also Pomerelia. Their list is presented below and includes the 14 municipalities in Poland electing a city mayor () instead of a town mayor (), with 9 of them holding the status of a city with powiat rights (, an independent city), as well as the 2 municipalities in Germany holding the status of a district-belonging city (), as no city of the German part of Pomerania holds currently any higher status, such as a partially of fully independent city (, Kreisfreie Stadt, or Stadtkreis), or a city-state (). Cities in the historical region of Hither Pomerania Szczecin (city with powiat rights, West Pomeranian Voivodeship): 408,913; up to 763,321 in the metropolitan area Stralsund (Vorpommern-Rügen district, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern): 59,418 Greifswald (Low German: Griepswohld; Vorpommern-Greifswald district, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern): 59,232 Świnoujście (city with powiat rights, West Pomeranian Voivodeship); 40,864 In addition, the Brandenburgian city of Schwedt expanded in the contemporary times, so that its neighbourhoods north of Welse are located in historical Hither Pomeraniq Cities in the historical region of Farther Pomerania Koszalin (city with powiat rights, West Pomeranian Voivodeship): 109,343 Słupsk (city with powiat rights, Pomeranian Voivodeship): 94,849 Stargard (Stargard County, West Pomeranian Voivodeship): 69,724 Kołobrzeg (Kołobrzeg County, West Pomeranian Voivodeship); 46,259 Cities in the historical region of Pomerelia Tricity (Pomeranian Voivodeship): 748,986; the Tricity metropolitan area (Pomeranian Voivodeship): population in 2012; at least 1,035,000 area 1,332,51 km2 Gdańsk (city with powiat rights, Pomeranian Voivodeship): 460,427 Gdynia (city with powiat rights, Pomeranian Voivodeship): 248,726 Sopot (city with powiat rights, Pomeranian Voivodeship): 38,217 Toruń (city with powiat rights, Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship): 205,934 Grudziądz (city with powiat rights, Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship): 96,042 Tczew (Tczew County, Pomeranian Voivodeship): 60,279 Wejherowo (Wejherowo County, Pomeranian Voivodeship): 50,375 Starogard Gdański (Starogard County, Pomeranian Voivodeship): 44,470 Culture Languages and dialects In the German part of Pomerania, Standard German and the East Low German Mecklenburgisch-Vorpommersch and Central Pomeranian dialects are spoken, though Standard German dominates. Polish is the dominating language in the Polish part; Kashubian dialects are also spoken by the Kashubians in Pomerelia. East Pomeranian, the East Low German dialect of Farther Pomerania and western Pomerelia, Low Prussian, the East Low German dialect of eastern Pomerelia, and Standard German were dominating in Pomerania east of the Oder-Neisse line before most of its speakers were expelled after World War II. Slovincian was spoken at the Farther Pomeranian–Pomerelian frontier, but is now extinct. Kashubian and East Low German are also spoken by the descendants