Słupsk

Słupsk (Stolp in German, Stôłpsk in Kashubian) is a 91,007 inhabitants Polish city by river Słupia, in the western part of the Voivodeship of Pomerania in Poland. Słupsk is also a good idea for those ones who want to explore the area between Szczecin and Gdańsk, or enjoy the Pomeranian coast.

How do I arrive to Słupsk?

 Słupsk is quite well communicated with other places in Pomeranian Voivodeship and West Pomeranian Voivodeship. 

• Train: Słupsk is connected with frequent trains to Ustka (aprox. 20 minutes), Gdańsk (aprox. 2 hours 30 minutes), Szczecin (aprox. 3 hours 15 minutes) or to Warsaw (aprox. 7 hours).
• Bus: there are buses every 30 minutes to Ustka (aprox. 20 minutes) and also some buses to other destinations like Kluki and Smołdzino (aprox. 1 hour) or Łeba (aprox. 1 hour 45 minutes). It isn't far from Pomeranian Voivodeship so, from Słupsk, you can reach places such as Darłowo (aprox. 1.5 hours)
• Car: if you rented a car, Słupsk can be reached from many places in Pomeranian Voivodeship like Ustka (aprox. 20 minutes), Bytów (aprox. 50 minutes), Kartuzy (aprox. 1 hour 25 minutes) at Kashubian Landscape Park, Gdynia (aprox. 1 hour 50 minutes), Gdańsk (aprox. 2 hours). It can also be reached from places in West Pomeranian Voivodeship such as Darłowo (aprox. 50 minutes), Koslzalin (aprox. 1 hour 10 minutes), Toruń (aprox. 1 hour 40 minutes) and Szczecin (aprox. 2 hours 50 minutes).

History

Słupsk was founded as a gord (Slavic fortified settlement) on an islet in the middle of the river. Boleslaus I the Brave, king of Poland, conquered the the settlement in 1015, becoming one of the most important places in Pomerania with Gdańsk and Świecie. Town received city rights in 1265 and it was acquired by Brandenburgian Margraves in 1307, passing in 1317 to the Duchy of Pomerania-Wolgast (and from there to the Duchy of Słupsk). Słupsk remained within Polish political influence until 1474, returning to the Duchy of Pomerania in 1478 under the House of the Griffins. Lutheranism reached town and many of its inhabitants converted to it. After the Peace of Westphalia (1648) Stolp came under Brandenburgian control. In this time Kashubian was allowed to be taught and there was a period of Germanization. After the Thirty Years' War Stop lost much of its former importance and, as part of Brandenburg, it went under the control of the Kingdom of Prussia. During the Napoleonic Wars it was taken by Poland till 1815, when it went back to Prussia as part of the province of Pomerania. Stolp wasn't directly affected by WW1 and in the interwar period it became an active point of Nazi supporters (the local synagogue was burned down during the Kristallnacht) because of its closeness to the Polish Corridor. Słupsk was taken by the Red Army in 1945 (in fear of Soviet repression up to 1,000 inhabitants committed suicide) and the Old Town was set fire by them. After the conferences of Yalta and Postdam, it was transfered to Poland, its German inhabitants were expelled and settled by Poles expelled from former Polish eastern territories annexed by the Soviet Union. In 1999 Słupsk was made part of Pomeranian Voivodeship (after the dissolution of Słupsk Voivodeship and in 2014 elected Poland's first openly gay mayor, Robert Biedroń.
 

What can I visit in Słupsk?

Słupsk is, despite not being a quite toursitic place, a very nice to be visited and enjoy its long 19th century streets, sit down on its benches and relax or visit its monuments.

These are Słupsk's main attractions:

• Słupsk Castle: 16th century Renaissance castle built in 1507 during the reign of Bogislaw X of Pomerania and served as the residence of the Pomeranian Dukes. Inside the castle is located the Museum of Central Pomerania in Słupsk (10:30-18 Wed-Mon from Jul to Sep; 9:30-17 Wed-Sun from Oct to Jun; 22zł/ 16zł  adults/ retiree, students and kid), museum that shows the history of Słupsk and the central part of Pomerania across time. It has a collection with a lot of variety like wooden sacre images, old furniture, postals (invented here) and images of the city in the past... But the most important part of the collection are the works by Witkacy (more than 250 in the museum), a polemic Polish writer, photographer and painter that painted portraits while he was under the effect of drugs, making its work spectacular and grotesque at the same time.
• Słupsk Castle Mill (10:30-18 Wed-Mon from Jul to Sep; 9:30-17 Wed-Sun from Oct to Jun; included in the ticket to the Museum of Central Pomerania): 14th century mill (oldest industrial complex in Poland) with 3 different floors in which are displayed traditional dressings and cooking tools typical from Pomerania. There's also an exhibition and how 1.7 million Polish were moved from eastern territories to inhabited these former German land after WW2. 
• St. Jacka Catholic Church: 15th century church, that resisted quite well WW2, with a magnificent organ. Here are placed the grave monuments of Ernst Bogislaw von Croÿ and Duchess Anna von Croÿ, family of the Dukes of Pomerania. It isn't frequently open but it can be entered at mass time.
• Baszta Czarownic (10-18 Tue-Sun): one of the three remains of the 15th century wall that surrounded Słupsk. This tower was used in the 17th century as a prission for women who were accused of practicing witchcraft and on its worst year (1714), here were executed 18 of them. Nowadays it's used as a temporary art gallery, part of the Baltic Gallery of Contemporary Art.
• Królowej Różańca Świętego Catholic Church (6:30-19): 14th century brick Gothic church with impressing stained glass windows (rebuilt after WW2). It's steeply inclined and crowned with a baroque helmet from the 18th century.
• There are also other two remaining gates that survived WW2: New Gate and Old Gate.
• Świętego Krzyża Lutheran Church: 19th century Neogothic church, one of the only remaining Lutheran churches in Pomerania Voivodeship.
• Baltic Gallery of Contemporary Art (10-18 Mon-Sat): group of art galleries designed for presentation of temporary exhibitions of painting, drawing, sculpture and installations by Polish or international artists.

Królowej Różańca Świętego Church

Słupsk Castle

Ustka Beach

Going 20 km north by river Słupia and reaching the Baltic Sea there's the town of Ustka (Stolpmünde in German, Ùskô in Kashubian), 15,973 inhabitants. It used to be a fishermen village but nowadays is one of the finest touristic places by Baltic Sea, particulary popular among German people since the 19th century (when Otto von Bismarck built a spa resort here, Rote Villa). The most and main sightseeing point is Ustka Beach, a beach with dunes from where it can't be seen the town of Ustka, making it seem a virgin beach. But Ustka has some other interesting things to do; for example it can be visited Ustka Museum (11-18 Tue-Sun from Jul to Sep; booking on advance from Oct to Mar; 11-16 Tue-Sat from Apr to May; 15zł/ 10zł  adults/ reduced), museum with permanent regional exhibitions, vernissages and temporary exhibitions that connects modern and old Ustka; Ustka Lighthouse, built in 1871 and with nice views, a long promenade or a 19th century Neogothic church, Najświętszego Zbawiciela Church. Another interesting place to visit is Bunkry Blüchera (10-18; 16zł/ 10zł  adults/ reduced), a large group of German bunkers and anti-aircraft batteries from WW2 that can be visited.

Where can I do and eat in Słupsk?

Every Sun from 11 to 14 there's an interesting market around Słupsk castle where buying whatever you can imagine related to Poland (from Kashubian dishes to Polish vinyl records).
The gastronomic offer isn't bad in Słupsk and some of the recommendations to eat Polish food are bar mleczny Poranek (Wojska Polskiego 2/13) or the cafe Retro (aleja Henryka Sienkiewicza 3). Another good idea is eat at the restaurant Atmosphere (Starościńska 1).
In case you decided to spend some time in Ustka, the most popular places to eat are the Polish restaurants Dym na Wodzie (Żeromskiego 1), considered one of the best places to eat around all the Baltic Sea, and Tawerna Portowa (bulwar Portowy 6).

Posted in: Europe,Poland,Pomerania