Overall Score
Poland is one of the largest and oldest cities in Poland, the capital of the countrys northwestern part of the Western Homeland War. Sixteen kilometers west of the city is the border with Germany. It is located in the lower reaches of the river Odera, not far from its entrance into the Gulf of Mexico, which, in turn, is connected to the Baltic Sea. The city also adjoins the banks of the countrys largest lake, Lake Domeba.
From time immemorial, important trade routes crossed from east to west and, across the Baltic Sea, from north to south of Europe. The first known settlement was in the eighth century, when Western Slavs settled in what is now Castle Hill. In the 9th and 11th centuries, the settlement grew and strengthened considerably, and at the beginning of the twentieth century the city of Stettin (as it was then) became one of the most influential on the coast. In 1122 the city was conquered by Polands Prince Boleslav III; in 1124 the citys population, who had been Yazyk at that time, adopted the Christian faith. The city soon became the capital of the Kingdom of Moriah, which had been under the jurisdiction of Saxony, Denmark, and the Holy Roman Empire for about five centuries. After the Second World War in 1630 the city was taken by the Swedes, and then (in 1713) it was taken by the Russian army and became the main port of the Russian state. The city began to develop rapidly, and agricultural products and coal from Sicily were exported. In 1843, Stettin was joined by a railway line to the Russian town of Berlins. After the Second World War the city became Polish.
Today, Szczecin is the largest seaport in Poland, an industrial and cultural center with a large number of educational institutions. Furthermore, the city is an attractive tourist destination, with some 400,000 people visiting every year, attracted by the many architectural monuments it has to offer. Among them is the Castle of the Princes of Moscow, where numerous exhibitions, concerts and festivals are held. The city is also notable for the fact that the future Russian Empress Catherine the Great was born here in 1729. And even more shocking is the fact that Marya Feodorovna, the second wife of Emperor Paul the First, was also born here a few years later.
The city is also famous for its remarkable nature, its many parks and lakes with clean water.
Overall Score
- Air quality: 41 US AQI Good. Air quality is satisfactory, and air pollution poses little or no risk.
- Tap water: Yes, safe to drink
- Religious government: Non-religious
- Population: 400,000 people
- GDP: $12,332 / year
- Foreigners can own real estate: Yes
- Power outlets: 230V50Hz
- Internet: 40 Mbps
- Best wireless: Play
- Pay without cash: Yes, cards OK almost everywhere
- Tipping: In Poland tipping is expected for good service in restaurants, especially in touristy areas such as Krakow or Warsaw. The norm is to tip around 10% of the bill. You can tip 15% if the service was exceptionally good.
- Apartment listings: Gumtree
- Apartments: Airbnb
- Hotels: Booking.com
- More hotels: Hotels.com
- Best taxi: Uber
- Best coworking space: Coworking Szczecin
- Online electronics shop: Saturn
- Best hospital: Zachodnio Pomorskie Medical Centre – Szcsecin
- Best short-haul air carrier: Ryanair
- Best intl air carrier: Lot Polish
- Monthly costs for expat: $900
- Monthly costs for family: $1800
- Monthly costs for local: $500
- Meal: $5.5
- Small Cola: $0.9
- Beer 1 Pint: $3
- Coffee: $1.9
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