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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. Communication
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 considerable,
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 opportunities
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.
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