This castle is the mother of all Szczecin monuments. This vast, blocky building looms over the Old Town, but the square central courtyard and simple…
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Szczecin
Well off any track non-German tourists tread, the western port city of Szczecin (shcheh-cheen) is a lively city awash with students and a muddle of architecture inherited from wildly different ages. Crumbly German-era art-nouveau tenements and mansions, some now undergoing renovation, echo a past splendour but historical style is patchy. The authorities seem to have given up on the idea of rebuilding, choosing instead to fill the gaps in the city centre with glass-and-steel malls, sacrificing entire streets in the name of retail. Many of the main thoroughfares have been spruced up, but derelict buildings and overgrown plots are easy to find in the very heart of the city.
It's a busy working port, though you’d never know it wandering the city centre, with just enough to warrant a stopover between Berlin and Gdańsk, to which it has good connections.
Explore Szczecin
- CCastle of the Pomeranian Dukes
This castle is the mother of all Szczecin monuments. This vast, blocky building looms over the Old Town, but the square central courtyard and simple…
- MMuseum of Technology & Transport
This surprisingly good museum 2.5km north of the centre has a fascinating collection of vehicles, mostly of Polish origin – interesting as today Poland…
- CCathedral Basilica of St James
Head downhill from the city centre to explore Szczecin’s 12th-century cathedral, partially destroyed by Red Army shells in 1945 and reconstructed in 1972…
- HHistorical Museum of Szczecin
Szczecin's 15th-century Gothic Town Hall, one of the most architecturally fascinating buildings in the city with its monster red-brick gable, is the only…
- NNational Museum's Department of Art
The National Museum’s Art Gallery resides in an 18th-century palace that formerly served as the Pomeranian parliament. It displays a collection of…
- TTown Hall
Szczecin's huge former town hall is a red-brick colossus dating from the late 19th century. It now houses various obscure maritime institutions.
Top attractions
These are our favorite local haunts, touristy spots, and hidden gems throughout Szczecin.
See
Castle of the Pomeranian Dukes
This castle is the mother of all Szczecin monuments. This vast, blocky building looms over the Old Town, but the square central courtyard and simple…
See
Museum of Technology & Transport
This surprisingly good museum 2.5km north of the centre has a fascinating collection of vehicles, mostly of Polish origin – interesting as today Poland…
See
Cathedral Basilica of St James
Head downhill from the city centre to explore Szczecin’s 12th-century cathedral, partially destroyed by Red Army shells in 1945 and reconstructed in 1972…
See
Historical Museum of Szczecin
Szczecin's 15th-century Gothic Town Hall, one of the most architecturally fascinating buildings in the city with its monster red-brick gable, is the only…
See
National Museum's Department of Art
The National Museum’s Art Gallery resides in an 18th-century palace that formerly served as the Pomeranian parliament. It displays a collection of…
See
Town Hall
Szczecin's huge former town hall is a red-brick colossus dating from the late 19th century. It now houses various obscure maritime institutions.
Guidebooks
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