Languages and dialects Polish is the dominating language in the Polish part of Pomerania.
Kashubian dialects are also spoken by the
Kashubians in
Pomerelia. In the German part of Pomerania,
Standard German dominates. The historical German dialects of Pomerania are, however,
Low German. The Pomeranian dialects were all part of the
East Low German subgroup:
Mecklenburgisch-Vorpommersch in the west, Central Pomeranian (Mittelpommersch) in Central Pomerania around Szczecin (then Stettin), and
East Pomeranian in the east. The regions east of the
Piaśnica river are not considered Pomeranian according to German terminology, but either
West Prussian or Pomerelian.
Danzig German was hence classified as
Low Prussian, like the dialects of
East Prussia (
Königsberg). Those parts of Pomerania that remained German after 1945 are almost entirely located in the
Mecklenburgisch-Vorpommersch area. Only the regions between the
Zarow river in the west and the
Oder river in the east are historically part of the Central Pomeranian dialect region: the southern shores of the
Szczecin Lagoon (
Ueckermünde), the towns along the
Uecker and
Randow rivers, and those parts of Pomerania that are now in
Brandenburg (
Gartz and the northern districts of
Schwedt/Oder). Central Pomeranian is also spoken along the historically Brandenburgian headwaters of the
Uecker river (
Prenzlau). In
Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, however, the dominating Low German standard version is the Mecklenburgisch-Vorpommersch dialect, and Central Pomeranian texts are often rewritten. East Pomeranian,
Low Prussian, and Standard German were dominating east of the
Oder-Neisse line before
most of its speakers were expelled after World War II.
Kashubian and East Low German are also spoken by the descendants of émigrées, most notably in the Americas (e.g. Argentina, Brazil, Chile and Canada).
Slovincian was spoken at the
Farther Pomeranian–Pomerelian frontier, but is now extinct. File:Polska-dialekty wg Urbańczyka.PNG|A map of Polish dialects. The Pomorze region contains the
Kashubian language and a mix of Polish dialects from other parts of the country. File:German dialect continuum in 1900 (according to Wiesinger & König).png|Pomerania historically lay in the
Low German dialect region:
Mecklenburgisch-Vorpommersch, Central Pomeranian (on the map:Mittelpommerisch) and
East Pomeranian (on the map: Hinterpommerisch) dialects. The regions east of the
Piaśnica river are not regarded as speaking East Pomeranian according to German terminology, and the Low German dialects that were spoken there are called
Low Prussian. File:Wenker atlas lautkarte ohren.png|The Central Pomeranian dialect region of
Low German, east of the
Zarow and north of the
Welse, where "Ohren" (ears) is pronounced like "oan" and "orn" (now bounded by the Oder-Neisse line in the east)
Cuisine :
For typical food and beverages of the region, see Pomeranian cuisine. Museums Museums in the Polish part At least 50 museums in Poland cover the history of Pomerania, the most important of them being the
District Museum in Toruń, the Museum in Grudziądz, the National Museum in
Gdańsk, the
National Maritime Museum, Gdańsk, the Museum of Sopot, the
Emigration Museum in Gdynia, the Museum of Polish Navy in Gdynia, the Museum of Kociewie in Starogard Gdański, the Museum of Kashubian and Pomeranian Literature and Music in Wejherowo, the Kashubian Museum in Kartuzy, the Central Pomerania Museum in
Słupsk, the
Darłowo Museum, the
Koszalin Museum, the Museum of Archeology and History in Stargard, the
National Museum in
Szczecin, the
Museum of the Puck Region, and the Museum of Maritime Fisheries in Świnoujście. Other notable museums include the Museum of the National Anthem (
Muzeum Hymnu Narodowego) in
Będomin at the birthplace of
Józef Wybicki, author of the lyrics of the
national anthem of Poland, and the
Copernicus House in Toruń, birthplace of famed astronomer
Nicolaus Copernicus. The
Diocesan Museum in Pelplin contains one of the finest collections of
medieval art in Poland, and the country's sole copy of the
Gutenberg Bible. Medieval
open-air museums are the
Grodzisko in
Sopot and
Skansen in
Wolin. The
Museum of Polish Arms in
Kołobrzeg contains a collection of militaria related to the military of Poland from the Early Middle Ages to the present. There are also the
Dar Pomorza,
ORP Błyskawica and
SS Sołdek museum ships. Several museums devoted to World War II history are located in Polish Pomerania, including the
Museum of the Second World War in Gdańsk, the Guardhouse no. 1 at Westerplatte (a branch of the Museum of Gdańsk), the Museum of Coastal Defence in
Hel, the
Stutthof Museum in
Sztutowo with the branch
Piaśnica Museum in
Wejherowo, the Museum of the
Pomeranian Wall and World War II in
Szczecinek, and the Armory Museum in
Kłanino. There are also aquaria: the
Gdynia Aquarium and the
Seal Sanctuary in Hel. Other museums include the Amber Museums in Gdańsk and
Jarosławiec, and the
Museum of Gingerbread in Toruń.
Museums in the German part There are around 40 museums in the district of
Vorpommern-Rügen, the most notable of which are: • the "Foundation German Oceanographic Museum" in Stralsund, which runs four locations: the
German Oceanographic Museum, which is housed in the former St. Catherine's Monastery in Stralsund, the
Ozeaneum Stralsund (a natural history museum with a focus on the sea), the Nautineum on the
Dänholm, and the
Natureum in
Born auf dem Darß. • the
Stralsund Museum, which houses a
Svantevit Stone, the
Hiddensee treasure and the Peenemünde gold rings. • the Navy Museum Dänholm (Marinemuseum Dänholm), the
Dänholm being the cradle of the German Navy. • the German Amber Museum in
Ribnitz-Damgarten, located in the former monastery of the
Order of Saint Clare in Ribnitz. • the Bibelzentrum
Barth, which shows one of the Barth Bibles, that were printed in 1588 in
Middle Low German by the Ducal Printing House Barth (Herzogliche Druckerei Barth), founded by
Bogislaw XIII, Duke of Pomerania. • the
Granitz Hunting Lodge with among others, the exhibition "Deers of the world" is Mecklenburg-Vorpommern's most visited castle. • the West Pomeranian Potato Museum in
Tribsees, one of three German potato museums. • the crane museum (
Kranich Museum) in
Saal, dedicated to all kinds of cranes. In the district of
Vorpommern-Greifswald are located around 30 museums, among which: • the
Pomeranian State Museum, the collections of which include the famous
Croÿ-Carpet and various paintings by
Caspar David Friedrich and
Vincent van Gogh. • the
Peenemünde Historical Technical Museum, where the only rockets in the territory of Pomerania are exhibited. • the Museumshafen Greifswald is Germany's largest museum harbour. •
Ukranenland, an archaeological open-air museum on the banks of the Uecker in
Torgelow, which is modeled on an early medieval Slavic village. It depicts the life of the
Ukrani, the Elbe Slavic tribe once native to the
Uckermark.
Education Universities There are four traditional (non-profiled and multi-faculty,
public research) universities in the region, namely the
University of Greifswald, the
University of Szczecin, the
University of Gdańsk and the
Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń, the oldest of which, the
University of Greifswald, was founded when
Greifswald belonged to
Duchy of Pomerania, thus being one of the
oldest universities in the world. The technical universities are the
Gdańsk University of Technology,
West Pomeranian University of Technology in Szczecin, and
Koszalin University of Technology.
University of Applied Sciences The Stralsund University of Applied Sciences (Hochschule Stralsund) in
Stralsund has around 2,400 students. ==Economy==