Mecklenburg
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The coat of arms of Mecklenburg-Western-Pommerania |
Mecklenburg is a geographical area located in Northern
Germany. Its borders are the
Baltic Sea to the north, the rivers of
Recknitz and
Trebel to the east, the
Elbe river to the southwest, and
Lower Saxony and
Holstein to the west.
The name "Mecklenburg" derives from a castle named "Mikilenburg" (
Old German: "big castle"), located between the cities of
Schwerin and
Wismar. It was the ancestral seat of the
House of Mecklenburg.
Early history
Mecklenburg is the site of many prehistoric
dolmen tombs.
From the seventh through the 12th centuries, the area was ruled by the
Obotrites and other tribes that Frankish sources referred to as "
Wends". The 11th century founder of the Mecklenburgian dynasty of
Dukes and later
Grand Dukes, which lasted until 1918, was
Niklot of the Obotrites.
In the late 12th century,
Henry the Lion, Duke of
the Saxons, conquered the region, subjugated its local lords, and
Christianized its people, in a precursor to the
Northern Crusades.
Since the 12th century, the territory has remained stable and relatively independent of its neighbors; one of the few German territories for which this is true.
History, 1621-1933
Like many German territories, Mecklenburg was sometimes partitioned and re-partitioned among different members of the ruling dynasty. In
1621 it was divided into the two duchies of
Mecklenburg-Schwerin and
Mecklenburg-Güstrow. With the extinction of the Güstrow line in
1701, the Güstrow lands were redivided, part going to the Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, and part going to the new line of
Mecklenburg-Strelitz.
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Flag of Mecklenburg |
In
1815, the two Mecklenburgian duchies were raised to
Grand Duchies, and subsequently existed separately as such in Germany under enlightened but absolute feudal rule (constitutions being granted on the eve of
World War I) until the
revolution of 1918. From 1918 to 1933, the duchies were free states in the
Weimar Republic.
History since 1934
After three centuries of partition, Mecklenburg was united in
1934 by the
Nazi government. The
Wehrmacht assigned Mecklenburg and
Pomerania to
Wehrkreis II, with the headquarters at
Stettin. Mecklenburg was assigned to an Area headquartered at
Schwerin, which was responsible for military units in
Schwerin;
Rostock;
Parchim; and
Neustrelitz.
After
World War II, the Soviet government occupying eastern Germany merged Mecklenburg with the smaller neighboring region of
Western Pomerania (German
Vorpommern) to form the
state of
Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania (German
Mecklenburg-Vorpommern). Mecklenburg contributed about two-thirds of the geographical size of the new state and the majority of its population. (The Soviets changed the name from "Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania" back to "Mecklenburg" in 1947.)
In
1952, the East German government ended the independent existence of Mecklenburg, creating 3 districts ("Bezirke") out of its territory: Rostock, Schwerin and Neubrandenburg.
During
German reunification in
1990, the state of
Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania was revived, and is now one of the 16 states of the
Federal Republic of Germany.
Ethnically, people from Mecklenburg are a mix of early settlers from Westphalia, the Rhineland and Saxony on the one hand and
West Slavic people on the other. A considerable number of
Scandinavians have settled over the centuries, particularly in the
Hanseatic towns like
Wismar and
Rostock.
Famous people from Mecklenburg include:
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Gebhard Leberecht von Blücher, Prussian army leader
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Jan Ullrich, cyclist
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Gottlob Frege, logician
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Ferdinand Jacob Heinrich von Müller, Australian botanist
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Siegfried Marcus, automobile pioneer
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Uwe Johnson, writer
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Heinrich Schliemann, classical
archaeologist*
Caspar David Friedrich, romantic painter
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Daniel Eggers, nationalist folk-singer
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Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania*
Mecklenburg County, North Carolina*
Mecklenburg County, Virginia*
Government portal of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania*
Map of Mecklenburg in 1871*
Map of Mecklenburg in 1789
