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Duchy of Pomerania, Vorpommern and Western Pomerania all redirect to here.

Coat of arms of the region

Hither Pomerania or Western Pomerania (German: Vorpommern; Low German: Vörpommern; Polish: Pomorze Przednie or Przedpomorze) is a part of coastal Germany on the Baltic Sea and the western extremity of the historic region of the Duchy of Pomerania, nowadays divided between the German state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and Poland.

Hither Pomerania lies on the south shore of the Baltic Sea. Its boundaries have changed through the centuries and its overlords have included Sweden, Denmark, and Prussia. Before 1945, Hither Pomerania embraced the whole area of Pomerania west of the Oder River including the left-bank Polish cities of Szczecin (German: Stettin) and Swinoujscie (German: Swinemünde). The rump of Hither Pomerania forms about one third of the contemporary northeast German state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern.

History texts vary in the English rendering of the German term Vorpommern. Since the anachronistic hither-farther or near-far distinction would puzzle most modern readers, many European languages use the clearer east-west geographical distinction and describe this area West of the Oder/Odra River as Western Pomerania. Yet the Polish voivodeship East of that river covering most of historical Farther Pomerania (Hinterpommern) is called West Pomeranian Voivodeship, so the use of that term for Hither Pomerania may cause some confusion. In the English name of the post-1990 state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, the simpler German form, Vorpommern, is usually followed.

In prehistoric times, the area was inhabited by megalith cultures. In the first half of the first millennium, the East Germanic Rugians ^[1] are reported in the area, who are known to later set up a kingdom far South in Pannonia in the 5th century.

By the 6th and 7th century, West Slavic people populated Hither Pomerania. If they met a substantial Rugian population and whether and/or how these were assimilated by the Slavs is not known. The Slavic inhabitants of Hither Pomerania, also referred to as part of the Wilzen/Veleti, divirged into several small tribes, listet from Northwest to Southeast: The Rujanes or Rani around Rügen, the Circipanes around the Pane (Peene) River, the Redarians (Redarier) around the temple of Rethra, the Wolliner on the isle of Wollin, the Tollenser around the Tollense River and the Ukranen around the Uecker River in the Uckermark. The collective term Liutizen/Liutizians also covers some of these tribes, as they allied in late 10th century to secure their souvereignity. The Lutician alliances headquarters were at Rethra, where delegates from the independent allied tribes held their meetings. Whether or not the Rani were part of the Veleti or later the Lutizians is disputed. The Slavic tribes referred to as Pomeranians settled east of the Oder River.

In this era, large mixed Slavic and Scandinavian settlements were build at the natural havens of the bay-rich coast, the most important of which were Ralswiek (Rügen), Menzlin at the Peene River and Wollin, which is assumed to be identical with Vineta and Jomsborg. Important pagan temple sites were Arkona and Rethra. Other local strongholds were Dimin (Demmin) in the Circipan and Stetin (Stettin) in the Pomeranian area.

At the beginning of the second millennium, Hither Pomeranian tribes were surrounded by the expanding states of Denmark in the North, Piast Poland in the Southeast and the German Holy Roman Empire in the Southwest. While the eastward expansion of the latter coud be halted for some time by a Slavic uprising of the Southern (Heveller) and Western (Obodrites) neighbors of the Hither Pomeranian tribes, which even was supported by the Liutizian alliance, the Pomeranians East of the Oder River were conquered by the Poles in the late 10th century and remained vassals of the Piasts until 1035, had to pay tribute to the Poles after 1042 and were conquered again in 1121.

Despite of his surrender or even with military help from the succeeding Poles, the Pomeranian duke Wartislaw I. successfully started conquering the small lands west of Stettin the years after 1121. These lands have been experiencing bad times before: The coast was raided by the Danes, which destroyed Jomsborg in 1043, shifting the power in the Oder delta South to Pomeranian Stettin. Rethra was raided and devastated by the Germans in winter 1068/69, the Lutizian alliance fell apart, instead the Lutizians fought against each other.

Wartislaws aim was not only the expansion of his duchy, but also the spread of Christian faith. In 1124, he invited Otto von Bamberg to mission in his duchy east of the Oder River. By 1128, Wartislaw I. had expanded his duchy even to Circipania, and invited Otto von Bamberg again to mission in these pagan areas West of the Oder River, too. The dukes of the small Hither Pomeranian duchies became Kastellans under the Pomeranian duke and converted from their pagan to Christian religion in Usedom 1128. So, except for the Ranes living North of the Ryck River and Demmin, all Hither Pomeranian terretories were united and Christian. Wartislaws dependency on Poland loosened in the years thereafter, and in 1135 with the death of Polish king Bogislaw III, Wartislaws duchy regained independancy. About ten years later, he was slain by pagans near Stolpe.

The 1147 Wendish Crusade (Wendenkreuzzug) initiated by the Holy Roman Empire ended when the Demmin and Stettin citizens persuaded the crusaders, that they were Christians already.

By the midst of the 12th century, the other independent duchy on hither Pomeranian ground, the duchy of Rügen, remained the last pagan state in Central Europe. In 1168, a Danish fleed led by Roskilde archbishop Absalon sacked Rügen. The Arkona temple was sieged and destroyed. After this main temples fall, Rügens capitol, Charenza (Venzer Burgwall) capitulated, all other temples were given to the Danes for destruction and Jaromar I. duke of Rügen became a Danish vassal. The Ranes then converted to Christianity.

From Rügen, which still had a strong navy an army, the Danish put pressure on Pomerania. Bogislaw I. duke of Pomerania made his duchy a part of the Holy Roman Empire (HRR) in 1181, after he had allied with Henry the Lion since 1164. So, Pomerania became the first Slavic duchy of the HRR. But the new alliance did not prevent the Danes from successfully raiding and in 1186 conquering all of Pomerania. Danish rule ended when in 1227 the Danish navy was defeated in Bornhöved by the Germans, Pomerania except for Rügen (until 1345 with the last Rugian duke's death) fell to the HRR.

The Rügen and Pomerania dukes called in lots of German settlers and aristocrats, to resettle the parts of their duchies devastated in the wars before and to settle new areas by turning woodland into fields. Settlers came from North German Lower Saxony, and to some extend from middle German Harz area, the latter were to settle the Stettin area. Cities and monasteries were founded. Between the beginning 12th century and the 13th century Hither Pomerania changed from a pagan Slavic to a Christian German country (Ostsiedlung). The Slavs were first excluded from the villages and privileges of the German settlers. They later merged with the German majority.

From that time onwards, the region shares a common history with Farther Pomerania. The first political division of Pomerania into eastern and western parts occurred in 1532 with a separation into the duchies of Pommern-Wolgast (equivalent to West Pomerania, so named from the ducal seat) and Pommern-Stettin (East Pomerania, from the German-language name for today's Szczecin).

See also: Rugians, Veleti, Rani (Slavic tribe), and Ostsiedlung

Main article: Swedish Pomerania

Pomerania came under Swedish military control in 1630 during the Thirty Years War. Swedish sovereignty over Hither Pomerania, including Stettin, was confirmed by the Peace of Westphalia in 1648 and from this time onwards, much of Hither Pomerania formed Swedish Pomerania. Possession of Hither Pomerania remained an issue of conflict in European politics and Swedish rule was a period marked by the ravages of warfare.

The historic Prussian Province of Pomerania (outlined in yellow) within the current borders of Germany and Poland. Hither Pomerania consists of the pink German section. The Stettin (Szczeczin) area northward was included in the region prior to 1945.

A section of Hither Pomerania south of the Peene river came under Prussian sovereignty by a peace treaty in 1720. Under the Peace of Kiel, Swedish Pomerania was transferred to Denmark in 1814, but this arrangement was of only short duration, with the 1815 Congress of Vienna ceding the territory to Prussia.

At the end of World War II in 1945, a small area of Hither Pomerania including Szczecin - the region's principal city - and Swinoujscie was transferred along with Farther Pomerania to Poland. The bulk of Hither Pomerania became part of the newly constituted Land (state) of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. The word "Vorpommern" was deleted from the state's name at the insistence of the Soviet military administration in 1947 ^[2] and the entire state of Mecklenburg was abolished by East Germany in 1952, thus taking Hither Pomerania off the map.

The 1945-1952 state was reconstituted, with minor border adjustments, as Mecklenburg-Vorpommern at the time of German reunification in 1990.

Hither Pomerania today is understood as comprising the islands of Rügen and Usedom and the nearby mainland, roughly matching the administrative districts of Rügen, Nordvorpommern, Ostvorpommern, Demmin and Uecker-Randow, though those districts' boundaries with Mecklenburg proper do not match the pre-1945 demarcation.

Consideration was given during a reform of district boundaries in 1994 to restoring the old boundary, but this was not implemented. The Ribnitz area of Nordvorpommern and the Malchin area of Demmin were both formerly part of Mecklenburg. The old western boundary line is preserved in the division between two churches of the Lutheran communion, the Evangelisch-Lutherische Landeskirche Mecklenburgs and the Pommersche Evangelische Kirche.

Major towns in Hither Pomerania include Stralsund, Greifswald, Demmin, Anklam, Wolgast, and Barth. With Polish entry into the European Union and the opening of borders, Szczecin has resumed its place as a dominant city for southern parts of Hither Pomerania. The region has almost no significant industry, though an energy complex is planned at the place near Greifswald where the Nord Stream gas pipeline is to arrive on shore. Hither Pomerania is chiefly known for tourism, with vacationers staying every summer on its Baltic beaches.

• Pomerania
• Swedish Pomerania
• Mecklenburg-Vorpommern

• erwin-rosenthal.de/vorpommern

1. ^ H.J. Janzen, History of Pomerania (in German)
2. ^ No author, timeline of state history

v • d • e Holy Roman Empire — Upper Saxon Circle (1512–1806)
Electorates	Brandenburg | Saxony
Ecclesiastical princes	Cammin
Secular princes	Anhalt | Barby | Hatzfeld | Pomerania: Further, Hither | Querfurt | Reuss: Elder, Junior | Saxe-Weimar | Schwarzburg: Rudolstadt, Sondershausen
Prelates	Gernrode | Quedlinburg | Walkenried
Counts and Lords	Hohnstein | Lohra and Klettenberg | Mansfeld | Schönburg | Stolberg: Stolberg, Wernigerode

v • d • e Territories and Provinces of Prussia (1525 – 1947)
Before 1701	Duchy of Prussia · Margraviate of Brandenburg Farther Pomerania · Magdeburg · Halberstadt · Cleves · Mark · Ravensberg · Minden Colonies of Brandenburg-Prussia: Groß Friedrichsburg · Arguin · Crab Island · Tertholen
After 1701	Neuchâtel · Hither Pomerania · East Frisia · Silesia (1740) · Glatz (1763) · Polish Prussia (1772), Netze District (1772) · South Prussia (1793) · New East Prussia, New Silesia (1795)
Reorder after 1814–5	East Prussia & West Prussia (1824–78 joined to Province of Prussia) · Brandenburg · Pomerania · Grand Duchy of Posen (in 1848 transformed to Province of Posen) · Saxony · Silesia · Westphalia · Rhine Province (1822, Lower Rhine & Jülich-Cleves-Berg) · Hohenzollern (1850) · Schleswig-Holstein, Hanover, Hesse-Nassau (1866–8)
Territorial reforms after 1918	Lower Silesia, Upper Silesia (1919) · Greater Berlin (1920) · Posen-West Prussia (1922) Halle-Merseburg, Magdeburg, Kurhessen, Nassau (1944)