Słupsk

Słupsk stands on the Słupia River in Pomerania. The town's authorities acquired the coastal village of Ustka in 1337 and developed a port there, linking the inland town with Baltic trade. From 1368 to 1478 Słupsk was a ducal residence. Duke Casimir IV became a Polish vassal in 1374, and later dukes also paid homage to Polish kings; in 1478 the territory returned to the wider Duchy of Pomerania.

Reformation preaching reached the town in 1521, and its inhabitants gradually adopted Lutheranism amid conflict over churches and clergy. Following the Thirty Years' War, the peace settlements of 1648 and 1653 placed it under Brandenburg. The town lost much of its earlier importance, although its economy later stabilized. In 1807 Polish troops took it during the Napoleonic wars, and in 1815 it became part of Prussia's Province of Pomerania.