Middle Ages Słupsk developed from a few
medieval settlements located on the banks of the
Słupia River, at the unique
ford along the
trade route connecting the territories of modern
Pomeranian and
West Pomeranian Voivodeships. This factor led to the construction of a
grod, a
West Slavic or
Lechitic fortified settlement, on an islet in the middle of the river. Surrounded by swamps and mires, the fortress had perfect defence conditions. Archaeological research has shown that the grod was situated on an artificial hill and had a natural
moat formed by the branches of the Słupia, and was protected by a
palisade. Records confirm that the area of Słupsk was part of the Polish realm during the reign of
Mieszko I and in the 11th century. According to several sources, the first historic reference to Słupsk comes from the year 1015 when the king of Poland
Boleslaus I the Brave took over the town, incorporating it into the Polish state. In the 12th century, the town became one of the most important castellanies in Pomerania alongside
Gdańsk and
Świecie. However, several historians stated that the first mention was in two documents dating to 1227, signed by the
Pomeranian dukes Wartislaw III and
Barnim I and their mothers, confirming the establishment of an abbey in 1224 and donating estates, among them a village "in Stolp minore" or "in parvo Ztolp", respectively, to that abbey. Another document dated to 1180, which mentions a "castellania Slupensis" and would thus be the oldest surviving record, has been identified as a late 13th-century or 14th-century duplicate. In the earlier of the two 1236 documents, a Johann "castellanus de Slupcz" is mentioned as a witness, Schmidt considers this to be the earliest mention of the gard, since a castellany required the existence of a gard. The first surviving record explicitly mentioning the gard is from 1269: it notes a "Christianus, castellanus in castro Stolpis, et Hermannus, capellanus in civitate ante castrum predictum", thus confirming the existence of a fortress ("castrum") with a suburbium ("civitas"). The oldest mention of Saint Nicolai church dates to 1276. Historians argue that city rights were granted for the first time but later on, in 1282, Mestwin II and Polish Duke
Przemysł II signed the
Treaty of Kępno, which transferred the suzerainty over
Gdańsk Pomerania including Słupsk to Przemysł II. After Mestwin II's death the city was reintegrated with Poland and remained Polish until 1307, when the
Margraviate of Brandenburg took over, while leaving local rule in the hands of the
Swienca family, whose members were castellans in Słupsk. In 1337, the governors of Słupsk (
Stolp) had purchased the village of
Stolpmünde (modern Ustka) , 1507 In the 14th–16th centuries, the city reached the height of its political and economic importance. It maintained trade links with various countries via the port of Ustka.
Bogislaw VIII paid homage in 1410 (also to King Władysław II). The inhabitants of the town began the process of conversion to
Lutheranism. In 1560 Polish pastor Paweł Buntowski preached in the town, and in 1586 Polish religious literature spread locally. After the
Thirty Years' War, Stolp lost much of its former importance—despite the fact that
Szczecin was then
ruled by Sweden, the province's capital was situated not in the second-largest city of the region, but in the one closest to the former ducal residence—
Stargard. However, the local economy stabilized. The constant dynamic development of the
Kingdom of Prussia and good economic conditions saw the city develop. After the major state border changes (modern
Vorpommern and Stettin joined the Prussian state after a conflict with
Sweden) Stolp was only an administrative centre of the
Kreis (district) within the
Regierungsbezirk of
Köslin (Koszalin). However, its geographical location led to rapid development, and in the 19th century, it was the second city of the province in terms of both population and industrialization. In 1769,
Frederick II of Prussia established a military school in the city, according to
Stanisław Salmonowicz its purpose was the
Germanization of local Polish nobility. During the
Napoleonic Wars, the city was taken by 1,500 Polish soldiers under the leadership of general
Michał Sokolnicki in 1807. From 1926 the city became an active point of
Nazi supporters, and the influence of
NSDAP grew rapidly. when however, the election campaign was marked by Nazi terror. During the
Kristallnacht, the night of 9/10 November 1938, the local
synagogue was burned down. In 1944, the Germans established a subcamp of the
Stutthof concentration camp at the local railway repair works, and a forced labour camp for women and children at a local school. Over 200 children, mostly Polish, died in the other camp. The
Polish resistance movement conducted espionage of German activity and distributed
Polish underground press in the city. The
Schutzstaffel (SS) committed a massacre of 24 Polish
forced labourers (23 men and one woman) on 7 March 1945, just before the
Red Army took over the city without any serious resistance on 8 March 1945. Thousands remained in the city; the others had fled and the German soldiers abandoned it. However, the Soviet soldiers were ordered to set fire to the historical central Old Town, which was almost completely destroyed. The war resulted in the destruction of approximately 28% of residential buildings and 16% of industrial facilities. In September 1946, the first
Warsaw Uprising Monument in Poland was unveiled. During the
1970 protests there were minor strikes and demonstrations. None were killed during the
militia's interventions.
After 1989 Major street name changes were made in Słupsk after the
Revolutions of 1989. Also, a process of major renovations and refurbishments began, beginning in the principal neighbourhoods. According to the
administrative reform of Poland in 1999,
Słupsk Voivodeship was dissolved and divided between two larger regions:
Pomeranian Voivodeship and
West Pomeranian Voivodeship. Słupsk itself became part of the former. The reform was criticized by locals, who wanted to create a separate Middle Pomeranian Voivodeship. In 1998 a major
riot took place after a basketball game. In 2014, Słupsk elected Poland's first openly gay mayor,
Robert Biedroń. In the same year, the city was awarded the
Europe Prize by the
Parliamentary Assembly of the
Council of Europe for having made exceptional efforts to spread the ideal of European unity. ==Geography==