The first mention of a settlement
in the place where present-day Trzebiatow
is situated dates back to the 9th century when the area housed a gord, an
ancient Slavic fortified castle, together with a surrounding residential area.  However, the first reference to the actual town
was made 1170 in a document issued by Casimir I and allocating funds for a newly founded monastery being constructed in Białobok.
Trzebiatow was defined there as a
church village.   The phrase castrum
was also used there to describe the settlement. 
In 1208 Trzebiatow and its surrounding areas were referred to as the
Trzebiatow Territory (terra Trebetow),
and encompassed the entire area of the lower River Rega.  In the middle of the 12th century Western Pomerania
suffered from many invasions launched from Brandenburg.  Since Trzebiatow could not count on the aid
of various Polish dukes who were all struggling with one other at that time, it
was endangered with the possibility of losing its independence and
sovereignty.   Then, Lübeck, a powerful city, came to the aid of the Pomeranian dukes,
which resulted in the first establishment of towns on Lübeck laws in 1234 in
Werstern Pomerania. Trzebiatów, which had already been characterized as a center
for crafts and trade, received its official town status on May 6, 1277 from
Prince Barnim I, and his son Bogusław IV and Abbot Tomasz from the monastery in
Bialobok.   It provided a great economic
opportunity for the small settlement, for along with the town status the town
received a number of privileges and concessions.  A sign of its future prosperity came just ten
years later when, in 1287, Trzebiatow was granted Lübeck town rights by Prince Bogusław
IV and Abbot Thitboldus.  They also gave
the town the port of Regoujscie and an privilege of independent shipping trade on
the River Rega.   The town developed
quickly and grew into a large trade center thanks to the nearby monastery of
the Norbertines.  Due to its natural
defense properties and its strategic position Trzebiatow became an important element
in the military system of Western Pomerania.  
In return for the aid provided by Trzebiatow to Prince Bogusław IV in
the battle of Stargard against Brandenburg, the town received the right to use
red wax for its seal.   This was a great
honor, usually bestowed only upon princes and the highest authorities.  In 1303, the town received the right to
store, and in 1309 it gained the right to fish in the Baltic.  From that point on, all ships sailing down
the Rega were stopped in Trzebiatow with a log that was stretched across the
river, while merchants traveling through this area were obligated to stop in
the town for a certain period of time to offer their merchandise for sale.   This, among other things, contributed to a
conflict between the two neighboring towns, Gryfice and Trzebiatow, which
lasted for many centuries.  Despite this clash,
Trzebiatow continued to prosper, multiplied its fleet, became a center for sea
trade, and fostered trade relationships with Gdansk, Rügen, Lübeck, Copenhagen
and other Baltic ports.   Thanks to its
ties with Kolobrzeg, in 1416, Trzebiatow became a member of the Hanseatic League,
however, it was expelled from the League in 1465 for not complying with its laws.
Trzebiatow continued to have a trade relationship with Kolobrzeg, though not
without problems arising between the two towns. 
But even this could not worsen the economic situation of the town in the
16th century.  During that time Trzebiatow
exported a great deal of groceries and wool, as well as it was engaged in a
wide range of trade both by sea and land. 
According to tables of customs duties cited in written resources from that
period, sea trade in Trzebiatow prospered greatly during the 16th century.  Fires that raged in the Trzebiatow several
times almost completely destroyed the town each time and had a negative impact
on its development.   In 1534, Trzebiatow
became the site of a very important event, when the royal state senate met in
the town to discuss reforms for the whole Duchy of Pomerania.  Then,  Lutheranism
became the religion of the land, replacing Catholicism and Roman rule.   The decisions made in Trzebiatow were
significant for the further social and political development of both the town,
and of the entire area of Western Pomerania. Trzebiatow began to decline
economically in the second half of the 16th century as a result of the
weakening of the Hanseatic League, and soon its trade relationships began
disappearing.  During the tumultuous 18th
century, shifts in the trade situation led to the impoverishment of the upper
class of the town.   The Thirty Years’ War
also contributed to the decline in the city’s development.  In 1630 the tsar’s troops unsuccessfully
attempted to capture Trzebiatow, however, another invasion in 1634 forced the
residents of the town to surrender.  As a
result of the Peace of Westphalia of 1648 Trzebiatow came under Brandenburg rule.  The great fire of 1679 consumed much of the town,
including its town hall and the duke’s house. 
The fire also destroyed the brick factory, which meant that new houses
were built from clay and covered with thatch. 
In the years 1690-1691 the once bustling town did not even have its own
tavern.  The situation in the town
remained unfavorable until the beginning of the 19th century.  In 1720 Trzebiatow fell to Prussia, and the strong
political and economic fiscalism of this state, connected with high costs of
financing the army, created even more difficulties for weak centers such as
Trzebiatow.   High customs duties, taxes,
and the dissolution of the municipal government contributed to the town’s
downfall over the next 100 years.  The Seven
Years’ War fought between 1756 and 1763 also brought great losses to the town.
However, by the second half of the 19th century Trzebiatow began to come back
to life.  The railway, built in 1882,
connecting Szczecin and Kolobrzeg revitalized the lives of the residents of the
town.   By 1859 the town had a new
hospital that housed approximately 100 patients in the 1930s.  In 1864, a gasworks was built in Trzebiatów,
and in 1925 a hydro-electric power plant. 
Following World War I, a new housing estate was built, and gardening and
planting fruit trees became popular on the outskirts of the town.  During the 19th century the city had gas and
electricity utilities, but still lacked a sewage system.  Before 1945
Pomerania was a province of the German Reich, while a County of Gryffin, which included
the town of Trzebiatow, was part of the Szczecin administrative region.  As a result of the changes in territorial
divisions introduced in 1938, a third administrative region was formed in
Pila.  For this reason Trzebiatow was
joined to the Koszalin administrative region, where it remained until 1945.
With Hitler’s rise to power, the national administration bodies were taken over
by the police apparatus of the NSDAP, and the management of the NSDAP of the County
of Griffin (the so-called “Kreisleitung”), headed by Franz Ohm, had its
headquarters in Trzebiatow.  In
preparation for the war, all areas with farmland, including Trzebiatow,
intensified their farming production and began to stockpile food reserves.   At that time the number of workers in the
area began to decline steadily until 1945 due to the draft that called for
large groups of residents to join the German army.  By the middle of 1944 the area had lost
approximately 25% of its residents, mostly men. 
This drop in the working-aged population was supplemented by an influx
of German civilians evacuated from the Western provinces of Germany and by
prisoners of war and civilians who were brought to these parts for so-called forced
labor.   In the first quarter of March
1945 new changes to the political map of the County of Gryffin were introduced.  The First Armies of the Belarusian front and
the First Army of the Polish Military took control over Trzebiatow on March
4th.  In May, the power over Trzebiatów
was handed over to the civilians.  At
that point, residents made money mostly through farming, although since 1945
the town also had other businesses, such as: a silversmith, a porcelain factory, a leather
factory, a few mills, a sawmill, a dairy, a woodchip machine plant, a regional
museum, a slaughter house, a local publishing house, three schools, a gasworks,
and a retirement home. Parts of the town were destroyed by wartime activities,
including some of the historic buildings in the town center.  However, most of the buildings used by the town
for public purposes survived, including the wall surrounding the town.  Trzebiatow suffered much harder losses to its
infrastructure in the years following the war, due to neglect and
plundering.   Despite this, in 1955 the
whole Old Town, lying within the town walls, was entered in the register of
historic monuments, and in 1996, Trzebiatow, in recognition of
its great historic value, was enrolled in a government program called ”Saving
Historical Towns”.  Currently, the town is
a center for trade, housing many shops and commercial businesses.   There are 5 banks in Trzebiatów,
3 gas stations, and a discount grocery story, as well as a market place located
next to the parish church.  Some of the
largest plants manufacturing furniture, plastics, and processing fish are also
located there.   Due to its location close to the shore, the
municipality has great potential as a tourist destination, and some of its
residents work in nearby seaside resorts or run their own businesses. A great
number of historic buildings in Trzebiatow and its
proximity to summer seaside towns are the main attractions of the town. The 1st and 2nd class clean waters
of the River Rega offer a wide variety of fish, including sea trout, which
lures fishermen from all over the country. 
One can also enjoy kayaking, cycling, and jet skiing in the area[1.1].