by the capacity for growth, reaction to stimuli, metabolism, energy t ...

biotechnology Biotechnology is the integration of natural sciences and engineering sciences in order to achieve the application of organisms, cells, parts thereof and molecular analogues for products and services. The term ''biotechnology'' was first used b ...

, health care, and other

high-tech High technology (high tech), also known as advanced technology (advanced tech) or exotechnology, is technology that is at the cutting edge: the highest form of technology available. It can be defined as either the most complex or the newest te ...

branches often

cluster may refer to: Science and technology Astronomy * Cluster (spacecraft), constellation of four European Space Agency spacecraft * Asteroid cluster, a small asteroid family * Cluster II (spacecraft), a European Space Agency mission to study t ...

ing around research facilities of the Pomeranian universities. Since the late 19th century, tourism has been an important sector of the economy, primarily in the numerous

seaside resort A seaside resort is a resort town, town, village, or hotel that serves as a Resort, vacation resort and is located on a coast. Sometimes the concept includes an aspect of official accreditation based on the satisfaction of certain requirements, suc ...

s along the coast.

Gallery

File:Stralsunder Rathaus mit Schaufassade, dahinter die Nikolaikirche-2630.jpg,

, one of several Hanseatic cities built in typical

Brick Gothic Brick Gothic (german: Backsteingotik, pl, Gotyk ceglany, nl, Baksteengotiek) is a specific style of Gothic architecture common in Northeast and Central Europe especially in the regions in and around the Baltic Sea, which do not have resourc ...

style. File:Wik 21 klasztor Police - Jasienica.jpg, Ruins of

Augustinians Augustinians are members of Christian religious orders that follow the Rule of Saint Augustine, written in about 400 AD by Augustine of Hippo. There are two distinct types of Augustinians in Catholic religious orders dating back to the 12th–13 ...

' cloister in

Jasienica, Police Jasienica (german: Jasenitz) is a district of Police, Poland, a town in the Pomerania Region. In the High and Late Middle Ages, the village was the site of Jasenitz Abbey, now in ruins. Gunica River and a kayak-way In Jasienica there is a conf ...

. File:2010.10.02 PELPLIN (16).jpg,

Cathedral Basilica of the Assumption The Roman Catholic St. Mary's Cathedral Basilica of the Assumption in Covington, Kentucky, is a minor basilica in the United States. Construction of the cathedral began under the Diocese of Covington's third bishop, Camillus Paul Maes, in 189 ...

in Pelplin, one of the largest churches in Poland File:Poland Gniew - castle.jpg,

' castle in Gniew,

Footnotes

External links

Internet directories

* * * *

Culture and history

Pomeranian dukes castle in Szczecin (Polish, German, English)

*
Collection of historical eBooks about Pomerania (German)
*

Maps of Pomerania

* Map of Pomerania as in 1905, in German Wikipedia
Woiewództwa Pomorskie i Małborskie oraz Pomerania Elektorska, G.B.A.Rizzi-Zannoni 1772

* ttp://www.hoeckmann.de/germany/pomerania.htm Pomerania in 1789 {{Authority control Divided regions Historical regions Historical regions in Germany Historical regions in Poland Holocaust locations in Poland