Schwerin

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Schwerin

Schwerin is a city

City

A city is an urban area with a high population density and a particular administrative, legal, or historical status.Large industrialized cities generally have advanced systems for sanitation, utilities, land usage, house, and transportation and more....
in northern Germany

Germany

Germany , 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 the Netherlands....
and the capital of the state Mecklenburg-Vorpommern (Mecklenburg-West Pomerania). The population as of end of 2007 was 95,855.

erin is surrounded by many picturesque lakes. The largest of these lakes, the Schweriner See
Schweriner See

The Schweriner See is a lake in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, northern Germany, located at . Its surface is approximately 1 E7 m2 and its maximum depth is 52.4 metres....
, has an area of 60 km². In the midst of the lakes there was an Obotrite

Obotrites

The Obotrites , also commonly known as the Obodrites, Abotrites, or Abodrites, were a confederation of medieval West Slavs tribes within the territory of modern Mecklenburg and Holstein in northern Germany ....
settlement as early as in the 11th century.

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Encyclopedia

Schwerin is a city

City

Germany

History

Schwerin is surrounded by many picturesque lakes. The largest of these lakes, the Schweriner See
Schweriner See

The Schweriner See is a lake in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, northern Germany, located at . Its surface is approximately 1 E7 m2 and its maximum depth is 52.4 metres....
, has an area of 60 km². In the midst of the lakes there was an Obotrite

Obotrites

Henry the Lion

Henry the Lion was a member of the Guelph dynasty and Rulers of Saxony, as Henry III, from 1142, and List of rulers of Bavaria, as Henry XII, from 1156, which duchies he held until 1180....
defeated the Obotrites and captured Schwerin. The town was subsequently expanded into a powerful regional centre. A castle was built, and expanded upon over the centuries, on this site. It is supposedly haunted by the small, impious ghost called Petermännchen

Petermännchen

Peterm?nnchen is a small good natured household spirit who is said to live in the Schwerin Castle in Schwerin, Mecklenburg, Germany. The diminutive spirit, maybe only a few feet tall, is often described as carrying many keys, roaming through the vaults and tunnels underneath the castle, unlocking doors as he goes....
.

In 1358 Schwerin became a part of the Duchy of Mecklenburg

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....
, making it the seat of the dukedom from then on. About 1500 the construction of the Schwerin castle began; it was here that the dukes resided. After the division of Mecklenburg (1621), Schwerin became the capital of the Duchy of Mecklenburg-Schwerin

Mecklenburg-Schwerin

Mecklenburg-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, Holy Roman Emperor....
. Between 1765 and 1837 the town of Ludwigslust

Ludwigslust

Ludwigslust is a town in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany, 40 km south of Schwerin. It is the capital of the district of Ludwigslust ....
served as the capital, until Schwerin was reinstated.

After 1918, and during the German Revolution

German Revolution

The German Revolution was the politically-driven civil conflict in Germany at the end of World War I. The period lasted from 1918#November until the formal establishment of the Weimar Republic in August 1919....
, resulting in the fall of all the German monarchies, the Grand Duke abdicated. Schwerin became capital of the Free State of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern thereafter.

At the end of World War II, on May 2, 1945 Schwerin was taken by U.S. troops. It was turned over to the British on June 1, 1945, and one month later, on July 1, 1945 it was handed over to the Soviet forces, as the British and American forces pulled back from the line of contact

Line of contact

The Line of Contact marked the farthest advance of American, British and Soviet Armies into Germany at the end of World War II. This contact began with the first meeting between Soviet and American forces at Torgau, near the Elbe river on Elbe Day, April 25, 1945....
to the predesignated occupation zones. Schwerin was then in the Russian Occupation Zone which was to become the German Democratic Republic

German Democratic Republic

The German Democratic Republic was a self-declared socialist state created in the Soviet Zone of occupied Germany and the East Berlin of Allied Occupation Zones in Germany....
(GDR). Initially it was the capital of the State of Mecklenburg which at that time included the western part of Pomerania

Pomerania

Pomerania is a historical region on the south coast 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 Gdansk in the East....
(Vorpommern). After the states were dissolved in the GDR in 1952 Schwerin served as the capital of the Schwerin district (Bezirk Schwerin).

After reunification in 1990 the former state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern was recreated as one of the Bundesländer
States of Germany

Germany is a federation consisting of sixteen states, known in German language as L?nder . Since Land is the literal German word for "country", the term Bundesl?nder is commonly used colloquially, as it is more specific, though technically incorrect within the corpus of German law....
. Rostock

Rostock

Rostock is the largest city in the north Germany States of Germany Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. Rostock is located on the Warnow river; the quarter of Warnem?nde 12 km north of the city centre lies directly on the coast of the Baltic Sea....
was a serious contender as state capital but the decision favoured Schwerin.

Main sights

The landmark of the city is the Schwerin Castle
Schwerin Castle

Schwerin Castle is a castle located in the city of Schwerin, the capital of the Bundesland of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany. For centuries it was the home of the dukes and grand dukes of Mecklenburg and later Mecklenburg-Schwerin....
, located on an island in the lake of the same name (Schweriner See). It was for centuries the residence of the Dukes of Mecklenburg and today is the seat of the Landtag
Landtag

A 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....
(state parliament).
Schwerin Cathedral
Schwerin Cathedral

Schwerin Cathedral , dedicated to the Virgin Mary and Saint John the Evangelist, was built following the move of the seat of the Bishopric of the Obotrites, established by Henry the Lion, to Schwerin from Mecklenburg in the late 12th century....
, built in 1260–1416 in Brick Gothic
Brick Gothic

Brick Gothic is a reduced style of Gothic architecture common in Northern Europe, especially in Northern Germany and the regions around the Baltic Sea without natural rock resources....
style.
The Alter Garten (Old Garden) square, surrounded by buildings such as the 18th-century Altes Palais (Old Palace), the neoclassical
Neoclassical architecture

Neoclassical architecture was an architectural style produced by the Neoclassicism that began in the mid-18th century, both as a reaction against the Rococo style of anti-tectonic naturalistic ornament, and an outgrowth of some classicizing features of Baroque architecture....
Staatliches Museum Schwerin (State Art Museum), built in 1877–1882, and the Staatstheater (City Theater), erected in 1886.
The town hall (18th century)
Schelfkirche
Schelfkirche

The Schelfkirche St. Nikolai is an Lutheranism church dedicated to Saint Nicholas in the Schelfstadt quarter of Schwerin in Germany. It was originally built in 1238, but was rebuilt in 1713 in the Baroque architecture after destruction by a storm....
(Saint Nicolai, originally built 1238, but rebuilt in 1713 after destruction by a storm)
Television mast Schwerin-Zippendorf
Fernsehturm Schwerin-Zippendorf

The Schweriner Fernsehturm is a 136.5-metre-tall radio masts and towers built of steel-concrete between 1960 and 1964 in Schwerin, Germany. Unlike most other TV towers, the ground plan is a spherical triangle and not a cylindric cross section....

Museums

The Staatliches Museum Schwerin-Kunstsammlungen (State Art Museum) houses a remarkable collection of 15th- to 19th-century Dutch and German art, including works by Rembrandt, Cranach the Elder, and Rubens. There are also German medieval collections, including porcelain (especially Dresden porcelain
Porcelain

Porcelain is a ceramic material made by heating raw materials, generally including clay in the form of kaolin, in a kiln to temperatures between and ....
), 18th-century court paintings, and works by such modern artists as Max Liebermann
Max Liebermann

Max Liebermann was a German-Jewish painter and printmaker best known for his etching and lithography....
.
The Technische Museum (Technical Museum), housed in the former Marstall (Royal Stables).

Schwerin

History

Main sights

Museums

Gallery

External links