Pomeranian

Pomerania (in German): Pommern, pronounced/^p/m/n/( listen)in Polish: Pomorze) is a historical-geographic region of the former Prussia located in the north of Germany and Poland, on the coast of the Baltic Sea. Until 1945 it belonged entirely to Germany. The largest city in Pomerania is Gdansk, followed by Szczecin, both located in Poland. Outside its urban areas, Pomerania is characterized by farmlands, sprinkled with numerous lakes and forests.

The region has a rich and complicated demographic and political history, and was ruled by several countries, often simultaneously, including local dynasties, though over the centuries Polish and German influences remained the strongest. The region was badly affected by numerous wars and border changes since the Late Middle Ages, but it also saw periods of great prosperity, reflected in its rich architecture, mainly thanks to maritime trade. The easternmost subregions of Pomerania are alternately known as Pomerelia and Kashubia, so named for the Kashubians.

The region is particularly known for its brick Gothic architecture, the oddly shaped Twisted Forest, and the Pomeranian dog breed.

History

The region known as Pomerania during the Middle Ages was made up of the territory on the Baltic coast situated between the Vistula River and the Oder River, which was inhabited, around 600, by the Pomerani (pomorzanie), a Slavic tribe whose name means "by the sea" in Slavonic.

The border gradually shifted westward as the area was conquered by the Teutonic Order or Sword-bearing Knights; the district between the Vistula and Prosma rivers became known as Pomerelia (Pomerellen), forming part of Poland.

German Pomeranian

By the Peace of Westphalia (1648), which ended the Thirty Years' War, Pomerania was divided between Brandenburg and Sweden.

Brandenburg (Kingdom of Prussia) received part of Swedish Pomerania in 1720 and annexed Pomerelia in 1772.

Province of Pomerania (1815-1945)

In 1815, the Congress of Vienna unified all of Pomerania within the kingdom of Prussia.

Since 1945

After the defeat of Nazi Germany in World War II, Pomerania was divided into two regions separated by the Oder River. Additionally, in 1945, during the Yalta conference, the Allies gave permission to the victorious countries to expel German minorities, even those that, as in the case of Danzig, had been settled for centuries.

The region of Pomerania to the west of this river was incorporated into the new state (land) of Mecklenburg, in the Soviet occupation zone that would later become the German Democratic Republic (GDR) between 1949 and 1990 With German reunification in 1990, this region became part of the German state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania.

The territory east of the river, which comprised most of Pomerania, was placed under Polish administration, pending the final conclusion of peace with Germany. This territory was formally ceded to Poland in 1970 in accordance with the terms of the agreement reached.

Euroregion Pomerania

Castle of Malbork, World Heritage of Unesco.

In the political sphere of the European Union, a Euroregion is a form of structure for cross-border cooperation between two or more Member States. Thus, the Euroregion Pomerania passes over the first new border drawn between Sweden and Brandenburg by the Treaty of Westphalia in 1648. Also, the border between Germany and Poland has in fact disappeared through agreements between the local authorities of the German territories. of Brandenburg and Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, the Voivodeship of West Pomerania and the region of Skåne in Sweden.

Geography

Western Pomerania

Central and Eastern Pomerania

The Pomerania region of Poland has an area of 18,298 km^² and a population of approx. of 2,200,000 inhabitants.

Culture

Languages