See. Until 1874 Stettin was closely girdled by very extensive and strong fortifications, which pre vented the expansion of the town proper, but the steady growth of its commerce and manufactures encouraged the foundation of numerous industrial suburbs beyond the line of defence. Some of these are themselves “towns,” as Grabow, with 13,672 inhabitants in 1880, and Bredow with 11,255 inhabitants; but all combine with Stettin to form one industrial and commercial centre. Since the removal of the fortifications their site has begun to be built upon. Apart from its commerce, Stettin is a comparatively uninteresting city. The church of Sts Peter and Paul, originally founded in 1124 and restored in 1816— 17, was the earliest Christian church in Pomerania. St James’s church, dating from the 13th and the two following centuries, is remarkable, like several other Pomeranian churches, for its size. The old palace, now occupied by Government offices, is a large unattractive edifice, scarcely justifying the boast of an old writer that it did not yield in magnificence even to the palaces of Italy. Among the more modern structures are the theatre and the new town-house, superseding an earlier one of 1245. Statues of Frederick the Great and of Frederick William III. adorn one of the five open squares of the old town. As a prosperous commercial town Stettin has numerous educational, benevolent, and scientific institutions.

The manufactures are very important; many of the largest factories are in the neighbouring villages, beyond Stettin proper. The shipbuilding yards (among which that of the Vulcan Company deserves mention) have comparatively recently attained some reputation for their ironclads and war-vessels. Machinery, cement, chemicals, and soap are produced in large quantities, and there are also large sugar-refineries, besides a vast miscellany of other smaller industrial establishments. The trade of Stettin is very flourishing. More than any other harbour it may be regarded as the port of Berlin, from which it is 93 miles north-east by railway; and a larger number of vessels enter and clear at Stettin than at any other German port except Hamburg and Bremerhaven. Swinemünde {q.v.) serves as its fore-port. The forest and river scenery of the neighbourhood of Stettin is picturesque, but the low level and swampy nature of the soil render the climate bleak and unhealthy. In 1885 the population was 99,475; in 1880 it was 91,756, of whom 85,727 were Protestants, 3112 Roman Catholics, and 2388 Jews.

In 1885 3809 ocean vessels (2207 steamers) and 1965 coasting and river craft, besides 10,039 Oder barges, entered the port. In 1885 Stettin possessed (besides a large number of river craft) a fleet of 127 sea-going ships, with a burden of 47,066 tons, of which 26,754 tons were distributed in 59 steamers. The chief exports are grain, spirits, and wood; the chief imports petroleum, train-oil, wine, and herrings. The annual value of the former is about £7,500,000 and of the latter about £6,000,000.

Stettin is said to have existed as a Wendish fishing-village as early as 830 a.d., and it appears as Stedyn in the time of the Saxon emperors. From the 12th century it was the seat of the dukes of Pomerania, who became extinct in 1637. Passing then to Sweden, it remained united with that kingdom for eighty-three years, with one brief interval, but in 1720 it was ceded to Prussia. Gustavus Adolphus undertook to improve its fortifications in 1630, but Frederick the Great was the first to convert it into a strong modern fortress. From 1806 till 1813 it was held by the French to whom it was surrendered without a blow. Known even in the12th century as the leading trading-town on the Oder, Stettin entered the Hanseatic League in 1360. The development of its trade in modern times dates chiefly from the deepening and protection of the Swine in the former half of last century. See Oder.