Ueckermünde

Ueckermunde stands where the Uecker River reaches the Szczecin Lagoon, linking an inland catchment with the sheltered waters behind the Baltic coast. Fishing, agriculture, woodland products, and crafts supported the town and nearby villages. River and lagoon traffic carried goods toward larger ports, while local landing places served a dispersed hinterland. Shallow waters and changing weather required knowledge different from that of open-sea navigation.

The town developed within the Duchy of Pomerania, and Duke Philip I rebuilt its castle in the sixteenth century. The Thirty Years' War brought severe destruction: a fire in 1631 consumed houses and the town hall. The town passed to Sweden in 1648 and to Prussia under the 1720 peace. Fishing remained important, while shipbuilding and trade grew in the late eighteenth century.