Mecklenburg-Vorpommern is a
federal stateGermany is a Federal Republic consisting of sixteen states, known in German as . Since is also the German word for "country", the term is commonly used colloquially, as it is more specific, though technically incorrect within the corpus of German law.The citizens of the states form the nation...
in northern
GermanyGermany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered to the north by the North Sea, Denmark, and the Baltic Sea; to the east by Poland and the Czech Republic; to the south by Austria and Switzerland; and to the west by France, Luxembourg, Belgium,...
. The capital city is
SchwerinSchwerin is a city in northern Germany and the capital of the state Mecklenburg-Vorpommern . The population, as of end of 2007, was 95,855.-History:...
. The state was formed through the merger of the historic regions of
MecklenburgMecklenburg is a region in northern Germany comprising the western and larger part of the federal state Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. The largest cities of the region are Rostock, Schwerin, and Neubrandenburg....
and Vorpommern after
World War IIWorld War II, or the Second World War , was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including all great powers, organized into two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, dissolved in 1952 and recreated prior to the
German reunificationGerman reunification is the process in which the German Democratic Republic joined the Federal Republic of Germany , and Berlin was united into a single city-state. The start of this process is commonly referred to by former citizens of the GDR as die Wende...
in 1990.
Due to its lengthy name, it is often abbreviated as
MV or (colloquially) shortened to
Meck-Pomm. Its name is sometimes translated as
Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania (however, 'Mecklenburg-Cispomerania' is a more precise translation).
Mecklenburg-Vorpommern is the sixth largest German state by territory, and the least densely populated one. The coastline of the
Baltic SeaThe Baltic Sea is a brackish inland sea located in Northern Europe, from 53°N to 66°N latitude and from 20°E to 26°E longitude. It is bounded by the Scandinavian Peninsula, the mainland of Europe, and the Danish islands. It drains into the Kattegat by way of the Øresund, the Great Belt and the...
, including islands such as
RügenRügen or Rugia is Germany's largest island. It is located in the Baltic Sea off the coast of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. Rügen makes up the principal part of the Rügen District, which also includes the neighboring islands Hiddensee and Ummanz, as well as several small islands.- Geography :Rügen is...
and
UsedomUsedom is a Baltic Sea island on the border between Germany and Poland. It is situated north of the Szczecin Lagoon estuary of the River Oder in Pomerania...
, as well as the
Mecklenburg Lake DistrictThe Mecklenburg Lake District is the largest coherent lakes and canals area in Germany. It is situated in southern Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, and sometimes called "the land of the thousand lakes"....
are characterised by many holiday resorts and pristine nature, making Mecklenburg-Vorpommern one of Germany's leading tourist destinations. Three of Germany's fourteen national parks are in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, in addition to several hundred nature conservation areas. The
University of RostockThe University of Rostock is the university of the city Rostock, in the German state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern.Founded in 1419, it is the oldest and largest university in continental northern Europe and the Baltic Sea area as well as the second oldest in northern Europe after the University of St...
(est. 1419) and the University of Greifswald (est. 1456) are amongst the oldest in
EuropeEurope is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally divided from Asia to its east by the water divide of the Ural Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian Sea, the Caucasus Mountains , and the Black Sea to the southeast...
.
Major cities include
RostockRostock is the largest city in the north German state Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. Rostock is located on the Warnow river; the quarter of Warnemünde 12 km north of the city centre lies directly on the coast of the Baltic Sea.-Geography:Rostock is located nearly centrally on...
,
SchwerinSchwerin is a city in northern Germany and the capital of the state Mecklenburg-Vorpommern . The population, as of end of 2007, was 95,855.-History:...
,
NeubrandenburgNeubrandenburg is a city in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany. It is situated in the southeastern part of the state, on the shore of a lake called the Tollensesee ....
,
StralsundStralsund is a city in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany, situated at the southern coast of the Strelasund ....
,
GreifswaldGreifswald is a town in northeastern Germany, situated approximately 200 km to the north of Berlin in the state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. It borders the Baltic Sea and is crossed by a small river called the Ryck....
and
WismarWismar is a small port and Hanseatic League town in northern Germany on the Baltic Sea, in the state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern,about 45 km due east of Lübeck, and 30 km due north of Schwerin. Its natural harbour, located in the Bay of Wismar is well-protected by a promontory...
. Mecklenburg-Vorpommern was the site of the
33rd G8 summitThe 33rd G8 summit took place at Kempinski Grand Hotel in Heiligendamm in the old Duchy of Mecklenburg in the Northern German state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern on the Baltic Coast...
in 2007.
History
In the aftermath of
World War IIWorld War II, or the Second World War , was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including all great powers, organized into two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
and the German re-unification in 1990, the state was constituted from
MecklenburgMecklenburg is a region in northern Germany comprising the western and larger part of the federal state Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. The largest cities of the region are Rostock, Schwerin, and Neubrandenburg....
and Vorpommern, both of which had long and rich independent histories.
Prehistory
About two thousand years ago,
Germanic peoplesThe Germanic peoples are a historical ethno-linguistic group, originating in Northern Europe and identified by their use of the Indo-European Germanic languages which diversified out of Common Germanic in the course of the Pre-Roman Iron Age...
settled the area. Most of them left during the
Migration PeriodThe Migration Period, also called the Barbarian Invasions or Völkerwanderung , was a period of human migration that occurred roughly between the years 300 to 700 CE in Europe, marking the transition from Late Antiquity to the Early Middle Ages...
, heading towards
SpainSpain , officially the Kingdom of Spain , is a country located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula.
[The Spanish constitution does not establish any official denomination of the country, even though España , Estado español and Nación española are used interchangeably...]
,
ItalyItaly , officially the Italian Republic , is a country located on the Italian Peninsula in Southern Europe and on the two largest islands in the Mediterranean Sea, Sicily and Sardinia. Italy shares its northern, Alpine boundary with France, Switzerland, Austria and Slovenia...
and
FranceFrance , officially the French Republic , is a country located in Western Europe, with several overseas islands and territories located on other continents. Metropolitan France extends from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and the North Sea, and from the Rhine to the Atlantic Ocean...
, leaving area relatively deserted. In the 6th century came
Polabian SlavsPolabian Slavs is a collective term applied to a number of West Slavic tribes who lived along the Elbe, between the Baltic Sea to the north, the Saale and Limes Saxonicus to the west, the Sudetes and Franconia to the south, and Poland to the east. They have also been known as the Elbe Slavs and as...
. While Mecklenburg was settled by the
ObotritesThe Obotrites , also commonly known as the Obodrites, Abotrites, or Abodrites, were a confederation of medieval West Slavic tribes within the territory of modern Mecklenburg and Holstein in northern Germany . For decades they were allies of Charlemagne in his wars against Germanic Saxons and Slavic...
, Vorpommern was settled by the
VeletiThe Veleti or Wilzi were a group of medieval West Slavic tribes within the territory of modern northeastern Germany; see Polabian Slavs. In common with other Slavic groups between the Elbe and Oder Rivers, they were often described by Germanic sources as Wends...
(later
Liuticians) and the
RaniThe Rani or Rujani were a West Slavic tribe based on the island of Rugia and the southwestern mainland across the Strelasund in what is today northeastern Germany....
.
Along the coast,
VikingA Viking is one of the Norse explorers, warriors, merchants, and pirates who raided and colonized wide areas of Europe from the late eighth to the early eleventh century. These Norsemen used their famed longships to travel as far east as Constantinople and the Volga River in Russia, and as far...
s established trade posts like
RericReric or Rerik was one of the Viking Age multi-ethnic Slavic-Scandinavian emporia on the southern coast of the Baltic Sea, located near Wismar in the present-day German state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern Reric was built around 700, when Slavs of the Obodrite tribe settled the region...
,
RalswiekRalswiek is a municipality in the district of Rügen, in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany....
and
MenzlinAltes Lager is a site 1,5 km south of the Menzlin village near Anklam, Western Pomerania, Germany. The site at the banks of the river Peene was an important Viking trade post during the Middle Ages...
. In the 12th century, Mecklenburg and Vorpommern were conquered by
Henry the LionHenry the Lion was a member of the Guelph dynasty and Duke of Saxony, as Henry III, from 1142, and Duke of Bavaria, as Henry XII, from 1156, which duchies he held until 1180....
and incorporated into the
Duchy of SaxonyThe mediæval Duchy of Saxony was a late Early Middle Ages "Carolingian stem duchy" covering the greater part of Northern Germany. It covered the area of the modern German states of Lower Saxony, North Rhine-Westphalia, and Saxony-Anhalt and most of Schleswig-Holstein...
, joining the
Holy Roman EmpireThe Holy Roman Empire was a union of territories in Central Europe during the Middle Ages and the Early Modern period under a Holy Roman Emperor. The first emperor of the Holy Roman Empire was Otto I, crowned in 962. The last was Francis II, who abdicated and dissolved the Empire in 1806 during...
in the 1180s. All of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern was settled with
GermansThe German people are an ethnic group, in the sense of sharing a common German culture, descent, and speaking the German language as a mother tongue. Within Germany, Germans are defined by citizenship , distinguished from people of German ancestry...
in the
OstsiedlungThis article covers the medieval eastward migrations of Germans. For a general view, see History of German settlement in Eastern EuropeOstsiedlung, literally "settlement in the east", also called German eastward expansion, refers to the medieval eastward migration and settlement of Germans from...
process, starting in the 12th century.
Mecklenburg
In the late 12th century,
Henry the LionHenry the Lion was a member of the Guelph dynasty and Duke of Saxony, as Henry III, from 1142, and Duke of Bavaria, as Henry XII, from 1156, which duchies he held until 1180....
, Duke of the Saxons, conquered the
ObotritesThe Obotrites , also commonly known as the Obodrites, Abotrites, or Abodrites, were a confederation of medieval West Slavic tribes within the territory of modern Mecklenburg and Holstein in northern Germany . For decades they were allies of Charlemagne in his wars against Germanic Saxons and Slavic...
, subjugated its
NiklotingThe Grand Ducal House of Mecklenburg is a North German dynasty of West Slavic origin that ruled until 1918.- Origins :Niklot was a lord of the Wendish tribe of Obotrites. When the Holy Roman Empire expanded eastwards, notably to the coast of Baltic in 13th century, a portion of Obotrite lords...
dynasty, and Christianised its people. In the course of time, German monks, nobility, peasants and traders arrived to settle here. After the 12th century, the territory remained stable and relatively independent of its neighbours; one of the few German territories for which this is true. Mecklenburg first became a
duchyA duchy is a territory, fief, or domain ruled by a duke or duchess.Some duchies were sovereign in areas that would become unified realms only during the Modern era...
of the
Holy Roman EmpireThe Holy Roman Empire was a union of territories in Central Europe during the Middle Ages and the Early Modern period under a Holy Roman Emperor. The first emperor of the Holy Roman Empire was Otto I, crowned in 962. The last was Francis II, who abdicated and dissolved the Empire in 1806 during...
in 1348. Though later partitioned and re-partitioned within the same dynasty, Mecklenburg always shared a common history and identity. The states of
Mecklenburg-SchwerinMecklenburg-Schwerin was a duchy in northern Germany from 1348 on, when Albert II of Mecklenburg and his younger brother John were raised to Dukes of Mecklenburg by King Charles IV...
and
Mecklenburg-StrelitzMecklenburg-Strelitz was a duchy and later grand duchy in northern Germany, roughly consisting of the present day district of Mecklenburg-Strelitz , bordering areas of modern-day Brandenburg with the town of Fürstenberg and the area around Ratzeburg in modern Schleswig-Holstein.-History:It was...
became
Grand DuchiesA grand duchy is a territory whose head of state is a monarch, either a Grand Duke or Grand Duchess.-The title and origins of grand duchies:...
in 1815. After
World War IWorld War I , also known as the First World War, the Great War, and the War to End All Wars, was a global military conflict which involved most of the world's great powers, assembled in two opposing alliances: the Triple Entente and the Triple Alliance...
and the
abdicationAbdication is the act of renouncing and resigning from a formal office, especially from the supreme office of state. In Roman law the term was also applied to the disowning of a family member, as the disinheriting of a son...
of the German
KaiserKaiser is the German title meaning "Emperor", with Kaiserin being the female equivalent, "Empress". Like the Russian Czar it is directly derived from the Latin Emperors' title of Caesar, which in turn is derived from the name of Julius Caesar...
, the monarchy was abolished and a republican government of Mecklenburg was established.
Vorpommern
Vorpommern is the smaller, western part of the formerly all-
GermanGermany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered to the north by the North Sea, Denmark, and the Baltic Sea; to the east by Poland and the Czech Republic; to the south by Austria and Switzerland; and to the west by France, Luxembourg, Belgium,...
region of
PomeraniaPomerania is a historical region on the south shore of the Baltic Sea. Divided between Germany and Poland, it stretches roughly from the Recknitz River near Stralsund in the West, via the Oder River delta near Szczecin, to the mouth of the Vistula River near Gdańsk in the East. It is inhabited...
; the eastern part became part of
PolandPoland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe . Poland is bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
after the end of
World War IIWorld War II, or the Second World War , was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including all great powers, organized into two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
.
In the
Middle AgesThe Middle Ages of European history is a period of European history covering roughly a millennium in the 5th century through 16th centuries. More specific starting and ending points are sometimes adopted by scholars to suit their respective specializations or current focus...
, the area was ruled by the Pomeranian dukes as part of the
Duchy of PomeraniaThe Duchy of Pomerania was a duchy in Pomerania on the southern coast of the Baltic Sea, ruled by dukes of the House of Pomerania ....
. Pomerania was under
SwedishSweden was, between 1611 and 1718, one of the great powers of Europe. In modern historiography this period is known as the Swedish Empire, or stormaktstiden .-Sweden's emergence into a great power:...
rule after the
Peace of WestphaliaThe term Peace of Westphalia refers to the two peace treaties of Osnabrück and Münster, signed on May 15 and October 24, 1648, respectively, and written in French, that ended both the Thirty Years' War in the Holy Roman Empire and the Eighty Years' War between Spain and the Republic of the Seven...
from 1648 until 1815 as
Swedish PomeraniaSwedish Pomerania was a Dominion under the Swedish Crown from the 17th to the 19th century, situated on what is now the Baltic coast of Germany and Poland...
. Pomerania then became a province of
PrussiaPrussia was a historic state originating out of the Duchy of Prussia and the Margraviate of Brandenburg. For centuries this state had substantial influence on German and European history...
n in 1815. It remained a Prussian province until 1947.
Mecklenburg-Vorpommern
In May 1945, the armies of the
Soviet UnionThe Union of Soviet Socialist Republics was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. The name is a translation of the , tr. Soyuz Sovetskikh Sotsialisticheskikh Respublik, abbreviated СССР, SSSR. The common short name is Soviet Union, from , Sovetskiy Soyuz...
and the western allies met east of
SchwerinSchwerin is a city in northern Germany and the capital of the state Mecklenburg-Vorpommern . The population, as of end of 2007, was 95,855.-History:...
. Following the
Potsdam AgreementThe Potsdam Agreement was an agreement on policy for the occupation and reconstruction of Germany and other nations after fighting in the European Theatre of World War II had ended with the German surrender of May 8, 1945...
, the western allies handed over
MecklenburgMecklenburg is a region in northern Germany comprising the western and larger part of the federal state Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. The largest cities of the region are Rostock, Schwerin, and Neubrandenburg....
to the Soviets. Mecklenburg-Vorpommern was established in July 9, 1945, per order Nr. 5 of
Red ArmyThe Red Army The Red Army The Red Army was the Soviet government’s revolutionary militia beginning in the Russian Civil War of 1918-1922. It grew into the national army of the USSR. Since 1946, after the Second World War, it was called the Soviet Army.The 'Red...
marshall
Georgy ZhukovMarshal of the Soviet Union Georgy Konstantinovich Zhukov, honorary GCB was a Russian career officer in the Red Army who, in the course of World War II, played an important role in leading the Red Army through much of Eastern Europe to liberate the Soviet Union and other nations from the Axis...
, head of the
Soviet Military Administration in GermanyThe Soviet Military Administration in Germany was the Soviet military government, headquartered in Berlin-Karlshorst, that directly ruled the Soviet occupation zone of Germany from the German surrender in May 1945 until after the establishment of the German Democratic Republic in October...
(SMAD), as the
Province of Mecklenburg and West Pomerania (zapadnoi Pomeranii).
During the war, the make-up of Mecklenburg and Vorpommern's population changed due to wartime losses and the influx of evacuees (mainly from the Berlin and Hamburg metropolitan areas that were subject to air raids). After the war, people who
fled and were expelled fromBy the end of World War II, most of the German population fled or was expelled from areas outside the territory of post-war Germany and post-war Austria, including:...
the former eastern territories of Germany east of the
Oder-Neisse lineThe Oder-Neisse line was drawn in the aftermath of World War II as the eastern border of Germany and the western border of Poland. The line is formed primarily by the Oder and Lusatian Neisse rivers, and meets the Baltic Sea west of the seaport cities of Szczecin and Świnoujście...
settled in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern (and elsewhere in Germany), increasing the population by 40%. Before the war,
MecklenburgMecklenburg is a region in northern Germany comprising the western and larger part of the federal state Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. The largest cities of the region are Rostock, Schwerin, and Neubrandenburg....
and Western Pomerania had a population of 1,278,700, of whom many perished during the war and another share moved west in the course of the Red Army's advance. In 1947, some 1,426,000 refugees from the former eastern parts of Germany were counted. Most of them were settled in rural communities, but also the towns' population increased, most notably in
SchwerinSchwerin is a city in northern Germany and the capital of the state Mecklenburg-Vorpommern . The population, as of end of 2007, was 95,855.-History:...
from 65,000 (1939) to 99,518 (January 1947), in
WismarWismar is a small port and Hanseatic League town in northern Germany on the Baltic Sea, in the state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern,about 45 km due east of Lübeck, and 30 km due north of Schwerin. Its natural harbour, located in the Bay of Wismar is well-protected by a promontory...
from 29,463 to 44,173, and in
GreifswaldGreifswald is a town in northeastern Germany, situated approximately 200 km to the north of Berlin in the state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. It borders the Baltic Sea and is crossed by a small river called the Ryck....
from 29,488 to 43,897.
In June 5, 1946, a law enacted by the Soviets led to the constitution of a provisional German administration (
Beratende Versammlung) under Soviet supervision in June 29, 1946. After the "unfree" elections of October 20, 1946, a
LandtagA Landtag is a representative assembly or parliament in German-speaking countries with some legislative authority.The German word "Landtag" is composed of the words Land which names a political entity comparable to a federal state and the word Tag...
replaced the
Beratende Versammlung and worked out the constitution of January 16, 1947, for the
LandGermany is a Federal Republic consisting of sixteen states, known in German as . Since is also the German word for "country", the term is commonly used colloquially, as it is more specific, though technically incorrect within the corpus of German law.The citizens of the states form the nation...
Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. In April 18, 1947, the state's name was shortened to
Land Mecklenburg. The GDR regime attempted to downplay the fact that Germany had made significant concessions to Poland as a result of WWII including the discontinuing the use of any terms referring to these former territories. Mecklenburg was a constituent state of the German Democratic Republic (GDR) upon its formation in 1949. In 1952, the
East BerlinEast Berlin was the name given to the eastern part of Berlin between 1949 and 1990. It consisted of the Soviet sector of Berlin that was established in 1945. The American, British and French sectors became West Berlin, a de facto part of West Germany. Despite its status as part of an occupied city,...
government abandoned "states" in favour of districts (German:
Bezirke). As a result of this, Mecklenburg and Vorpommern were replaced by three districts covering roughly the same area (
Bezirk Rostock, Bezirk Schwerin and
Bezirk Neubrandenburg, commonly known as the
Nordbezirke (northern districts)) under the highly-centralised GDR government. The administrative changes also made the historical border between Mecklenburg and Pomerania vanish from the maps. The East German government developed the
shipyardShipyards and dockyards are places which repair and build ships. These can be yachts, military vessels, cruise liners or other cargo or passenger ships. Dockyards are sometimes more associated with maintenance and basing activities than shipyards, which are sometimes associated more with initial...
s in the old
HanseaticThe Hanseatic League was an alliance of trading cities and their guilds that established and maintained a trade monopoly along the coast of Northern Europe, from the Baltic to the North Sea and inland, during the Late Middle Ages and early modern period...
ports (the largest being in
RostockRostock is the largest city in the north German state Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. Rostock is located on the Warnow river; the quarter of Warnemünde 12 km north of the city centre lies directly on the coast of the Baltic Sea.-Geography:Rostock is located nearly centrally on...
and
StralsundStralsund is a city in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany, situated at the southern coast of the Strelasund ....
), and also established a
nuclear powerNuclear power is power produced from controlled nuclear reactions. Commercial plants in use to date use nuclear fission reactions....
plant in
LubminLubmin is a coastal resort in the German state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. Lubmin is situated near Greifswald and on the Bay of Greifswald....
near
GreifswaldGreifswald is a town in northeastern Germany, situated approximately 200 km to the north of Berlin in the state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. It borders the Baltic Sea and is crossed by a small river called the Ryck....
.
Prior to
German reunificationGerman reunification is the process in which the German Democratic Republic joined the Federal Republic of Germany , and Berlin was united into a single city-state. The start of this process is commonly referred to by former citizens of the GDR as die Wende...
in 1990, the postwar eastern states were reconstituted, including the use of the full historic term Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. Since 1990, the state has undergone dramatic changes.
Geography
Sixth-largest in area but only fourteenth in overall population among Germany's sixteen states, it is bounded to the north by the
Baltic SeaThe Baltic Sea is a brackish inland sea located in Northern Europe, from 53°N to 66°N latitude and from 20°E to 26°E longitude. It is bounded by the Scandinavian Peninsula, the mainland of Europe, and the Danish islands. It drains into the Kattegat by way of the Øresund, the Great Belt and the...
, to the west by
Schleswig-HolsteinSchleswig-Holstein is the northernmost of the sixteen states of Germany, comprising most of the two historical duchies of Schleswig and Holstein...
, to the southwest by
Lower SaxonyLower Saxony lies in north-western Germany and is second in area and fourth in population among the sixteen Bundesländer of Germany...
, to the south by
BrandenburgBrandenburg is one of the sixteen states of Germany. It lies in the east of the country and is one of the new federal states that were re-created in 1990 upon the reunification of the former West Germany and East Germany. The capital is Potsdam...
, and to the east by the
West Pomeranian VoivodeshipWest Pomeranian Voivodeship is a voivodeship, or province, in north-western Poland...
in
PolandPoland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe . Poland is bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
. Its administrative seat is
SchwerinSchwerin is a city in northern Germany and the capital of the state Mecklenburg-Vorpommern . The population, as of end of 2007, was 95,855.-History:...
. The largest city is
RostockRostock is the largest city in the north German state Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. Rostock is located on the Warnow river; the quarter of Warnemünde 12 km north of the city centre lies directly on the coast of the Baltic Sea.-Geography:Rostock is located nearly centrally on...
with approximately 200,000 people. Other major cities include
GreifswaldGreifswald is a town in northeastern Germany, situated approximately 200 km to the north of Berlin in the state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. It borders the Baltic Sea and is crossed by a small river called the Ryck....
,
GüstrowGüstrow is a town in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Germany. It is the capital of the district of Güstrow. Population: 34,000 .- History :...
,
NeubrandenburgNeubrandenburg is a city in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany. It is situated in the southeastern part of the state, on the shore of a lake called the Tollensesee ....
,
StralsundStralsund is a city in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany, situated at the southern coast of the Strelasund ....
and
WismarWismar is a small port and Hanseatic League town in northern Germany on the Baltic Sea, in the state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern,about 45 km due east of Lübeck, and 30 km due north of Schwerin. Its natural harbour, located in the Bay of Wismar is well-protected by a promontory...
. The state's Baltic Sea coast features several islands, most notably Germany's biggest island
RügenRügen or Rugia is Germany's largest island. It is located in the Baltic Sea off the coast of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. Rügen makes up the principal part of the Rügen District, which also includes the neighboring islands Hiddensee and Ummanz, as well as several small islands.- Geography :Rügen is...
, but also
HiddenseeHiddensee is a carfree island in the Baltic Sea, located west of Rügen on the German coast.The island, located 54°33' north longitude 13°07' east, has about 1,300 inhabitants. It was a popular vacation destination for East Germany and continues to attract tourists today with its natural beauty. It...
,
UsedomUsedom is a Baltic Sea island on the border between Germany and Poland. It is situated north of the Szczecin Lagoon estuary of the River Oder in Pomerania...
and
PoelPoel or Poel Island ), is an island in the Baltic Sea. It builds the natural northern and eastern boundaries of the Bay of Wismar on the German coast. The northern coast of the island is also on the south side of the large gulf known as the Bay of Mecklenburg, which Wismar Bay enters in to...
. The southern part of the state is marked by a multitude of lakes, the largest of which is Lake
MüritzMüritz is a Kreis in the southern part of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Germany. It is named after the lake Müritz. Neighboring districts are Demmin, Mecklenburg-Strelitz, the district-free city Neubrandenburg, the district Ostprignitz-Ruppin in Brandenburg, Parchim and Güstrow.-Geography:The...
.
Districts
Mecklenburg-Vorpommern is currently divided into twelve
Kreise (districts):
These districts are to be changed in 2009.
- Bad Doberan
Bad Doberan is a district in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Germany. It is bounded by the Baltic Sea, the city of Rostock and the districts of Nordvorpommern, Güstrow and Nordwestmecklenburg.- History :...
- Demmin
Demmin is a district in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Germany. It is bounded by the districts of Müritz, Güstrow, Nordvorpommern, Ostvorpommern and Mecklenburg-Strelitz.- History :...
- Güstrow
Güstrow is a district in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Germany. It is bounded by the districts of Bad Doberan, Nordvorpommern, Demmin, Müritz, Parchim and Nordwestmecklenburg.- History :...
- Ludwigslust
Ludwigslust is a Kreis in the southwest of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Germany. Neighboring districts are Nordwestmecklenburg, the district-free city Schwerin, Parchim, Prignitz in Brandenburg, Lüchow-Dannenberg and Lüneburg in Lower Saxony and the district Lauenburg in...
- Mecklenburg-Strelitz
Mecklenburg-Strelitz is a Kreis in the southern part of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Germany. Neighboring districts are Demmin, Ostvorpommern Uecker-Randow, the districts Uckermark, Oberhavel and Ostprignitz-Ruppin in Brandenburg, and the district Müritz...
- Müritz
|
- Nordvorpommern
Nordvorpommern is a Kreis in the northern part of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany. It is situated at the coast of the Baltic Sea, where it encloses the city of Stralsund...
- Nordwestmecklenburg
Nordwestmecklenburg is a Kreis in the north-western part of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany. It is situated on the coast of the Baltic Sea and border on Schleswig-Holstein...
- Ostvorpommern
Ostvorpommern is a Kreis in the eastern part of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany. Neighboring districts are Uecker-Randow, Mecklenburg-Strelitz, Demmin and Nordvorpommern. The Hanseatic city of Greifswald is enclosed by the district, but does not belong to it.-Geography:It is situated on the coast...
- Parchim
Parchim is a Kreis in the southwestern part of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Germany. Neighboring districts are Nordwestmecklenburg, Güstrow, Müritz, the district Prignitz in Brandenburg, the district Ludwigslust and the district-free city Schwerin.-Geography:Most of the district is now...
- Rügen
This is the article about the district of Rügen. For the island see RügenRügen is a Kreis in the northeastern part of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany. It is bordered entirely by the Baltic Sea...
- Uecker-Randow
Uecker-Randow is a Kreis in the eastern part of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Germany. It is situated at the coast of the Baltic Sea and the Polish border. Neighboring district are Uckermark in Brandenburg, Mecklenburg-Strelitz and Ostvorpommern...
|
Furthermore there are six independent urban districts:
- Rostock
Rostock is the largest city in the north German state Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. Rostock is located on the Warnow river; the quarter of Warnemünde 12 km north of the city centre lies directly on the coast of the Baltic Sea.-Geography:Rostock is located nearly centrally on...
(HRO)
- Greifswald
Greifswald is a town in northeastern Germany, situated approximately 200 km to the north of Berlin in the state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. It borders the Baltic Sea and is crossed by a small river called the Ryck....
(HGW)
- Neubrandenburg
Neubrandenburg is a city in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany. It is situated in the southeastern part of the state, on the shore of a lake called the Tollensesee ....
(NB)
- Schwerin
Schwerin is a city in northern Germany and the capital of the state Mecklenburg-Vorpommern . The population, as of end of 2007, was 95,855.-History:...
(SN)
- Stralsund
Stralsund is a city in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany, situated at the southern coast of the Strelasund ....
(HST)
- Wismar
Wismar is a small port and Hanseatic League town in northern Germany on the Baltic Sea, in the state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern,about 45 km due east of Lübeck, and 30 km due north of Schwerin. Its natural harbour, located in the Bay of Wismar is well-protected by a promontory...
(HWI)
Statistics
Mecklenburg-Vorpommern is the least densely populated and least industrial
German stateGermany is a Federal Republic consisting of sixteen states, known in German as . Since is also the German word for "country", the term is commonly used colloquially, as it is more specific, though technically incorrect within the corpus of German law.The citizens of the states form the nation...
, being the sixth largest in size, but only 14th in population. The
unemploymentUnemployment occurs when a person is available to work and seeking work but currently without work. The prevalence of unemployment is usually measured using the unemployment rate, which is defined as the percentage of those in the labor force who are unemployed...
rate of 12.7% (September 2008) , which has been negatively affected by rigorous economic reforms after the
German reunificationGerman reunification is the process in which the German Democratic Republic joined the Federal Republic of Germany , and Berlin was united into a single city-state. The start of this process is commonly referred to by former citizens of the GDR as die Wende...
in the 1990s, is currently the lowest in more than 15 years while the economy is growing and the number of jobs increases continually.
Culture
Over the centuries, Mecklenburg and Vorpommern have developed and maintained strong regional cultures. It can generally be described as
North GermanNorthern Germany is the geographic area in the north of Germany. The native German concept of northern Germany is called Norddeutschland.- Geography :...
and has similar linguistic and historic characteristics to other north German states, such as
Schleswig-HolsteinSchleswig-Holstein is the northernmost of the sixteen states of Germany, comprising most of the two historical duchies of Schleswig and Holstein...
. People in Vorpommern, as a result of that territory being a former province of
PrussiaPrussia was a historic state originating out of the Duchy of Prussia and the Margraviate of Brandenburg. For centuries this state had substantial influence on German and European history...
, tend to look slightly more towards
BerlinBerlin is the capital city and one of sixteen states of Germany. With a population of 3.4 million within its city limits, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city and the eighth most populous urban area in the European Union...
and
BrandenburgBrandenburg is one of the sixteen states of Germany. It lies in the east of the country and is one of the new federal states that were re-created in 1990 upon the reunification of the former West Germany and East Germany. The capital is Potsdam...
than people in Mecklenburg would.
Architecture
The cities are characterised by a certain "
HanseaticThe Hanseatic League was an alliance of trading cities and their guilds that established and maintained a trade monopoly along the coast of Northern Europe, from the Baltic to the North Sea and inland, during the Late Middle Ages and early modern period...
" style also found in other parts of Northern Germany (e.g.
LübeckThe Hanseatic City of Lübeck is the second largest city in Schleswig-Holstein, in northern Germany, and one of the major ports of Germany. It was for several centuries the "capital" of the Hanseatic League and because of its Brick Gothic architectural heritage is on UNESCO's list of World...
) as well as in countries like
EstoniaEstonia , officially the Republic of Estonia , is a country in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea, to the south by Latvia , and to the east by the Russian Federation...
(e.g.
TallinnTallinn is the capital and largest city of Estonia. It occupies a surface of in which 405,867 inhabitants live. It is situated on the northern coast of the country, on the banks of the Gulf of Finland, south of Helsinki.-Historical names:...
) or
LatviaLatvia , officially the Republic of Latvia is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by Estonia , to the south by Lithuania , to the east by the Russian Federation , and to the southeast by Belarus . Across the Baltic Sea to the west lies Sweden...
(e.g.
RigaRiga is the capital and largest city of Latvia, a major industrial, commercial, cultural and financial centre of the Baltics, and an important seaport, situated on the mouth of the Daugava...
). A common feature of many towns in Mecklenburg and Vorpommern is
GothicGothic architecture is a style of architecture which flourished during the high and late medieval period. It evolved from Romanesque architecture and was succeeded by Renaissance architecture....
red brick churches dating back to the
Middle AgesThe Middle Ages of European history is a period of European history covering roughly a millennium in the 5th century through 16th centuries. More specific starting and ending points are sometimes adopted by scholars to suit their respective specializations or current focus...
. The old towns are usually built around one or several market places with a church or the town hall. Often towns were founded at the
Baltic SeaThe Baltic Sea is a brackish inland sea located in Northern Europe, from 53°N to 66°N latitude and from 20°E to 26°E longitude. It is bounded by the Scandinavian Peninsula, the mainland of Europe, and the Danish islands. It drains into the Kattegat by way of the Øresund, the Great Belt and the...
, one of the many
LakesThe Mecklenburg Lake District is the largest coherent lakes and canals area in Germany. It is situated in southern Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, and sometimes called "the land of the thousand lakes"....
or a river for reasons of trade.
Museums, art and theatres
Mecklenburg-Vorpommern is home to many cultural events throughout the year. In addition to many regular museums and art galleries,
StralsundStralsund is a city in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany, situated at the southern coast of the Strelasund ....
offers the very popular
Deutsches Meeresmuseum (German Maritime Museum; the most popular museum in
Northern GermanyNorthern Germany is the geographic area in the north of Germany. The native German concept of northern Germany is called Norddeutschland.- Geography :...
),
Ribnitz-DamgartenRibnitz-Damgarten is a town in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany. It is situated at the Ribnitzer See . Ribnitz-Damgarten is the largest town of the district Nordvorpommern, but not its capital.-Geography:...
the
Deutsches Bernsteinmuseum (German Amber Museum).
During summer, many open air concerts and operas are open to visitors. The
Festspiele Mecklenburg-Vorpommern (Music Festival of MV) attract a sizeable audience by performing classical concerts in parks, churches and castles.
Caspar David FriedrichCaspar David Friedrich was a 19th-century German Romantic landscape painter, generally considered the most important of the movement. He is best known for his mid-period allegorical landscapes which typically feature contemplative figures silhouetted against night skies, morning mists, barren...
, a famous
romanticistRomanticism is a complex artistic, literary, and intellectual movement that originated in the second half of the 18th century in Western Europe, and gained strength during the Industrial Revolution...
painterPainting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a surface . In art, the term describes both the act and the result, which is called a painting. Paintings may have for their support such surfaces as walls, paper, canvas, wood, glass, lacquer, clay or concrete...
born in
GreifswaldGreifswald is a town in northeastern Germany, situated approximately 200 km to the north of Berlin in the state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. It borders the Baltic Sea and is crossed by a small river called the Ryck....
, immortalised parts of the state in several of his paintings.
Language
Whereas today the vast majority of people speak
Standard GermanStandard German is the standard variety of the German language used as a written language, in formal contexts, and for communication between different dialect areas...
(also called
High German,
Hochdeutsch), a few centuries ago most people spoke what is called
Low GermanLow German or Low Saxon is any of the regional language varieties of the West Germanic languages spoken mainly in northern Germany and the eastern part of the Netherlands.-Geographical extent:-Low German in Europe:Dialects...
(German:
Plattdeutsch or
Niederdeutsch). It is not "low" in prestige, however, but rather originates in the geographically lower (northern) part of Germany.
Due to several sound shifts in Standard German which did not occur in Low German, Low German is rather distinct and is considered a separate language by some, a dialect of German by others. At its highpoint, the late
Middle AgesThe Middle Ages of European history is a period of European history covering roughly a millennium in the 5th century through 16th centuries. More specific starting and ending points are sometimes adopted by scholars to suit their respective specializations or current focus...
, it was the
lingua francaA lingua franca is a language systematically used to communicate between persons not sharing a mother tongue, in particular when it is a third language, distinct from both persons' mother tongues.Lingua franca is a functionally defined term, independent of the linguistic history or...
of the
Hanseatic LeagueThe Hanseatic League was an alliance of trading cities and their guilds that established and maintained a trade monopoly along the coast of Northern Europe, from the Baltic to the North Sea and inland, during the Late Middle Ages and early modern period...
, a trade organisation in northern Europe. More than 1500 years ago, "Old Low German" (also known as
Old SaxonOld Saxon, also known as Old Low German, is the earliest recorded form of Low German, documented from the 8th century until the 12th century, when it evolved into Middle Low German. It was spoken on the north-west coast of Germany and in Denmark by Saxon peoples...
) was also the language spoken by the
Anglo-SaxonsAnglo-Saxons is the term usually used to describe the invading Germanic tribes in the south and east of Great Britain from the early 5th century AD, and their creation of the English nation, to the Norman conquest of 1066...
, who originally came from northern Germany before leaving for
EnglandEngland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the North Sea to the east, with the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. That is why, there is often a closer similarity between English and Low German words than between English and Standard/High German words, for instance:
- English water = Low German water (High German: Wasser)
- English he = Low German hei (High German: er)
Low German is protected by the state's constitution and, similar to
WelshWelsh is a member of the Brythonic branch of Celtic spoken natively in Wales, in England by some along the Welsh border and in the Welsh immigrant colony in the Chubut Valley in Argentine Patagonia....
in
WalesWales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom, bordered by England to its east, and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It is also an elective region of the European Union...
, taught at school and at university level. There is also a diverse Low German literature by such authors as
Fritz ReuterFritz Reuter was a German novelist.Reuter was born at Stavenhagen in Mecklenburg-Schwerin, a small country town where his father was mayor and sheriff , and in addition to his official duties carried on the work of a farmer...
or
Rudolf TarnowRudolf Tarnow was a Low German writer.Rudolf Tarnow was born on February 25, 1867 in the city of Parchim, the oldest son of a shoemaker, Heinrich Tarnow, and his wife, Dorothea...
. Low German has also been recognised by the Netherlands and by Germany (since 1999) as a
regional languageA regional language is a language spoken in an area of a nation state, whether it be a small area, a federal state or province, or some wider area.-Definition in international law:For the purposes of the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages:...
according to the
European Charter for Regional or Minority LanguagesThe European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages is a European treaty adopted in 1992 under the auspices of the Council of Europe to protect and promote historical regional and minority languages in Europe...
. Within the official terminology defined in the charter, this status would not be available to a dialect of an official language. As a result of this, Germany would appear, therefore, to have at least implicitly adopted the stance that Low German is not a dialect of the German language, but rather a separate language.
Food and drinks
Like most German regions, Mecklenburg and Vorpommern have their own traditional dishes, often including fish, beef and pork. Rostock has its own type of
bratwurstA bratwurst is a sausage usually composed of veal, pork or beef.The name is German, derived from Old High German brätwurst, from brät-, which is finely chopped meat and -wurst, or sausage...
called
Rostocker Bratwurst. An unusual food from Western Pomerania is
TollatschTollatsch is a German dessert from the region of Pomerania.It is made of flour, sugar, a blend of Lebkuchen spices, breadcrumbs, almonds, and raisins....
. The largest brewery produces Lübzer Pils.
Religion
Following the Christian
ReformationThe Protestant Reformation was a Christian reform movement in Europe which is generally deemed to have begun with Martin Luther's Ninety-Five Theses in 1517 although a number of precursors such as Jan Hus predate that event...
, led in Germany by
Martin LutherMartin Luther changed the course of Western civilization by initiating the Protestant Reformation. As a priest and theology professor, he confronted indulgence salesmen with his The Ninety-Five Theses in 1517. Luther strongly disputed their claim that freedom from God's punishment of sin could...
, as well as a period of
SwedishSweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe...
rule, the traditional faith in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern is
ProtestantismProtestantism is a branch within Christianity, containing many denominations with some differing practices and doctrines, that principally originated in the sixteenth-century Protestant Reformation. It is considered to be one of the major divisions within Christianity, together with the Roman...
, specifically
LutheranismLutheranism is a major branch of Western Christianity that identifies with the teachings of the 16th century German reformer Martin Luther. Luther's efforts to reform the theology and practice of the church launched the Protestant Reformation...
. There are also a number of
CatholicThe word Catholic is derived from the Greek adjective , meaning "universal". In the context of Christian ecclesiology, it has a rich history and several usages. For some, the term "Catholic Church" refers to the church in full communion with the Bishop of Rome, made up of the Latin Rite and the 22...
s and people of other faiths. As a result of the extremely secular laws of the former communist GDR, more than three quarters of the population are now non-religious or agnostic.
Education
Universities and colleges
Mecklenburg-Vorpommern has two of the oldest
universitiesA university is an institution of higher education and research, which grants academic degrees in a variety of subjects. A university provides both undergraduate education and postgraduate education...
of
GermanyGermany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered to the north by the North Sea, Denmark, and the Baltic Sea; to the east by Poland and the Czech Republic; to the south by Austria and Switzerland; and to the west by France, Luxembourg, Belgium,...
, and indeed
EuropeEurope is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally divided from Asia to its east by the water divide of the Ural Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian Sea, the Caucasus Mountains , and the Black Sea to the southeast...
:
- University of Rostock
The University of Rostock is the university of the city Rostock, in the German state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern.Founded in 1419, it is the oldest and largest university in continental northern Europe and the Baltic Sea area as well as the second oldest in northern Europe after the University of St...
(est 1419)
- University of Greifswald (est. 1456)
Also, there are four colleges / technological universities.
- Fachhochschule Stralsund
- Hochschule Wismar
- Hochschule Neubrandenburg
- Hochschule für Musik und Theater Rostock
- Baltic College Güstrow
- Fachhochschule für öffentliche Verwaltung, Rechtspflege und Polizei in Güstrow
Schools
The state's school system is centralised. There are two main types of schools,
Regionalschule (for the majority of pupils) and
Gymnasium (for the top 30% of each year's students, leading to the university entrance qualification "
AbiturAbitur is a designation used in Germany and Finland for final exams that pupils take at the end of their secondary education, usually after 12 or 13 years of schooling...
"). Besides, there are also independent schools, comprehensive schools, and trade schools.
Minister President
The
SchwerinSchwerin is a city in northern Germany and the capital of the state Mecklenburg-Vorpommern . The population, as of end of 2007, was 95,855.-History:...
-based executive is led by a cabinet, in turn led by a
Minister-PresidentA minister-president is the head of government in a number of European countries or subnational governments, who presides over the council of ministers...
, who is the official head of government.
Here is a list of minister presidents of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern (1945-1952: only Mecklenburg):
- 1945 - 1951: Wilhelm Höcker
Wilhelm Höcker was a German politician and former Minister-President of Mecklenburg....
(SEDThe Socialist Unity Party of Germany was the governing party of the German Democratic Republic from its formation on 7 October 1949 until the elections of March 1990. The SED was a Communist political party with a Marxist-Leninist ideology...
)
- 1951: Kurt Bürger
Kurt Bürger was a German politician, representative of the Social Democratic Party, and was minister-president of the state of Mecklenburg in 1951....
(SEDThe Socialist Unity Party of Germany was the governing party of the German Democratic Republic from its formation on 7 October 1949 until the elections of March 1990. The SED was a Communist political party with a Marxist-Leninist ideology...
)
- 1951 - 1952: Bernhard Quandt
Bernhard Quandt was a German politician .
He was Minister-President of Mecklenburg Bernhard Quandt (* 14 April 1903 in Rostock; † 6 August 1999 in Schwerin) was a German politician (SPD, KPD, SED).
He was Minister-President of Mecklenburg Bernhard Quandt (* 14 April 1903 in Rostock; † 6...
- 1990 - 1992: Alfred Gomolka
Alfred Gomolka is a German politician and Member of the European Parliament for Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. He is a member of the conservative Christian Democratic Union of Germany, part of the European People's Party....
(CDUThe Christian Democratic Union of Germany is a Christian democratic and conservative political party in Germany....
)
- 1992 - 1998: Berndt Seite (CDU
The Christian Democratic Union of Germany is a Christian democratic and conservative political party in Germany....
)
- 1998 - 2008: Harald Ringstorff
Dr. Harald Ringstorff is a German politician of the Social Democratic Party and was minister-president of the state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. He has been heading a coalition government of SPD and PDS from 1998 until 2006, and since then was heading a coalition between SPD and CDU...
(SPDThe Social Democratic Party of Germany is Germany's oldest political party. The party governed at the federal level in a grand coalition with the Christian Democratic Union and the Christian Social Union until conceding defeat in the federal election of September 2009...
)
- since 2008: Erwin Sellering
Erwin Sellering, born on 18 October 1949 in Sprockhövel near Bochum and currently residing in Greifswald, is Minister-president of the German federal state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern since 2008....
(SPDThe Social Democratic Party of Germany is Germany's oldest political party. The party governed at the federal level in a grand coalition with the Christian Democratic Union and the Christian Social Union until conceding defeat in the federal election of September 2009...
)
Parliament
The last election of the
state parliamentThe Landtag of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern is the state diet of the German federal state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern . He convenes in Schwerin and currently consists of 71 members of five Parties...
(German:
Landtag), located in the capital city
SchwerinSchwerin is a city in northern Germany and the capital of the state Mecklenburg-Vorpommern . The population, as of end of 2007, was 95,855.-History:...
, took place on 17 September 2006. The five-year term ends in 2011.
| Party |
Vote percentage |
Total Seats |
Social Democratic PartyThe Social Democratic Party of Germany is Germany's oldest political party. The party governed at the federal level in a grand coalition with the Christian Democratic Union and the Christian Social Union until conceding defeat in the federal election of September 2009...
(SPD) |
30.2% |
23 |
| Christian Democratic Union The Christian Democratic Union of Germany is a Christian democratic and conservative political party in Germany....
(CDU) |
28.8% |
22 |
Left PartyThe Left , is a democratic socialist political party in Germany. The Left is the most left-wing party of the five represented in the Bundestag....
|
16.8% |
13 |
| Free Democratic Party The Free Democratic Party is a classical liberal, pro-business political party in Germany. International counterparts include the Liberal Democrats of the United Kingdom, Yabloko in Russia and the Democratic Alliance in South Africa. It is a member of the Liberal International...
(FDP) |
9.6% |
7 |
National Democratic PartyThe National Democratic Party of Germany , is a pan-German neo-fascist political party. It was founded in 1964 as a successor to the German Reich Party and is classified as being on the far right of the political spectrum...
(NPD) |
7.3% |
6 |
| Alliance '90/The Greens The Alliance '90/The Greens is a green political party in Germany which originated from the merger of the German Green Party and Alliance 90 in 1993. Its leaders are Claudia Roth and Cem Özdemir...
|
3.4% |
0 |
| Others |
3.9% |
0 |
| Totals |
100.0% |
71 |
Tourism
The "state of a thousand lakes" is mainly characterised by its unspoilt nature. Mecklenburg-Vorpommern's varied coastline offers peninsulas such as
Fischland-Darß-ZingstFischland-Darß-Zingst is a peninsula at the coast of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern in Germany. Its full length is 45 km.The three parts of the peninsula, from west to east, are Fischland, Darß and Zingst....
as well islands like
RügenRügen or Rugia is Germany's largest island. It is located in the Baltic Sea off the coast of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. Rügen makes up the principal part of the Rügen District, which also includes the neighboring islands Hiddensee and Ummanz, as well as several small islands.- Geography :Rügen is...
(Germany's largest island),
HiddenseeHiddensee is a carfree island in the Baltic Sea, located west of Rügen on the German coast.The island, located 54°33' north longitude 13°07' east, has about 1,300 inhabitants. It was a popular vacation destination for East Germany and continues to attract tourists today with its natural beauty. It...
or
UsedomUsedom is a Baltic Sea island on the border between Germany and Poland. It is situated north of the Szczecin Lagoon estuary of the River Oder in Pomerania...
. The state also focuses on
medical tourismMedical tourism is a term initially coined by travel agencies and the mass media to describe the rapidly-growing practice of traveling across international borders to obtain health care...
based on the clean air and idyllic settings by the
Baltic SeaThe Baltic Sea is a brackish inland sea located in Northern Europe, from 53°N to 66°N latitude and from 20°E to 26°E longitude. It is bounded by the Scandinavian Peninsula, the mainland of Europe, and the Danish islands. It drains into the Kattegat by way of the Øresund, the Great Belt and the...
.
A total number of 283 nature reserves, 110 landscape reserves and three of Germany's 14
national parkA national park is a reserve of natural or semi-natural land, declared or owned by a national government, set aside for human recreation and enjoyment, and protected from most development...
s are scattered all over the state - the most prominent perhaps being
Jasmund National ParkThe Jasmund National Park is a nature reserve in the northeast of Rügen island in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany. It is famous for the largest chalk cliffs of Germany, the so called Königsstuhl . These cliffs are up to 161 m high above the Baltic Sea...
,
Müritz National ParkThe Müritz National Park is a national park situated roughly in the middle between Berlin and Rostock, in the south of the German state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. It extends over large portions of the Müritz lakeland in the two districts of Müritz and Mecklenburg-Strelitz. Müritz National Park was...
and
Western Pomerania Lagoon Area National ParkThe Western Pomerania Lagoon Area National Park is Mecklenburg-Vorpommern's largest national park situated at the coast of the Baltic Sea...
. Many lakes used for fishing and sailing are in the
Mecklenburg Lake DistrictThe Mecklenburg Lake District is the largest coherent lakes and canals area in Germany. It is situated in southern Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, and sometimes called "the land of the thousand lakes"....
.
Mecklenburg-Vorpommern also attracts tourists with its nearly 2,000 castles, palaces and manor houses, which often function as venues for concerts and festivals.
The old towns of
WismarWismar is a small port and Hanseatic League town in northern Germany on the Baltic Sea, in the state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern,about 45 km due east of Lübeck, and 30 km due north of Schwerin. Its natural harbour, located in the Bay of Wismar is well-protected by a promontory...
and
StralsundStralsund is a city in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany, situated at the southern coast of the Strelasund ....
are listed as UNESCO
World Heritage SiteA UNESCO World Heritage Site is a site that is on the list that is maintained by the international World Heritage Programme administered by the UNESCO World Heritage Committee, composed of 21 state parties which are elected by their General Assembly for a four-year term.A World Heritage Site is a...
s and feature late Gothic red brick architecture so typical for
HanseaticThe Hanseatic League was an alliance of trading cities and their guilds that established and maintained a trade monopoly along the coast of Northern Europe, from the Baltic to the North Sea and inland, during the Late Middle Ages and early modern period...
cities.
Main sporting attractions include
2. Fußball-BundesligaThe 2nd Bundesliga is the Second Division of professional football in Germany. It is below the Bundesliga in the German football league system....
, F.C. Hansa Rostock and the international sailing event
Hanse SailThe Hanse Sail in Rostock is the largest maritime festival in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and one of the largest in Germany.About two hundred sailing ships of all types and sizes from a vast variety of countries visit the coast off the city of Rostock every year during the second weekend of August...
. Had the bid for the 2012 summer Olympics in Leipzig been successful, the sailing competitions would have taken place off the coast of
RostockRostock is the largest city in the north German state Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. Rostock is located on the Warnow river; the quarter of Warnemünde 12 km north of the city centre lies directly on the coast of the Baltic Sea.-Geography:Rostock is located nearly centrally on...
.
Notable people
- arts and film: Caspar David Friedrich
Caspar David Friedrich was a 19th-century German Romantic landscape painter, generally considered the most important of the movement. He is best known for his mid-period allegorical landscapes which typically feature contemplative figures silhouetted against night skies, morning mists, barren...
, Marianne HoppeMarianne Hoppe was a German theatre and film actress.-Life and Work:Born in Rostock, Marianne Hoppe became a leading lady of stage and films in Germany. She was born into a wealthy land owning family and was initially privately educated on her father's private estate...
, Philipp Otto RungePhilipp Otto Runge was a Romantic German painter and draughtsman. Although he made a late start to his career and died young, he ranks second only to Caspar David Friedrich among German Romantic painters.- Life and work :...
- business: Ernst Heinkel
Ernst Heinkel was a German aircraft designer and manufacturer.-Early life:He was born in Grunbach and as a young man became an apprentice machinist at a foundry. He initially became interested in aviation through a fascination with zeppelins, and in 1909 attended an international airshow in...
, Carl Heinrich von SiemensCarl Heinrich von Siemens was a German entrepreneur, a child of a tenant farmer. He is a brother of Ernst Werner von Siemens and William Siemens, sons of Christian Ferdinand Siemens and wife Eleonore Deichmann...
, Georg WertheimGeorg Wertheim was a German merchant and founder of the popular Wertheim chain of department stores.Wertheim grew up in Stralsund...
- literature: John Brickman, Hans Fallada
Hans Fallada , born Rudolf Wilhelm Friedrich Ditzen in Greifswald, was one of the most famous German writers of the 20th century. His novel, Little Man, What Now? is his most widely known work and generally considered a classic of German 20th century literature...
, Walter KempowskiWalter Kempowski was a German writer. Kempowski was chiefly known for his series of novels called German Chronicle and the monumental Echolot , a collage of autobiographical reports, letters and other documents by contemporary witnesses of the Second World War.-Childhood :Walter Kempowski was...
, Fritz ReuterFritz Reuter was a German novelist.Reuter was born at Stavenhagen in Mecklenburg-Schwerin, a small country town where his father was mayor and sheriff , and in addition to his official duties carried on the work of a farmer...
, Rudolf TarnowRudolf Tarnow was a Low German writer.Rudolf Tarnow was born on February 25, 1867 in the city of Parchim, the oldest son of a shoemaker, Heinrich Tarnow, and his wife, Dorothea...
, Ehm WelkEmil Welk, known by his nickname Ehm Welk , was a German journalist, writer, professor and founder of Volkshochschulen...
- politics: Ernst Moritz Arndt
Ernst Moritz Arndt was a German patriotic author and poet. Early in his life, he fought for the abolition of serfdom, later against Napoleonic dominance over Germany, and had to flee to Sweden for some time due to his anti-French positions. He is one of the main founders of German nationalism and...
, Egon KrenzEgon Krenz is a former communist politician from the German Democratic Republic . Krenz briefly served as leader of the GDR and of the ruling Socialist Unity Party of Germany in 1989 before the collapse of the communist regime....
, Helmuth von Moltke the ElderHelmuth Karl Bernhard Graf von Moltke was a German Generalfeldmarschall. The chief of staff of the Prussian Army for thirty years, he is regarded as one of the great strategists of the latter 1800s, and the creator of a new, more modern method of directing armies in the field...
, Harald RingstorffDr. Harald Ringstorff is a German politician of the Social Democratic Party and was minister-president of the state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. He has been heading a coalition government of SPD and PDS from 1998 until 2006, and since then was heading a coalition between SPD and CDU...
, Angela Merkel' is the current Chancellor of Germany. Merkel, elected to the German Parliament from Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, has been the chairwoman of the Christian Democratic Union since 10 April 2000, and Chairwoman of the CDU-CSU parliamentary party group from 2002 to 2005...
- science: Theodor Billroth
Christian Albert Theodor Billroth was a German-born Austrian surgeon and amateur musician....
, Gottlob FregeFriedrich Ludwig Gottlob Frege was a German mathematician who became a logician and philosopher. He was one of the founders of modern logic, and made major contributions to the foundations of mathematics. As a philosopher, he is generally considered to be the father of analytic philosophy, for his...
, Otto LilienthalOtto von Lilienthal was a German pioneer of human aviation who became known as the Glider King. He was the first person to make repeated successful gliding flights. He followed an experimental approach first established earlier in the century by Sir George Cayley...
, Gustav MieGustav Adolf Feodor Wilhelm Ludwig Mie was a German physicist.-Biography:Mie was born in Rostock. From 1886 he studied mathematics and physics at the University of Rostock. In addition to his major subjects, he also attended lectures in chemistry, zoology, geology, mineralogy, astronomy as well as...
, Ferdinand von MuellerBaron Sir Ferdinand Jacob Heinrich von Mueller, KCMG was a German-Australian physician, geographer, and most notably, a botanist.-Early life:...
, Paul PoggePaul Pogge was a German explorer in Africa.Pogge was born in Groß Roge, Mecklenburg-Schwerin. He undertook two expeditions in Central Africa into the Southern Congo Basin, the first between 1874 and 1876 and the second between 1880 and 1884. On his second journey he was accompanied by Hermann...
, Heinrich SchliemannHeinrich Schliemann Heinrich Schliemann Heinrich Schliemann was a German businessman and archaeologist, and an advocate of the historical reality of places mentioned in the works of Homer. Schliemann was an important...
, Johannes StarkJohannes Stark was a German physicist, and Physics Nobel Prize laureate who was closely involved with the Deutsche Physik movement under the Nazi regime.-Early years:...
- sports: Tim Borowski
Tim Borowski is a German football midfielder who plays for Werder Bremen of the German Bundesliga and is a member of the German national team. He is a central midfielder, adept at tackling and attacking although best known for his passing and vision.-Personal life:He has a higher commercial school...
, Thomas DollThomas Doll is a former footballer and coach, who currently works for Gençlerbirliği S.K..- Career :...
, Marita KochMarita Koch is a former sprint athlete.- Career :Her married name is Marita Koch Meier. During her career she collected a remarkable sixteen world records in outdoor sprints, as well as 14 world records in indoor events.Koch set her first world record in 1977 in Milan when she ran 400 metres...
, Jan UllrichJan Ullrich is a German former professional road bicycle racer. In 1997, he was the first German to win the Tour de France. He went on to take five second places and a fourth in 2004 and third in 2005. He is considered one of the best time-trialists in the history of the sport...
, Jens VoigtJens Voigt is a German professional road bicycle racer for UCI Pro Tour . Voigt is known as affable with a propensity to attack, and for his positive racing attitude. He is capable of repeated attacking, holding a high tempo, and breaking away from the peloton...
, Toni KroosToni Kroos is a German footballer who plays for Bayer 04 Leverkusen on loan from Bayern Munich as an attacking midfielder. He has a younger brother, Felix, who plays as a striker for Hansa Rostock.-Early career:...
Miscellaneous
- Mecklenburg-Vorpommern is Germany's number-one tourist location, the main destinations being the Baltic Sea
The Baltic Sea is a brackish inland sea located in Northern Europe, from 53°N to 66°N latitude and from 20°E to 26°E longitude. It is bounded by the Scandinavian Peninsula, the mainland of Europe, and the Danish islands. It drains into the Kattegat by way of the Øresund, the Great Belt and the...
coastline with islands such as RügenRügen or Rugia is Germany's largest island. It is located in the Baltic Sea off the coast of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. Rügen makes up the principal part of the Rügen District, which also includes the neighboring islands Hiddensee and Ummanz, as well as several small islands.- Geography :Rügen is...
or UsedomUsedom is a Baltic Sea island on the border between Germany and Poland. It is situated north of the Szczecin Lagoon estuary of the River Oder in Pomerania...
, spa towns like HeiligendammHeiligendamm is a German seaside resort, founded in 1793. The small cluster of structures which still survive are reminders of the glory days of days gone by when this part of the Baltic Sea was one of the playgrounds of Europe's aristocracy. It is the oldest seaside spa in Germany...
, and the Mecklenburg Lake DistrictThe Mecklenburg Lake District is the largest coherent lakes and canals area in Germany. It is situated in southern Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, and sometimes called "the land of the thousand lakes"....
.
- Mecklenburg-Vorpommern is the least densely populated German state. The largest city is Rostock
Rostock is the largest city in the north German state Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. Rostock is located on the Warnow river; the quarter of Warnemünde 12 km north of the city centre lies directly on the coast of the Baltic Sea.-Geography:Rostock is located nearly centrally on...
, followed by the state's capital SchwerinSchwerin is a city in northern Germany and the capital of the state Mecklenburg-Vorpommern . The population, as of end of 2007, was 95,855.-History:...
.
- During the chancellorship of Angela Merkel
' is the current Chancellor of Germany. Merkel, elected to the German Parliament from Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, has been the chairwoman of the Christian Democratic Union since 10 April 2000, and Chairwoman of the CDU-CSU parliamentary party group from 2002 to 2005...
, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern has hosted the first official public meeting with President George W. BushGeorge Walker Bush was the 43rd President of the United States from 2001 to 2009 and the 46th Governor of Texas from 1995 to 2000....
in 2006 and the 33rd G8 summitThe 33rd G8 summit took place at Kempinski Grand Hotel in Heiligendamm in the old Duchy of Mecklenburg in the Northern German state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern on the Baltic Coast...
in 2007. Both political events were financed by state and federal budgets.
- The historic centres of Stralsund
Stralsund is a city in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany, situated at the southern coast of the Strelasund ....
and WismarWismar is a small port and Hanseatic League town in northern Germany on the Baltic Sea, in the state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern,about 45 km due east of Lübeck, and 30 km due north of Schwerin. Its natural harbour, located in the Bay of Wismar is well-protected by a promontory...
are World Heritage SiteA UNESCO World Heritage Site is a site that is on the list that is maintained by the international World Heritage Programme administered by the UNESCO World Heritage Committee, composed of 21 state parties which are elected by their General Assembly for a four-year term.A World Heritage Site is a...
s.
- Deichkind
Deichkind is a Hip-Hop / Electro band formed in Hamburg, Germany in 1997. Deichkind's characteristic lyrics typically consist of irony and humor. In 2005, Deichkind represented Mecklenburg-Vorpommern in the Bundesvision Song Contest, finishing 14th of the 16 entries. The band's single Electric...
represented Mecklenburg-Vorpommern in the Bundesvision.
See also
- History of Pomerania
Settlement in Pomerania started by the end of the Vistula Glacial Stage, about 13,000 years ago. Archeological traces have been found of various cultures during the Stone and Bronze Age, Veneti and Germanic peoples during the Iron Age and, in the Middle Ages, Slavic tribes and Vikings...
- List of places in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern
- List of towns in Vorpommern
- Mecklenburg
Mecklenburg is a region in northern Germany comprising the western and larger part of the federal state Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. The largest cities of the region are Rostock, Schwerin, and Neubrandenburg....
- Pomerania
Pomerania is a historical region on the south shore of the Baltic Sea. Divided between Germany and Poland, it stretches roughly from the Recknitz River near Stralsund in the West, via the Oder River delta near Szczecin, to the mouth of the Vistula River near Gdańsk in the East. It is inhabited...
External links