Spa Park (Park Zdrojowy), Świnoujście

The Spa Park in Świnoujście (Park Zdrojowy; say "shvee-no-OOYSH-cheh") is a historic landscaped park between the port town center and the seaside spa district on the island of Usedom. In the 1820s Peter Joseph Lenné, the celebrated royal gardener of Prussia, redesigned its paths, and around 1,560 young trees and shrubs were sent here from the gardens of Sanssouci in Potsdam. Today it is a shady green link between town and beach, with century-old beeches and oaks, a fountain, a wooden gazebo and playgrounds.

A park built on reclaimed land

In the early 18th century this area was a flooded sandbank dotted with pines. Regulating the Świna River for the new port and fortifications in the second half of the 1700s turned it into "new land," stabilized first with grass and shrubs and then with trees planted along straight avenues and roundabouts – a pattern still visible today.

When the town, then the Prussian resort of Swinemünde, was declared a seaside bathing resort in 1824, a social hall was built by the harbor and Lenné was commissioned to design the park around it. The seedlings from Sanssouci arrived in April 1827. In the mid-19th century the main avenue toward the sea, then the King's Avenue and now Bolesława Chrobrego Street, was widened. A western section was added between the two World Wars.

World War II left deep scars: during the Allied air raid of March 12, 1945, the park, where refugees were camping, was bombed with many casualties. Replanting began in the 1950s, the park was listed as a historic monument in 1988, and it was restored in the early 2000s following its historic path layout.

What to see

• Old and unusual trees: besides beeches, oaks, ashes, horse chestnuts and maples, look for weeping beeches, columnar oaks, yews, a Nikko fir, a Crimean linden and a Caucasian wingnut.
• Natural monuments: a pine wrapped in ivy nicknamed "The Family," near Matejki Street, and the elms known as "The Smugglers," near Jachtowa Street.
• Avenues and circles: the broad avenue along Chrobrego Street, round plazas where paths meet, and canals and ponds in the eastern part.
• Gazebo, fountain and sculptures: a wooden gazebo among flowerbeds, a fountain plaza and modern sculptures along the paths.

Is it worth visiting?

Yes, if you are in Świnoujście anyway – you will probably cross it on the way from the center to the beach. Allow 45–60 minutes for a relaxed walk, longer with kids at the playground. The paths are flat and paved, good for strollers and wheelchairs. Runners will find a weekly Saturday parkrun here. In summer heat, it is the coolest place between town and sea.

Practical information and getting there

As of October 2026:

• Admission: free; the park is a public space.
• Location: the block bounded by Sikorskiego, Krzywoustego, Sienkiewicza, Kapitańska, Jachtowa and Mieszka I streets, a few minutes' walk from the center.
• Getting there: walk from the center or the promenade. From Germany, take the UBB train to Świnoujście Centrum or walk in from Ahlbeck along the seafront; from Szczecin, follow the S3 and the free tunnel under the Świna. Street parking around the park is limited in summer.
• Winter: open, without flowerbeds, but with the avenue layout easy to read.

Nearby

• The promenade and Świnoujście Beach, a few minutes north.
• Angel's Fort and the Western Fort on the park's eastern edge.
• The Museum of Sea Fishing in the former town hall on Fisherman's Square.
• Do not confuse it with the Chopin Spa Park in the neighboring resort of Międzyzdroje.