West Pomeranian Voivodeship

West Pomeranian Voivodeship, (in Polish, województwo zachodniopomorskie ), is a voivodeship in northwestern Poland. It borders on Pomeranian Voivodeship to the east, Greater Poland Voivodeship to the southeast, Lubusz Voivodeship to the south, the German federal-state of Mecklenburg-West Pomerania to the west, and the Baltic Sea to the north. Its capital and largest city is Szczecin.

It was established on January 1, 1999, out of the former Szczecin and Koszalin Voivodeships and parts of other neighboring voivodeships, pursuant to the Polish local government reforms adopted in 1998. It is named for the historical region of Pomerania (Pomorze). In spite of the name ("West Pomeranian"), the voivoideship does not include the most westerly parts of historical Pomerania, which lie in Germany's Vorpommern (see Western Pomerania).

Geography and tourism
West Pomeranian Voivodeship is the fifth largest voivodeship of Poland in terms of area. Among the largest cities, of the region, are the capital Szczecin, as well as Koszalin, Stargard Szczeciński, and Świnoujście.

This is a picturesque region of the Baltic Sea coast, with many beaches, lakes and woodlands. Szczecin, Świnoujście and Police are important ports. Other major seaside towns include Międzyzdroje, Dziwnów, Kołobrzeg, and Mielno.

West Pomerania is considered one of the greenest regions of Poland, and one of the most attractive for tourists. It is characterized by incredible diversity of the landscape: beaches, hundreds of lakes, and forests full of wildlife (e.g. Wkrzanska Forest), spreading mainly up the hills of the glacial lakes areas. West Pomerania is also rich in various forms and styles of architecture that were built during the Middle Ages as well as the Gothic, Baroque, and Renaissance periods. There is a diverse repertoire of theaters, festivals, museums and galleries. During a few-day long annual Sea Festival in Szczecin, a number of free open air concerts take place. In Świnoujście during the summer, the FAMA Academic Youth Arts Festival takes place – an event with several years of tradition, which attracts not only young people but also older alumni. In Międzyzdroje, there is a Festival Of The Stars, which draws many popular actors. In Wolin, a Viking Festival takes place, which draws "Vikings" from all across Europe.

Another draw to the area is a wide array of health resorts. Brine and peloid, discovered in the 19th century, together with geothermal water resources, are popular attractions in Świnoujście, Kamień Pomorski and Połczyn Zdrój.

Cities and towns
The voivodeship contains 64 cities and towns. These are listed below in descending order of population (according to official figures for 2006 ):

Administrative division
West Pomeranian Voivodeship is divided into 21 counties (powiats): 3 city counties and 18 land counties. These are further divided into 114 gminas.

The counties are listed in the following table (ordering within categories is by decreasing population).

Protected areas


Protected areas in West Pomeranian Voivodeship include two National Parks and seven Landscape Parks. These are listed below.
 * Drawno National Park (partly in Lubusz and Greater Poland Voivodeships)
 * Wolin National Park
 * Barlinek-Gorzów Landscape Park (partly in Lubusz Voivodeship)
 * Cedynia Landscape Park
 * Drawsko Landscape Park
 * Ińsko Landscape Park
 * Lower Odra Valley Landscape Park
 * Szczecin Landscape Park
 * Ujście Warty Landscape Park (partly in Lubusz Voivodeship)

Most popular surnames in the region

 * 1) Nowak: 7,444
 * 2) Kowalski: 6,345
 * 3) Wiśniewski: 6,284

Education and science



 * University of Szczecin (Polish Uniwersytet Szczeciński) with 35.000 students, rector Zdzisław Chmielewski
 * Technical University of Koszalin with 14,000 students(Politechnika Koszalińska)
 * Szczecin University of Technology with 12,500 students (Politechnika Szczecińska)
 * Pomeranian Medical University with 4,000 students (Pomorska Akademia Medyczna)
 * University of Agriculture in Szczecin with 10,000 students (Akademia Rolnicza w Szczecinie)
 * Branch of Academy of Music in Poznań (Akademia Muzyczna w Poznaniu)
 * Maritime University of Szczecin (Akademia Morska w Szczecinie)
 * The West Pomeranian Business School with 3,000 students (Zachodniopomorska Szkoła Biznesu)
 * Szczeciński Park Naukowo-Technologiczny (science park in Szczecin)

Industrial, science and technology parks

 * Goleniowski Park Przemysłowy (industrial park in Goleniów)
 * Infrapark Police (industrial park in Police, Poland)
 * Stargardzki Park Przemysłowy (industrial park in Stargard Szczeciński)
 * Szczeciński Park Naukowo-Technologiczny (science park in Szczecin)

Airport
The only domestic and international airport in West Pomeranian Voivodeship is Szczecin-Goleniów "Solidarność" Airport.