The Poviat of Stargard Szczeciński appeared on the administrative map of Poland in January 1999. It is the biggest, in respect of area (2,004 sq. km), poviat of the Voivodeship of Western Pomerania. It stretches sound of the voivodeship capital Szczecin, which is located only 36 km away from Stargard Szczeciński, the seat of the poviat authorities.Szczeciński, the seat of the poviat authorities.

BASIC INFORMATION ABOUT THE POVIAT

Stargard Szczeciński is the biggest locality in the poviat that has the status of a municipal community. Chociwel, Dobrzany, Ińsko, Suchań, Łobez and Węgorzyno are municipal-rural communities.

The remaining ones – Dolice, Kobylanka, Marianowo, Stara Dąbrowa and Stargard Szczeciński are rural communities. Well developed network of local roads and available railway connections make it possible to reach every locality in the Land of Stargard Szczeciński. The main road no. 10 running through the area from Szczecin to Bydgoszcz will soon become an expressway. Five railway lines converge in Stargard Szczeciński; they provide direct connections with Wrocław, Kraków, Gdańsk, Poznań and Szczecin. 40 km away from the poviat capital, there is an airport in Goleniów, whereas 120 km away from the ferry terminal in Świnoujście.

Good transport location, nearness of the border zone with border crossing in Kołbaskowo, Lubieszyn and Rosówek, as well as superior tourist and climatic endowments are the trumps that constitute the attractiveness of the Poviat of Stargard Szczeciński. The uniqueness of the Land of Stargard Szczeciński is determined by a 1000-year history engraved on historical sites of great value, and the present created by residents’ activity.

ALONG THE TRAIL OF HISTORY AND HISTORICAL SITES

The Land of Stargard Szczeciński is located in Western Pomerania – a historical region, with which it used to share long, turbulent and complicated lots due to Polish, German and Scandinavian influences clashing here over bygone centuries. The history of this borderland was started by Pomeranian Slavs, Polish rulers from the Piast dynasty and Pomeranian Dukes, as well as Danes, Teutonic Knights, Swedes and Brandenburgers, who established here castles and medieval cities. In 1701 the Land of Stargard Szczeciński found itself under the Prussian rule, and its heritage was taken over by Germany. Along with the end of World War Two, under the treaty of Yalta, Pomerania along with the area of today’s Poviat of Stargard Szczeciński was included within the limits of Poland.

The beginnings of many localities in the poviat date back to the early Middle Ages. Stargard Szceciński belongs to the oldest ones, where as early as the 8th century there was a medieval city, later castellan’s seat, which had been preserved till the end of the 13th century. For the first time, Stargard appeared on the pages of history as “castro Zitarigroda”, and in 1124 it was mentioned of bishop Otto, who came to the city on the Ina River at that time. In 1243 or 10 years later, according to other sources, Stargard gained a foundation charter from the Duke of Pomerania Barnim.

The city flourished thanks to not only as well grants and numerous privileges, as extremely favorable location. Important transport routes used to intersect here, and the navigable river, on which a port was developing and where granaries and mills were erected, allowed local merchants to take control over trade in cereals in the entire neighborhood. The position of the city was made stronger thanks to its membership in the Hanseatic league (since 1363), a powerful economic organization associating cities on the Baltic and North Seas. The financial power of Stargard manifested itself in magnificent buildings, among other things. Local achievements in architecture, especially sacral one, became a model for builders in entire Western Pomerania and even in Wielkopolska (Great Poland Region).

In the 15th century, the resiliently developing city came into conflict with Szczecin over the right to storage and further fluming of cereals from Inoujście. The economic war devastating both sides finished after four years in 1460 thanks to an intervention of the duke’s court. “a wreath of concord”, i.e. a linden tree is a memento of reconciliation. The linden, today with over 6 meters in circumference, was planted by mayors of discorded cities in Kobylanka, located half-way between Szczecin and Stargard. This event started a tradition of planting lindens after each century – on the anniversary of peace making – that has been cultivated up to this day in Kobylanka. The youngest linden symbolizes the year 1960.

The 17th century was tragic in the history of the city and the entire Land of Stargard Szczeciński. In 1618, the Thirty Years’ War broke out. Warfare, fires, plague, famine and Swedish occupation caused almost complete depopulation of Stargard, which under regulations of the Westphalia peace treaty found itself under the rule of Brandenburg, and then within the borders of the Kingdom of Prussia in 1701. Military conflicts in the following centuries were not conductive to its development. During the Seven Years’ War (1756-1763), the city was damaged by Russian, and between 1806 and 1812 Napoleonic troops were marching through the city several times.

Only the 19th century marked an economic revival, the hallmark of which became a railway line connecting the city with Szczecin, Poznań and Berlin. Stargard became an important railway junction and was developing as a centre of processing and machine-building industry. A camp cemetery, preserved up to this day, testifies to World War One; in 1915 there was an international PoW camp. World War Two left its tragic stamp on Stargard Szczeciński. On the night from February 20 to 21 1944 the allied forces air raids took place. The city population was evacuated a year later. The Soviet troops captured the city on March 5 1945. 70 % of Stargard was destroyed. The Old Town almost ceased to exist. Contemporary Stargard is practically a new city, constructed by the third generation of those who came to the regained land after the war in order to settle down here.

The long history of the city on the Ina River is engraved on the material heritage recreated with reverence by the resident. The most magnificent buildings were erected here between the 15th and 17th centuries, in the period called “the golden age” of Stargard.

The most valuable historical site of Gothic is the Stargard parish church built in the late 13th century in place of a former temple. The reconstruction carried out from 1388 under supervision of the only builder of the epoch known in Poland by name – Henryk Brunsberg, resulted in erection of the most beautiful church in Pomerania, presently found on the UNESCO world culture heritage list. The church with its majestic body was erected in a rarely used at that time basilica system with bold architectonic solutions, which were applied later during construction of the Poznań cathedral and several other temples in Pomerania, e.g. the 15th-century church of St John with the tower reaching 99 meters. In order to feel the ambiance of ancient Stargard, one has to go along its former fortifications, much of the bank of the Młyński Canal is a unique structure on the European scale. Other preserved gates are the Pyrzyce Gate and Embankment Gate, several keeps and an angle tower. Built from the late 13th century till the 16th century, they show the size of the city of the time, one of the biggest medieval cities in Poland.

The Gothic, richly decorated tenement house in Kazimierza Wielkiego Street and the Klecans’ house (presently a library) with late-Gothic decor, the 17th-century granary on the Młyński Canal and the only reconstructed frontage of the Old Market Square give one the idea of what it looked like inside the walls. There are also the City Hall, which regained its renaissance facade and gables, a guardhouse erected in 1720 (presently a museum) and baroque tenement houses neighboring on the guardhouse. The planned reconstruction of the city’s medieval buildings, improvement of present streets and recreation of historical streets will bring back the unique climate of Stargard completely. Due to the complex of Gothic architecture, Stargard belongs to the most interesting cities not only in the entire country.

Unusual things of architectural and artistic insert can be found in numerous places of the Land of Stargard Szczeciński. Particularly noteworthy are palaces and castles blended well in the local landscape. In Koszewko, located not far away from Stargard, there is a neo-renaissance palace remodeled in the 1920’s. It used to be a junkers’ seat, which was part of a dowry provided for the Field Marshal of the Third Reich, von Paulus, by his wife Benita. Classicism palaces erected in the mid-19th century and those built at the turn of the 19th century and referring to historical styles can be in Dolice, Dobropole, Sądów, Warszyn and Ziemomyśl.

In Pęzino there is a castle built in the 12th century as a residence of the Pomeranian family of Pansin. The castle form was changed within the space of the history. As a Gothic building, consisting of a castle and approaches of the castle, used to be surrounded by a wall and a moat, the outline of which can be still visible today. In time, the castle was converted in Dutch renaissance style, and then in neo-Gothic style in the 19th century. For some time, the Borek family ruled in the castle; Łobez and Węgorzyno owe their development to this great knight’s family. Later, the Knights of St John of Jerusalem had their command here. Between 1680 and 1945, the Puttkamers were legitimate of the castle in Pęzino.

In Krępcewo, Dolice community, ruins of a castle-walls and a fragment of a tower – situated on the Ina River display the distant history of this area, with the knight’s Wedel family of great merit brought here by Pomeranian Duke Barnim I. As early as the 14th century, the Wedel family belonged to influential families of Pomerania. Though they were not always loyal to the duke’s court, their contribution to the development of settlement, agriculture and material culture of Pomerania is undisputed. The Wedel family also owned Ińsk from 1354 to 1755, except for the years 1402-1454 when it was ruled by the Teutonic Knights. A church founded by them and the castle was towering over the city. They also erected the castle in Krzywnica; however, only stone-brick relics of the ground floor walls can be seen today.

The largest fortified structure in Western Pomeraia was located in Szadzko (Dobrzany community). The castle ruled by the knights the house of Steglitz was built at the turn of the 13th century, when Szadzko and Dobrzany found themselves only 7 kilometers away from the border between Brandenburg and Pomerania. Relics of the mighty facility preserved to this day include the castle hill, foundations, walls fragments, embankments with bastion and a moat. Bricks from the castle walls were used to reconstruct Dobrzany that had been consumed by fire (1781); the works were conducted by excellent architect of Pomerania David Gilly, designer of the church of St Michael the Archangel existing up to this day.

Sacral buildings in the Land of Stargard Szczeciński date back to the early Middle Ages. The convert of Cistercian Nuns founded in 1248 and a 15th-century church – Sanctuary of Our Lady of Fatima – were inseparably connected with the history of Marianowo. In the garden attached to the church, there is a oak called Sydonia, after the name of a woman of exceptional beauty coming from the Borek family well-known in Pomerania. Accused of casting a spell on the house of Pomeranian dukes, she was put in the convert and then beheaded and burnt at the stake. She is the patron of the fair called “Summer with Sydonia” held in Marianowo for several years. Relics of a monasterial complex of Cistercian Friars can also be admired in Kołbacz (from the 12th century). They say that we owe the noble variety of the whitefish, which has been living in the waters of Lake Miedwie up to this day, to one of the abbots, Friar Bruno coming from Italy.

Sacral buildings include first of all churches, many erected in Gothic style. Noteworthy is the church in Grzędzice, where one can admire 15th century polychrome. The late-Gothic church in Odargowo (15th-16th c.c.) has in store renaissance furnishings moved from the church in Szadzko devastated in 1945. In Ognica, one can visit a church from ca. 1600 with an excellently decorated gable and a renaissance portal. The Gothic church made of field stone in Suchań with a gable, the decor in Stargard, delights with its baroque interior decor.

Suchań, dating back to the late 13th century, is extremely interesting due to the urban plan preserved up to this day. Founded on the Magdeburg law before 1487, the city did not gain a new street plan what distinguishes a spindle one kilometer long and 100 meters wide, delimited by two main streets cut through by a network of narrow alleys. An irregular Market Square with a church was marked out in the central part of the spindle.

LANDSCAPE AND NATURE

The Poviat of Stargard Szczeciński offers unusual assets resulting from its geographical location. The poviat limits cover part of the vast Szczecin Lowland, Pyrzyce Lowland with the biggest lake in the Land of Stargard Szczeciński – Miedwie, and a fragment of the West Pomeranian Lake District. Shaped by the activity of the Scandynavian land-ice, the landscape includes in its eastern part ranger of hills stretching evenly with a parallel of latitude. The highest hill – Mount Głowacz 180 m above sea level – is situated in the Ina Upland. The relief is varied by river valleys, with the biggest Płonia and Ina Rivers flowing in the direction of Lake Dąbie.

The distance from Stargard Szczeciński to Lake Miedwie is only seven kilometers. In respect of area, the lake is the fifth biggest lake in Poland. The 10-km long lake has been attracting sailors’ attention for a long time, as well as windsurfing aficionados for several years now. The clean and restocked lake is extremely attractive also for anglers – there are such fish as the eel, pike, perch, bream, vendace, roach and noble whitefish called Miedwied whitefish.

On the northern fringes of the lake, the community of Kobylanka is situated. Its summer resort traditions date back to the turn of the 19th century, when typical resort localities were established - Morzyczyn and Zieleniewo. Of similar character is also Wierzchlądz in the community of Stargard Szczeciński that neighbors on the Goleniów Primeval Forest woods. There are camping sites and motels, as well as numerous holiday resorts, a wide and sandy inland beach, one of the biggest in Poland, sports fields and playgrounds. Sailing and windsurfing regatta, fairs and recreational-sports events are held here each year.

The Ińsko Landscape Park is an area of extraordinary beauty, which covers considerable parts of four communities of the poviat – Ińsko, Chociwel, Dobrzany and Węgorzyno. Established in 1981, the park stretches on the area of 17,763 ha and its protection zone covers 26,240 ha. Cut through by river beds and postglacial channels, with hills of different height and slope inclinations, ravines and hollows filled with peat bogs and small cave-in lakes, the terrain has outstanding landscape endowments.

There are 18 lakes covering over 5 ha and 45 smaller lakes. Lake Ińsko is the biggest reservoir and an exceptionally picturesque combination of five ribbons surrounded by hills – the venue of the International Underwater Hunting and Photography Competition held in June. Lake Woświn is distinguished by its size and shore line extremely varied by numerous bays and semi-island.

The park is also rich in animals such as beavers and otters, mud turtles and common tree frogs, as well as birds such as the white-tailed eagle, lesser spotted eagle, red kite and black kite, black stork, black crane ... 800 plant species grow here, 12 of them are under strict protection. The park comprises several nature preserves, including “Kamienna Buczyna” and “Wyspa Sołtyski” established to protect the beech wood. The “Głowacz” Preserve protects postglacial landscape as well as fauna and flora occurring in this area. Extremely interesting is the “Grzybieniowe Jeziorko” Preserve in Ognica due to aquatic vegetation, as well as “Stawy Lutkowskie” in Lutkowo of great interest for ornithologists – cranes come here to spent the night from April to July.

There are lots of other scenic nooks in the Land of Stargard Szczeciński. They can be found in the community of Stara Dąbrowa, located in the Nowogardzka Lowland, and in the community of Dolice, abounding in forest complexes. The Mała Ina River flowing through the area belongs to one of the most pleasant canoeing trip routes. The community of Marianowo, situated in the basin of the three rivers Krąpiel, Krępa and Dołożnica, boasts similar advantages. Forest rich in undergrowth and game cover also considerable attraction of which is a riding centre in Żukowo with over 50 sports horses, indoor riding stables, a park and a hotel. The community of Łobez is also famous for its tourist-landscape advantages. The Rega River flows through its wooded terrain varied by hillocks and hills. The river bed deeply cut into the ground creates picturesque meanders in the vicinity of the city. Łobez is also a starting point of an exquisite canoeing route running to Mrzeżyno. Numerous lakes are hallmarks of landscape of each community.

The landscape, nature and culture – that of bygone centuries and the one created in contemporary times – determine the great attractiveness of the Poviat of Stargard Szczeciński, as a region of leisure and tourist character. There are excellent conditions for organization of canoeing trips and walking camps, sailing, windsurfing and diving, angling and hunting, as well as undergrowth picking. The tourist base being constantly extended – camping sites, tent sites, different standard motels and hotels make weekend and summer leisure possible.

The Land of Stargard Szczeciński is fit for practicing hiking and cycling. Marked out trails run through the most interesting areas in respect of landscape and nature, and allow to really appreciate the beauty of this land. Many trails run along lakes and rivers, at which there are more and more bivouaking sites, catering points and bathing beaches every year. The “Ińska Ribbon” is an excellent experience for tourist travelling by car. Along this hairpin road running admist beech woods (called “Ińskie Bieszczady”) from Ciemnik to Kozy Pomorskie one has to cover 56 bends.

Agritourism is developing more and more intensively in the poviat area. In recent years many agriturist farms have been established here; they meet the demands of both Polish and foreign guests in a better and better way. Such factors as full sanitary facilities, delicious rural cuisine and relaxation friendly atmosphere are an incentive to visit them. The advantage of such farms is that they receive guests throughout the whole year.

ECONOMY

Agriculture prevails in the economic landscape of the Poviat of Stargard Szczeciński. The main corps include potatoes, triticale and wheat. There are also good conditions for sugar beet cultivation, pomiculture and market gardening. Pig breeding predominates in animal production. Progressing industry is developing on the basis of agricultural production.

Tourism is the most intensively developing branch of local economy since tourism along with trade and services are priorities for the self-government authorities of communities and the poviat. Exceptional natural conditions and the lack of big and arduous industry are conducive to tourism. In order to protect natural environment many pro-ecological ventures are being undertaken; these are construction of sewage treatment plants, ordering of water and sewage management, making environmentally-friendly municipal waste dumps.

Good conditions for investors willing to engage themselves in the further development of technical infrastructure are being created. Communities are also open for development of other branches of economy that do not degrade precious nature, especially investments connected with tourist and recreational activity. Local governments offer vacant areas designed for construction of residential buildings and recreational facilities. There are lots of vacant areas and facilities to be managed and developed in the Ińskie lake District.

Stargard Szczeciński is the biggest economic centre of the poviat. Inhabited by over 74.000 people, it is placed third among cities of the Voivodeship of Western Pomerania. Stargard is a city of young people, some 60 % of its residents are under 40. The number of registered business entities attest to their activity and enterprise. At the end of the year 2000, it amounted to 7,419. Private companies, making over 98 % of trade and services, in building engineering and transport. Some 13 % of enterprises deal with industrial production, i.e. traditional in Stargard food-agricultural processing, textile industry, clothing industry, machine and electrical engineering industry, metal industry and building materials production.

The seriously developed business surrounding confirms the rank of Stargard as an economic centre of the poviat. The city is the seat of 10 bank branches, many consulting, accounting, insurance and notarial companies, as real estate offices operate here. The Stargard Chamber of Economy, representing business entities operating in the city, has its headquarters here.

The local government supports the activity of business entities. The municipal authorities are also keenly interested in the development of investments in the city. Such factors as a prepared strategy for the city’s special and social-economic growth, legal order in the field of ownership of lands designed for investments, and modernized technical infrastructure are conducive to investment activity. All these aspects place Stargard Szczeciński in the top lead among Polish poviat cities in respect of investment attractiveness. Both Polish and foreign businessmen are interested in the development of economic activity in the city.

The city has a wide array of investment offers. Works are being done to prepare the area of the former airfield in Kluczewo to be managed; it covers 525 ha with concrete runways, several tens of hangar and warehouse facilities, railway sidings and other buildings. Investors are also offered terrains (some 100 ha) located in the north-western part of the city, in the area of an industrial park designed for industrial and serviced activity. There are also lots for housing and service facilities in the city centre.