| A city at the northwestern extreme of Poland, on the river Odra
(Oder). Pronounced SHCHE-chin.
Szczecin is the principal city of the Baltic coastal region known as
Pomerania. Throughout much of its history, Szczecin was inhabited mainly
by German-speaking people, who called the city Stettin. It was a Swedish
possession between the time Gustavus Adolphus conquered it during the
Thirty Years' War (1618-1648) and the time Charles XII
frittered it away during the Great Northern War (1700-1721).
After that, Szczecin was the capital of a vassal principality (Anhalt-Zerbst) of Prussia.
The most interesting person to come from Szczecin during this period is
a princess Sophie, who married the heir to the Russian throne, then deposed
him in 1762 and made herself Empress Catherine II.
Szczecin was depolulated while it was occupied by Napoleon's armies.
It was rebuilt into an industrial center of Prussia, and later, a unified
Germany.
Szczecin was levelled again during World War II. The ruins were awarded
to Poland during the Potsdam conference in 1945. The city now boasts
a population of approximately 488,000.
http://www.szczecin.pl/ was helpful in the creation of this writeup.
Many thanks to Gritchka for correcting pronunciation. | 
