Wolin
Encyclopedia
Island
An island or isle is any piece of sub-continental land that is surrounded by water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets, cays or keys. An island in a river or lake may be called an eyot , or holm...
in the Baltic Sea
Baltic Sea
The Baltic Sea is a brackish mediterranean sea located in Northern Europe, from 53°N to 66°N latitude and from 20°E to 26°E longitude. It is bounded by the Scandinavian Peninsula, the mainland of Europe, and the Danish islands. It drains into the Kattegat by way of the Øresund, the Great Belt and...
, just off the Polish
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
coast, and a town on that island. It is separated from the island of Usedom
Usedom
Usedom is a Baltic Sea island on the border between Germany and Poland. It is situated north of the Szczecin Lagoon estuary of the River Oder in Pomerania...
by the Świna
Swina
The Świna is a river in Poland flowing from the Oder Lagoon to the Baltic Sea, between the islands of Usedom and Wolin. It is a part of the Oder River estuary, and carries about 75% of that river's waterflow . It has a length of about 16 km...
river, and from mainland Pomerania
Pomerania
Pomerania is a historical region on the south shore of the Baltic Sea. Divided between Germany and Poland, it stretches roughly from the Recknitz River near Stralsund in the West, via the Oder River delta near Szczecin, to the mouth of the Vistula River near Gdańsk in the East...
by the Dziwna
Dziwna
The Dziwna is an eastern strait, river or a branch of the Oder River out of three straits connecting the Oder Lagoon with the Bay of Pomerania of the Baltic Sea, between the island of Wolin and the Polish mainland.Major towns on the Dziwna include:* Wolin...
river. The origins of the name are unknown, probably it is of Slavic
Slavic languages
The Slavic languages , a group of closely related languages of the Slavic peoples and a subgroup of Indo-European languages, have speakers in most of Eastern Europe, in much of the Balkans, in parts of Central Europe, and in the northern part of Asia.-Branches:Scholars traditionally divide Slavic...
origin, in the old Slavic language the word "wolyn" meant a wetland, and in the course of the time, it was Germanised.
Water from the river Oder
Oder
The Oder is a river in Central Europe. It rises in the Czech Republic and flows through western Poland, later forming of the border between Poland and Germany, part of the Oder-Neisse line...
flows into the Szczecin Lagoon and from there through the Peene
Peene
The Peene is a river in Germany. The Westpeene, Kleine Peene and Ostpeene flow into the Kummerower See, and from there as Peene proper to Anklam and into the Oder Lagoon....
west of Usedom, Świna
Swina
The Świna is a river in Poland flowing from the Oder Lagoon to the Baltic Sea, between the islands of Usedom and Wolin. It is a part of the Oder River estuary, and carries about 75% of that river's waterflow . It has a length of about 16 km...
and Dziwna
Dziwna
The Dziwna is an eastern strait, river or a branch of the Oder River out of three straits connecting the Oder Lagoon with the Bay of Pomerania of the Baltic Sea, between the island of Wolin and the Polish mainland.Major towns on the Dziwna include:* Wolin...
into the Bay of Pomerania
Bay of Pomerania
The Bay of Pomerania or Pomeranian Bay is a basin in the southwestern Baltic Sea, off the shores of Poland and Germany....
in the Baltic Sea
Baltic Sea
The Baltic Sea is a brackish mediterranean sea located in Northern Europe, from 53°N to 66°N latitude and from 20°E to 26°E longitude. It is bounded by the Scandinavian Peninsula, the mainland of Europe, and the Danish islands. It drains into the Kattegat by way of the Øresund, the Great Belt and...
.
- Area: 265 km²
- Highest point: Mount Grzywacz, 116 m above sea level
Most of the island consists of forest
Forest
A forest, also referred to as a wood or the woods, is an area with a high density of trees. As with cities, depending where you are in the world, what is considered a forest may vary significantly in size and have various classification according to how and what of the forest is composed...
s and postglacial hills. In the middle is the Wolin National Park
Wolin National Park
Wolin National Park is one of 23 National Parks in Poland, situated on the island of Wolin in the far north-west of the country, in West Pomeranian Voivodeship. It was established on 3 March 1960 and covers an area of . The Park has its headquarters in the town of Międzyzdroje.The Park contains a...
. The island is a main tourist attraction of northwestern Poland, and it is crossed by several specially marked tourist trails, such as 73-kilometer long trail from Międzyzdroje to Dziwnówek. There is a main, electrified rail line, which connects Szczecin
Szczecin
Szczecin , is the capital city of the West Pomeranian Voivodeship in Poland. It is the country's seventh-largest city and the largest seaport in Poland on the Baltic Sea. As of June 2009 the population was 406,427....
and Świnoujście, also across the island goes an international road E65
European route E65
European route E 65 is a north-south Class-A European route that begins in Malmö, Sweden and ends in Chaniá, Greece. The road is about in length.-Itinerary:* Sweden** E 65: Malmö – Ystad* Baltic sea, ferry Ystad-Świnoujście* Poland...
(national road 3 / S3 expressway
Expressway S3 (Poland)
Expressway S3 or express road S3 is major road in Poland which is planned to run from Świnoujście on the Baltic Sea through Szczecin, Gorzów Wielkopolski, Zielona Góra and Legnica, to the border with the Czech Republic, where it will connect to the D11 motorway...
), which crosses Europe from north to south.
Places on Wolin
- Chorzelin
- Dargobądz
- Darzowice
- Domyslow
- Dziwnów
- Jarzębowo
- Kodrąb
- Kołczewo
- Ładzin
- Lubin
- Łunowo
- Łuskowo
- Międzywodzie
- MiędzyzdrojeMiedzyzdrojeMiędzyzdroje is a town and a seaside resort in northwestern Poland on the island of Wolin on the Baltic coast. Previously in the Szczecin Voivodeship , Międzyzdroje has been in Kamień Pomorski County in the West Pomeranian Voivodeship since 1999. Międzyzdroje has a population of 6000 .It is...
- Mokrzyca Mała
- Mokrzyca Wielka
- Ognica
- Przytór
- Rabiąż
- Świętoujść
- ŚwinoujścieSwinoujscieŚwinoujście is a city and seaport on the Baltic Sea and Szczecin Lagoon, located in the extreme north-west of Poland. It is situated mainly on the islands of Uznam and Wolin, but also occupies smaller islands, of which the largest is Karsibór island, once part of Usedom, now separated by a Piast...
- Warnowo
- Wapnica
- Wicko
- Wisełka
- Wolin
Distances
- Szczecin-Goleniów "Solidarność" Airport ~ 60 km
- SzczecinSzczecinSzczecin , is the capital city of the West Pomeranian Voivodeship in Poland. It is the country's seventh-largest city and the largest seaport in Poland on the Baltic Sea. As of June 2009 the population was 406,427....
~ 90 km - PolicePolice, PolandPolice is a town in the West Pomeranian Voivodeship, northwestern Poland. It is the capital of Police County. As of 2006, the town had 34,284 inhabitants. The name comes from Polish pole, which means "field"....
~ 110 km - BerlinBerlinBerlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
~ 220 km - RostockRostockRostock -Early history:In the 11th century Polabian Slavs founded a settlement at the Warnow river called Roztoc ; the name Rostock is derived from that designation. The Danish king Valdemar I set the town aflame in 1161.Afterwards the place was settled by German traders...
~ 240 km - CopenhagenCopenhagenCopenhagen is the capital and largest city of Denmark, with an urban population of 1,199,224 and a metropolitan population of 1,930,260 . With the completion of the transnational Øresund Bridge in 2000, Copenhagen has become the centre of the increasingly integrating Øresund Region...
~ 250 km - MalmöMalmöMalmö , in the southernmost province of Scania, is the third most populous city in Sweden, after Stockholm and Gothenburg.Malmö is the seat of Malmö Municipality and the capital of Skåne County...
~ 250 km - WarsawWarsawWarsaw is the capital and largest city of Poland. It is located on the Vistula River, roughly from the Baltic Sea and from the Carpathian Mountains. Its population in 2010 was estimated at 1,716,855 residents with a greater metropolitan area of 2,631,902 residents, making Warsaw the 10th most...
~ 650 km
History
A mediæval document of ca. 850, called Bavarian GeographerBavarian Geographer
The Bavarian Geographer is a conventional name given by Jan Potocki in 1796 to the author of an anonymous medieval document Descriptio civitatum et regionum ad septentrionalem plagam Danubii ....
after its anonymous creator, mentions the Slavic tribe of Wolinians who then had 70 strongholds (Uelunzani civitates LXX). The town of Wolin was first mentioned in the 10th century. Archaeologists believe that in the Early Middle Ages
Early Middle Ages
The Early Middle Ages was the period of European history lasting from the 5th century to approximately 1000. The Early Middle Ages followed the decline of the Western Roman Empire and preceded the High Middle Ages...
there was a great trade emporium, spreading along the shore for four kilometers and rivaling in importance Birka
Birka
During the Viking Age, Birka , on the island of Björkö in Sweden, was an important trading center which handled goods from Scandinavia as well as Central and Eastern Europe and the Orient. Björkö is located in Lake Mälaren, 30 kilometers west of contemporary Stockholm, in the municipality of Ekerö...
and Hedeby
Hedeby
Hedeby |heath]]land, and býr = yard, thus "heath yard"), mentioned by Alfred the Great as aet Haethe , in German Haddeby and Haithabu, a modern spelling of the runic Heiðabý was an important trading settlement in the Danish-northern German borderland during the Viking Age...
.
Archaeological finds on the island are not very rich but they dot an area of 20 hectares, making it the second largest Baltic marketplace of the Viking Age
Viking Age
Viking Age is the term for the period in European history, especially Northern European and Scandinavian history, spanning the late 8th to 11th centuries. Scandinavian Vikings explored Europe by its oceans and rivers through trade and warfare. The Vikings also reached Iceland, Greenland,...
after Hedeby. Some scholars speculated that Wolin may have been the basis for the semi-legendary settlements Jomsborg
Jomsborg
Jomsborg was a semi-legendary Viking stronghold at the southern coast of the Baltic Sea , that existed between the 960s and 1043. Its inhabitants are known as Jomsvikings. Jomsborg's exact location has not yet been established, though it is maintained that Jomsborg was somewhere on the islands of...
and Vineta
Vineta
Vineta or Wineta was a possibly legendary ancient town believed to have been on the coast of the Baltic Sea. It was commonly said to be on the present site of Wolin in Poland or of Zinnowitz on Usedom island in Germany. Today it is said to have been near Barth in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern...
. This is dubious, as "no trace has been found there of its artificial harbour for 360 warships, or of a citadel, unless the nearby hill of Silberberg is accepted as the site of such; but there were Norsemen there around the year 1000, and the archaeological finds reveal a mixed population of Scandinavians and Slavs".
Around 972 the island became controlled by Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
, under prince Mieszko I, however, it has not been established if Wolin became part of Poland, or if it was a fief. Polish influences were not firm and they ended around 1007. In the following years Wolin became famous for its pirates, who would plunder ships cruising the Baltic. As a reprisal, in 1043 it was attacked by the Danish
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
king Magnus the Good
Magnus I of Norway
Magnus I , known as the Good or the Noble, was the King of Norway from 1035 to 1047 and the King of Denmark from 1042 to 1047. He was an illegitimate son of king Olaf II of Norway, but fled with his mother in 1028 when his father was dethroned. In 1035 he returned to Norway and was crowned king at...
.
In early 12th century the island as part of the Pomeranian duchy was captured by the Polish king Boleslaw III Wrymouth
Boleslaw III Wrymouth
Bolesław III Wrymouth was Prince of Poland from 1102 until 1138...
. Shortly after the inhabitants of Wolin accepted Christianity, and in 1140 pope Innocent II created a diocese there, with capital in the town of Wolin. In 1181 the dukes of Pomerania decided to accept the Holy Roman emperor as their liege lord instead of the Polish king. In 1535 Wolin accepted Protestantism Lutheranism
Lutheranism
Lutheranism is a major branch of Western Christianity that identifies with the theology of Martin Luther, a German reformer. Luther's efforts to reform the theology and practice of the church launched the Protestant Reformation...
. In 1630 the island was captured by Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
. Later Pomerania became part of the Prussian (at that time Brandenburgian) kingdom. Wolin followed in 1679. Since the German political unification in 1871 it was part of Germany. After the transfer of Western Pomerania to Poland in 1945 the (German) population was expelled and replaced with Poles who had been expelled from territories in eastern Poland
Kresy
The Polish term Kresy refers to a land considered by Poles as historical eastern provinces of their country. Today, it makes western Ukraine, western Belarus, as well as eastern Lithuania, with such major cities, as Lviv, Vilnius, and Hrodna. This territory belonged to the Polish-Lithuanian...
ceded to the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
.
Viking festival
Annually, the island is home to Europe's biggest Germanic-Slavic Viking festival.External links
- Map of Wolin