An average Pole who does not live at the Polish coast typically associates Pomerania with large cities – Gdansk or Szczecin. Areas located between these two centres are usually not known very well. Yet, Pomeranian villages near Slupsk are those where regional development with medieval arrangement was preserved best. One of the most beautiful Pomeranian regional architecture unit is in Swolowo, 15 km away from Slupsk. This is the best preserved village because of its original plan, a current condition and types of buildings. At the same time, this is an excellent example of Pomeranian oval villages which were established in the early Middle Ages.

There are documents proving the existence of a farm settlement in Swolowo already in 1230. The village was first mentioned in the document of Slawno duke Racibor who gave these properties in possession to the Sovereign Military Order of Malta who came to Slawno. 10 years after, in 1240, the giving of the village “Zolow” to the order was approved by Gdansk duke Swietopelk II. One of consequences of that was a change of its legal state from the mother law to the Magdeburg Law. Swolowo lands for about 200 years belonged to the order.

Later, it belonged to Peter von Glasenapp from Polanowo, who in 1474 exchanged it (together with five another villages) for other lands with Slupsk duke Eryk II. Because of that, at the end of the 15th century, Swolowo returned to Pomeranian dukes and, in administrative terms, it was a part of the Slupsk domain. In 1628, Swolowo was inhabited by a village administrator and 15 peasant families who cultivated grounds on a serfdom basis. From the 17th century the village was administered by the city Slupsk as a royal village. The abolition of serfdom was put into effect in about 1820. No knightly farm, a stable legal situation of the village over the next centuries as well as a system of utilising grounds which did not change over years brought about that relics of medieval agriculture forms have remained up to this day.

A fine element of a plain landscape of the village is a spiky tower of a Gothic church which came from the 15th century. In the church's building, there are still medieval Gothic elements: ogival recesses in the east top wall, a square tower with an ogival portal, buttresses. In 1867, a sacristy was build on and the nave was expanded. At the end of the 19th century, an apse was put into the east wall of the construction and the walls were plastered. In 1552, in organisational terms, the church was associated with the one in Bruskowo Wielkie to form one district. In 1586 the church in Swolowo became an affiliated church of the parish in Pieszcz. These grounds were nationalised after 1945 and became a part of the village Pieszcz.

The village is an example of deliberately planned development. A main axis of the oval plan was put parallel to a stream running down the village. In the centre, on a watercourse called Zielona Struga (“Green Trickle”) water was dammed and a small pond was created. The pond fulfilled agriculture and leisure functions. The village's square with the church and the pond is flat. The surroundings are gentle slopes of the valley, up to 4 metres in height. It was taken into account when designing farm buildings and plains of fields. Houses are located in the highest areas closing farms from the outside.

From the end of the village, in its west part, four roads run radially. Two of them led to nearby villages: Mozdzanow and Pieszcz. An old road from Slawno to Slupsk goes along the entire village and its function ended at the beginning of the 18th century. Instead, at the end of the century, a new road from Slupsk to Darlowo was built. The road went away about 700 metres from the buildings, which contributed to preserve historic qualities of the village. In Swolowo they breed rare and threatened with extinction farm species.