The Pomerelian settlement of Łeba was first mentioned in a 1282 document of Mestwin II, Duke of Pomerania. At that time the village was located about two kilometers () west from the present mouth of the Łeba River. The church of St. Nicholas was mentioned in 1296. Łeba was part of fragmented Poland until 1309, when it was annexed by the Teutonic Order after their takeover of Gdańsk. Łeba received municipal rights by the State of the Teutonic Order in 1357. Located at the Łebsko Lake at the Baltic Sea, it developed to a fishing port and a wood marketplace.