View source for Police, West Pomeranian Voivodeship

{{About|the town in Poland|the Polish police force|Policja|and|Law enforcement in Poland}}
{{More footnotes needed|date=February 2010}}
{{Infobox settlement
| name = Police
| image_skyline = SM Police Kościół śś Piotra i Pawła 2019 (1).jpg
| image_caption = Saints Peter and Paul Gothic Church in Police-Jasienica
| image_flag = POL_Police_flag.svg
| image_shield = POL Police COA.svg
| pushpin_map = Poland
| pushpin_label_position = bottom
| subdivision_type = [[List of sovereign states|Country]]
| subdivision_name = {{POL}}
| subdivision_type1 = [[Voivodeships of Poland|Voivodeship]]
| subdivision_name1 = [[West Pomeranian Voivodeship|West Pomeranian]]
| subdivision_type2 = [[Powiat|County]]
| subdivision_name2 = [[Police County|Police]]
| subdivision_type3 = [[Gmina]]
| subdivision_name3 = [[Gmina Police|Police]]
| established_title = Town rights
| established_date = 1260
| leader_title = Mayor
| leader_name = Władysław Diakun
| area_total_km2 = 36.84
| population_as_of = 2014
| population_total = 41745
| population_density_km2 = auto
| timezone = [[Central European Time|CET]]
| utc_offset = +1
| timezone_DST = [[Central European Summer Time|CEST]]
| utc_offset_DST = +2
| coordinates = {{coord|53|32|N|14|34|E|region:PL|display=title,inline}}
| postal_code_type = Postal code
| postal_code = 72-009, 72-010, 72-011
| registration_plate = ZPL
| blank_name_sec2 = [[Voivodeship road]]
| blank_info_sec2 = [[File:DW114-PL.svg|32px|link=Voivodeship road 114]]
| website = [http://www.police.pl www.police.pl]
}}
'''Police''' ({{small|Polish: }}{{IPAc-pl|p|o|'|l|J|i|c|e}}; {{langx|de|link=|Pölitz}}) is a town in the [[West Pomeranian Voivodeship]], in northwestern [[Poland]].{{TERYT}} It is the capital of [[Police County]] and one of the biggest towns of the [[Szczecin metropolitan area]].

The town is situated on the [[Oder River]] and its [[estuary]], south of the [[Szczecin Lagoon]] and the [[Bay of Pomerania]]. The centre of Police is situated about {{convert|15|km|0|abbr=off}} north of the centre of [[Szczecin]].

==Etymology==
The name of the town comes from [[Proto-Slavic]] ''pole'', which means [[Wiktionary:field|field]].<ref>Kazimierz Rymut, ''Nazwy miast Polski'' (Names of towns of Poland), [[Ossolineum|Zakład Narodowy im. Ossolińskich]], 1980, pg. 189</ref>

== History ==
[[File:0904 Tabl StrRynek Police ZPL.JPG|thumb|left|Plaque commemorating the granting of town rights in 1260]]
The settlement was first mentioned in 1243. [[Duchy of Pomerania|Pomeranian duke]] [[Barnim I|Barnim of Pomerania]] granted [[Magdeburg law]] to the town in 1260.<ref>Rudolf Benl, ''Die Gestaltung der Bodenrechtsverhältnisse in Pommern vom 12. bis zum 14. Jahrhundert'', Böhlau, 1986, p.240, {{ISBN|3-412-01586-5}}: "Die deutsche Stadt Pölitz war 1260 von Barnim I. gegründet..."</ref><ref name=Gallien>Thomas Gallien, Reno Stutz, Geschichtswerkstatt Rostock, Landesheimatverband Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, ''Landeskundlich-historisches Lexikon Mecklenburg-Vorpommern'', Hinstorff, 2007, p.503</ref> At the end of the 13th century, the town had become a fief of a local dynasty of [[knight]]s, the Drake family.<ref name=Johanek/> In 1321, with the death of Otto Drake, the town became a dependency of nearby [[Stettin]] (now Szczecin),<ref name=Johanek>Peter Johanek et al.: ''Städtebuch Hinterpommern Ausg. 2-3'', [[Kohlhammer Verlag]], 2003, p.268, {{ISBN|3-17-018152-1}}</ref> hindering its growth until the mid-18th century.

Nearby [[Jasienica Abbey]], now within the Police city limits, was secularized during the [[Protestant Reformation]], which was adapted in the [[Duchy of Pomerania]] in 1534. After its secularization, the abbey became a ducal domain, and was the site of the treaty that for the first time [[History of Pomerania during the Early Modern Age|partitioned the duchy]] into a [[Western Pomerania|western]] and [[Farther Pomerania|eastern]] part ([[Pomerania-Wolgast]] and [[Pomerania-Stettin]]) in 1569.<ref>Dietmar Willoweit, Hans Lemberg, ''Reiche und Territorien in Ostmitteleuropa: historische Beziehungen und politische Herrschaftslegitimation'', Oldenbourg Wissenschaftsverlag, 2006, p.96, {{ISBN|3-486-57839-1}}</ref>

From the [[Treaty of Stettin (1630)]] until the [[Treaty of Stockholm (Great Northern War)|Treaty of Stockholm (1720)]], Pölitz was part of [[Swedish Pomerania]], and of [[Province of Pomerania (1653-1815)|Prussian Pomerania]] thereafter. In 1808, Pölitz became independent from Stettin again. In 1815, Pölitz became part of the restructured [[Province of Pomerania (1815–1945)|Province of Pomerania]], administered within [[Landkreis Randow]] county. In 1939, this county was dissolved and Pölitz was made part of [[Groß-Stettin]].<ref name=Hinz>Johannes Hinz, ''Pommern Lexikon'', Kraft, 1994, p.236, {{ISBN|3-8083-1164-9}}</ref>

=== German synthetic fuel factory===
In 1937, the [[Bergius process|synthetic fuel]] plant ''Hydrierwerke Pölitz AG'' was founded by [[IG Farben]], [[Rhenania-Ossag]], and [[German-American Petroleum Society|Deutsch-Amerikanische Petroleum Gesellschaft]]<ref>Rainer Karlsch, Raymond G. Stokes, ''Faktor Öl: die Mineralölwirtschaft in Deutschland 1859-1974'', C. H. Beck, 2003, pp.193ff, {{ISBN|3-406-50276-8}}</ref> which by 1943 was producing 15% of [[Nazi Germany]]'s synthetic fuels, 577,000 [[ton]]s.<ref>Rainer Karlsch, Raymond G. Stokes, ''Faktor Öl: die Mineralölwirtschaft in Deutschland 1859-1974'', C.H.Beck, 2003, p.196, {{ISBN|3-406-50276-8}}</ref> The plant derived its workforce from an adjacent system of camps (Pommernlager, Nordlager, Tobruklager, Wullenwever-Lager, Arbeitserziehungslager Hägerwelle, Dürrfeld Lager) plus a ship moored on the [[Oder River]] serving as a camp (Umschulungslager Bremerhaven). In addition, a subcamp of the [[Stutthof concentration camp]] was located in Pölitz, whose prisoners were mostly Poles, Lithuanians, Latvians, Russians, and Germans, but also Frenchmen, Yugoslavians, and Greeks.<ref name=ushm>{{cite book|last=Megargee|first=Geoffrey P.|year=2009|title=The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Encyclopedia of Camps and Ghettos 1933–1945. Volume I|publisher=Indiana University Press, United States Holocaust Memorial Museum|pages=1470−1471|isbn=978-0-253-35328-3}}</ref> Up to 28,000 laborers were placed in all the camps.<ref name=ushm/> Exhausting labor, hunger, abuse, and executions resulted in a high death toll in the subcamp of Stutthof, and there were also several escape attempts.<ref name=ushm/> On 17 April 1945, the prisoners were sent on a [[Death marches during the Holocaust|death march]], whereas the most ill and unable to march were massacred on 25 April 1945.<ref name=ushm/>

During [[World War II]], the plant made Pölitz [[Oil Campaign chronology of World War II|a nine-time bombing target]] of the [[Allies (WWII)|Allied]] [[Oil Campaign of World War II|Oil Campaign]] from late April 1943 onward, leading to 70% of the town being destroyed.<ref name=Gallien/><ref name=Hinz/>

===Post–World War II===
[[File:Wik Pce SDC16331.JPG|thumb|Mścięcino Park near the municipal border between [[Szczecin]] and Police]]
The city with the plant was captured by the Soviet Union's [[Red Army]] during the [[Battle of Berlin]] on 26 April 1945. While most of the [[former eastern territories of Germany|former German territory]] east of the [[Oder-Neisse line]] became Polish, Pölitz, situated on the western bank of the Oder, remained a [[Soviet Union|Soviet]]-administered [[exclave]]: Marshal [[Zhukov]] decreed the establishment of a Soviet county with Pölitz, Ziegenort, Jasenitz, [[Mścięcino|Messenthin]] and Scholwin,<ref name=Piskorski380>Jan M Piskorski, ''Pommern im Wandel der Zeit'', 1999, p.380, {{ISBN|978-83-906184-8-7}}</ref> although officially also declared part of Poland. 25,000 German workers had to disassemble the plant before it was sent to the [[USSR]].<ref name=Piskorski380/>

Gradually, the area without the plant was given to Poland: [[Mścięcino]] on 7 September 1946, and Police with [[Jasienica, Police|Jasienica]] on 19 September. On 25 February 1947 the plant also passed to Polish control. As a result, the Soviet Union allowed Polish annexations of territory west of the river Odra, beyond the border as agreed on the [[Potsdam Conference]].<ref>{{cite book|title=Die Oder-Neisse-Linie: Geschichte der Aufrichtung und Anerkennung einer problematischen Grenze|author=Michael A. Hartenstein|publisher=Hänsel-Hohenhausen|year= 1997|pages=100}}</ref>

[[Recovered Territories|Polish settlers]], partially [[Repatriation of Poles (1944–1946)|expellees]] from the east of [[Kresy|former Poland]], arrived in the region to replace the German [[Flight and expulsion of Germans from Poland|population that had fled or were expelled]]. They were joined by [[Refugees of the Greek Civil War|refugees]] from [[Greece]] and [[Socialist Republic of Macedonia|Yugoslav Macedonia]] in 1953.

The ruins of the plant still remain standing, though they are not secured and are dangerous to visit.

A large chemical plant (''Zakłady Chemiczne "Police"'') was built in the town in 1969 and has grown since to become one of the largest in Poland. It produces mostly [[titanium dioxide]] pigments and nitrogen and phosphorus fertilizers.

Police was in the [[Szczecin Voivodeship (1975–1998)|Szczecin Voivodeship]] from 1946 to 1998. In 1973, town limits were expanded by including [[Jasienica, Police|Jasienica]] as a new district.<ref>{{Cite Polish law|title=Rozporządzenie Prezesa Rady Ministrów z dnia 30 listopada 1972 r. w sprawie utworzenia, zniesienia i zmiany granic niektórych miast.|year=1972|volume=50|number=327}}</ref> Since 1999 the town has been part of the [[West Pomeranian Voivodeship]].

== Districts ==
[[File:0904 OsAnJag Police ZPL.JPG|thumb|Wyszyńskiego Street in the New Town]]
*[[Police Old Town]]
*[[Mścięcino]]
*[[Jasienica, Police|Jasienica]]
*New Town (Nowe Miasto: Osiedle Dąbrówka, Osiedle Gryfitów, Osiedle Księcia Bogusława X, Osiedle Anny Jagiellonki)

==Sights==
[[File:Police kaplica gotycka (3).jpg|thumb|upright|Gothic chapel]]
Notable buildings from the pre-WW2 era:
*the ruins of [[Jasienica Abbey]], a former [[Augustinians|Augustinian]] abbey in [[Jasienica, Police|Police-Jasienica]] (14th century)
*a [[Gothic architecture|Gothic]] Church in [[Jasienica, Police|Police-Jasienica]] (14th/18th century)
*a [[Gothic architecture|Gothic]] [[Chapel]] (15th century) in The [[Bolesław Chrobry|Chrobry]] Square in [[Police Old Town|The Old Town]]
*a [[Neo-Gothic]] Church (19th century) in Old Town
*the Police [[Lapidary]] in The Staromiejski Park in Old Town
*[[Tenement house]]s (19th century)
*[[Town hall]] (1906) (not rebuilt after WWII)

The tourist and cultural information office is localised in The Gothic Chapel in Bolesław Chrobry Square in [[Police Old Town|The Old Town of Police]]

==Geography and nature==
[[File:0905 Odra Domiąża ZP.JPG|left|thumb|Oder in Police]]
Police is situated on the [[Oder River]] and an [[estuary]] of the [[Oder River]] - [[Roztoka Odrzańska]], south of the [[Lagoon of Szczecin]] and the [[Bay of Pomerania]]. The centre of Police Town is situated about {{convert|15|km|0|abbr=on}} north of the centre of [[Szczecin]]. Police is at located in the [[Ueckermünder Heide]] ({{langx|pl|Puszcza Wkrzańska}}) with the [[Świdwie Nature Reserve]] around Lake Świdwie near [[Tanowo]] and [[Dobra (Powiat Policki)|Dobra]].

A [[kayak]] route follows the [[Gunica]] River from [[Węgornik]] through [[Tanowo]], [[Tatynia]] and [[Wieńkowo]] to [[Jasienica, Police|Police-Jasienica]]. At the [[Szczecin Lagoon]] is a small [[yacht]] marina on the mouth of the Łarpia River (part of [[Oder]]) - 'Olimpia'. The ruins of the synthetic petrol plant (Hydrierwerke Pölitz – Aktiengeselschaft) are now a habitat of [[bat]]s ([[Barbastelle]], [[Greater mouse-eared bat]], [[Daubenton's Bat]], [[Natterer's bat]], [[Brown long-eared bat]]).

{{Further|Policki Nurt}}

== Population ==
{{Historical populations|align=left|cols=3|1740|1000|1816|1313|1850|2500|1871|3871|1880|4146|1890|4009|1900|4415|1910|4149|1925|4963|1939|6323|1960|8894|1970|12800|1980|24800|1990|34400|2000|35000|2010|33951|2023|36232|source=<ref>{{cite book|author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.-->|title=Dokumentacja Geograficzna|volume=3/4|year=1967|language=pl|location=Warszawa|publisher=Instytut Geografii [[Polish Academy of Sciences|Polskiej Akademii Nauk]]|page=39}}</ref><ref name=Gallien/><ref>Rocznik Statystyczny 1981, Główny Urząd Statystyczny, Warszawa 1981, Rok XLI</ref><ref>{{cite book|author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.-->|url=https://stat.gov.pl/cps/rde/xbcr/gus/PUBL_l_ludnosc_stan_struktura_31_12_2010.pdf|title=Stan i struktura ludności oraz ruch naturalny w przekroju terytorialnym w 2010 r.|year=2011|location=Warszawa|publisher=Główny Urząd Statystyczny|page=109|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111113152513/https://stat.gov.pl/cps/rde/xbcr/gus/PUBL_l_ludnosc_stan_struktura_31_12_2010.pdf|archive-date=13 November 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://bip.police.pl/artykul/54/52/dane-statystyczne|title=Stan ludności na dzień 31.12.2023|year=2024|language=pl|publisher=Biuletyn Informacji Publicznej Urzędu Miejskiego w Policach}}</ref>}}
{{clear|left}}

== Infrastructure ==
[[File:0905 Port Police ZPL 7.JPG|thumb|[[Port of Police]]]]
Major roads under state control connect Police to [[Trzebież]] and [[Nowe Warpno]], No. 114; to [[Tanowo]], No. 114; and to [[Szczecin]] over [[Przęsocin]].

Main streets in Police include: ul. Tanowska, ul. Bankowa, ul. Grunwaldzka, ul. Kościuszki, ul. Jasienicka, ul. Dworcowa, ul. Piastów, ul. Wojska Polskiego, ul. Asfaltowa, ul. Cisowa, ul. Piłsudskiego, and ul. Wyszyńskiego.

*Railway:

:*[[Szczecin]] - Police - [[Trzebież]]

*[[Harbour]]s:
:*[[Port of Police]]: [[Sea]]-[[Harbour]]
:*[[Port of Police]]: [[River]]-[[Harbour]]

*Airport in [[Goleniów]], a town behind the [[Oder]] River ([[Szczecin-Goleniów "Solidarność" Airport]])
*[[Public transport]]:
**10 [[bus]] lines in a town. Bus communication between all districts of a town, a few villages near Police ([[Trzeszczyn]], [[Tanowo]], [[Siedlice, Police County|Siedlice]], [[Leśno Górne]], [[Pilchowo, Police County|Pilchowo]], [[Przęsocin]], LS to [[Trzebież]] over [[Dębostrów]], [[Niekłończyca]] and [[Uniemyśl, West Pomeranian Voivodeship|Uniemyśl]]) and [[Szczecin]] City.
*[[Taxicab]]

== Culture and sport ==
[[File:Pce Wik SDC16439.JPG|thumb|upright|Public Library of [[Police County]] in Police]]
* [[Chemik Police (football)|Chemik Police]] - football club
* [[KPS Chemik Police]] - female volleyball club
* [[Łarpia Sail Festival]] - shanty music festival - in May, periodic
* ''Augustinian Fair'' (Polish: ''Jarmark Augustiański'') in [[Jasienica, Police|Jasienica]] - at the end of August, periodic
* [[Police Nationwide Quarter-Marathon]] (''Ćwierćmaraton Policki'') - in October, periodic
* ''Police Music Days'' (Polish: ''Polickie Dni Muzyki "Cecyliada"'') - in October, periodic

== Hospital ==
A clinic hospital in Police (Siedlecka Street, The New Town, Osiedle Gryfitów) is a part of The [[Pomeranian Medical University]].

== Notable residents ==
*[[Ludwig Hollonius]] (1570s-1621), pastor and playwright
*[[Hans Modrow]] (1928–2023), former premier of [[East Germany]]

== Major corporations ==
* [[Zakłady Chemiczne Police SA]]
* [[Port of Police]] (The [[Seaport]], The [[Barge]] Port, The 'Mijanka' cargo [[Berth (moorings)|berth]])
* [[Industrial Park]] - [[Policki Park Przemysłowy]] ([[Infrapark Police]])

==Twinning cities==
The [[sister cities]] of Police are:<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.police.pl/pcms.aspx?cid=283 |title=Miasta partnerskie |publisher=bip.police.pl |language=pl |access-date=2015-01-05 |archive-date=2012-01-03 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120103214820/http://www.police.pl/pcms.aspx?cid=283 |url-status=dead }}</ref>
*{{flagicon|GER}} [[Pasewalk]], Germany
*{{flagicon|UKR}} [[Novyi Rozdil]], Ukraine
*{{flagicon|DEN}} [[Slagelse]], Denmark <ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.slagelse.dk/media/8605243/nordiske-venskabsbyer.pdf|title=Nordiske venskabsbyer | language=da | trans-title=Nordic twin towns | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191102184337/https://www.slagelse.dk/media/8605243/nordiske-venskabsbyer.pdf | archive-date=2019-11-02 | website=www.slagelse.dk}}</ref>

==Towns near Police==
* [[Szczecin]], Poland
* [[Nowe Warpno]], Poland
* [[Goleniów]], Poland
* [[Eggesin]], Germany
* [[Ueckermünde]], Germany
* [[Pasewalk]], Germany

==See also==
* Villages in [[Police County]]: [[Przęsocin]], [[Kołbaskowo]], [[Trzebież]]
* [[Szczecin Lagoon]]
* [[Wkrzanska Forest]]

==References==
; Notes
{{Reflist|30em}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Police (town)|Police}}
{{Wikivoyage|Police}}
* [http://www.police.pl/ Official town webpage]
* [http://lazowski.szczecin.art.pl/police/historia-uk.htm History of Police]
* [http://www.zchpolice.pl/pl/ The Factory: Zakłady Chemiczne "Police"]
* [http://www.portpolice.pl/ Police Harbour]
* [http://www.police.city-map.pl/city/db/500200000001.html Police on www.city-map.pl]
* [http://vr360.pl/VR_tours/vr/obiektiv/index.php?image=jasie Jasienica VR360]

{{Police County}}
{{Gmina Police}}
{{Pomerania}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Police, West Pomeranian Voivodeship| ]]
[[Category:Cities and towns in West Pomeranian Voivodeship]]
[[Category:Police County]]
[[Category:Populated riverside places in Poland]]
[[Category:Port cities and towns in Poland]]
[[Category:Sites of Nazi war crimes in Poland]]