449 STETTIN. Stettin, the second in size and the nearest to Berlin of the six great seaports of Germany, lies on the Oder at a point where that river receives from the east two small but navigable tributary streams, the Parnitz and the Dunzig, that is to say, some miles above where the main stream enters one of those shallow lagoons, or “ Haffs” which are characteristic of the German shores of the Baltic Sea. The lagoon in this case is called the Pommersches Ilaff\ and differs from the similar formations further east (the Frisches Haff and the Kurisches Ilaff) in the fact that the barrier of silted sand interposed between it and the Baltic Sea is traversed by three channels so as to form two islands (Usedom and Wollin). The chief and most central of these channels is that of the river Swine, some 12^ miles long, with a great bend in its course. In 1880 the Swine canal was formed, involving the making of a cutting from the Haff to the straight limb of the river, thus avoiding the bend and shortening the distance between Stettin and the Baltic Sea by about six miles. At the mouth of this river stands Swinemünde, the port of Stettin, from which it is 37 miles distant in a north-westerly direction. Like Dantzig and Königsberg, Stettin is the one great town within an extensive agricultural area, and its rise to the rank of one of Germany’s great trading centres is due to the same cause, viz., its position near the mouth of one of the principal national waterways of the empire. As a seaport Stettin is, however, handicapped in its competition with its western rivals, Hamburg, Bremen, and Lübeck by the difficulties of its approach from the sea ; the shipping dues being very high owing to the cost of keeping clear the fairway between Stettin and Swinemünde. Owing to the competition of the railways the traffic between Stettin and the great towns of the upper Oder—Frankfurt, Glogau, and Breslau—has greatly declined, more especially as regards the carriage down-stream of coal, metalliferous ores, and lime, and fears are expressed lest the carriage of goods on the Oder should cease altogether. Apart from the slowness of this means of transport—the journey from Stettin to Breslau by barge takes from 12 to 14 days—the successful competition of the railways may be accounted for by the lowness of the water in the summer months, and the cessation of traffic during hard frosts in the winter. Com munication by water with Berlin is provided by a canal connecting the Oder with the Havel ; the inadequacy and circuitousness of this waterway have, however, resulted in agitation for a ship canal between Stettin and Berlin, and great hopes for the revival of the inland navigation business of Stettin are based on this scheme, in anticipation of which the town is constructing a new harbour with the object of affording extra facilities to the manufacturing industries already existing in the town and encouraging the settlement of new undertakings. The importance of the town as a manufacturing centre is already con siderable, however. Foremost among its industries are iron shipbuilding and marine engineering. In 1906 one local firm alone delivered five vessels aggregating 41,000 gross registered tons, and had in hand a further six vessels of 31,900 gross registered tons. The other industries of greatest local importance are the manufacture of motor-cars, bicycles, typewriting and sewing machines, fireproof clay wares and chemicals, sugar-refining and spirit-distilling, and ready-made-garment making ; the last-named industry providing oppor tunities of home-work for the wives and daughters of many workmen employed in the shipyards and along the quays. As the chief town of the Prussian province of Pomerania, and therefore the seat of civil and military government for an area of about 12,000 square miles, the official and military elements are also strongly represented in the population. 3 L 29088