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{{short description|City in West Pomeranian Voivodeship, Poland}}
{{other uses|Stargard (disambiguation)}}
{{redirect|Starogród|a village in the Masovian Voivodeship|Starogród, Masovian Voivodeship}}
{{Infobox settlement
| name = Stargard 
| motto = {{force singular}} Stargard - Klejnot Pomorza<br />Stargard - Jewel of Pomerania
| image_skyline = {{multiple image
| border = infobox
| total_width = 270
| image_style = border:1;
| perrow = 1/2
| image1 = Ratusz Miejski w Stargardzie - Nr rejestru zabytku A-1475+A1469.jpg{{!}}City Hall
| image2 = Kolegiata NMP Królowej Świata w Stargardzie - Nr rejestru zabytku A-1467.jpg{{!}}Market Square and St. Mary's Church
| image3 = Brama Pyrzycka w Stargardzie.jpg{{!}}Brama Pyrzycka (Pyrzyce Gate), part of the medieval town walls
| caption1 = City Hall
| caption2 = [[St. Mary's Church, Stargard|St. Mary's Church]]
| caption3 = Pyrzyce Gate
}}
| image_flag = POL Stargard Szczeciński flag.svg
| flag_size = 150px
| image_shield = POL Stargard COA.svg
| image_blank_emblem = Logo_stargard_under_a_lucky_star.jpg
| blank_emblem_type = Brandmark
| shield_size = x100px
| 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 = {{flag|West Pomeranian Voivodeship}}
| subdivision_type2 = [[Powiat|County]]
| subdivision_name2 = [[Stargard County|Stargard]]
| subdivision_type3 = [[Gmina]]
| subdivision_name3 = Stargard<small> (urban gmina)</small>
| leader_title = City mayor
| leader_name = Rafał Zając ([[Civic Coalition (Poland)|KO]])
| established_title = Established
| established_date = 8th century
| established_title2 = First mentioned
| established_date2 = 1124
| established_title3 = City rights
| established_date3 = 1243
| area_total_km2 = 48.1
| population_as_of = 31 December 2021
| population_total = 67293 {{decrease}}<ref name="population">{{cite web|url=https://bdl.stat.gov.pl/bdl/dane/teryt/jednostka|title=Local Data Bank|access-date= 15 August 2022|publisher=Statistics Poland}} Data for territorial unit 3214011.</ref>
| 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|20|N|15|2|E|region:PL|display=title,inline}}
| elevation_m = 20
| postal_code_type = Postal code
| postal_code = 73-100<br />to 73-110
| area_code = +48 91
| blank_name = [[Polish car number plates|Car plates]]
| blank_info = ZST
| website = http://www.stargard.pl
}}
'''Stargard''' ({{IPAc-pl|AUD|Pl-Stargard Szczeciński.ogg||'|s|t|a|r|g|a|r|t|}}; <small>1945:</small> ''Starogród'', <small>1950–2016:</small> ''Stargard Szczeciński''; {{langx|de|link=no|Stargard in Pommern}} or ''Stargard an der Ihna''; {{langx|csb|Stôrgard}}) is a [[city]] in northwestern [[Poland]], located in the [[West Pomeranian Voivodeship]].{{TERYT}} In 2021 it was inhabited by 67,293 people.<ref name="population" /> It is situated on the [[Ina River]]. The city is the seat of the [[Stargard County]], and, extraterritorially, of the municipality of [[Gmina Stargard|Stargard]]. It is the second biggest city of [[Szczecin agglomeration]].

Founded in the 8th century, Stargard is one of the oldest cities in Poland. It owed its centuries-long prosperity to trade and crafts, and from 1377 to 1478 it was the capital of a small eponymous principality ruled by the [[House of Griffin]]. It became more internationally known only in the 20th century, for being the location of large German-operated prisoner-of-war camps for tens of thousands of Allied soldiers of various nationalities during each of the world wars. The city contains several notable medieval [[Gothic architecture|Gothic]] landmarks, chiefly the [[St. Mary's Church, Stargard|St. Mary's Church]] and defensive walls with several gates and towers, listed as [[Historic Monument (Poland)|Historic Monuments of Poland]], and an international military cemetery from both world wars. Stargard is the location of a [[Polish Army]] garrison and a major railroad junction, where the southwards connection from [[Szczecin]] splits into two directions: towards [[Poznań]] and [[Gdańsk]].

== Etymology ==
The city's name is of [[Pomeranian language|Pomeranian]] ([[Kashubian language|Kashubian]]) origin and stands for ''old'' (''stari'') ''town/city'' (''gard'' or ''gôrd'').<ref>{{cite book|last1=Brücker|first1=Aleksander|author-link1=Aleksander Brückner|title=Słownik etymologiczny języka polskiego|date=1927|language=pl|quote=oboczne [[wikt:gród|gard]] zachowały nazwy na Pomorzu (Stargard, ‘starogród’, ...)}}</ref>

In this meaning, the term ''gard'' is still being used by the only surviving Pomeranian language speakers, the [[Kashubs]]. However, some experts say that the name is of [[Proto-Norse language|proto-Norse]] origin: ''starn'' (star) and ''gate'' (as in English).<ref>{{cite book|last1=Kociuba|first1=Jarosław|title=Pomorze - Praktyczny przewodnik turystyczny po ziemiach Księstwa Pomorskiego|date=2012|publisher=Walkowska Wydawnictwo|location=Szczecin|isbn=9788361805496|page=422|language=pl}}</ref>

==History==
===Middle Ages===
[[File:Stargard Szczeciński, kolegiata.jpg|thumb|left|upright|[[St. Mary's Church, Stargard|St. Mary's Church]], a [[Gothic architecture]] masterpiece and [[List of Historic Monuments (Poland)|Historic Monument in Poland]]]]
The settlement was founded in the 8th century at the site of the present-day district of Osetno near downtown Stargard.<ref name=bip>{{cite web|url=http://bip.powiatstargardzki.pl/strony/231.dhtml|title=O powiecie|website=BIP Starostwo Powiatowe w Stargardzie|access-date=30 May 2020|language=pl}}</ref> In 967 it became part of the emerging Polish state under the first Polish rulers from the [[Piast dynasty]].<ref name=bip/><ref>{{cite magazine|last=Labuda|first=Gerard|year=1993|title=Chrystianizacja Pomorza (X–XIII stulecie)|magazine=Studia Gdańskie|language=pl|location=Gdańsk-Oliwa|volume=IX|page=47}}</ref> Stargard was first mentioned in 1124,<ref name=pwn>{{cite web|url=https://encyklopedia.pwn.pl/haslo/Stargard;3979089.html|title=Stargard|website=Encyklopedia PWN|access-date=14 February 2020|language=pl}}</ref> when it was part of Poland under [[Bolesław III Wrymouth]]. A church was founded in 1140.<ref>Labuda, p. 52–53</ref> Stargard received [[Magdeburg rights|Magdeburg city rights]] in 1243 from [[Barnim I, Duke of Pomerania]].

It was one of the most important towns and a major trade centre of the [[Duchy of Pomerania]], after it split off from Poland as a result of the 12th-century fragmentation of Poland. From 1283, the city had a port at the mouth of the [[Ina (river)|Ina River]] in the nowadays abandoned village of [[Inoujście]].<ref name=pwn/> Defensive city walls were built in the 13th century and expanded in the 14th, 15th and early 16th centuries.<ref name=gp>Grzegorz Podruczny ''Niezrealizowane projekty twierdzy w Stargardzie'', "Stargardia X" (2015), p. 282 (in Polish)</ref> In 1363 the city joined the [[Hanseatic League]].

As a result of the ongoing fragmentation of Pomerania, in 1368 Stargard became part of the [[Duchy of Słupsk]] (Pomerania-Stolp) and in 1377 it became the capital of a separate eponymous duchy, which in 1403 fell back to Duchy of Słupsk, a vassal state of the [[Crown of the Kingdom of Poland|Kingdom of Poland]]. In 1478 Stargard became part of the reunified Duchy of Pomerania.

In the meantime, the trade rivalry with the nearby city of [[Szczecin]] led to the outbreak of the Stargard-Szczecin war in 1454,<ref name=pwn/> which ended in 1464. In 1477 Stargard helped Duke [[Wartislaw X, Duke of Pomerania|Wartislaw X]] recapture the town of [[Gartz]] during a [[Margraviate of Brandenburg|Brandenburgian]] invasion.<ref>{{cite book|last=Kratz|first=Gustav|year=1865|title=Die Städte der Provinz Pommern. Abriss ihrer Geschichte, zumeist nach Urkunden|location=Berlin|page=363}}</ref>

===Modern period===
[[File:Stargard Lubinus.PNG|thumb|left|Stargard in the 17th century]]
[[File:Karte von Stargard in Pommern (um 1700).png|thumb|Map of Stargard ({{circa|1700}})]]
Stargard was part of the Duchy of Pomerania until its dissolution after the death of the last duke [[Bogislaw XIV, Duke of Pomerania|Bogislaw XIV]] in 1637.<ref name=pwn/> During the [[Thirty Years' War]] the city was captured by [[Swedish Empire|Sweden]] in 1630.<ref name=gp/> It was besieged by the troops of the [[Holy Roman Empire]] in 1635,<ref>Podruczny, p. 283</ref> and in order to hamper the attacks the Swedish commander set fire to the suburbs, causing a city fire, however, it was still captured by imperial troops.<ref>Kratz (1865), p. 367-368</ref> In 1636 it was recaptured by the Swedes, then it was taken and plundered by Imperial troops to fall back to the Swedes again after the [[Battle of Wittstock]].<ref name=gk>Kratz (1865), p. 368</ref> In 1637 it was again captured by Imperial troops and then by Sweden.<ref name=gk/> As a result of the war, the population decreased by about 75%.<ref name=sz>{{cite web|url=https://sztetl.org.pl/pl/miejscowosci/s/769-stargard/96-historia-miejscowosci/70104-historia-miejscowosci|title=Stargard. Historia miejscowości|website=Wirtualny Sztetl|access-date=14 February 2020|language=pl}}</ref>

In accordance to the 1648 [[Peace of Westphalia]], in 1653 it was incorporated, together with the rest of [[Farther Pomerania]], into [[Brandenburg-Prussia]].<ref name=pwn/> In May 1659, a Swedish force of 2,000 men [[Storming of Stargard|captured the city]].{{Sfn|Barkman|Lundkvist|Tersmeden|1966|pp=433–436}} A [[French people|French]] [[Huguenot]] commune was founded in 1687 and consisted of 145 people in 1700.<ref>{{cite book|last=Muret|first=Eduard|title=Geschichte der Französischen Kolonie in Brandenburg-Preußen, unter besonderer Berücksichtigung der Berliner Gemeinde. Aus Veranlassung der Zweihundertjährigen Jubelfeier am 29. Oktober 1885|year=1885|location=Berlin|page=266}}</ref> In 1701 Stargard became part of the [[Kingdom of Prussia]] and in 1818, after the [[Napoleonic Wars]], Stargard became part of the new district [[Szadzko]] (then officially ''Saatzig'') within the [[Province of Pomerania (1815–1945)|Province of Pomerania]]. During the [[Franco-Prussian War]] (1870–1871), the Prussians established a [[prisoner-of-war camp]] for French troops in the city.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Aniszewska|first=Jolanta|year=2011|title=W obowiązku pamięci... Stalag II D i formy upamiętnienia jeńców wojennych w Stargardzie Szczecińskim|journal=Łambinowicki rocznik muzealny|location=Opole|language=pl|volume=34|page=11|issn=0137-5199}}</ref>

As a result of the [[unification of Germany]] in 1871 the city became part of the [[German Empire]]. On 1 April 1901 it became an [[independent city]], separate from the Saatzig District. According to the Prussian census of 1905, Stargard had a population of 26,907, of which 97% were [[Germans]] and 3% were [[Polish people|Poles]].<ref>{{Cite book|last=Belzyt|first=Leszek|url=https://opacplus.bsb-muenchen.de/search?isbn|title=Sprachliche Minderheiten im preussischen Staat: 1815 - 1914; die preußische Sprachenstatistik in Bearbeitung und Kommentar|date=1998|publisher=Herder-Inst.|isbn=978-3-87969-267-5|location=Marburg}}</ref> During [[World War I]], the German administration operated a [[German prisoner-of-war camps in World War I|prisoner-of-war camp]] in Stargard, which housed in total some 50,000 POWs, including Russian (including ethnic Poles from the [[Russian Partition]] of Poland conscripted to the Tsarist army), French (including Algerians), Belgian, American, English, Serbian, Romanian, Portuguese, Italian and Japanese.<ref>{{cite book|last=Aniszewska|first=Jolanta|year=2019|title=Nekropolia dwóch wojen światowych|language=pl|location=Szczecin|publisher=[[Institute of National Remembrance|IPN]]|page=8}}</ref> In interwar Germany, the town was the site of a concentration camp for unwanted Jewish immigrants from Eastern Europe.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Stone |first1=Dan|author-link=Dan Stone (historian) |title=Concentration Camps: A Very Short Introduction |date=2017 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-103502-9 |language=en|page=31}}</ref> The ''Stargarder Zeitung'' was as a local newspaper published in Stargard. In the [[March 1933 German federal election]] the [[Nazi Party]] received 58.7% of the vote in the city.<ref name=vgd>{{cite web |url=http://www.verwaltungsgeschichte.de/stargard.html |title=Stadtkreis Stargard|publisher=Verwaltungsgeschichte.de|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100917155334/http://www.verwaltungsgeschichte.de/stargard.html |archive-date=17 September 2010|url-status=dead}}</ref>

===World War II===
[[File:Stalag II D Stargard.jpg|thumb|left|[[Stalag II-D]], 1939–1945]]
In 1939, during the German [[invasion of Poland]], which started [[World War II]], the Germans established the Dulag L temporary camp for [[Polish people|Polish]] (including [[Kashubians|Kashubian]]) [[prisoner of war|prisoners of war]] and civilians near Stargard, which in October 1939 was transformed into the large [[German prisoner-of-war camps in World War II|prisoner-of-war camp]] [[Stalag II-D]].<ref>Aniszewska (2011), p. 9, 14</ref> Then, after the [[battle of France]] in 1940, also the [[French prisoners of war in World War II|French]], the Dutch and Belgians were held there, from 1941 also [[Yugoslavia]]n and [[Soviet Union|Soviet]] POWs, from 1942 also thousands of [[Canada|Canadians]] captured at [[Dieppe Raid|Dieppe]], one of whom was [[Gerald MacIntosh Johnston]], a Canadian actor, who was killed trying to escape, and after 1943 also [[Italian Military Internees|Italians]]. The POWs were subjected to [[racial segregation]], and Poles, Africans, Arabs, Jews and Soviet troops were separated from POWs of other nationalities and subjected to worse treatment.<ref>Aniszewska (2011), p. 14</ref> [[Serbs]] also faced more severe treatment.<ref>Aniszewska (2011), p. 17</ref>

There were also two subcamps of the [[Ravensbrück concentration camp]], one in Stargard and one in the present-day district of Kluczewo,<ref>{{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=1210, 1226|isbn=978-0-253-35328-3}}</ref> as well as seven [[Forced labour under German rule during World War II|forced labour]] camps.<ref name=pwn/> The [[Polish resistance movement in World War II|Polish resistance]] organized a district of the [[Union of Armed Struggle]] and [[Home Army]] in Stargard, under the cryptonym "Starka".<ref>{{cite book|last=Chrzanowski|first=Bogdan|year=2022|title=Polskie Państwo Podziemne na Pomorzu w latach 1939–1945|language=pl|location=Gdańsk|publisher=IPN|page=25|isbn=978-83-8229-411-8}}</ref> [[Polish underground press]] was distributed in the city.<ref>Chrzanowski, p. 57</ref>

In February 1945, one of the last German armoured offensives, [[Operation Solstice]], was launched from the Stargard area. The local population was evacuated by the Germans on the order of [[Heinrich Himmler]] before the approaching Soviets in the final stages of the war.<ref name=sz/><ref name=bip/>

As a result of [[World War II]] the town again became part of Poland, under territorial changes demanded by the [[Soviet Union]] at the [[Potsdam Conference]]. Polish local administration was appointed on March 23, 1945.<ref name=sz/> The town was repopulated by Poles, many of whom were displaced from [[Territories of Poland annexed by the Soviet Union|former eastern Poland annexed by the Soviet Union]].

===Post-war period===
In 1950 the city was renamed ''Stargard Szczeciński'' by adding the adjective ''Szczeciński'' after the nearby city of Szczecin to distinguish it from [[Starogard Gdański]] in [[Gdańsk Pomerania]].<ref name=sz/> In 1961 the city limits were expanded by including the settlement of Kluczewo as a new district.<ref name=pwn/>

In 1979 the city suffered a flood.

In 1993 the city celebrated the 750th anniversary of receiving city rights.<ref name=sz/>

In 2004 a north-western part of the town was made into an [[industrial park]] - [[Stargardzki Park Przemysłowy]]. Another industrial park is located in the south - Park Przemysłowy Wysokich Technologii.

On January 1, 2016, the town was renamed back to ''Stargard''.<ref name="premier.gov.pl">{{Cite web|url=https://www.premier.gov.pl/wydarzenia/decyzje-rzadu/rozporzadzenie-w-sprawie-ustalenia-granic-niektorych-miast-nadania.html|title=Premier - Kancelaria Prezesa Rady Ministrów - Portal Gov.pl}}</ref>

==Landmarks and monuments==
{{multiple image |align=right |perrow=2 |total_width=350 |header=Sights of Stargard
| caption_align = center
| image1 = Stargard Szczec Brama Mlynska (1).jpg
| image2 = 660054 Ratusz w Stargardzie Szczecińskim, front.JPG
| image3 = Stargard Szczec kamienica gotycka (2).jpg
| image4 = Stargard Szczec Arsenal (1).jpg
| image5 = Stargard Mury 4.JPG
| image6 = Stargard kosciol sw jana kolb4619.JPG
| image7 = Stargard Szczec Brama Walowa (4).jpg
| image8 = Stargard Szczec cmentarz wojenny (10).jpg
| caption1 = [[Stargard Mill Gate|Brama Młyńska]]
| caption2 = Renaissance Town Hall
| caption3 = A Gothic townhouse, today a music school
| caption4 = Arsenal
| caption5 = Medieval town walls with the Pyrzycka Gate
| caption6 = St. John's Church
| caption7 = Wałowa Gate
| caption8 = War cemetery
}}

Heavy bombing during [[World War II]] devastated most of Stargard's fine historical sites and destroyed over 75% of the city. Some of these monuments, such as St. Mary's Church (13th–15th centuries) and the 16th-century town hall, have been rebuilt.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/563628/Stargard-Szczecinski|title=Stargard Szczeciński &#124; Poland}}</ref> The newly restored buildings are on the [[European Route of Brick Gothic]]. Some of the notable surviving examples include:

* [[St. Mary's Church, Stargard|St. Mary's Church]], a distinctive [[Brick Gothic]] landmark of the city, dating back to the 15th century, one of the largest brick churches in Europe, listed as a [[List of Historic Monuments (Poland)|Historic Monument of Poland]]<ref name=hmp>{{Cite Polish law|title=Rozporządzenie Prezydenta Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej z dnia 17 września 2010 r. w sprawie uznania za pomnik historii "Stargard Szczeciński - zespół kościoła pod wezwaniem Najświętszej Marii Panny Królowej Świata oraz średniowieczne mury obronne miasta"|year=2010|volume=184|number=1236}}</ref>
* St. John's Church from the 15th century
* Medieval fortifications, including ramparts, walls, gates and towers, also listed as a Historic Monument of Poland,<ref name=hmp/> prime examples:
** [[Stargard Mill Gate|Brama Młyńska]] (''The Mill Gate'') from the 15th century, the only Polish water gate still in existence and one of two in Europe
** Wałowa Gate from the 15th century
** Pyrzycka Gate from the 13th century
** Red Sea Tower (''[[:pl:Baszta Morze Czerwone|Baszta Morze Czerwone]]'') from 1513
** Weavers' Tower (''[[:pl:Baszta Tkaczy|Baszta Tkaczy]]'') from the 15th century
** White Head Tower (''[[:pl:Baszta Białogłówka|Baszta Białogłówka]]'') from the 15th century
* Gothic tenement houses
* Gothic Arsenal (''Arsenał'')

Other sites include:
* Renaissance town hall, that has been known as one of the most remarkable examples of 16th-century central European architecture<ref>{{cite book|publisher= Stiftung Deutschlandhaus Berlin|year= 1991|title=Reise nach Pommern ! Stettin und Umgebung. Die Ostseeküste von Swinemünde bis Leba|author= Wolfgang Schulz|pages=47}}</ref>
* Granary (16th century)
* The largest [[conciliation cross]] in Europe (1542)
* [[Bolesław I the Brave]] Park (''Park im. Bolesława Chrobrego''), the oldest and largest park in Stargard
* Jagiellonian Park (''[[:pl:Park Jagielloński w Stargardzie|Park Jagielloński]]'')
* [[Baroque architecture|Baroque]] guardhouse at the marketplace, now housing a museum
* Panorama Park with the Panorama Palace
* Holy Spirit church
* Church of the Transfiguration
* War cemetery where about 5,000 soldiers of various nationalities were buried during [[World War I]] and [[World War II|II]]: Polish, French, Serbian/Yugoslav, Russian/Soviet, Italian, Romanian, Belgian, British, Moroccan, Portuguese and Dutch
* The 15th Meridian Monument (''[[:pl:Pomnik 15. Południk|Pomnik 15. Południk]]'')
* Monument to the Victims of [[Sybirak|Siberia]] and [[Katyn massacre|Katyn]]
* Monuments of the [[Three Bards|Polish bards]] [[Adam Mickiewicz]] and [[Juliusz Słowacki]]
* Red Barracks (''[[:pl:Czerwone koszary w Stargardzie|Czerwone Koszary]]''), the largest military barracks in Pomerania

==Sport==
[[File:Spójnia Anwil 02.03.2019.jpg|thumb|[[Polish Basketball League]] match between [[Spójnia Stargard]] and [[Anwil Włocławek]] in Stargard in 2019]]
The city is home to [[Spójnia Stargard]], a men's [[basketball]] team, which competes in the [[Polish Basketball League]] (the country's top division), 1997 runners-up, and [[Błękitni Stargard]], formerly a multi-sports club, now a men's [[association football]] team, best known for reaching the [[Polish Cup]] semi-final in [[2014–15 Polish Cup|2015]].

==Demographics==
{{Historical populations|align=left|cols=3|1618|12000|1640|1200|1688|3600|1720|400|1740|5529|1782|5612|1786|6243|1794|5971
|1812|8900|1816|8042|1831|9907|1843|11192|1852|12473|1861|14168|1875|20173|1885|22112
|1900|26858|1910|27551|1913|28000|1929|34600|1933|35773|1939|39760|1945|2870|1950|20684|1960|33650|1970|44460|1980|59227|1990|71000|1995|72254|2010|69633
|source=<ref name="Kratz370" >Kratz (1865), [https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_g2sRAAAAYAAJ/page/n464 p. 370]</ref><ref>''Meyers Konversations-Lexikon''. 6th edition, vol. 18, Leipzig and Vienna 1909, p. 857.</ref><ref name=sz/><ref name=vgd/><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|language=pl|location=Warszawa|publisher=Główny Urząd Statystyczny|page=110|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>}}
{{clear|left}}
[[File:Budynek MDK Stargard po remoncie.jpg|thumb|Youth Culture Centre]]
[[File:Stargard - Sąd Rejonowy.jpg|thumb|District court]]
[[File:Cukrownia Kluczewo.jpg|thumb|Sugar refinery in the Kluczewo district]]

==Notable people==
[[File:Margaret (Małgorzata Jamroży) By Daniel Åhs Karlsson (cropped).jpg|thumb|upright|[[Margaret (singer)|Margaret]], singer-songwriter]]
*[[Karl August Ferdinand von Borcke]] (1776–1830), Prussian general
*[[Carl Wilhelm Schmidt]] (died 1864), missionary
*[[Georg Joachimsthal]] (1863–1914), orthopedist
*[[Oscar Levy]] (1867–1946), writer
*[[Max Levy]] (1869–1932), electro-engineer
*[[Werner von Blomberg]] (1878–1946), general
*[[Hasso von Wedel (General)|Hasso von Wedel]] (1898–1961) [[Wehrmacht]] General 
*[[Hans-Joachim von Merkatz]] (1905–1982) [[Federal Ministry of Justice (Germany)|Federal Minister of Justice]] 1956–1957
*[[Claus Biederstaedt]] (1928–2020), actor
*[[Peter Karow]] (born 1940), entrepreneur
*[[Carlo von Tiedemann]] (1943–2025), television presenter
*[[Ewa Kasprzyk (actress)|Ewa Kasprzyk]] (born 1957), actress
*[[Oskar Dawicki]] (born 1971), multimedia artist
*[[Arkadiusz Bąk]] (born 1974), footballer
*[[Margaret (singer)|Margaret]] (born 1991), singer-songwriter

==International relations==
{{See also|List of twin towns and sister cities in Poland}}

===Twin towns — sister cities===
Stargard is [[Twin towns and sister cities|twinned]] with:<ref>{{cite web| url = https://stargard.eu/dla-mieszkanca/wspolpraca-miedzygminna-i-miedzynarodowa/miasta-partnerskie/ |language=pl |title=Miasta partnerskie |access-date =13 March 2022}}</ref>
{| class="wikitable"
|- valign="top"
|
* {{flagicon|DEU}} [[Elmshorn]], Germany
* {{flagicon|LAT}} [[Saldus]], Latvia
* {{flagicon|DEN}} [[Slagelse]], Denmark
||
* {{flagicon|DEU}} [[Stralsund]], Germany
* {{flagicon|NED}} [[Wijchen]], Netherlands
|}

===In fiction===
In ''[[The Cross Time Engineer]]'' [[science fiction]] series of novels the main character falsely claims Stargard origin to conceal he is a [[time travel]]er.

== Notes ==
{{notelist}}

== References ==
{{reflist}}

== Works cited ==

* {{Cite book |last1=Barkman |first1=Bertil C:son |title=Kungl. Svea livgardes historia: 1632(1611)-1660 |last2=Lundkvist |first2=Sven |last3=Tersmeden |first3=Lars |publisher=Stift. för Svea livgardes historia |year=1966 |volume=3:2 |location=Stockholm |language=sv |trans-title=History of the Royal Swedish Life Guards: 1632(1611)-1660}}

==External links==
{{Commons|Stargard Szczeciński}}
* [http://www.stargard.pl/ Official Website - some materials available in English and German]
* [http://www.muzeum-stargard.pl/ Archaeology and history museum]
* [https://maps.google.com/maps?t=k&hl=en&ll=53.340918,15.031872&spn=0.069899,0.161018&t=k Satellite photo via Google Maps]

{{Cities of Poland}}
{{Stargard County}}
{{Gmina Stargard Szczeciński}}
{{Hanseatic League}}
{{Pomerania}}

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Cities and towns in West Pomeranian Voivodeship]]
[[Category:Stargard County]]
[[Category:Populated places established in the 8th century]]
[[Category:Populated riverside places in Poland]]
[[Category:Capitals of former nations]]