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Świnoujście is divided by the Swine, a waterway connection between Szczecin and the Baltic Sea.
The river Swine was formerly flanked by the fishing villages of West and East Swine. Towards the beginning of the seventeenth century it was made navigable for large ships, and Świnoujście , which was founded on the site of West Swine in 1748, was fortified and raised to the dignity of a town by Frederick the Great in 1765.
It served as the outer port of Szceczin, The city had broad unpaved streets and one-storey houses built in the Dutch style, whuch gave it an almost rustic appearance, although its industries, beyond some fishing, were entirely connected with its shipping. The entrance to the harbour, which was seen the best on the Prussian Baltic coast, was protected by two long breakwaters, and was strongly fortified. On the island of Wollin, on the other side of the narrow Swine, there was a great lighthouse. In 1897 the canal of the Kaiserfahrt was opened to navigation, and this waterway between the Szczecin harbour and the Baltic Sea was deepened between 1900–1901. After this SzCzecin could be directly reached by ships, and Świnoujścies importance diminished some.
On March 12, 1945, Świnoujście suffered heavy destruction by US bombing. At least 23,000 people died, mainly refugees from East Prussia and from surrounding areas. US bombers specifically targeted Świnoujście because of the great number of refugees that had fled there. It was annexed into Poland after 1945, and as such is part of the German land lost east of the Oder-Neisse line.