Farther Pomerania - Origin and Use of The Term

Origin and Use of The Term

Farther Pomerania is the rough English translation of German Hinterpommern, which is literally behind or rear Pomerania. Initially, the term meant areas east of ("behind") Pomerania-Wolgast and was gradually adopted for areas east of Stettin in the 16th century. When the 1648 Peace of Westphalia and the Treaty of Stettin (1653) divided the Duchy of Pomerania into its Western, Swedish and Eastern Brandenburgian parts, Farther Pomerania was used for the latter - in opposition to Swedish Hither Pomerania (Vorpommern) now including Stettin (Szczecin) and a strip of land east of the Oder River. As this Swedish-Prussian border shifted west several times afterwards, the Oder River was considered the western edge of Farther Pomerania. To the Southeast and East, Farther Pomerania has no distinct border to the Pomerelian region, as the administrative borders between the duchy and later province of Pomerania and its neighbors varied significant over time. In the post-1945 era, Farther Pomerania was affected by the Polish-German border shift. Before, it happened to be the Eastern part of German Pomerania (Pommern, consisting of Hither and Farther Pomerania), yet thereafter it became the Western part of Polish Pomerania (Pomorze, consisting of Farther Pomerania and Pomerelia). As Polish Pomorze has also been in use for Pomerelia, Farther Pomerania is termed Western Pomerania in Poland and roughly represented in today's West Pomeranian Voivodeship, including Szczecin (Stettin) and Wolin (Wollin). However, this term is not being adopted by the Germans, as the German part of Pomerania (Hither Pomerania) is considered to be Western Pomerania, so Farther Pomerania is still in use.