Mecklenburg

Related Topics:
Mecklenburg :: Mecklenburg-Western_Pomerania :: Mecklenburg-Vorpommern

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.

History

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.

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.

People from Mecklenburg

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:

Gebhard Leberecht von Blücher, Prussian army leader
Jan Ullrich, cyclist
Gottlob Frege, logician
Ferdinand Jacob Heinrich von Müller, Australian botanist
Siegfried Marcus, automobile pioneer
Uwe Johnson, writer
Heinrich Schliemann, classical archaeologist
Caspar David Friedrich, romantic painter
Daniel Eggers, nationalist folk-singer

External links

States of the Holy Roman Empire