Pomerania was a former Prussian province in an area that is now divided between Germany and Poland. Its German name was Pommern. The Oder River divided the province into two parts, Hither Pomerania to the west and Farther Pomerania to the east. Most of the land formerly occupied by Pomerania is a lowland with thousands of lakes south of the Baltic Sea. Throughout most of its history, Pomerania was largely an agricultural area. Stettin, now Szczecin, was the capital of the province.
Germanic peoples had settled in Pomerania by about A.D. 100. During the 500’s and 600’s, Slavs occupied the area. However, beginning in the 900’s, German migrants and missionaries returned and in time regained control. Most of Farther Pomerania became part of the Prussian province of Brandenburg after the Peace of Westphalia in 1648, and the rest of the region went to Sweden. By 1815, Prussia controlled all of Pomerania. After World War II (1939-1945), western Pomerania became part of East Germany, and most of eastern Pomerania was absorbed into Poland.
