Editing Baltic Sea (section)

== History ==
===Classical world===
At the time of the [[Roman Empire]], the Baltic Sea was known as the {{lang|la|Mare Suebicum}} or ''Mare Sarmaticum''. [[Gaius Cornelius Tacitus|Tacitus]] in his AD&nbsp;98 ''Agricola'' and ''Germania'' described the Mare Suebicum, named for the [[Suebi]] tribe, during the spring months, as a [[brackish]] sea where the ice broke apart and chunks floated about. The Suebi eventually migrated southwest to temporarily reside in the Rhineland area of modern Germany, where their name survives in the historic region known as [[Swabia]]. [[Jordanes]] called it the ''Germanic Sea'' in his work, the ''[[Getica]]''.{{Citation needed|date=June 2024}}

===Middle Ages===
[[File:Putgarten, Kap Arkona (2011-05-21) 3.JPG|thumb|[[Cape Arkona]] on the island of [[Rügen]] in Germany, was a sacred site of the [[Rani (Slavic tribe)|Rani]] tribe before Christianization.]]
In the early [[Middle Ages]], Norse (Scandinavian) merchants built a trade empire all around the Baltic. Later, the Norse fought for control of the Baltic against [[Wends|Wendish tribes]] dwelling on the southern shore. The Norse also used the rivers of [[Russia]] for trade routes, finding their way eventually to the [[Black Sea]] and southern Russia. This Norse-dominated period is referred to as the [[Viking Age]].{{Citation needed|date=June 2024}}

Since the [[Viking Age]], the Scandinavians have referred to the Baltic Sea as ''Austmarr'' ("Eastern Sea"). "Eastern Sea", appears in the ''[[Heimskringla]]'' and ''Eystra salt'' appears in ''[[Sörla þáttr]]''. [[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.{{Citation needed|date=June 2024}}

In addition to fish the sea also provides [[amber]], especially from its southern shores within today's borders of [[Poland]], [[Russia]] and [[Lithuania]]. First mentions of amber deposits on the South Coast of the Baltic Sea date back to the 12th century.<ref>[https://leta.st/blog/2016/07/history-of-russian-amber-1/ "The History of Russian Amber, Part 1: The Beginning"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180315013751/https://leta.st/blog/2016/07/history-of-Russian-amber-1/ |date=15 March 2018 }}, Leta.st</ref> The bordering countries have also traditionally exported lumber, [[Pine tar|wood tar]], [[flax]], [[hemp]] and furs by ship across the Baltic. Sweden had from early medieval times exported [[iron]] and [[silver]] mined there, while Poland had and still has extensive [[salt]] mines. Thus, the Baltic Sea has long been crossed by much merchant shipping.{{Citation needed|date=June 2024}}

The lands on the Baltic's eastern shore were among the last in Europe to be converted to [[Christianity]]. This finally happened during the [[Northern Crusades]]: [[Finland]] in the twelfth century by Swedes, and what are now [[Estonia]] and [[Latvia]] in the early thirteenth century by Danes and Germans ([[Livonian Brothers of the Sword]]). The [[Teutonic Order]] gained control over parts of the southern and eastern shore of the Baltic Sea, where they set up [[Monastic state of the Teutonic Knights|their monastic state]]. [[Lithuania]] was [[Christianization of Lithuania|the last European state to convert to Christianity]].{{Citation needed|date=June 2024}}

===An arena of conflict===
[[File:Haupthandelsroute Hanse.png|thumb|Main trading routes of the [[Hanseatic League]] (''Hanse'').]]

In the period between the 8th and 14th centuries, there was much piracy in the Baltic from the coasts of [[Pomerania]] and [[Prussia]], and the [[Victual Brothers]] held [[Gotland]].{{Citation needed|date=June 2024}}

Starting in the 11th century, the southern and eastern shores of the Baltic were settled by migrants mainly from [[Germany]], a movement called the ''[[Ostsiedlung]]'' ("east settling"). Other settlers were from the [[Netherlands]], [[Denmark]], and [[Scotland]]. The [[Polabian Slavs]] were gradually assimilated by the Germans.<ref>[https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/639735/Wend Wend – West Wend] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141022135757/http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/639735/Wend |date=22 October 2014 }}. Britannica. Retrieved on 23 June 2011.</ref> [[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 (1227)|Battle of Bornhöved]].{{Citation needed|date=June 2024}}
[[File:Eerste fase van de Zeeslag in de Sont - First phase of the Battle of the Sound - November 8 1658 (Jan Abrahamsz Beerstraten, 1660).jpg|thumb|The naval [[Battle of the Sound]] took place on 8 November 1658 during the [[Dano-Swedish War (1658–60)|Dano-Swedish War]].]]
[[File:Admiralty Chart No 259 Baltic Sea, Published 1919.jpg|thumb|Nautical chart of the Baltic Sea in 1919. ]]
[[File:Cap Arcona burning.jpg|thumb|The burning ''[[Cap Arcona]]'' shortly after the attacks, 3 May 1945. Only 350 survived of the 4,500 prisoners who had been aboard]]

In the 13th to 16th centuries, the strongest economic force in Northern Europe was the [[Hanseatic League]], a federation of merchant cities around the Baltic Sea and the [[North Sea]]. In the sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries, [[Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth|Poland]], [[Denmark]], and [[Sweden]] fought wars for ''[[Dominium maris baltici]]'' ("Lordship over the Baltic Sea"). Eventually, it was Sweden that [[Swedish Empire|virtually encompassed the Baltic Sea]]. In Sweden, the sea was then referred to as ''Mare Nostrum Balticum'' ("Our Baltic Sea"). The goal of Swedish warfare during the 17th century was to make the Baltic Sea an all-Swedish sea (''Ett Svenskt innanhav''), something that was accomplished except the part between Riga in Latvia and [[Szczecin|Stettin]] in Pomerania. However, the [[Dutch Republic|Dutch]] dominated the Baltic trade in the seventeenth century.{{Citation needed|date=June 2024}}

In the eighteenth century, [[Russian Empire|Russia]] and [[Prussia]] became the leading powers over the sea. Sweden's defeat in the [[Great Northern War]] brought Russia to the eastern coast. Russia became and remained a dominating power in the Baltic. Russia's [[Peter I of Russia|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.{{Citation needed|date=June 2024}}

During the [[Crimean War]], a joint British and French fleet attacked the Russian fortresses in the Baltic; the case is also known as the [[Åland War]]. They bombarded [[Sveaborg]], which guards [[Helsinki]]; and [[Kronstadt, Russia|Kronstadt]], which guards Saint Petersburg; and they destroyed [[Bomarsund, Åland|Bomarsund]] in [[Åland]]. After the unification of [[Germany]] in 1871, the whole southern coast became German. [[World War I]] was partly fought in the Baltic Sea. After 1920 [[Poland]] was granted access to the Baltic Sea at the expense of Germany by the [[Polish Corridor]] and enlarged the port of [[Gdynia]] in rivalry with the port of the [[Free City of Danzig]].{{Citation needed|date=June 2024}}

After the Nazis' rise to power, Germany reclaimed the [[Memelland]] and after the outbreak of the [[Eastern Front (World War II)]] occupied the Baltic states. In 1945, the Baltic Sea became a mass grave for retreating soldiers and refugees on torpedoed [[Operation Hannibal|troop transports]]. The sinking of the ''[[Wilhelm Gustloff (ship)|Wilhelm Gustloff]]'' remains the worst maritime disaster in history, 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 World War II, on the bottom of the sea.{{Citation needed|date=June 2024}}

===Since World War II===
Since the end of [[World War II]], various nations, including the [[Soviet Union]], the United Kingdom and the United States have disposed of [[Chemical warfare|chemical weapons]] in the Baltic Sea, raising concerns of environmental contamination.<ref>[http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,,3102728,00.html Chemical Weapon Time Bomb Ticks in the Baltic Sea] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120124021629/http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,,3102728,00.html |date=24 January 2012 }} ''Deutsche Welle'', 1 February 2008.</ref> Today, fishermen occasionally find some of these materials: the most recent available report from the Helsinki Commission notes that four small scale catches of chemical munitions representing approximately {{convert|105|kg|abbr=on}} of material were reported in 2005. This is a reduction from the 25 incidents representing {{convert|1110|kg|abbr=on}} of material in 2003.<ref>[http://www.helcom.fi/stc/files/Publications/Proceedings/bsep112.pdf Activities 2006: Overview] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090114011006/http://www.helcom.fi/stc/files/Publications/Proceedings/bsep112.pdf |date=14 January 2009 }} Baltic Sea Environment Proceedings No. 112. [[Baltic Marine Environment Protection Commission|Helsinki Commission]].</ref> Until now, the [[U.S. Government]] refuses to disclose the exact coordinates of the wreck sites. Deteriorating bottles leak [[mustard gas]] and other substances, thus slowly poisoning a substantial part of the Baltic Sea.{{Citation needed|date=June 2024}}

After 1945, the [[Flight and expulsion of Germans (1944–1950)|German population was expelled]] from all areas east of the [[Oder-Neisse line]], [[Ethnic cleansing|making room]] for new Polish and Russian settlement. Poland [[Former eastern territories of Germany|gained most of the southern shore]]. The Soviet Union gained another access to the Baltic with the [[Kaliningrad Oblast]], that had been part of German-settled [[East Prussia]]. The Baltic states on the eastern shore were annexed by the Soviet Union. The Baltic then separated opposing military blocs: [[NATO]] and the [[Warsaw Pact]]. Neutral Sweden developed [[incident weapon]]s to defend its [[territorial waters]] after the [[Swedish submarine incidents]].<ref>{{cite journal |last=Ellis |first=M.G.M.W. |year=1986 |title=Sweden's Ghosts? |journal=Proceedings |volume=112 |issue=3 |pages=95–101 |publisher=[[United States Naval Institute]] }}</ref> This border status restricted trade and travel. It ended only after the collapse of the [[Communist]] regimes in Central and Eastern Europe in the late 1980s.
[[File:MM10249.jpg|thumb|right|In 1981, the [[Soviet submarine S-363|Soviet submarine ''S-363'']] ran on ground deep inside Swedish territorial waters, an incident which illustrated the impact of the [[Cold War]] on the Baltic Sea.]] 
Finland and Sweden joined NATO in 2023 and 2024, respectively, making the Baltic Sea almost entirely surrounded by the alliance's members, leading some commentators to label the sea a ″NATO lake″.<ref name="Kirby 2023">{{cite web | last=Kirby | first=Paul | title=Nato's border with Russia doubles as Finland joins | website=BBC News | date=4 April 2023 | url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-65173043 | access-date=5 April 2023 | archive-date=4 April 2023 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230404150315/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-65173043 | url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="RFI 2024 i241">{{cite web | title=Does Sweden joining make the Baltic Sea a 'NATO lake'? | website=RFI | date=26 February 2024 | url=https://www.rfi.fr/en/international-news/20240226-does-sweden-joining-make-the-baltic-sea-a-nato-lake | access-date=29 April 2024}}</ref><ref name="France 24 2024 r479">{{cite web | title=No longer neutral waters: What Baltic Sea strategy for Sweden after NATO enlargement? | website=France 24 | date=28 March 2024 | url=https://www.france24.com/en/tv-shows/the-debate/20240328-no-longer-neutral-waters-what-baltic-sea-strategy-for-sweden-after-nato-enlargement | access-date=29 April 2024}}</ref><ref name="Financial Times n260">{{cite news|last1=Milne|first1=Richard|last2=Seddon|first2=Max|url=https://www.ft.com/content/c6375406-df00-4e1d-801f-9435b6a8d253|title=Sweden joins 'Nato lake' on Moscow's doorstep|newspaper=[[Financial Times]]|date=7 March 2024|access-date=7 March 2024}}</ref><ref name="Kayali 2023 y072">{{cite web | last=Kayali | first=Laura | title=Sorry Russia, the Baltic Sea is NATO's lake now | website=POLITICO | date=13 July 2023 | url=https://www.politico.eu/article/nato-lake-what-sweden-and-finland-will-change-in-the-baltics-russia-ukraine-war/ | access-date=29 April 2024}}</ref> Such an arrangement has also existed for the [[European Union]] (EU) since May 2004 following the accession of the Baltic states and Poland. The remaining non-NATO and non-EU shore areas are Russian: the Saint Petersburg area and the [[Kaliningrad Oblast]] [[exclave]].

===Storms and storm floods===

Winter storms begin arriving in the region during October. These have caused numerous [[shipwreck]]s, and contributed to the extreme difficulties of rescuing passengers of the ferry [[MS Estonia|MS ''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 (ship)|Vasa]]'' tend to remain well-preserved, as the Baltic's cold and brackish water does not suit the [[shipworm]].

[[Storm surge]] floods are generally taken to occur when the water level is more than one metre above normal. In Warnemünde about 110 floods occurred from 1950 to 2000, an average of just over two per year.<ref>{{cite journal |url=http://www.ikzm-d.de/infos/pdfs/129_Bericht_Sturmfluten.pdf |title=Sturmfluten in der südlichen Ostsee (Westlicher und mittlerer Teil) |trans-title=Storm floods in the Southern Baltic (western and central part) |language=de |year=2005 |issue=39 |journal=Berichte des Bundesamtes für Seeschifffahrt und Hydrographie |page=6 |first1=Marzenna |last1=Sztobryn |first2=Hans-Joachim |last2=Stigge |first3=Danuta |last3=Wielbińska |first4=Bärbel |last4=Weidig |first5=Ida |last5=Stanisławczyk |first6=Alicja |last6=Kańska |first7=Katarzyna |last7=Krzysztofik |first8=Beata |last8=Kowalska |first9=Beata |last9=Letkiewicz |first10=Monika |last10=Mykita |access-date=2 July 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121028010502/http://www.ikzm-d.de/infos/pdfs/129_Bericht_Sturmfluten.pdf |archive-date=28 October 2012 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

Historic flood events were the [[All Saints' Flood of 1304]] and other floods in the years 1320, 1449, 1625, 1694, 1784 and 1825. Little is known of their extent.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ikzm-d.de/inhalt.php?page=129,2843 |title=Sturmfluten an der Ostseeküste – eine vergessene Gefahr? |trans-title=Storm floods along the Baltic Sea coastline – a forgotten threat? |work=Informations-, Lern-, und Lehrmodule zu den Themen Küste, Meer und Integriertes Küstenzonenmanagement |publisher=EUCC Die Küsten Union Deutschland e. V. |access-date=2 July 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140724062335/http://www.ikzm-d.de/inhalt.php?page=129,2843 |archive-date=24 July 2014 |url-status=dead }} Citing {{cite book|last=Weiss |first=D. |chapter=Schutz der Ostseeküste von Mecklenburg-Vorpommern |editor-last=Kramer |editor-first=J. |editor2-first=H. |editor2-last=Rohde |title=Historischer Küstenschutz: Deichbau, Inselschutz und Binnenentwässerung an Nord- und Ostsee |trans-title=Historical coastal protection: construction of dikes, insular protection and inland drainage at North Sea and Baltic Sea | pages= 536–567 |location=Stuttgart |publisher=Wittwer |language=de}}</ref> From 1872, there exist regular and reliable records of water levels in the Baltic Sea. The highest was the [[1872 Baltic Sea flood|flood of 1872]] when the water was an average of {{convert|2.43|m|abbr=on}} above sea level at Warnemünde and a maximum of {{convert|2.83|m|abbr=on}} above sea level in Warnemünde. In the last very heavy floods the average water levels reached {{convert|1.88|m|abbr=on}} above sea level in 1904, {{convert|1.89|m|abbr=on}} in 1913, {{convert|1.73|m|abbr=on}} in January 1954, {{convert|1.68|m|abbr=on}} on 2–4 November 1995 and {{convert|1.65|m|abbr=on}} on 21 February 2002.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ikzm-d.de/showaddon.php?text=386 |title=Sturmfluten an der deutschen Ostseeküste |trans-title=Storm floods at the German Baltic Sea coasts |first=Reiner |last=Tiesel |date=October 2003 |language=de |work=Informations-, Lern-, und Lehrmodule zu den Themen Küste, Meer und Integriertes Küstenzonenmanagement |publisher=EUCC Die Küsten Union Deutschland e. V. |access-date=2 July 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121012062254/http://www.ikzm-d.de/showaddon.php?text=386 |archive-date=12 October 2012 |url-status=dead }}</ref>