Guidebook to Poland’s Baltic Coast
As a psychologist, author Isabella Schinzel also demonstrates the empathy needed to cover more than 500 kilometres of Poland’s Baltic coast and its hinterland in a compelling work of just under 300 pages. Unlike the often highly indented German Baltic coast, the Polish coastline is mostly a so-called regular coast, without any significant bays or islands. The exceptions are the island of Wolin in the west and the Gulf of Gdańsk in the east of the region, bounded to the north by the Hel Peninsula and to the south by the Vistula Spit. Richly illustrated and accompanied by numerous informative maps, this little book is a valuable aid to exploring the area. The author not only demonstrates an in-depth knowledge of the country, but also provides a brief introduction to the Polish language.
Reiseführer Polnische Ostseeküste
Photo: © Michael Müller Verlag
Five regions and their hinterlands
Szczecin—the largest city on the western Baltic after Copenhagen —forms the first region together with the island of Wolin. The eastern tip of the German island of Usedom and Świnoujście also belong to Poland.
The coast of the historic region of Western Pomerania lies to the east. It includes the major Polish seaside resort of Kołobrzeg and the town of Koszalin, as well as, above all, the striking dune landscape of Łeba.
The northernmost stretch of the Polish Baltic coast is named after a historic ethnic group: the Kashubian Coast, with the Kashubian Switzerland hinterland. From here, the narrow Hel Peninsula projects into the Gulf of Gdańsk.
The smallest region by area, but probably the most attractive, is the so-called Tri-City (Trojmiasto), comprising the port city of Gdynia, the seaside resort of Sopot and the Baltic metropolis of Gdańsk.
In the hinterland of the easternmost region—the southern shore of the Gulf of Gdańsk, with the Vistula Spit extending all the way to the Russian border—lies Europe’s largest castle complex, Malbork Castle.
Michael Müller Verlag
288 pages, 5th edition 2015,
full colour, EUR 16.90 (Germany), EUR 17.40 (Austria), CHF 24.90,
ISBN 978-3-95654-044-8
