
located in Northern Europe
, from 53°N
to 66°N
latitude
and from 20°E
to 26°E
longitude
. It is bounded by the Scandinavian Peninsula
, the mainland of Europe
, and the Danish
islands. It drains into the Kattegat
by way of the Øresund, the Great Belt
and the Little Belt
. The Kattegat continues through Skagerrak
into the North Sea
and the Atlantic Ocean
. The Baltic Sea is connected by man-made waterways to the White Sea
via the White Sea Canal, and to the North Sea via the Kiel Canal
.
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located in Northern Europe
, from 53°N
to 66°N
latitude
and from 20°E
to 26°E
longitude
. It is bounded by the Scandinavian Peninsula
, the mainland of Europe
, and the Danish
islands. It drains into the Kattegat
by way of the Øresund, the Great Belt
and the Little Belt
. The Kattegat continues through Skagerrak
into the North Sea
and the Atlantic Ocean
. The Baltic Sea is connected by man-made waterways to the White Sea
via the White Sea Canal, and to the North Sea via the Kiel Canal
. The Baltic Sea might be considered to be bordered on its northern edge by the Gulf of Bothnia
, on its northeastern edge by the Gulf of Finland
, and on its eastern edge by the Gulf of Riga
. These various gulfs can also be considered part of the Baltic Sea.
Geophysical data

inland sea, perhaps the largest body of brackish water in the world (other possibilities include the Black Sea
, Hudson Bay
and the Caspian Sea
). The Baltic Sea occupies a basin formed by glacial erosion during the last few Ice Age
s.
Dimensions
The Baltic sea is about 1600 km (1000 mi) long, an average of 193 km (120 mi) wide, and an average of 55 m (180 ft, 30 fathoms) deep. The maximum depth is 459 m (1506 ft), on the Swedish side of the center. The surface area is about 377,000 km² (145,522 sq mi) and the volume is about 20,000 km³ (5040 cubic miles). The periphery amounts to about 8000 km (4968 mi) of coastline.
Etymology
While Tacituscalled it Mare Suebicum after the Germanic people of the Suebi
, the first to name it also as the Baltic Sea (Mare Balticum) was eleventh century German chronicler Adam of Bremen
. The origin of the latter name is speculative. It might be connected to the Germanic word belt, a name used for two of the Danish straits, the Belts
, while others claim it to be derived from Latin
balteus (belt). However it should be noted that the name of the Belts might be connected to Danish bælte, which also means belt. Furthermore Adam of Bremen
himself compared the Sea with a belt stating that the Sea is named so because it stretches through the land as a belt (Balticus, eo quod in modum baltei longo tractu per Scithicas regiones tendatur usque in Greciam). He might also have been influenced by name of legendary island mentioned in The Natural History by Pliny the Elder
. Pliny mentions an island named Baltia
(or Balcia) with reference to accounts of Pytheas
and Xenophon
. It is possible that Pliny refers to island named Basilia ("kingdom" or "royal") in On the Ocean by Pytheas. Baltia also might be derived from "belt" and means "near belt of sea (strait)". Meanwhile others have concluded that the name of the island originates from the Indo-European
root *bhel meaning white, fair. Yet another explanation is that, while derived from the afore mentioned root, the name of the sea is related to naming for various forms of water and related substances in several European languages, that might have been originally associated with colors found in swamps. In Albanian, the oldest Indo-European language still alive, the name Baltic may derive by the word baltë, meaning mud, due to its muddy water colors. Another explanation is that the name was related to swamp and originally meant "enclosed sea, bay" as opposed to open sea.
Other possible origin of name Balticum is the Gaelic language, as "bel" means gulf. It a historical reality that Cymr people (Galitzians and Walshes) lived around Balticum for more than 2500 years ago, which it witnessed by numerous toponimia as Simrisham in Southern Sweden, Fyn en Denmark, NybØl in Northern Germany.
Swedish historians believe the name is for Nordic mytologin’s name, the cripple secondary god Balder.
In the Middle Ages
the sea was known by variety of names, the name Baltic Sea started to dominate only after 16th century. Usage of Baltic and similar terms to denote the region east from the sea started only in 19th century.
Name in other languages
The Baltic Sea, in ancient sources known as Mare Suebicum (also known as Mare Germanicum), is also known by the equivalents of "East Sea", "West Sea", or "Baltic Sea" in different languages:- In Germanic languagesGermanic languagesThe Germanic languages constitute a sub-branch of the Indo-European language family. The common ancestor of all of the languages in this branch is called Proto-Germanic , which was spoken in approximately the mid-1st millennium BC in Iron Age northern Europe...
, except English, East Sea is used: AfrikaansAfrikaansAfrikaans is a West Germanic language, spoken natively in South Africa and Namibia. It is a daughter language of Dutch, originating in its 17th century dialects, collectively referred to as Cape Dutch .Afrikaans is a daughter language of Dutch; see , , , , , .Afrikaans was historically called Cape...
(Oossee), DanishDanish languageDanish is a North Germanic language spoken by around six million people, principally in the country of Denmark. It is also spoken by 50,000 Germans of Danish ethnicity in the northern parts of Schleswig-Holstein, Germany, where it holds the status of minority language...
(Østersøen), DutchDutch languageDutch is a West Germanic language and the native language of the majority of the population of the Netherlands, Belgium, and Suriname, the three member states of the Dutch Language Union. Most speakers live in the European Union, where it is a first language for about 23 million and a second...
(Oostzee), GermanGerman languageGerman is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
(Ostsee), IcelandicIcelandic languageIcelandic is a North Germanic language, the main language of Iceland. Its closest relative is Faroese.Icelandic is an Indo-European language belonging to the North Germanic or Nordic branch of the Germanic languages. Historically, it was the westernmost of the Indo-European languages prior to the...
and FaroeseFaroese languageFaroese , is an Insular Nordic language spoken by 48,000 people in the Faroe Islands and about 25,000 Faroese people in Denmark and elsewhere...
(Eystrasalt), NorwegianNorwegian languageNorwegian is a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Norway, where it is the official language. Together with Swedish and Danish, Norwegian forms a continuum of more or less mutually intelligible local and regional variants .These Scandinavian languages together with the Faroese language...
(Østersjøen), and SwedishSwedish languageSwedish is a North Germanic language, spoken by approximately 10 million people, predominantly in Sweden and parts of Finland, especially along its coast and on the Åland islands. It is largely mutually intelligible with Norwegian and Danish...
(Östersjön). In Old English it was known as Ostsæ. - In addition, FinnishFinnish languageFinnish is the language spoken by the majority of the population in Finland Primarily for use by restaurant menus and by ethnic Finns outside Finland. It is one of the two official languages of Finland and an official minority language in Sweden. In Sweden, both standard Finnish and Meänkieli, a...
, a Baltic-Finnic languageBaltic-Finnic languagesThe Finnic or Baltic Finnic languages are a branch of the Uralic language family spoken around the Baltic Sea by about 7 million people....
, has calqueCalqueIn linguistics, a calque or loan translation is a word or phrase borrowed from another language by literal, word-for-word or root-for-root translation.-Calque:...
d the Swedish term as Itämeri "East Sea", disregarding the geography (the sea is west of Finland), though understandably since Finland was a part of Sweden from Middle Ages until 1809. - In another Baltic-Finnic language, EstonianEstonian languageEstonian is the official language of Estonia, spoken by about 1.1 million people in Estonia and tens of thousands in various émigré communities...
, it is called the West Sea (Läänemeri), with the correct geography (the sea is west of Estonia). - Baltic Sea is used in EnglishEnglish languageEnglish is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
; in the Baltic languagesBaltic languagesThe Baltic languages are a group of related languages belonging to the Balto-Slavic branch of the Indo-European language family and spoken mainly in areas extending east and southeast of the Baltic Sea in Northern Europe...
LatvianLatvian languageLatvian is the official state language of Latvia. It is also sometimes referred to as Lettish. There are about 1.4 million native Latvian speakers in Latvia and about 150,000 abroad. The Latvian language has a relatively large number of non-native speakers, atypical for a small language...
(Baltijas jūra) and LithuanianLithuanian languageLithuanian is the official state language of Lithuania and is recognized as one of the official languages of the European Union. There are about 2.96 million native Lithuanian speakers in Lithuania and about 170,000 abroad. Lithuanian is a Baltic language, closely related to Latvian, although they...
(Baltijos jūra); in LatinLatinLatin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
(Mare Balticum) and the Romance languagesRomance languagesThe Romance languages are a branch of the Indo-European language family, more precisely of the Italic languages subfamily, comprising all the languages that descend from Vulgar Latin, the language of ancient Rome...
FrenchFrench languageFrench is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
(Mer Baltique), ItalianItalian languageItalian is a Romance language spoken mainly in Europe: Italy, Switzerland, San Marino, Vatican City, by minorities in Malta, Monaco, Croatia, Slovenia, France, Libya, Eritrea, and Somalia, and by immigrant communities in the Americas and Australia...
(Mar Baltico), PortuguesePortuguese languagePortuguese is a Romance language that arose in the medieval Kingdom of Galicia, nowadays Galicia and Northern Portugal. The southern part of the Kingdom of Galicia became independent as the County of Portugal in 1095...
(Mar Báltico), RomanianRomanian languageRomanian Romanian Romanian (or Daco-Romanian; obsolete spellings Rumanian, Roumanian; self-designation: română, limba română ("the Romanian language") or românește (lit. "in Romanian") is a Romance language spoken by around 24 to 28 million people, primarily in Romania and Moldova...
(Marea Baltică) and SpanishSpanish languageSpanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
(Mar Báltico); in GreekGreek languageGreek is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages. Native to the southern Balkans, it has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning 34 centuries of written records. Its writing system has been the Greek alphabet for the majority of its history;...
(Βαλτική Θάλασσα); in AlbanianAlbanian languageAlbanian is an Indo-European language spoken by approximately 7.6 million people, primarily in Albania and Kosovo but also in other areas of the Balkans in which there is an Albanian population, including western Macedonia, southern Montenegro, southern Serbia and northwestern Greece...
(Deti Balltik); in the Slavic languagesSlavic languagesThe Slavic languages , a group of closely related languages of the Slavic peoples and a subgroup of Indo-European languages, have speakers in most of Eastern Europe, in much of the Balkans, in parts of Central Europe, and in the northern part of Asia.-Branches:Scholars traditionally divide Slavic...
PolishPolish languagePolish is a language of the Lechitic subgroup of West Slavic languages, used throughout Poland and by Polish minorities in other countries...
(Morze Bałtyckie or Bałtyk), CzechCzech languageCzech is a West Slavic language with about 12 million native speakers; it is the majority language in the Czech Republic and spoken by Czechs worldwide. The language was known as Bohemian in English until the late 19th century...
(Baltské moře or Balt), CroatianCroatian languageCroatian is the collective name for the standard language and dialects spoken by Croats, principally in Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Serbian province of Vojvodina and other neighbouring countries...
(Baltičko more), SlovenianSlovenian languageSlovene or Slovenian is a South Slavic language spoken by approximately 2.5 million speakers worldwide, the majority of whom live in Slovenia. It is the first language of about 1.85 million people and is one of the 23 official and working languages of the European Union...
(Baltsko morje), BulgarianBulgarian languageBulgarian is an Indo-European language, a member of the Slavic linguistic group.Bulgarian, along with the closely related Macedonian language, demonstrates several linguistic characteristics that set it apart from all other Slavic languages such as the elimination of case declension, the...
(Baltijsko More (Балтийско море), KashubianKashubian languageKashubian or Cassubian is one of the Lechitic languages, a subgroup of the Slavic languages....
(Bôłt), MacedonianMacedonian languageMacedonian is a South Slavic language spoken as a first language by approximately 2–3 million people principally in the region of Macedonia but also in the Macedonian diaspora...
(Балтичко Море / Baltičko More), UkrainianUkrainian languageUkrainian is a language of the East Slavic subgroup of the Slavic languages. It is the official state language of Ukraine. Written Ukrainian uses a variant of the Cyrillic alphabet....
(Балтійське море ("Baltijs'ke More"), BelarusianBelarusian languageThe Belarusian language , sometimes referred to as White Russian or White Ruthenian, is the language of the Belarusian people...
(Балтыйскае мора ("Baltyjskaje Mora"), Russian (Балтийское море ("Baltiyskoye Morye") and SerbianSerbian languageSerbian is a form of Serbo-Croatian, a South Slavic language, spoken by Serbs in Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Croatia and neighbouring countries....
(Балтичко море / Baltičko more); in the Hungarian languageHungarian languageHungarian is a Uralic language, part of the Ugric group. With some 14 million speakers, it is one of the most widely spoken non-Indo-European languages in Europe....
(Balti-tenger); and also in BasqueBasque languageBasque is the ancestral language of the Basque people, who inhabit the Basque Country, a region spanning an area in northeastern Spain and southwestern France. It is spoken by 25.7% of Basques in all territories...
(Itsaso Baltikoa).
Sea ice
On the long-term average, the Baltic Sea is ice-covered for about 45% of its surface area at the maximum annually. The ice-covered area during such a typical winter includes the Gulf of Bothnia, the Gulf of Finland
, Gulf of Riga
, Väinameri in the Estonian archipelago, the Stockholm archipelago
and the Archipelago Sea
. The remainder of the Baltic itself does not freeze during a normal winter, with the exception of sheltered bays and shallow lagoons such as the Curonian Lagoon
. The ice reaches its maximum extent in February or March; typical ice thickness in the northernmost areas in the Bothnian Bay
, the northern basin of the Gulf of Bothnia, is about 70 cm (28 in) for landfast sea ice. The thickness decreases farther south.
Freezing begins in the northern extremities of Gulf of Bothnia
typically in middle of November, reaching the open waters of Bothnian Bay
in early January. The Bothnian Sea
, the basin south Kvarken
, freezes on average in late February. The Gulf of Finland and the Gulf of Riga freeze typically in late January. In 2011, the Gulf of Finland was completely frozen on 15 February.
The ice extent depends on whether the winter is mild, moderate or severe. Severe winters can lead to ice formation around southern Sweden
and even in the Danish straits
. According to William Derham, during the severe winters of 1703 and 1708 the ice cover permeated as far as the Danish straits, parts of the Gulf of Bothnia and Gulf of Finland, in addition to coastal fringes in more southerly locations such as the Gulf of Riga . This description would actually have meant that the whole of the Baltic Sea had been covered with ice.
It is known that since 1720, the Baltic Sea has frozen over entirely only 20 times. The most recent case was in early 1987, which was the most severe winter in Scandinavia since that date. The ice then covered 400 000 km2. During the winter of 2010/11, which was quite severe compared to those of the last decades, the maximum ice cover was 315 000 km2, which was reached on 25 February 2011. The ice then extended from the north down to the northern tip of Gotland
, with small ice free areas on its either side, and the east coast of the Baltic Sea was covered by an ice sheet ca. 25–100 km (15.5–62.1 ) wide all the way down to Gdańsk
. This was brought about by a stagnant high-pressure area that lingered over central and northern Scandinavia from ca. 10 February to 24 February. After this, strong southern winds pushed the ice further into the north, and much of the waters north of Gotland were again free of ice, which had then packed against the shores of southern Finland. The effects of the afore-mentioned high-pressure area did not reach the southern parts of the Baltic Sea, and thus the entire sea did not freeze over. However, floating ice was additionally observed near Świnoujście
harbour in January 2010.
In the recent years prior to 2011, Bothnian Bay
and the Bothnian Sea
were frozen with solid ice near the Baltic coast and dense floating ice far from it. In 2007 there was almost no ice formation except for a short period in March.
During winter, fast ice
, which is attached to the shoreline, develops first, rendering the ports unusable without the services of icebreaker
s. Level ice, ice sludge, pancake ice
or rafter ice form in the more open regions. The gleaming expanse of ice is similar to the Arctic
, with wind-driven pack ice and ridges up to 15 m. Offshore of the landfast ice, the ice remains very dynamic all year, and it is relatively easily moved around by winds and therefore forms pack ice, made up of large piles and ridges pushed against the landfast ice and shores.
In spring, the Gulf of Finland and the Gulf of Bothnia normally thaw during in late April, with some ice ridges persisting until May in the eastern extremities of the Gulf of Finland. In the northernmost reaches of the Bothnian Bay, ice usually stays until late May; by early June it is practically always gone.
The ice cover is the main habitat for two larger animal species. They are the grey seal
(Halichoerus grypus) and the Baltic ringed seal (Pusa hispida botnica) that both feed underneath and breed on the ice. Of these two seals, only the Baltic ringed seal suffers when there is not an adequate ice in the Baltic Sea, as it feeds its young only on ice. The grey seal is adapted to reproducing also with no ice in the sea. The sea ice also harbours several species of algae that live in the bottom and inside brine pockets in the ice.
Hydrography
The Baltic Sea flows out through the Danish straits; however, the flow is complex. A surface layer of brackish water discharges 940 km³ per year into the North Sea
. Due to the difference in salinity
, a sub-surface layer of more saline water moving in the opposite direction brings in 475 km³ per year. It mixes very slowly with the upper waters, resulting in a salinity gradient from top to bottom, with most of the salt water remaining below 40 to 70 m deep. The general circulation is counter-clockwise: northwards along its eastern boundary, and south along the western one (Alhonen 88).
The difference between the outflow and the inflow comes entirely from fresh water
. More than 250 streams drain a basin of about 1.6 million km², contributing a volume of 660 km³ per year to the Baltic. They include the major rivers of north Europe, such as the Oder
, the Vistula
, the Neman
, the Daugava and the Neva. Additional fresh water comes from the difference of precipitation
less evaporation, which is positive.
An important source of salty water are infrequent inflows of North Sea
water into the Baltic. Such inflows, important to the Baltic ecosystem because of the oxygen they transport into the Baltic deeps, used to happen on average every four to five years until the 1980s. In recent decades they have become less frequent. The latest three occurred in 1983, 1993 and 2003 suggesting a new inter-inflow period of about ten years.
The water level is generally far more dependent on the regional wind situation than on tidal effects. However, tidal currents occur in narrow passages in the western parts of the Baltic Sea.
The significant wave height
is generally much lower than that of the North Sea
. Violent and sudden storms often sweep the surface, due to large transient temperature differences and a long reach of wind. Seasonal winds also cause small changes in sea level, of the order of 0.5 m (Alhonen 88).
Salinity
The Baltic Sea's salinityis much lower than that of ocean water (which averages 35‰), as a result of abundant freshwater runoff from the surrounding land, combined with the shallowness of the sea itself; indeed, runoff contributes roughly one-fortieth its total volume per year, as the volume of the basin is about 21,000 km³ and yearly runoff is about 500 km³. The open surface waters of the central basin have salinity of 6 to 8 ‰. At the semi-enclosed bays with major freshwater inflows, such as head of Finnish Gulf with Neva mouth and head of Bothnian gulf with close mouths of Lule, Tornio and Kemi, the salinity is considerably lower. Below 40 to 70 m, the salinity is between 10 and 15 ‰ in the open Baltic Sea, and more than this near Danish Straits.
The flow of fresh water into the sea from approximately two-hundred rivers and the introduction of salt from the South builds up a gradient of salinity in the Baltic Sea. Near the Danish straits
the salinity is close to that of the Kattegat, but still not fully oceanic, because the saltiest water that passes the straits is still already mixed with considerable amounts of outflow water. The salinity steadily decreases towards North and East. At the northern part of the Gulf of Bothnia
the water is no longer salty and many fresh water species live in the sea. The salinity gradient is paralleled by a temperature gradient. These two factors limit many species of animals and plants to a relatively narrow region of Baltic Sea.
The most saline water is vertically stratified in the water column to the north
, creating a barrier to the exchange of oxygen
and nutrients, and fostering completely separate maritime environments.
Regional emergence

from its subsident state, which was caused by the weight of the last glaciation. The phenomenon is known as post-glacial rebound
. Consequently, the surface area and the depth of the sea are diminishing. The uplift is about eight millimetres per year on the Finnish coast of the northernmost Gulf of Bothnia. In the area, the former seabed is only gently sloped, leading to large areas of land being reclaimed in, geologically speaking, relatively short periods (decades and centuries).
Extent
The International Hydrographic Organizationdefines the limits of the Baltic Sea as follows:
Bordered by the coasts of Denmark, Sweden, Finland, Russia, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland and Germany extends north-eastward of the following limits:
In the Little Belt
Little BeltThe Little Belt is a strait between the Danish island of Funen and the Jutland Peninsula.The belt is about 50 km long and 800m to 28 km wide, the maximum depth is approximately 75 m, and contains numerous small Danish islands....
. A line joining Falshöft (54°47′N 9°57.5′E) and Vejsnæs Nakke (Ærö: 54°49′N 10°26′E).
In the Great Belt
Great BeltThe Great Belt is a strait between the main Danish islands of Zealand and Funen . Effectively dividing Denmark in two, the Belt was served by the Great Belt ferries from the late 19th century until the islands were connected by the Great Belt Fixed Link in 1997–98.-Geography:The Great Belt is the...
. A line joining Gulstav (South extreme of LangelandLangelandLangeland is a Danish island located between the Great Belt and Bay of Kiel. The island measures 285 km² and, as of 1 January 2010, has a population of 13,277. The island produces grain and is known as a recreational area. A bridge connects it to Tåsinge via Siø - a small island with a...
Island) and Kappel Kirke (54°46′N 11°01′E) on Island of LaalandLollandLolland is the fourth largest island of Denmark, with an area of 1,243 square kilometers . Located in the Baltic sea, it is part of Region Sjælland...
.
In Guldborg Sound
GuldborgsundGuldborgsund is the strait between the Danish islands of Lolland and Falster that connects Smålandsfarvandet in the north with Bay of Mecklenburg in the south. It is navigable for craft of up to 6 metres draught in its northern part and is used for commercial traffic to Nykøbing Falster...
. A line joining Flinthorne-Rev and Skjelby (54°38′N 11°53′E).
In the Sound. A line joining Stevns
Stevns PeninsulaStevns Peninsula is a peninsula on Sjælland in Denmark. It is separated from Sjælland by the three streams Stevns Å, Tryggevælde Å and Kildeå.The main town of the peninsula is Store Heddinge, and most of the peninsula is covered by the Stevns Municipality....
Lighthouse (55°17′N 12°27′E) and Falsterbo PointFalsterboFalsterbo is a town located at the south-western tip of Sweden in Vellinge Municipality in Skåne County. Falsterbo is situated in the southern part of the Falsterbo peninsula. It is part of Skanör med Falsterbo, one of Sweden's historical cities.-History:...
(55°23′N 12°49′E).
Subdivisions
The northern part of the Baltic Sea is known as the Gulf of Bothnia, of which the northernmost part is the Bay of Bothnia or Bothnian Bay
. The more rounded southern basin of the gulf is called Bothnian Sea
and immediately to the south of it lies the Sea of Åland
. The Gulf of Finland
connects the Baltic Sea with Saint Petersburg
. The Gulf of Riga
lies between the Latvia
n capital city of Riga
and the Estonia
n island of Saaremaa
.
The Northern Baltic Sea lies between the Stockholm
area, southwestern Finland and Estonia. The Western and Eastern Gotland Basins
form the major parts of the Central Baltic Sea or Baltic proper. The Bornholm Basin is the area east of Bornholm
, and the shallower Arkona Basin extends from Bornholm to the Danish isles of Falster
and Zealand.
In the south, the Bay of Gdańsk lies east of the Hel peninsula
on the Polish coast and west of Sambia
in Kaliningrad Oblast
. The Bay of Pomerania
lies north of the islands of Usedom
and Wolin
, east of Rügen
. Between Falster and the German coast lie the Bay of Mecklenburg
and Bay of Lübeck
. The westernmost part of the Baltic Sea is the Bay of Kiel
. The three Danish straits
, the Great Belt
, the Little Belt
and The Sound
(Ö/Øresund), connect the Baltic Sea with the Kattegat
bay and Skagerrak
strait in the North Sea
.
Land use

About 20% of the land is used for agriculture and pasture, mainly in Poland and around the edge of the Baltic Proper, in Germany, Denmark and Sweden. About 17% of the basin is unused open land with another 8% of wetlands. Most of the latter are in the Gulfs of Bothnia and Finland.
The rest of the land is heavily populated.
Demographics
About 85 million people live in the Baltic drainage basin, 15 million within 10 km (6 mi) of the coast and 29 million within 50 km (31 mi) of the coast. Around 22 million live in population centers of over 250,000. 90% of these are concentrated in the 10 km (6 mi) band around the coast. Of the nations containing all or part of the basin, Poland includes 45% of the 85 million, Russia 12%, Sweden 10% and the others (see below) less than 6% each.Geologic history

bed, with two tributaries, the Gulf of Finland
and Gulf of Bothnia
. Geological
surveys show that before the Pleistocene
instead of the Baltic Sea, there was a wide plain around a big river called the Eridanos. Several glaciation episodes during the Pleistocene
scooped out the river bed into the sea basin. By the time of the last, or Eemian Stage (MIS
5e), the Eemian sea was in place. Instead of a true sea, the Baltic can even today also be understood as the common estuary
of all rivers flowing into it.
From that time the waters underwent a geologic history summarized under the names listed below. Many of the stages are named after marine animals (e.g. the Littorina
mollusk) that are clear markers of changing water temperatures and salinity.
The factors that determined the sea's characteristics were the submergence or emergence of the region due to the weight of ice and subsequent isostatic readjustment, and the connecting channels it found to the North Sea
-Atlantic
, either through the straits of Denmark
or at what are now the large lakes of Sweden
, and the White Sea
-Arctic Sea.
- Eemian SeaEemian seaThe Eemian sea was a body of water located approximately where the Baltic sea is now during the last or Eemian Stage, MIS 5e, roughly 130,000 to 115,000 BP. Sea level was 5 to 7 metres higher globally than it is today, due to the prior release of glacial water...
, 130,000–115,000 (years ago) - Baltic ice lakeBaltic ice lakeThe Baltic ice lake is a name given by geologists to a freshwater lake that gradually formed in the Baltic Sea basin as glaciation retreated from that region at the end of the Pleistocene. The lake, dated to 12,600-10,300 BP, is roughly contemporaneous with the three Pleistocene Blytt-Sernander...
, 12,600–10,300 - Yoldia SeaYoldia SeaYoldia Sea is a name given by geologists to a variable brackish-water stage in the Baltic Sea basin that prevailed after the Baltic ice lake was drained to sea level during the Weichsel glaciation...
, 10,300–9500 - Ancylus LakeAncylus LakeAncylus lake is a name given by geologists to the body of fresh water that replaced the Yoldia Sea after the latter had been severed from its saline intake across central Sweden by the isostatic rise of south Scandinavian landforms. The dates are approximately 9500-8000 BP calibrated, during the...
, 9,500–8,000 - Mastogloia SeaMastogloia SeaThe Mastogloia Sea is one of the prehistoric stages of the Baltic Sea in its development after the last ice age. This took place ca. 8000 years ago following the Ancylus Lake stage and preceding the Littorina Sea stage....
8,000–7,500 - Littorina SeaLittorina SeaLittorina Sea is a geological brackish-water stage of the Baltic Sea, which existed around 7500–4000 BP and followed the Mastogloia Sea, transitional stage of the Ancylus Lake...
, 7,500–4,000 - Post-littorina Sea 4,000–present
History
At the time of the Roman Empire, the Baltic Sea was known as the Mare Suebicum or Mare Sarmaticum. Tacitus in his AD 98 Agricola and Germania described the Mare Suebicum, named for the Suebi
tribe, during the spring months, as a brackish
sea
when the ice on the Baltic Sea broke apart and chunks floated about. The Suebi eventually migrated south west to reside for a while in the Rhineland area of modern Germany, where their name survives in the historic region known as Swabia
. The Sarmatian tribes inhabited Eastern Europe and southern Russia. Jordanes
called it the Germanic Sea in his work the Getica.
Since the Viking age
, the Scandinavians have called it "the Eastern Lake" (Austmarr, "Eastern Sea", appears in the Heimskringla
and Eystra salt appears in Sörla þáttr
), but Saxo Grammaticus
recorded in Gesta Danorum
an older name Gandvik
, "-vik" being Old Norse
for "bay", which implies that the Vikings correctly regarded it as an inlet of the sea. (Another form of the name, "Grandvik", attested in at least one English translation of Gesta Danorum, is likely to be a misspelling.)

the sea also provides amber
, especially from its southern shores. The bordering countries have traditionally provided lumber
, wood tar
, flax
, hemp
, and fur
s. Sweden had from early medieval times also a flourishing mining
industry, especially on iron
ore and silver
. Poland
had and still has extensive salt
mines. All this has provided for rich trading since the Roman times.
In the early Middle Ages
, Vikings of Scandinavia built their trade empire all around the Baltic. Later, there were fights for control over the sea with Wendish tribes
dwelling on the southern shore. The Vikings also used the rivers of Russia for trade routes, finding their way eventually to the Black Sea
and southern Russia. This Viking-dominated period is also referred to as Viking Age
.
Lands next to the sea's eastern shore were among the last in Europe to be converted into Christianity
in the Northern Crusades
: Finland
in the twelfth century by the Swedes, and what are now Estonia
and Latvia
in the early thirteenth century by the Danes and the Germans (Livonian Brothers of the Sword
). The Teutonic Knights
gained control over parts of the southern and eastern shore of the Baltic Sea, where they set up their monastic state
while fighting the Poles
, the Danes, the Swedes
, the Russians
of ancient Novgorod
, and the Lithuanians
(the last Europeans to convert to Christianity
).
In the 12th century, there was intensification of Baltic Slavic piracy. Starting in the 11th century, the southern and eastern shores of the Baltic were settled by Germans
(and to a lesser extent by Dutch, Danes and Scots
) in the course of the Ostsiedlung
. The Polabian Slavs
were gradually assimilated by the Germans. Denmark
gradually gained control over most of the Baltic coast, until she lost much of her possessions after being defeated in the 1227 Battle of Bornhöved
.
.jpg)
, which used the Baltic Sea to establish trade routes between its member cities. In the seventeenth century the Dutch
became the dominant traders. In the sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries, Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth
, Denmark
and Sweden
fought wars for Dominium Maris Baltici ("Ruling over the Baltic Sea"). Eventually, it was the Swedish Empire
that virtually encompassed the Baltic Sea. In Sweden the sea was then referred to as Mare Nostrum Balticum ("Our Baltic Sea").
In the eighteenth century, Russia and Prussia
became the leading powers over the sea. The Great Northern War
, ending with Sweden
's defeat, brought Russia to the eastern coast. Since then, Russia was a dominating power in the Baltic. Russia's Peter the Great
saw the strategic importance of the Baltic and decided to found his new capital, Saint Petersburg
at the mouth of the Neva river at the east end of the Gulf of Finland
. There was much trading not just within the Baltic region but also with the North Sea region, especially eastern England
and the Netherlands
: their fleets needed the Baltic timber, tar, flax and hemp.
During the Crimean War
, a joint British
and French
fleet attacked the Russian fortresses by bombarding Sveaborg, which guards Helsinki
; Kronstadt, which guards Saint Petersburg; and by destroying Bomarsund
in the Åland Islands
. After the unification of Germany
in 1871, the whole southern coast became German. The First World War
was partly fought in the Baltic Sea. After 1920 Poland
was connected to the Baltic Sea by the Polish Corridor
and enlarged the port of Gdynia
in rivalry with the port of the Free City of Danzig
.

, Germany reclaimed all of the southern shore and much of the eastern by occupying Poland and the Baltic states
. In 1945, the Baltic Sea became a mass grave for retreating soldiers and refugees on torpedoed troop transports
. The sinking of the Wilhelm Gustloff
remains the worst maritime disaster, killing (very roughly) 9,000 people. In 2005, a Russian group of scientists found over five thousand airplane wrecks, sunken warships, and other material
mainly from the Second World War
, lying at the bottom of the sea.
Since the end of World War II, various nations, including the Soviet Union, the United Kingdom and the United States, have disposed of chemical weapons in the Baltic Sea, raising concerns of environmental contamination. Even now fishermen accidentally retrieve some of these materials: the most recent available report from the Helsinki Commission notes that four small scale catches of CW
munitions representing approximately 105 kilograms (231 lbs) of material were reported in 2005. This is a reduction from the 25 incidents representing 1,110 kilograms (2,447 lbs) of material in 2003. Until now, the U.S. government refuses to disclose the exact coordinates of the wreck sites. Rotting bottles leak Lost and other substances, thus slowly poisoning a substantial part of the Baltic Sea.
After 1945, the German population was expelled
from all areas east of the Oder-Neisse line
, making room for Polish and Russian settlers. Poland
gained a vast stretch of the southern shore, Russia gained another access to the Baltic with the Kaliningrad oblast
. The Baltic states
on the eastern shore were occupied by the Soviet Union
, Poland and East Germany became communist states. The sea then was a border between opposing military blocs: in the case of military conflict, in parallel with a Soviet offensive towards the Atlantic Ocean
, communist Poland's fleet was prepared to invade the Danish isles. This border status also impacted trade and travel, and came to an end only after the collapse of the communist regimes in Eastern and Central Europe in the late 1980s.
Since May 2004, on the accession of the Baltic states
and Poland
, the Baltic Sea has been almost entirely surrounded by countries of the European Union
(EU). The only remaining non-EU areas are the Russian metropolis
of Saint Petersburg and the Kaliningrad Oblast
exclave.
Winter storms begin arriving in the region during October. These have caused numerous shipwrecks, and contributed to the extreme difficulties of rescuing passengers of the ferry M/S Estonia
en route from Tallinn
, Estonia, to Stockholm
, Sweden, in September 1994, which claimed the lives of 852 people. Older, wood-based shipwrecks such as the Vasa tend to remain well-preserved, as the Baltic's cold and brackish water does not suit the shipworm
.
Biology
.jpg)
. The more saline (and therefore denser) water remains on the bottom, isolating it from surface waters and the atmosphere. This leads to decreased oxygen concentrations within the zone. It is mainly bacteria that grow in it, digesting organic material and releasing hydrogen sulfide. Because of this large anaerobic zone, the seafloor ecology differs from that of the neighbouring Atlantic.
Plans to artificially oxygenate areas of the Baltic that have experienced eutrophication have been proposed by the University of Gothenburg and Inocean AB. The proposal intends to use wind-driven pumps to inject oxygen (air) into waters at, or around, 130m below sea level
Since the Baltic Sea is so young there are only a few endemic
species, such as the small cockle Parvicardium hauniense and the asexually reproducing alga Fucus radicans. However, several marine species have populations in the Baltic Sea adapted to the low salinity, such as the Baltic Sea herring
which is smaller than the Atlantic
herring. The benthic fauna
consists mainly of Monoporeia affinis
, which is originally a freshwater species. The lack of tides has affected the marine species as compared with the Atlantic.
The fish fauna of the Baltic sea is a mixture of marine species such as cod
, herring, hake
, plaice
, flounder
, shorthorn sculpin and turbot
, and freshwater species such as perch
, pike
, whitefish
and roach
.
A peculiar feature of the fauna is that it contains a number of glacial relict species, isolated populations of arctic species which have remained in the Baltic Sea since the last glaciation, such as the large isopod Saduria entomon
, the Baltic subspecies of ringed seal
, and the fourhorn sculpin
.
Satellite images taken in July 2010 revealed a massive algal bloom
covering 377000 sqkm in the Baltic Sea. The area of the bloom extends from Germany and Poland to Finland. Researchers of the phenomenon have indicated that algal blooms have occurred every summer for decades. Fertilizer runoff from surrounding agricultural land has exacerbated the problem and led to increased eutrophication
.
Economy

). The undersea tunnel of the Øresund Bridge-Tunnel provides for navigation of large ships into and out of the Baltic Sea. The Baltic Sea is the main trade route for export of Russian petroleum. Many of the countries neighboring the Baltic Sea have been concerned about this, since a major oil leak in a seagoing tanker would be disastrous for the Baltic—given the slow exchange of water. The tourism industry surrounding the Baltic Sea is naturally concerned about oil pollution.
Much shipbuilding is carried out in the shipyards around the Baltic Sea. The largest shipyards are at Gdańsk
, Gdynia
, and Szczecin
, Poland; Kiel
, Germany; Karlskrona
, Sweden; Malmö
, Sweden; Rauma
, Turku
, and Helsinki
, Finland; Riga
, Ventspils
, and Liepāja
(Latvia); Klaipėda
(Lithuania); and St. Petersburg, Russia.
There are several cargo and passenger ferries that operate on the Baltic Sea, such as Scandlines
, Silja Line
, Polferries
, the Viking Line
, Tallink
, and Superfast Ferries
.
European Route of Brick Gothic
European Route of Brick Gothicis a touristic route connecting cities with Brick Gothic architecture in seven countries along the Baltic Sea: Sweden
, Denmark
, Germany
, Poland
, Lithuania
, Latvia
and Estonia
.
Piers
- LiepajaLiepajaLiepāja ; ), is a republican city in western Latvia, located on the Baltic Sea directly at 21°E. It is the largest city in the Kurzeme Region of Latvia, the third largest city in Latvia after Riga and Daugavpils and an important ice-free port...
, LatviaLatviaLatvia , officially the Republic of Latvia , is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by Estonia , to the south by Lithuania , to the east by the Russian Federation , to the southeast by Belarus and shares maritime borders to the west with Sweden... - SopotSopotSopot is a seaside town in Eastern Pomerania on the southern coast of the Baltic Sea in northern Poland, with a population of approximately 40,000....
, PolandPolandPoland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north... - MiędzyzdrojeMiedzyzdrojeMiędzyzdroje is a town and a seaside resort in northwestern Poland on the island of Wolin on the Baltic coast. Previously in the Szczecin Voivodeship , Międzyzdroje has been in Kamień Pomorski County in the West Pomeranian Voivodeship since 1999. Międzyzdroje has a population of 6000 .It is...
, PolandPolandPoland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north... - Kołobrzeg, PolandPolandPoland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
- KlaipedaKlaipedaKlaipėda is a city in Lithuania situated at the mouth of the Nemunas River where it flows into the Baltic Sea. It is the third largest city in Lithuania and the capital of Klaipėda County....
, LithuaniaLithuaniaLithuania , officially the Republic of Lithuania is a country in Northern Europe, the biggest of the three Baltic states. It is situated along the southeastern shore of the Baltic Sea, whereby to the west lie Sweden and Denmark... - HeiligendammHeiligendammHeiligendamm is a German seaside resort, founded in 1793. The small cluster of structures which still survive are reminders of the glory days of days gone by when this part of the Baltic Sea was one of the playgrounds of Europe's aristocracy. It is the oldest seaside spa in Germany...
, GermanyGermanyGermany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
Resort towns
Examples:- ŚwinoujścieSwinoujscieŚwinoujście is a city and seaport on the Baltic Sea and Szczecin Lagoon, located in the extreme north-west of Poland. It is situated mainly on the islands of Uznam and Wolin, but also occupies smaller islands, of which the largest is Karsibór island, once part of Usedom, now separated by a Piast...
, PolandPolandPoland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north... - Kamień PomorskiKamien PomorskiKamień Pomorski is a town in the West Pomeranian Voivodeship of northwestern Poland. The capital of Kamień County, the town had 9,129 inhabitants as of June 30, 2008.- History :...
, PolandPolandPoland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north... - Kołobrzeg, PolandPolandPoland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
- PärnuPärnuPärnu is a city in southwestern Estonia on the coast of Pärnu Bay, an inlet of the Gulf of Riga in the Baltic Sea. It is a popular summer vacation resort with many hotels, restaurants, and large beaches. The Pärnu River flows through the city and drains into the Gulf of Riga...
, EstoniaEstoniaEstonia , officially the Republic of Estonia , is a state in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea, to the south by Latvia , and to the east by Lake Peipsi and the Russian Federation . Across the Baltic Sea lies... - JūrmalaJurmalaJūrmala is a city in Latvia, about 25 kilometers west of Riga. Jūrmala is a resort town stretching and sandwiched between the Gulf of Riga and the Lielupe River...
, LatviaLatviaLatvia , officially the Republic of Latvia , is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by Estonia , to the south by Lithuania , to the east by the Russian Federation , to the southeast by Belarus and shares maritime borders to the west with Sweden... - PalangaPalangaPalanga and beautiful sand dunes. Officially Palanga has the status of a city municipality and includes Šventoji, Nemirseta, Būtingė and other settlements, which are considered as part of the city of Palanga.-Legend:...
, LithuaniaLithuaniaLithuania , officially the Republic of Lithuania is a country in Northern Europe, the biggest of the three Baltic states. It is situated along the southeastern shore of the Baltic Sea, whereby to the west lie Sweden and Denmark... - NidaNidaNida may refer to:* Nida, Lithuania* Nida in Poland* Nida , an ancient roman town in the northwestern suburbs of today's Frankfurt am Main, Germany* Nida, Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship, Poland...
, LithuaniaLithuaniaLithuania , officially the Republic of Lithuania is a country in Northern Europe, the biggest of the three Baltic states. It is situated along the southeastern shore of the Baltic Sea, whereby to the west lie Sweden and Denmark... - SopotSopotSopot is a seaside town in Eastern Pomerania on the southern coast of the Baltic Sea in northern Poland, with a population of approximately 40,000....
, PolandPolandPoland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north... - UeckermündeUeckermündeUeckermünde is a seaport town in northeast Germany, located in the district of Vorpommern-Greifswald, Western Pomerania, near Germany's border with Poland . Ueckermünde has a long and varied history, going back to its founding by Slavs, known as the Uchri and mentioned in 934 by Widukind of Corvey...
, GermanyGermanyGermany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate... - UstkaUstkaUstka is a town in the Middle Pomerania region of northwestern Poland with 17,100 inhabitants . It is also part of Słupsk County in Pomeranian Voivodeship since 1999, and was previously in Słupsk Voivodeship .- History :...
, PolandPolandPoland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north... - SvetlogorskSvetlogorskSvetlogorsk may refer to one of the following:*Śvietłahorsk, a city in Belarus*Svetlogorsk, Kaliningrad Oblast, a town in Kaliningrad Oblast, Russia*Svetlogorsk, Krasnoyarsk Krai, an urban-type settlement in Krasnoyarsk Krai, Russia...
, RussiaRussiaRussia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
1974 Convention
For the first time ever, all the sources of pollution around an entire sea were made subject to a single convention, signed in 1974 by the then seven Baltic coastal states. The 1974 Convention entered into force on 3 May 1980.1992 Convention
In the light of political changes and developments in international environmental and maritime law, a new convention was signed in 1992 by all the states bordering on the Baltic Sea, and the European Community. After ratification the Convention entered into force on 17 January 2000. The Convention covers the whole of the Baltic Sea area, including inland waters and the water of the sea itself, as well as the seabed. Measures are also taken in the whole catchment area of the Baltic Sea to reduce land-based pollution. The Convention on the Protection of the Marine Environment of the Baltic Sea Area, 1992, entered into force on 17 January 2000.The governing body of the Convention is the Helsinki Commission, also known as HELCOM, or Baltic Marine Environment Protection Commission. The present contracting parties are Denmark, Estonia, the European Community, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia and Sweden.
The ratification instruments were deposited by the European Community, Germany, Latvia and Sweden in 1994, by Estonia and Finland in 1995, by Denmark in 1996, by Lithuania in 1997 and by Poland and Russia in November 1999.
Countries
Countries that border on the sea:Countries that are in the drainage basin
but do not border on the sea:
Islands and archipelagoes

- Åland IslandsÅland IslandsThe Åland Islands form an archipelago in the Baltic Sea. They are situated at the entrance to the Gulf of Bothnia and form an autonomous, demilitarised, monolingually Swedish-speaking region of Finland...
(FinlandFinlandFinland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
, autonomous) - Archipelago SeaArchipelago SeaArchipelago Sea is a part of the Baltic Sea between the Gulf of Bothnia, the Gulf of Finland and the Sea of Åland, within Finnish territorial waters...
(FinlandFinlandFinland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
)- PargasPargasPargas is a former town and municipality in south-western Finland. On 1 January 2009, it was consolidated with Houtskär, Iniö, Korpo and Nagu to form the new town of Väståboland....
- NaguNaguNagu is a former municipality of Finland. On 1 January 2009, it was consolidated with Houtskär, Iniö, Korpo and Pargas to form the new town of Väståboland....
- KorpoKorpoKorpo is a former municipality of Finland. On 1 January 2009, it was consolidated with Houtskär, Iniö, Nagu and Pargas to form the new town of Väståboland.It is located in the province of Western Finland and is part of the Finland Proper region...
- HoutskärHoutskärHoutskär is a former municipality of Finland. On 1 January 2009, it was consolidated with Iniö, Korpo, Nagu and Pargas to form the new town of Väståboland....
- KustaviKustaviKustavi is a municipality of Finland.It is located in the province of Western Finland and is part of the Finland Proper region. The municipality has a population of and covers an area of of which is water. The population density is ....
- KimitoKimitoKimito is a former municipality of Finland. On January 1, 2009, it was consolidated with Dragsfjärd and Västanfjärd to form the new municipality of Kimitoön...
- Pargas
- BornholmBornholmBornholm is a Danish island in the Baltic Sea located to the east of the rest of Denmark, the south of Sweden, and the north of Poland. The main industries on the island include fishing, arts and crafts like glass making and pottery using locally worked clay, and dairy farming. Tourism is...
(DenmarkDenmarkDenmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
) - GotlandGotlandGotland is a county, province, municipality and diocese of Sweden; it is Sweden's largest island and the largest island in the Baltic Sea. At 3,140 square kilometers in area, the region makes up less than one percent of Sweden's total land area...
(SwedenSwedenSweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
) - HailuotoHailuotoHailuoto is an island and a municipality in the province of Oulu, Finland. The population of Hailuoto is and the municipality covers an area of of which is inland water . The population density is ....
(FinlandFinlandFinland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
) - HiiumaaHiiumaaHiiumaa is the second largest island belonging to Estonia. It is located in the Baltic Sea, north of the island of Saaremaa, a part of the West Estonian archipelago. Its largest town is Kärdla.-Name:...
(EstoniaEstoniaEstonia , officially the Republic of Estonia , is a state in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea, to the south by Latvia , and to the east by Lake Peipsi and the Russian Federation . Across the Baltic Sea lies...
) - Kotlin (RussiaRussiaRussia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
) - MuhuMuhuMuhu , is an island in the Baltic Sea. With an area of 198 km² it is the third largest island belonging to Estonia, after Saaremaa and Hiiumaa....
(EstoniaEstoniaEstonia , officially the Republic of Estonia , is a state in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea, to the south by Latvia , and to the east by Lake Peipsi and the Russian Federation . Across the Baltic Sea lies...
) - ÖlandÖland' is the second largest Swedish island and the smallest of the traditional provinces of Sweden. Öland has an area of 1,342 km² and is located in the Baltic Sea just off the coast of Småland. The island has 25,000 inhabitants, but during Swedish Midsummer it is visited by up to 500,000 people...
(SwedenSwedenSweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
) - RügenRügenRügen is Germany's largest island. Located in the Baltic Sea, it is part of the Vorpommern-Rügen district of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern.- Geography :Rügen is located off the north-eastern coast of Germany in the Baltic Sea...
(GermanyGermanyGermany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
) - SaaremaaSaaremaaSaaremaa is the largest island in Estonia, measuring 2,673 km². The main island of Saare County, it is located in the Baltic Sea, south of Hiiumaa island, and belongs to the West Estonian Archipelago...
(EstoniaEstoniaEstonia , officially the Republic of Estonia , is a state in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea, to the south by Latvia , and to the east by Lake Peipsi and the Russian Federation . Across the Baltic Sea lies...
) - Stockholm archipelagoStockholm archipelagoThe Stockholm archipelago is the largest archipelago of Sweden, and one of the largest archipelagos of the Baltic Sea.-Geography:The archipelago extends from Stockholm roughly 60 kilometers to the east...
(SwedenSwedenSweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
)- VärmdönVärmdönVärmdö is an island in the innermost region of the Stockholm archipelago and covers an area of 180 km², making it the largest island in the archipelago. Värmdö is after Gotland and Öland the third largest island on the eastern coast of Sweden....
(SwedenSwedenSweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
)
- Värmdön
- UsedomUsedomUsedom is a Baltic Sea island on the border between Germany and Poland. It is situated north of the Szczecin Lagoon estuary of the River Oder in Pomerania...
or Uznam (split between GermanyGermanyGermany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
and PolandPolandPoland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
) - KvarkenKvarkenKvarken is the narrow region in the Gulf of Bothnia separating the Bothnian Bay from the Bothnian Sea...
archipelago, including ValsörarnaValsörarnaValsörarna or Valassaaret is a small archipelago located in the Kvarken region of the Gulf of Bothnia. The islands are situated in the territorial waters of Finland and are the last you see when going by boat or ferry from Vaasa, Finland to Umeå, Sweden. They are a part of Korsholm municipality...
(FinlandFinlandFinland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
) - WolinWolinWolin is the name both of an island in the Baltic Sea, just off the Polish coast, and a town on that island. It is separated from the island of Usedom by the Świna river, and from mainland Pomerania by the Dziwna river...
(PolandPolandPoland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
)
Cities
The biggest coastal cities (by population):- Saint PetersburgSaint PetersburgSaint Petersburg is a city and a federal subject of Russia located on the Neva River at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea...
(Russia) 4,700,000 (metropolitan area 6,000,000) - StockholmStockholmStockholm is the capital and the largest city of Sweden and constitutes the most populated urban area in Scandinavia. Stockholm is the most populous city in Sweden, with a population of 851,155 in the municipality , 1.37 million in the urban area , and around 2.1 million in the metropolitan area...
(Sweden) 843,139 (metropolitan area 2,046,103) - RigaRigaRiga is the capital and largest city of Latvia. With 702,891 inhabitants Riga is the largest city of the Baltic states, one of the largest cities in Northern Europe and home to more than one third of Latvia's population. The city is an important seaport and a major industrial, commercial,...
(Latvia) 709,000 (metropolitan area 842,000) - HelsinkiHelsinkiHelsinki is the capital and largest city in Finland. It is in the region of Uusimaa, located in southern Finland, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, an arm of the Baltic Sea. The population of the city of Helsinki is , making it by far the most populous municipality in Finland. Helsinki is...
(Finland) 579,016 (metropolitan area 1,303,126) - CopenhagenCopenhagenCopenhagen is the capital and largest city of Denmark, with an urban population of 1,199,224 and a metropolitan population of 1,930,260 . With the completion of the transnational Øresund Bridge in 2000, Copenhagen has become the centre of the increasingly integrating Øresund Region...
(Denmark) 502,204 (metropolitan area 1,823,109) (facing the SoundOresundThe Sound , is the strait that separates the Danish island Zealand from the southern Swedish province of Scania. Its width is just at the narrowest point between Helsingør, Denmark, and Helsingborg, Sweden...
) - GdańskGdanskGdańsk is a Polish city on the Baltic coast, at the centre of the country's fourth-largest metropolitan area.The city lies on the southern edge of Gdańsk Bay , in a conurbation with the city of Gdynia, spa town of Sopot, and suburban communities, which together form a metropolitan area called the...
(Poland) 462,700 (metropolitan area 1,041,000) - SzczecinSzczecinSzczecin , is the capital city of the West Pomeranian Voivodeship in Poland. It is the country's seventh-largest city and the largest seaport in Poland on the Baltic Sea. As of June 2009 the population was 406,427....
(Poland) 413,600 (metropolitan area 778,000) - TallinnTallinnTallinn is the capital and largest city of Estonia. It occupies an area of with a population of 414,940. It is situated on the northern coast of the country, on the banks of the Gulf of Finland, south of Helsinki, east of Stockholm and west of Saint Petersburg. Tallinn's Old Town is in the list...
(Estonia) 401,774 - KaliningradKaliningradKaliningrad is a seaport and the administrative center of Kaliningrad Oblast, the Russian exclave between Poland and Lithuania on the Baltic Sea...
(Russia) 400,000 - MalmöMalmöMalmö , in the southernmost province of Scania, is the third most populous city in Sweden, after Stockholm and Gothenburg.Malmö is the seat of Malmö Municipality and the capital of Skåne County...
(Sweden) 290,078 (facing the SoundOresundThe Sound , is the strait that separates the Danish island Zealand from the southern Swedish province of Scania. Its width is just at the narrowest point between Helsingør, Denmark, and Helsingborg, Sweden...
) - GdyniaGdyniaGdynia is a city in the Pomeranian Voivodeship of Poland and an important seaport of Gdańsk Bay on the south coast of the Baltic Sea.Located in Kashubia in Eastern Pomerania, Gdynia is part of a conurbation with the spa town of Sopot, the city of Gdańsk and suburban communities, which together...
(Poland) 255,600 (metropolitan area 1,041,000) - KielKielKiel is the capital and most populous city in the northern German state of Schleswig-Holstein, with a population of 238,049 .Kiel is approximately north of Hamburg. Due to its geographic location in the north of Germany, the southeast of the Jutland peninsula, and the southwestern shore of the...
(Germany) 250,000 - EspooEspooEspoo is the second largest city and municipality in Finland. The population of the city of Espoo is . It is part of the Helsinki Metropolitan Area along with the cities of Helsinki, Vantaa, and Kauniainen. Espoo shares its eastern border with Helsinki and Vantaa, while enclosing Kauniainen....
(Finland) 234,400 (part of Helsinki metropolitan area) - LübeckLübeckThe Hanseatic City of Lübeck is the second-largest city in Schleswig-Holstein, in northern Germany, and one of the major ports of Germany. It was for several centuries the "capital" of the Hanseatic League and, because of its Brick Gothic architectural heritage, is listed by UNESCO as a World...
(Germany) 216,100 - RostockRostockRostock -Early history:In the 11th century Polabian Slavs founded a settlement at the Warnow river called Roztoc ; the name Rostock is derived from that designation. The Danish king Valdemar I set the town aflame in 1161.Afterwards the place was settled by German traders...
(Germany) 212,700 - KlaipėdaKlaipedaKlaipėda is a city in Lithuania situated at the mouth of the Nemunas River where it flows into the Baltic Sea. It is the third largest city in Lithuania and the capital of Klaipėda County....
(Lithuania) 194,400 - TurkuTurkuTurku is a city situated on the southwest coast of Finland at the mouth of the Aura River. It is located in the region of Finland Proper. It is believed that Turku came into existence during the end of the 13th century which makes it the oldest city in Finland...
(Finland) 175,000 - OuluOuluOulu is a city and municipality of inhabitants in the region of Northern Ostrobothnia, in Finland. It is the most populous city in Northern Finland and the sixth most populous city in the country. It is one of the northernmost larger cities in the world....
(Finland) 130,000
Important ports (though not big cities):
- LiepājaLiepajaLiepāja ; ), is a republican city in western Latvia, located on the Baltic Sea directly at 21°E. It is the largest city in the Kurzeme Region of Latvia, the third largest city in Latvia after Riga and Daugavpils and an important ice-free port...
(Latvia) 85,000 - NorrköpingNorrköpingNorrköping is a city in the province of Östergötland in eastern Sweden and the seat of Norrköping Municipality, Östergötland County. The city has a population of 87,247 inhabitants in 2010, out of a municipal total of 130,050, making it Sweden's tenth largest city and eighth largest...
(Sweden) 84,000 - PoriPoriPori is a city and municipality on the west coast of Finland. The city is located some from the Gulf of Bothnia, on the estuary of the Kokemäenjoki river, which is the largest in Finland. Pori is the most important town in the Satakunta region....
(Finland) 83,000 - GävleGävleGävle is a city in Sweden, the seat of Gävle Municipality and the capital of Gävleborg County. It had 71,033 inhabitants in 12/31 2010. It is the oldest city in the historical Norrland , having received its charter in 1446 from Christopher of Bavaria.-History:It is believed that the name Gävle...
(Sweden) 69,000 - KotkaKotkaKotka is a town and municipality of Finland. Its former name is Rochensalm.Kotka is located on the coast of the Gulf of Finland at the mouth of Kymi River and it is part of the Kymenlaakso region in southern Finland. The municipality has a population of and covers an area of of which is water....
(Finland) 55,000 - ŚwinoujścieSwinoujscieŚwinoujście is a city and seaport on the Baltic Sea and Szczecin Lagoon, located in the extreme north-west of Poland. It is situated mainly on the islands of Uznam and Wolin, but also occupies smaller islands, of which the largest is Karsibór island, once part of Usedom, now separated by a Piast...
(Poland) 50,000 - Kołobrzeg (Poland) 46,000
- PärnuPärnuPärnu is a city in southwestern Estonia on the coast of Pärnu Bay, an inlet of the Gulf of Riga in the Baltic Sea. It is a popular summer vacation resort with many hotels, restaurants, and large beaches. The Pärnu River flows through the city and drains into the Gulf of Riga...
(Estonia) 44,568 - VentspilsVentspilsVentspils is a city in northwestern Latvia in the Courland historical region of Latvia, the sixth largest city in the country. As of 2006, Ventspils had a population of 43,806. Ventspils is situated on the Venta River and the Baltic Sea, and has an ice-free port...
(Latvia) 44,000 - Port of PolicePort of PoliceThe Port of Police is a Polish seaport and deep water harbour in Police, Poland located at west side of Oder River, off the Szczecin Lagoon....
(The Seaport on The OderOderThe Oder is a river in Central Europe. It rises in the Czech Republic and flows through western Poland, later forming of the border between Poland and Germany, part of the Oder-Neisse line...
River) in Police, PolandPolice, PolandPolice is a town in the West Pomeranian Voivodeship, northwestern Poland. It is the capital of Police County. As of 2006, the town had 34,284 inhabitants. The name comes from Polish pole, which means "field"....
(34,319) - TrelleborgTrelleborgTrelleborg is a locality and the seat of Trelleborg Municipality, Skåne County, Sweden with 25,643 inhabitants in 2005. It is the southernmost town in Sweden.-History:...
(Sweden) 26,000 - BaltiyskBaltiyskBaltiysk , prior to 1945 known by its German name Pillau , is a seaport town and the administrative center of Baltiysky District of Kaliningrad Oblast, located on the northern part of the Vistula Spit, on the shore of the Strait of Baltiysk separating the Vistula Bay from the Gdańsk Bay. Baltiysk...
(Russia) 20,000 - KarlshamnKarlshamnKarlshamn is a locality and the seat of Karlshamn Municipality in Blekinge County, Sweden with 12,957 inhabitants of the city core and 30 918 in the municipality ....
(Sweden) 19,000 - MaarduMaarduMaardu is a town and a municipality in Harju County, Estonia. It is part of Tallinn metropolitan area. The town covers an area of 22.76 km² and has a population of 16,529 ....
(Estonia) 16,570 - SillamäeSillamäeSillamäe is a town in Ida-Viru County in the northern part of Estonia, on the southern coast of the Gulf of Finland. It has a population of 16,183 and covers an area of 10.54 km²...
(Estonia) 16,567 - WładysławowoWładysławowoWładysławowo is a town on the south coast of the Baltic Sea in the Kashubia in Eastern Pomerania region, northern Poland, with 15,015 inhabitants.-Overview:...
(Poland) 15,000 - Darłowo (Poland) 14,000
- OxelösundOxelösundOxelösund is a locality and the seat of Oxelösund Municipality in Södermanland County, Sweden with 10,843 inhabitants in 2005.- History :The harbour at Oxelösund has been used for at least 500 years. In the 19th century, an increased extraction from the Mining district of Central Sweden , made...
(Sweden) 11,000 - MariehamnMariehamnMariehamn is the capital of Åland, an autonomous territory under Finnish sovereignty. Mariehamn is the seat of the Government and Parliament of Åland, and 40% of the population of Åland live in the city...
(Finland) 11,000 - Hanko (Finland) 10,000
- SassnitzSassnitzSassnitz is a town on the Jasmund peninsula, Rügen Island, in the Federal State of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany. The population as of 2007 was 10,747....
(Germany) 11,000
See also
- Baltic
- Baltic regionBaltic regionThe terms Baltic region, Baltic Rim countries, and Baltic Rim refer to slightly different combinations of countries in the general area surrounding the Baltic Sea.- Etymology :...
- Baltic Sea Action GroupBaltic Sea Action GroupBaltic Sea Action Group operates throughout the entire Baltic Sea area. BSAG is an independent foundation that does concrete work on behalf of the Baltic Sea, the most polluted sea in the world...
(BSAG) - Baltic statesBaltic statesThe term Baltic states refers to the Baltic territories which gained independence from the Russian Empire in the wake of World War I: primarily the contiguous trio of Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania ; Finland also fell within the scope of the term after initially gaining independence in the 1920s.The...
- Council of the Baltic Sea StatesCouncil of the Baltic Sea StatesThe Council of the Baltic Sea States is an overall political forum for regional intergovernmental cooperation which addresses the five priority areas of the environment, economic development, energy, education and culture, civil security and human dimension, including trafficking in human...
- List of cities and towns around the Baltic Sea
- List of rivers of the Baltic Sea
- M/V Estonia
- Nord Stream
- Northern EuropeNorthern EuropeNorthern Europe is the northern part or region of Europe. Northern Europe typically refers to the seven countries in the northern part of the European subcontinent which includes Denmark, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, Finland and Sweden...
- Ports of the Baltic SeaPorts of the Baltic SeaThere are over 200 ports in the Baltic Sea. When only those ports that handle minimum of 50,000 tonnes of cargo annually, and where at least part of this cargo is international, are taken into account the number of ports reaches approximately 190. In 2008, the total amount of cargo handled in the...
- ScandinaviaScandinaviaScandinavia is a cultural, historical and ethno-linguistic region in northern Europe that includes the three kingdoms of Denmark, Norway and Sweden, characterized by their common ethno-cultural heritage and language. Modern Norway and Sweden proper are situated on the Scandinavian Peninsula,...
Further reading
- Ojaveer H., Jaanus A., MacKenzie B. R., Martin G., Olenin S., et al. (2010). "Status of Biodiversity in the Baltic Sea". PLoS ONEPLoS ONEPLoS ONE is an open access peer-reviewed scientific journal published by the Public Library of Science since 2006. It covers primary research from any discipline within science and medicine. All submissions go through an internal and external pre-publication peer review but are not excluded on the...
5(9): e12467. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0012467
External links
- Baltic Sea clickable map and details.
- Protect the Baltic Sea while its still not too late.
- The Baltic Sea Portal – a site maintained by the Finnish Institute of Marine Research (FIMR) (in English, Finnish, Swedish and Estonian)
- Encyclopedia of Baltic History
- Old shipwrecks in the Baltic
- How the Baltic Sea was changing – Prehistory of the Baltic from the Polish Geological Institute
- Late Weichselian and Holocene shore displacement history of the Baltic Sea in Finland – more prehistory of the Baltic from the Department of Geography of the University of HelsinkiUniversity of HelsinkiThe University of Helsinki is a university located in Helsinki, Finland since 1829, but was founded in the city of Turku in 1640 as The Royal Academy of Turku, at that time part of the Swedish Empire. It is the oldest and largest university in Finland with the widest range of disciplines available...
- Baltic Environmental Atlas: Interactive map of the Baltic Sea region
- Can a New Cleanup Plan Save the Sea? – spiegel.de
- List of all ferry lines in the Baltic Sea
- The Helsinki Commission (HELCOM) HELCOM is the governing body of the "Convention on the Protection of the Marine Environment of the Baltic Sea Area"
- Baltice.org – information related to winter navigation in the Baltic Sea.
- Baltic Sea Wind – Marine weather forecasts
- Ostseeflug – A short film (55'), showing the coastline and the major German cities at the Baltic sea.