Skwierzyna

Six photographs taken on a walk around the town of Skwierzyna in the west of Poland.

A view of the town hall in Skwierzyna. This was built in 1841 and designed by Friedrich August Stüler.

Skwierzyna (Schwerin an der Warthe) is a small town of approximately 10,000 inhabitants. It is located in the Lubuskie (Lubusz) province in western Poland. Skwierzyna is located at the confluence of the Obra and Warta rivers, which are popular with Polish canoeists and anglers. The town is about 18 km (11 miles) north of Międzyrzecz and 23 km (14 miles) south-east of the regional capital Gorzów. Skwierzyna is situated in a particularly green part of Poland. Extensive forests and numerous lakes can be found in the area.

Another look at the town hall and 1979s/1980s apartment blocks built on the location of houses destroyed in 1945.

The forestry department building complete with rather good carvings and information boards about local wildlife.

Skwierzyna’s GPS coordinates: 52.5991° N / 15.5063° E 52°35’56″ N / 15°30’22″ E

The Post Office and one of two churches in Skwierzyna, Lebus, Poland.

Skwieryna was called Schwerin an der Warthe and part of Germany until the occupation by the Red Army on 31st January 1945. At the end of World War II Skwierzyna and all the German land east of the Oder-Neisse line became part of the Republic of Poland. The German population was expelled and replaced by Poles from central Poland or who had left the territories annexed by the Soviet Union in what is now Ukraine and Lithuania.