Świnoujście

Świnoujście stands at the mouth of the Świna, the waterway between the Szczecin Lagoon and the Baltic. Fishing villages once lay on either side of the strait. In 1297 Duke Bogusław IV offered protection to merchants entering through the Świna, while the village of Świna was recorded in 1418. The castle guarding the passage was destroyed by Szczecin in 1457.

The channel was made navigable to large ships in the early seventeenth century. Prussia acquired the area from Sweden in 1720 and founded Swinemünde on the site of Westswine in 1748. Frederick II granted it town rights in 1765, after the new settlement had been fortified. During the Seven Years' War, Swedish forces attempted to blockade the port. Its harbour served as an outer port for Stettin, connecting the Oder city with the open sea.