Szczecin Lagoon
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The Lagoon of the Oder River is an inland water basin situated in the southwestern part of the Baltic Sea. It is shared by Germany and Poland.
The Oder lagoon (German: Oderhaff) is also named after a seaport city which is about 20km upstream on the Oder, Lagoon/Bay of Stettin/Szczecin (German: Stettiner Haff, Polish: Zalew Szczeciński).
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[edit] Geography and history
The lagoon is separated from the Baltic Sea's Bay of Pomerania by the islands of Usedom (Polish: Uznam) and Wolin, and connected with the three straits Peenestrom, Świna (German: Swine) and Dziwna (German: Dievenow). Its area is 687 km², its depth is in average 4 meters, and 6 meters at maximum.
In 1880, the Kaiserfahrt (Emperors's passage) channel on Usedom was opened, a water route with a depth of 10 meters connecting the lagoon with the Baltic Sea by bypassing the eastern part of the Swine, allowing large ships to enter the lagoon and the seaport of Stettin quicker and safer.
The canal, approximately 12 km long and 10 meters deep, was dug by the German Empire between 1874 and 1880, during the reign of the first Kaiser Wilhelm (1797 - 1888) after whom it was named. Also, the work resulted in a new island named Kaseburg (Karsibór) being cut off from Usedom.
After 1945, not only areas east of Oder Neisse line were put under Polish administration, but also control of the German seaport cities of Stettin (Szczecin) and Swinemünde (Świnoujście) on the western bank of the river Oder was transferred to Poland which renamed the canal after their Piast dynasty.
The German-Polish border also divides the bight called Neuwarper See near Rieth.
[edit] Towns in the area
- Świnoujście (Poland)
- Police (at The Oder River and an estuary of The Oder River - Roztoka Odrzańska) (Poland)
- Ueckermünde (Germany)
- Wolin (town) (Poland)
- Usedom (town) (Germany)
- Nowe Warpno (Poland)
[edit] Recreation
Today the lagoon offers a great selection of passenger ship tours, a wide range of water sports and some notable beaches. Tourists can discover winegrowing, the narrow-gauge railway, museums, castles, many hiking and cycling routes and a small village reviving the life of the former Slavic settlements.
[edit] Pollution problems
The Lagoon is known to suffer from heavy pollution mainly from the Oder river and has suffered eutrophication as a result. High concentrations of aluminium and iron sediments have been found in the river causing rapid algae growth inside the lagoon. However long-term nutrient concentrations show a high inter annual variability and have declined during recent years.
[edit] See also
