SHIPBUILDING IN THE REGION OF POLISH WESTERN POMERANIA - HISTORICAL BACKGROUND AND SOME FUTURE ASPECTS

Abstract

Western Pomerania is the north west province of Poland. It is situated on the Baltic Sea and borders along the Oder River with the Federal Republic of Germany. The capital of this province is Szczecin which is one of the largest harbours of the Baltic Sea. This paper contains a short historical outline of the shipyards situated in this port, a description of their present condition and production features of major shipbuilding enterprises. 1 Historical background Szczecin lies in the estuary of the River Oder. The River, its affluents and large net of inland navigation waterways which was developed on the turn of 19th century creates good transportation links in to Poland, eastern provinces of Germany as well as transit connections with Western Europe. The town and port have changed hands many times. For the longest time they were under the authority of the Slavonic Dynasty of Griffits' Princes. Then they were under the rule of Brandenburg, Sweden and even for some short time during Napoleon's wars under France. Later they became a part of Prussia and finally of German Reich. After the World War II Pomerania was divided into two parts by the border running along the River Oder between Poland and Germany. Presently the eastern part with Szczecin belongs to Poland. The boatbuilding in the Szczecin harbour has existed for many centures but industrial shipyards, which built wooden ships, developed mostly in the late 18th Transactions on the Built Environment vol 11, © 1995 WIT Press, www.witpress.com, ISSN 1743-3509