Kamien Pomorski
Kamien Pomorski is a spa resort that is part of the administrative structure of Kamienski County which is located in the West Pomeranian Province. It lies on the Szczecin Shoreline by the edge of the Kamienski Lagoon and is about 90km northwest of the provincial capital Szczecin. It is the second seat of the Archdiocese of Szczecin and Kamien and the town also has a seaport for both fishing and sailing boats. The centre of Kamien Pomorski is about 7km from the Baltic Sea coast to which the town has indirect access through the Dziwna Strait. The town has the characteristics of a lowland marine spa with a maritime climate that is moderated by the dense tracts of forests in the region and that have a milder effect than along the coastline itself. The basic elements used throughout the resort are the natural brine and deposits of peat found in the area.
It is highly likely that the sources of documented history of a settlement at this location can be dated back some 1850 years. In ancient time there was a town called Rugium in this locality which had been mapped on Ptolemy’s ancient maps drawn between 142AD and 147AD. According to many theories this settlement, inhabited by the Germanic Rugian tribe, was on the site of, or very close to, the present location of the city. It was situated here because of its strategic position to the east of the River Odra estuary and also relative to other already identified Pomeranian settlements.
Between the 9th and 11th centuries the town developed as a marine and fishing port which finally obtained its civic rights in 1274. In 1176 the bishopric from Wolin, which was subject to the Archbishop of Gniezno, was transferred to Kamien. During the further years of unrest and rivalry between neighbouring Pomeranian states the Bishop of Kamien gained independence from the Gniezno Archdiocese and from 1188 was directly subject to Rome.
The history of a spa resort at Kamien Pomorski dates back to 1876 with the accidental discovery of a source of brine which became the basis of treatments at a Balneological centre which was later supplemented with the use of therapeutic mud treatments from local peat deposits. Until the outbreak of World War II, Kamien Pomorski was an intimate resort.
Today the spa resort of Kamien Pomorski offers a wide range of healing, preventative and rehabilitative treatments. Patients can benefit from specialist help with musculoskeletal, cardiovascular, neurological and rheumatic diseases as well as early orthopaedic and cardiac rehabilitation. Recently the resort has also included a „Salt Cave” which is equipped with a mini graduation tower, to its collection of treatments. It is located within the „Mieszko” Spa Resort Hospital and recreates the kind of microclimate that is found in an underground salt cavern like those in Wieliczka or Bochnia.
Kamien Pomorski not only offers spa treatments but also relaxation and entertainment. Enthusiasts of leisure activities on the water as well as in the water have the Kamienski Lagoon to go canoeing, sailing, windsurfing or fishing. Marked walking routes around the town enable visitors to find the local historical sites whilst prepared cycling trails, of varying lengths, take tourists around the surrounding area. Each year, the International Festival of Organ and Chamber Music, which is held at the cathedral in Kamien, and the Festival of Contemporary Folk Culture, are popular attractions for visiting tourists.
