Wolinian cliffs are part of the most beautiful stretch of Polish coast of the Baltic Sea (photo by S. R. Bielak)

Wolin Island – the pearl of western Pomerania

Among many islands located in Poland the biggest one and the most famous is Wolin Island, which is situated in the region called Western Pomerania. Its acreage is 102 square miles (265 km²) and in terms of wildlife and landscapes it is one of the most differentiated place in this country. One can find here a cliff coast of the Baltic Sea, sandy beaches and dunes, meadows, forests, postglacial lakes and the reverse delta of the Swina Strait with an archipelago of small marshy islands. Over forty percent of the island’s acreage is taken by the Wolin Island National Park, which was founded in the 1960s. as the first marine park of Poland. In landscapes of the north part of the island dominates the coast of the Baltic Sea with stretches built out of steep cliffs. The tallest bluffs are 300 feet high (over 90 m) and due to permanent undercutting them by sea waves in every year the edge of these cliffs moves over 2.5 feet (80 cm) towards inland. Similar cliffs occur in the south of Wolin Island, along the coast of the Szczecin Lagoon. At the bottom of these bluffs there are half-wild beaches and sand dunes. In the borders of the Wolin Island National Park there occur white and grey sand dunes, which are overgrown by plants called psammophytes, like e.g. Sea Holly, Blue Lyme Grass and Marram Grass.

The Swina Strait’s delta is an archipelago of forty four small marshy islands surrounded by waters of the Szczecin Lagoon (photo by Sebastian R. Bielak)

Bird paradise in reverse delta of the Swina Strait

Along western coast of Wolin Island there is the Swina Strait, also considered to be a river (as a branch of the Odra River), that creates a reverse delta at its mouth into the Baltic Sea. On both banks of the river channel there are dozens of small marshy islands, overgrown by rushes and cut by a net of natural branches and artificial canals which connect the strait with Lake Wicko Wielkie. This delta is an area of mixing sweet waters of the Odra River (inflowing from the south into the Szczecin Lagoon) with salt waters of the Baltic Sea, pushed inland from the north by strong winds which cause periodical rising of water level in the Pomeranian Bay. In the delta, due to reverse currents, occur halophytes which are salt-tolerant plants that grow in soil or water of high salinity. The delta is a refuge of migratory waterbirds for whom marshy islands and shallow river inundations are almost perfect habitat for breeding. Also, in the north-eastern corner of Wolin Island, there are several postglacial lakes which belong to the Wolin Lake District. The most precious and picturesque of them have been incorporated into the Wolin Island National Park, i.e. Lake Czajcze, Lake Domyslowskie, Lake Rabiaz, Lake Warnowo. Their total acreage is 370 acres (150 ha).

The gate of the reconstructive open-air museum ''Center of Slavs & Vikings'' (photo by S. R. Bielak)

Turbulent history of Wolin Island and its dwellers

Wolin does not mean only beatiful wildlife but also means a rich history abounding of many interesting episodes. From 7th to the 12th century on the island was existing a city named Wineta, which was inhabited by a Slavic tribe called Volynians. In times of growth and prosperity this city was dwelled by 8-12 thousands of people and that made it one of the biggest cities of Europe in those days. Integral part of the city was a great harbour (during each night being closed with big iron gate) in which about 300 ships were kept. The city fell in the 12th century due to raids of Vikings. Numerous monuments and structures, occuring on Wolin Island, refer to the second half of the 19th century or the first half of the 20th century. Close to the place where the Swina Strait flows into the Baltic Sea there is the Gerhard’s Fort, which is one of four forts of the old Fortress of Swinoujscie. Its role was to defend an entrance to the port of Swinoujscie and to control a waterway leading into the Szczecin Lagoon. Today it is one of the best preserved in Europe example of Prussian riparian forts of the 19th century. At the joint of the Swina Strait and the Piastowski Canal there is located an old harbour belonging once to the navy of the Third Reich (Kriegsmarine). Since 1942 different warships docked here but mostly submarines, icluding U-boots type XXI – technologically the most advanced submarines of the World War II. In Zalesie there is a former testing ground of the V-3 weapon, where German scientists were examining a multi-chamber cannon for strafing of London.