Until Ryanair began flying from London to Szczecin – capital of Western Pomerania in the far northwest corner of Poland – last November, the most common way for business travellers who wanted to reach Poland's second biggest port (after Gdansk) was by plane to Berlin, 130km to the south, and then by taxi, costing £250 each way. This was easier than the alternative air route: flying to Warsaw and catching a domestic connection. It was also a lot quicker than the way many young Poles with jobs in Britain got to the port – on a 20-hour bus ride costing £100 return.
With Ryanair's direct daily flights from Stansted, which cost from 1p each way plus taxes (£24.63), all that is now in the past. As Peter Sherrard, Ryanair's head of communications, puts it: "Before us, Szczecin was isolated. The transport links from Berlin were poor. It lacked international connections. For us it was a good choice of secondary regional airport: perfect for business and leisure passengers."
Flights arrive at Goleniow Airport, 45km north of Szczecin, which is only a 35-minute transfer to the city centre. Once there, it's a choice between the Radisson SAS, the city's premier hotel, from £45 for a double, or the Novotel (from £36) or Ibis (from £27). A suite at the Radisson has free wifi in all rooms and costs £130, and a Hertz hire car costs from £25 a day.
Not surprisingly, the new flights have proved a hit with Poles. My outbound flight from the UK was 90 per cent Polish, many of whom – like my neighbour, who works as a chef in a London restaurant – were making quick breaks home to visit friends and relatives. Goleniow's tiny terminal, which nevertheless has a wifi café and a decent shop selling alcohol, tobacco and souvenirs, was full of people waiting for the flight to London as we arrived. There were hugs and tearful homecoming scenes all round.
Shipbuilding is still the biggest source of employment in Szczecin, which was called Stettin before it was transferred from Germany to Poland after the Second World War. Thousands of Germans were forced to leave, while Poles in the parts of Poland that became the Ukraine and Lithuania after the war were relocated to the port. About 5,000 people work in its main shipyard, Stocznia Szczecinska Nowa, and a further 25,000 have connected jobs. It is renowned for its production of chemical-container carrying ships, but was also subcontracted to make parts for the Queen Mary II. The port has a population of 400,000 and is the seventh biggest city in the country.
The construction industry is also strong – there is a lot of rebuilding of crumbling former Soviet-era buildings, as well as work on reconstructing the old town, which was flattened and left as a waste ground after the war while other parts of the port were developed. Service industries such as banking and insurance are growing; the former Communist party headquarters, scene of fatal clashes between police and shipyard workers in 1970, is now a bank headquarters.
Unemployment, however, is a big problem, accounting for about 15 per cent of the workforce. The average wage is £480 a month.
"This is why so many people are going to Germany [the border is just 20 miles away], Great Britain and Ireland for work," said Dariusz Wiecaszek, president of the Chamber of Commerce. "There is such a big difference in wages."
Many locals are seriously concerned about the brain drain, which is felt in all areas including hospitals and at dental practices.
"I am very afraid for the future of my country, so many people are going to England and Sweden," said Cezary Turostowski, who runs Dentus, a dental practice that has already started taking British customers flown in by Ryanair. Costs of treatments are about a third of those in the UK. "Most locals who are intelligent and well-trained are going abroad," he lamented.
But there is some movement in the opposite direction. The biggest foreign investors are Germany (35 per cent of overseas investment at the most recent count), the Netherlands (15 per cent) and Denmark (10 per cent). Britain is the seventh biggest investor in Szczecin (5 per cent). The two biggest British businesses are Gulf Intermodal, Poland's largest producer of transport containers, and Pilkington, the Merseyside-based glass manufacturer, which opened a new factory last summer – its sixth in Poland and its first in the northwest, where it hopes to increase production for the German and Danish markets.
The speed with which Pilkington has transformed a derelict building (which used to house a construction materials factory) is testament to the efficiency of the local workforce.
"We started work in February and it was opened in August," said Marcin Pawluczek, director at the plant, which employs 60 people and will take on another 40 as it expands during the next year. "Szczecin is a very interesting place to invest. You have young well-educated people, a good location and the wages are not high." Pilkington has put more than £5 million into the factory.
Wiecaszek from the Chamber of Commerce said that a major British company based in Manchester is also considering building apartments and a mall in the centre of the port. There are already several large malls, as well as Tesco and Carrefore supermarkets.
"You cannot imagine the progress we have experienced in the past 15 years [since the end of communist party control]. It is hard to explain in words," said Wiecaszek, adding that there are still many opportunities for business investors. Some of these centre on the Goleniow Industrial Park, which is just a few kilometres from the airport, with big tax incentives to encourage companies.
In Szczecin's old town, there is a sense of both the port's potential and what is holding it back. While there has been considerable reconstruction, many buildings have been left half-finished after money ran out and new investors failed to be tempted. "They will be finished. It may take some time, but they will," said Teresa Kurowska, who runs city tours with her partner Mathias Enger, under the not-so-catchy banner of Maritime and Touristic Management.
The tours – which are thorough and laid-back (£30-£60 for a half-day) – cover the main sights including the rather ramshackle Castle of the Pomeranian Princes; the birthplace of Catherine the Great, which is now an insurance company office; the cathedral, which dates from the 12th century; and the National Museum. Szczecin began as a Slav stronghold in the 8th century, and has been run by the Danes, Swedes and Germans – as well as a period with Pomeranian princes in charge when it was part of the Hanseatic League.
Kurowska and Enger offer trips which can be booked through the Radisson – including cycling and birdwatching breaks. There are many lakes near Szczecin, and a popular beach at Miedzyzdroje – considered one of the best on the Baltic Sea. Nightlife in Szczecin is also well developed with dozens of bars and clubs; which are bound to attract the Ryanair stag and hen night crowd. There is also a good selection of restaurants. Official overseas tourist figures say there are one million visitors annually, although most are Germans crossing the border for cheap shopping trips.
Marian Jurczyk, Szczecin's president (the equivalent to mayor), who was second only to Lech Walesa in the Solidarity movement, hopes the changes will continue. He believes Szczecin's switch from Germany to Poland after the Second World War had a lasting impact on the port, which was once Berlin's main harbour for the Baltic Sea.
He said: "The policy of the Polish state towards Szczecin has always been cautious: would it go back to Germany? The central authorities were reluctant to provide investment. The result is we are behind other parts of Poland."
But Jurczyk believes that membership of the European Union is helping to transform the port's fortunes: "From the moment Poland joined the EU [in May 2004] things began to change. We have attracted more investment. The new flights will be very important as well, both for tourism and for business travellers. The British have always given a helping hand to Poland. We will give them a warm welcome. They will not regret it."
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