Koszalin County (Polish: powiat koszaliński) is a unit of territorial administration and local government (powiat) in West Pomeranian Voivodeship, north-western Poland, on the Baltic coast. It came into being on January 1, 1999, as a result of the Polish local government reforms passed in 1998. Its administrative seat is the city of Koszalin, although the city is not part of the county (it constitutes a separate city county). The county contains three towns: Sianów, 10 km (6 mi) north-east of Koszalin, Bobolice, 37 km (23 mi) south-east of Koszalin, and Polanów, 35 km (22 mi) east of Koszalin.
The county covers an area of 1,669.09 square kilometres (644.4 sq mi). As of 2006 its total population is 64,087, out of which the population of Sianów is 6,543, that of Bobolice is 4,446, that of Polanów is 2,967, and the rural population is 50,131.
Neighbouring counties
Apart from the city of Koszalin, Koszalin County is also bordered by Sławno County, Słupsk County and Bytów County to the east, Szczecinek County and Białogard County to the south, and Kołobrzeg County to the west. It also borders the Baltic Sea to the north.
Koszalin ([kɔˈʂalʲin]; Kashubian: Kòszalëno; German: Köslin) is a city in Western Pomerania in north-western Poland. It is located 12 kilometres (7 miles) south of the Baltic Sea coast, and intersected by the river Dzierżęcinka. Koszalin is also a county-status city and capital of Koszalin County of West Pomeranian Voivodeship since 1999. Previously, it was a capital of Koszalin Voivodeship (1950–1998). The current mayor of Koszalin is Piotr Jedliński.
History
Middle Ages
Koszalin is first mentioned in 1108 in the Chronicle of Greater Poland (Kronika Wielkopolska) which relates that duke Boleslaw Krzywousty captured and subjugated multiple Pomeranian cities including Kołobrzeg, Kamień, Wolin and Koszalin.
In 1214, Bogislaw II, Duke of Pomerania, made a donation of a village known as Koszalice/Cossalitz by Chełmska Hill in Kołobrzeg Land to the Norbertine monastery in Białoboki near Trzebiatów. New, mostly German, settlers from outside of Pomerania were invited to settle the territory. In 1248, the eastern part of Kołobrzeg Land, including the village, was transferred by Duke Barnim I to the Roman Catholic Diocese of Kammin.