Kolobrzeg description, location, history. Poland map.

Kolobrzeg description, location, history. Poland map.

Kołobrzeg is located on the Parsęta River on the south coast of the Baltic Sea (the place from which the roads and railway routes run to Koszlin, Białogard, Kamień, Nowogard and further to the centre of Poland).

The origins of Kołobrzeg settlements (there were few of them) on Solna Island date back to the 7th and 8th century, and in Budzistowo to the 8th and 9th century. Solna Island is known for the oldest in Poland saltworks. Famous Budzistowo fortifications were surrounded by the swamps not only from the north but also from the east. The wooden ramparts surrounding the town protected the harbour on the Parsęta River, two settlemets located on the suburbs of the town, as well as trade and fishing settlements located on the left bank of the river.

The development of the city was based on the salt works and herring fishing in the Baltic Sea. Apart from that, in the 10th and 11th century the following crafts developed: drinking and horns production, amber working, pottery, blacksmith works, bronze treatment, metallurgy, goldsmithery, carpentry and weaving. The coins found by archeologists prove that Kołobrzeg developed trade relations with such countries as Germany, Czech Republic, Hungary, Ruthenia and Denmark. An important trade route linked Elbląg with Nowogród (located in Ruthenia), Szczecin (and further in the West) and Wielkopolska Region (and further to the south).

Kołobrzeg is one of the oldest seaside fortresses in Poland. during the reign of Mieszko I and Ladislaus the Brave, Kołobrzeg was the fortified settlement on the Parsęta River. The disocese established by Ladislaus the Brave in the year 1000 was the first one in Western Pomerania. The city developed on the basis of the salt works. In 1255, Kołobrzeg received city rights and was relocated closer to the sea and the salt mines. From 1653, following the Peace of Westphalia, Brandenburg gained control over Kołobrzeg.