Pomerania, Poland

The name of this Polish voivodeship comes from the historic region of Pomerania, which encompasses the entire Baltic coast and its hinterland, from the Darß-Zingst Peninsula to the Bay of Gdańsk. The administrative boundaries have undergone several changes. Since coming under Polish rule in 1945, two Polish voivodeships have been established in the territory of historic Pomerania: Województwo pomorskie (Pomerania), with its capital in Gdańsk (Danzig), and Województwo zachodniopomorskie (West Pomerania), with its capital in Szczecin (Stettin).

Küste bei Rowy in der Wojewodschaft Pommern Photo: © oben: wikipedia.de/gemeinfrei; unten: wikipedia.de/Cornelius Schumacher/CC BY-SA 3.0

Natural environment and seaside resorts

On the western shore of the Bay of Gdańsk lie the three cities of Gdańsk (Danzig), Sopot (Zoppot), Poland’s largest seaside resort, and the port city of Gdynia (Gdingen). The 34-kilometre-long Hel Peninsula, a narrow spit, forms the northwestern boundary of the Bay of Gdańsk. It is one of the most popular excursion destinations on the Polish Baltic coast.
A straight coastline without bays stretches for more than 100 kilometres from Ustka (Stolpmünde) to the island of Wolin in the west, interrupted only by the narrow mouth of the Dziwna (Dievenow). The Baltic coast of Pomeranian Voivodeship is home to numerous seaside resorts, of which Sopot (Zoppot), along with Kołobrzeg (Kolberg), Międzyzdroje (Misdroy) and Świnoujście (Swinemünde), is among Poland’s most important.
With Gdańsk (Danzig) as its urban centre, and the spits of the Vistula Spit and Hel Peninsula, as well as the shifting dunes near Łeba in Słowiński National Park, this region offers outstanding tourist destinations.

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Gdańsk (Danzig)

With a population of more than 460,000, the city at the edge of the Vistula estuary is unquestionably the center of all northern Poland and the Polish Baltic coast. Together with the neighboring cities to the north, Sopot (Zoppot) and Gdynia (Gdingen), it forms the so-called Tricity (Trójmiasto), with a population of 760,000.

Gdynia (Gdingen)

The city of Gdynia (Gdingen) lies on the western shore of the Bay of Gdańsk (Zatoka Gdańska), about 20 kilometers north of Gdańsk. At the end of the 19th century, Gdingen began to transform from a fishing village into a seaside resort.

Hel (Hela)

The town of Hel (German: Hela) lends its name to, and is the main town on, the peninsula of the same name. In the northwest of the Bay of Gdańsk, this narrow spit extends southeastward. Today, Hel is a major holiday destination on Poland’s Baltic coast, connected to the Polish rail network by a railway line.

Jastarnia (Heisternest) and Jurata

Almost halfway along the Hel Peninsula (Hela) lies the town of Jastarnia (German: Heisternest). The town is located at one of the wider points of the spit, where the distance between the two coasts is just under two kilometres.

Krynica Morska (Kahlberg)

The small town of Krynica Morska lies in the middle of the Vistula Spit. Its origins, under the German name Liep and later Kahlberg, date back to the 13th century. At the beginning of the 20th century, Kahlberg was deliberately developed into a seaside resort for people from all walks of life.

Łeba (Leba)

Łeba (Leba) is situated between two coastal lakes, Lake Łebsko and Lake Sarbsko, in the western part of the Pomeranian Voivodeship, at the mouth of the Łeba River. The Słowiński National Park, best known for its shifting dunes, stretches immediately west of the town.

Puck (Putzig)

The town of Puck (German: Putzig) lies north of Gdynia (Gdingen) in the northwestern corner of the Bay of Gdańsk (Zatoka Gdańska), whose inner waters are known as Puck Bay (Zatoka Pucka). The town’s development has always been closely tied to its port and fishing industry.

Słupsk (Stolp)

The town of Słupsk (Stolp) lies 18 kilometres from the Baltic coast on the Słupia River (Stolpe) in the Pomeranian Voivodeship. Today, Słupsk (Stolp) is the urban and economic hinterland of the port town of Ustka (Stolpmünde), making it a popular day-trip destination for tourists holidaying on the Polish Baltic coast.

Sopot (Zoppot)

The Baltic seaside resort of Sopot (Zoppot) now almost seamlessly adjoins the city of Gdańsk (Danzig) and is closely connected with its history. Sopot lies on the western shore of Gdańsk Bay, between Gdańsk and Gdynia (Gdingen), which lies to the north.

Ustka (Stolpmünde) and Rowy (Rowe)

With its wide sandy beaches on both sides of the river mouth, Ustka is considered the most important Baltic seaside resort between Darlowo and Sopot. The seaside resort of Rowy (Rowe), on the edge of Słowiński National Park, is also part of the municipality of Ustka.