Szczecin

Shop

Get even more with a Lonely Planet guide.

Poland

$24.99

Shop Book

Getty Images/iStockphoto

Overview

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.

Attractions

Must-see attractions

Castle of the Pomeranian Dukes

Szczecin

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…
Cathedral Basilica of St James

Szczecin

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…
Historical Museum of Szczecin

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…
Museum of Technology & Transport

Szczecin

This surprisingly good museum 2.5km north of the centre has a fascinating collection of vehicles, mostly of Polish origin – interesting as today Poland…
National Museum's Department of Art

Szczecin

The National Museum’s Art Gallery resides in an 18th-century palace that formerly served as the Pomeranian parliament. It displays a collection of…
Town Hall

Szczecin

Szczecin's huge former town hall is a red-brick colossus dating from the late 19th century. It now houses various obscure maritime institutions.