Schwerin

Understand

thumb|View over Schwerin

Zuarina was founded as a Slavic fortress in the 10th or 11th century. In the 12th century, it was conquered by Germans and the region was Christianised. Schwerin was made the seat of a county, that later evolved into the Duchy of Mecklenburg. While Schwerin remained the political centre, the Hanseatic seaports Rostock and Wismar were more prosperous and grew faster.

Around 1765, Duke Frederick II ("the Pious") moved his residence to Ludwigslust, a Baroque new town planned on a drawing board, 40 km south of Schwerin (like Louis XIV of France had moved his residence from Paris to Versailles). In 1837, the capital was moved back to Schwerin. Grand Duke Frederick Francis II who was on the throne from 1842 to 1883 had Schwerin's castle completely rebuilt in a fancyful, romantic style. It is now known as a "fairytale castle" or "Neuschwanstein of the north".

During the Cold War and German partition, Schwerin was one of East Germany's 15 district seats. Despite Rostock being larger, Schwerin remains the state capital of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, re-established after Germany's re-unification of 1990. Its regained political importance and its location within the Hamburg Metropolitan Region notwithstanding, Schwerin's population dropped by 30% between 1989 and 2012, recovering slightly since then. With around 98,000 inhabitants it is the smallest German state capital and the only state capital not to be a "Großstadt", a city above 100,000, as defined …

See

thumb|Schweriner Schloss (Schwerin Palace)

Do

thumb|Mecklenburg State Theatre Cycle around Lake Schwerin (), or only the nearer half of it (Innensee, )

Go next

Wismar, medieval seaport and mercantile city of the Hanseatic League, Unesco World Heritage, 30 km north (30 min by train) Ludwigslust, Mecklenburg's secondary residence during the Baroque era, dubbed "Versailles of Northern Germany", 38 km south (35 min by train) Poel, island in the Baltic Sea, 45 km north (one hour by train and bus via Wismar) Ratzeburg, former capital of the tiny Duchy of Lauenburg, surrounded by four lakes, 47 km west (1 hr 20 min by train via Büchen) Boltenhagen, Baltic sea resort, 50 km northwest (1 hr 20 min by train and bus via Wismar) Güstrow, 60 km east (50–55 min by train via Bützow or Bad Kleinen) Lübeck, 70 km northwest (1 hr 10 min by train via Bad Kleinen) Kühlungsborn, posh seaside resort, 75 km north Rostock, East Germany's major international port and biggest city of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, 90 km northeast (50–60 min by train) Stralsund, to see the Ozeaneum (2 hr by train) Prora, with treetop walks and tower.