Krynica Morska k is a town and coextensive municipality (gmina

Gmina

The gmina is the principal unit of administrative division of Poland at its lowest uniform level. It is often translated as "commune" or "municipality." As of 2010 there were 2,479 gminas throughout the country...

) on the Vistula Spit

Vistula Spit

The Vistula Spit is a spit, or peninsular stretch of land, which separates Vistula Lagoon from Gdańsk Bay in the Baltic Sea. The border between Poland and Kaliningrad Oblast, an exclave of Russia, bisects it, politically dividing the spit in half between the two countries. The westernmost point...

 in northern Poland

Poland

Poland , 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...

 with 1,364 inhabitants (2006). It has been a part of Nowy Dwór Gdański County

Nowy Dwór Gdanski County

Nowy Dwór Gdański County is a unit of territorial administration and local government in Pomeranian Voivodeship, northern 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 and largest town...

 in Pomeranian Voivodeship

Pomeranian Voivodeship

Pomeranian Voivodeship, or Pomerania Province , is a voivodeship, or province, in north-central Poland. It comprises most of Pomerelia , as well as an area east of the Vistula River...

 since 1999; previously it was in Elbląg Voivodeship

Elblag Voivodeship

Elbląg Voivodeship was a unit of administrative division and local government in Poland from 1975 to 1998, superseded by the Pomeranian Voivodeship and the Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship. Its capital city was Elbląg....

 (1975-1998). It received town rights in 1991.

Until 1945 it was in East Prussia

East Prussia

East Prussia is the main part of the region of Prussia along the southeastern Baltic Coast from the 13th century to the end of World War II in May 1945. From 1772–1829 and 1878–1945, the Province of East Prussia was part of the German state of Prussia. The capital city was Königsberg.East Prussia...

 (within Germany

Germany

Germany , 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...

 from 1870), and was known as Kahlberg. The settlement was first mentioned in 1424, and became a summer resort around 1840. When it came under Polish rule after the Second World War, it was given the name Łysica (the Polish

Polish language

Polish is a language of the Lechitic subgroup of West Slavic languages, used throughout Poland and by Polish minorities in other countries...

 root łys- corresponding to the German

German language

German 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....

 kahl, meaning "bald"). In 1958 it was remained Krynica Morska (Krynica being a common toponym in the south and east of Poland; Morska meaning "of the sea").

Krynica Morska is the main tourist destination on the Vistula Spit. The administrative area of the town extends along most of the Polish part of the spit, up to the Russian border, also including a number of other localities such as Przebrno

Przebrno

Przebrno is a village on the Vistula Spit in northern Poland. Administratively it forms part of the town of Krynica Morska. The village has sandy beaches on the shores of the Bay of Gdańsk on the northern side of the spit, and the Vistula Lagoon on the southern side.During the Second World War it...

 and Piaski (the latter being about 4 km from the border, which is not crossable at present).

It has the smallest population of any urban commune (gmina) in Poland. Because of the inclusion of mainly rural areas of the spit within its boundaries, it has the lowest population density

Population density

Population density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, and particularly to humans...

 of any town (miasto) in Poland, with 11.74 persons/km².

The Lighthouse in Krynica Morska

Lighthouse in Krynica Morska

- History :The original lighthouse, built in 1895, was destroyed in 1945 after being mined by retreating German forces. A new lighthouse, now open to visitors, was built in 1951. Adjacent to it is a small cemetery with a monument to the Soviet soldiers killed in the explosion that destroyed the...

 was originally built in 1895. It was destroyed in 1945 after being mined

Land mine

A land mine is usually a weight-triggered explosive device which is intended to damage a target—either human or inanimate—by means of a blast and/or fragment impact....

 by retreating German forces. A new lighthouse, now open to visitors, was built in 1951. Adjacent to it is a small cemetery with a monument to the Soviet

Red Army

The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army started out as the Soviet Union's revolutionary communist combat groups during the Russian Civil War of 1918-1922. It grew into the national army of the Soviet Union. By the 1930s the Red Army was among the largest armies in history.The "Red Army" name refers to...

soldiers killed in the explosion that destroyed the original building.