An obituary of Cecylia Zofia Gałczyńska, an archaeologist and librarian, who wrote among other things about the collection of ancient art in the Jagiellonian University’s Museum and the history of Szczecin, in particular prominent scholars from this city, Erwin Ackerknecht and Walther Amelung.

The aim of the article is depiction of the scientific cooperation between historians from Szczecin and Greifswald which is continuously developed in the beginning of the 21st century. The cooperation based primary on the DAAD guest professorship of Prof. Joerg Hackemann at the Institute for History and International Relationships at the University of Szczecin, lectures held by Prof. Lutz Oberdörfer from Greifswald, workshops at the EMAU lead by Dr. Paweł Migdalski, various research projects presented there by Dr. Rafał Simiński and Dr. Tomasz Ślepowroński. To mention be in this context the activity of Prof. Włodzimierz Stępiński and Prof. Jan M. Piskorski in the German scientific life and their participation at many debates and historical conferences. The rich contacts between the historians from both Pomeranian universities are referred to in a new and original form of a Szczecin–Gryfino postgraduate programme, started in the 21st century by the Institute for History and International Relationships at the University of Szczecin and Historisches Institut Ernst Moritz Arndt Universität Greifswald. Within this undertaking two meetings of postgraduates took place where their scientific output was presented: on the 3rd/4th November 2010 in Szczecin and on the 26th/28th Mai 2011 in Greifswald. This initiative is for young researchers of importance – it allows their development outside of the only one, native research milieu. Unfortunately, the project of postgraduates from Szczecin and Greifswald is one of only few initiatives within the Polish-German historical neighbourhood.

This paper discusses the protection and development of the cityscape with the use of digital techniques to determine the location of tall buildings. It presents the methodology applied while developing the 2020–2021 Composition Study of Szczecin. The study was commissioned by the City, and its results were included in the Study of Conditions and Directions for Spatial Development of Szczecin adopted in 2022. The aim was to define a framework for the development of high-rise buildings, while at the same time protect historical vistas preserved in the public consciousness. The paper discusses various methods of digital cityscape analysis based on the use of 3D city models, e.g.,Visual Protection Surface (VPS) and Visual Impact Size (VIS), which allow to indicate the maximum height of new buildings that would enable to protect strategic views and to analyse the impact of new buildings on the city space. The process resulted in the formulation of precise guidelines and the drafting of a long-term and sustainable spatial policy for the cityscape of Szczecin. The research has a universal formula and may also be applied to other cities.

The article describes the functioning of British consulate in Szczecin, paying special attention to activities undertaken by the heads of the consulate (vice-consuls), namely Joseph Walters, David Garnett Mitchell and Henry Francis Bartlett who were knowledgeable and competent officials delegated from the Foreign Office in London. Nevertheless, what had a negative effect on the work they carried out in the city on the Odra river was internal and external invigilation by the Security Service (SB) and the fact they were isolated and had hardly any contact with Polish institutions or the local community. Duties performed by the vice-consuls included not only standard administrative procedures (e.g. granting visas) or attention for their few compatriots, but most of all the observation of processes and events taking place in West Pomerania. Information function, which the British consulate fulfilled by submitting reports to their supervisors, was performed through reading local newspapers, asking people for their opinion, listening to the local community and “the hubbub of the street“. While at the very beginning the vice-consuls placed an emphasis on economic or socio-demographic issues, since the end of the 1940’s they paid special attention to political matters in their reports, which had to do with changes arising from the socialisation of life in Poland. The reports submitted by the British consulate confirmed the Foreign Office in their opinion about the presence of Polish people in West Pomerania. Needless to say, it was rather negative. The communist administration and new inhabitants of the former German lands were often criticized for the walking pace of the reconstruction and development of particular areas of economy which, according to the British, did not guarantee the adequate development of the region. Her Majesty’s Diplomatic Service, which questioned the belonging of Szczecin and the adjacent area to Poland and at the same time officially honoured the Potsdam agreement, postponed adopting their stance on the Polish-German border by the time another peace conference was organized. Nevertheless, it is worth noticing that by applying to Polish authorities for permission to establish vice-consulate in Szczecin, Great Britain recognized formally that Polish authorities did administer West Pomerania.

The work assessed the diversity of the natural potential in communes of Szczecin Metropolitan Area with particular emphasis on the areas of natural and valuable nature, protected area, forests and green areas. Established links between natural resources of municipalities and their valorisation using the SWOT analysis method (included in development strategies) and planned development goals. The basic method of use of the natural potential of the municipality are: to improve the quality of life of residents and tourism development. The impact of the natural potential on the quality of life is noticed primarily by urban centres, where a large share of green areas is noticed. The commune with a dominant share of protected areas (include Natura 2000) draws attention to the development of tourism based on natural potential. This is particularly evident in the communities that are characterized by a favourable location in relation to watercourses and reservoirs (freshwater and marine). However, in the socio-economic development, the natural potential is used in both these directions: to improve the quality of life and the development of tourism. In local strategic documents, it can be noticed that the transport system based on bicycle, pedestrian and water routes related to the natural potential can be eff ectively used in building cooperation between the central and other municipalities associated in Szczecin Metropolitan Area.

The aim of this study was to identify thoroughly the geological structure of the Choszczno Anticline for potential CO2 storage. The paper presents the interpretation of seismic materials for a selected seismic profile reprocessed into a section of reflection coefficients characterized by increased recording resolution as compared to the wave image. Particular attention was paid to the geological complexes associated with the Jurassic reservoir formations suitable for carbon dioxide storage within the anticline. The correlation of the identified layers reflects the lithology and structure of the rock series. It allows determination of the thicknesses of the series and changes within them, and enables linking the individual layers with the lithologic units, based on geological data. The study refers to the whole Zechstein-Mesozoic succession of the Choszczno Anticline, with special emphasis on these series, in which there are potential reservoir formations for CO2 storage. The interpretation has significantly expanded the amount of data provided in standard seismic documentations. While assessing the suitability of the formations for CO2 storage, special attention should be paid to the tectonic disturbances within the Komorowo Formation, especially in the top part of the Choszczno structure. The Reed Sandstone bed is more continuous in this respect. The obtained results seem to suggest wider application of reprocessing of seismic materials into effective reflection coefficients to study the geological structure, also for other structures.

In December 1939 the Deputy Führer Rudolf Hess performed the ground-breaking ceremony for the Oder-Danube Canal, with Austria, Poland and the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia already under German control,. Besides connecting the Oder and the Danube, resulting in a nonstop waterway from the Baltic Sea to the Black Sea, spatial planning authorities, he saw the canal as a fundamental addition for the ‘second Ruhr valley in the East’ (Upper Silesia). The outcome of this connection would have been a widely expanded trade between northern and southern Europe. The trade might become then faster and cheaper, a wide array of strategic materials like coal, ore, petroleum and petrol would have been accessible for industry and armed forces. Due to the war progress the work on the canal had to be discontinued in 1940. One of the profiteers of the canal should have been the seaport in Szczecin, located at the intersection of the Oder and the Baltic Sea. Therefore a think tank called the ‘Oder-Donau-Institut’ has been found to deliver scientific arguments reinstating the work on the canal under the lead management of the economic chamber of Pomerania (Szczecin) in close contact with the University of Greifswald. The director of the institute was Heinz Seraphim, professor for political economy at the University of Greifswald. Under his leadership, the well-financed institute started to work not only for the economic interests of the economic chamber but also for the SS-Reichssicherheitshauptamt.

This article is an comprehensive media-analysis of 'Życie i Kultura' [Life and Culture], a sup-plement published in 1951–1956 with the weekend edition of Głos Szczeciński, the newspaper of the Polish United Workers' Party in Szczecin, aimed at delineating its idea of regionalism, i.e. the character of regional identity that the paper was trying to construct for a population made up entirely of migrants. The article contains a list of journalists connected with Szczecin and the region; an account of serial articles featuring regional themes; an analysis of various aspects of regionalism in reportage; and a review of materials of regional interest that found their way into print.