When Kaiser Wilhelm II (Germany's last kaiser) and Tsar Nicholas II (Russia's last tsar) met in the German port and spa town of Swinemunde on August 4, 1907, the two blue-blooded cousins pledged 'eternal friendship' between their countries while dressed in the militaristic finery of the other side. The kaiser wore the uniform of a Cossack colonel, the tsar the uniform of a Prussian dragoon colonel.
The two-man fancy dress party did nothing to prevent the unfolding of Europe's darkest era. But the meeting did seal Swinemunde's status as northern Europe's most illustrious resort town before the onslaught of war.
Swinemunde went into a steep decline when the first world war broke out seven years later. But worse was to come.
Under the Third Reich, Swinemunde became a major Nazi naval base, and suffered devastating raids by British and US bombers. Then the Red Army took the town towards the end of the second world war (occupying it until 1992) and expelled the civilian population. The area was repopulated by refugees from parts of Poland and incorporated into the Soviet Union.
Poland took ownership of the strategic Baltic port in 1945, when the border with East Germany was newly demarcated through the island of Uznam, giving it the extreme eastern tip of the island. Swinoujscie - as the town has been known since the border change - now clings to the western periphery of Poland.
Most Russian military personnel left in 1958, the year that marked the resurgence of Swinoujscie as a spa and resort. In 1959, the Uzdrowiski health firm was established to develop the spa facilities, becoming the town's main employer.
In the 1990s the Germans were back - first with their tourist deutschmarks, then with their euros. It's not hard to see why. Prices are lower across the border, the spa facilities are now world class and Swinoujscie's long white beach is one of the Baltic's finest. Increasing numbers of tourists from other EU countries are also visiting.