Skwierzyna was originally a Slavic fishing settlement, located on an important trade route connecting Szczecin and Kraków.

[2] While the Polish side argued that the town was part of historic Greater Poland, i.e. the cradle of the Polish state, and should thus be incorporated into the reborn Poland by historical rights, the town's population was German-speaking by large majority,[4] and it was thus assigned to remain in Germany as part of the province of Posen-West Prussia.

During World War II, in 1939 and 1940, a German concentration camp for Poles operated in the town.

At the end of World War II the town became again part of Poland per the Potsdam Agreement as demanded by the Soviet Union.

The remaining pre-war Polish inhabitants were joined by Poles displaced from former eastern Poland annexed by the Soviet Union.

Main historic landmarks are the town hall and the Gothic church of Saint Nicholas with the Our Lady of Klewań, a venerated icon, which makes Skwierzyna a regional Christian pilgrimage site.

The Ulica Marszałka Piłsudskiego ("Marshal Piłsudski Street") filled with historic townhouses and shops is the town's pedestrian zone.