Wolin (town)

Wolin (Polish pronunciation: 'wolin; formerly Wollin) is a town in northwestern Poland, situated on the southern tip of the Wolin island off the Baltic coast of the historic region of Western Pomerania. The island lies at the edge of the strait of Dziwna in Kamień County, West Pomeranian Voivodeship. The town, now a fishing port and gateway to the island's bathing resorts, has a population of approximately 4,900. Dating from the 9th century, it has been associated with the semi-legendary settlements of Jomsburg, Jumne, Julin and Vineta. It played an important role in the conversion of Pomerania and in 1140 became the first see of the Pomeranian diocese. Several ruins from the Slavic period occupy the area. The early medieval town fell victim to the late 12th century Danish raids, and was refounded in 1260. The ford across the river Dziwna on which Wolin is located has been used as far back as the Stone Age. Archaeological excavations of soil layers indicate that there was a settlement in the area during the Migration period, at the turn of the 5th and 6th centuries. The place was then abandoned for approximately hundred years. At the end of the 8th or the beginning of the 9th century the area was leveled and a new settlement constructed. The earliest evidence of fortifications dates to the first half of the 9th century. In the second half of the 9th century there was a central fortified area and two suburbs, to the north and south of the center. These became enclosed and fortified between the end of the 9th and the 10th centuries. In the 8th century there was a West Slavic settlement on the island. The name of the local tribe was recorded as "Velunzani" (Wolinians) in the 9th century by the Bavarian Geographer, and is considered a sub-tribe of both the Slavic Pomeranians and the Veleti (later Lutizians). The Wolinians are described by Jan Maria Piskorski as the most powerful Pomeranian tribe, due to their control of a multi-ethnic emporium at the site of the present-day town.