Anklam

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Anklam


Country	Germany
State	Mecklenburg-Vorpommern
District	Ostvorpommern
Population	14,603 (30/06/2005)
Area	41.27 km²
Population density	357 /km²
Elevation	6 m
Coordinates	53°51′ N 13°41′ E
Postal code	17389 (old: 2140)
Area code	03971
Licence plate code	OVP (old: ANK)
Mayor	Michael Galander (independent)
Website	Stadt Anklam

Anklam or Anclam is a town in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Germany, situated on the banks of the Peene river, 8 km from its mouth in the Kleines Haff, and 85 km northwest of Szczecin, on the railway to Stralsund. It is the capital of the district of Ostvorpommern. Population: 14,603 (2005).

1 History
2 Museums
3 Sons and daughters of the town
4 Twin towns
5 See also
6 References

[edit] History

The fortifications of Anklam were dismantled in 1762 and have not since been restored, although the old walls are still standing; formerly, however, it was a town of considerable military importance, which suffered severely during the Thirty Years' and the Seven Years' Wars; and this fact, together with the repeated ravages of fire and of the plague, has made its history more eventful than is usually the case with towns of the same size. It does not possess any remarkable buildings, although it contains several, private as well as public, that are of a quaint and picturesque style of architecture. The church of St Mary (12th century) has a modern tower, 50 m high. The industries consist of iron foundries and factories for sugar and soap; and there is a military school. The Peene is navigable up to the town, which has a considerable trade in its own manufactures, as well as in the produce of the surrounding country, while some shipbuilding is carried on at wharves on the river.

Anklam, formerly Tanglim, was originally a Slavic fortress; it obtained civic rights in 1244. In 1283 it became a member of the Hanseatic League. Although the town was a rather small and uninfluential town compared with other Hanseatic cities, the membership brought wealth and prosperity to Anklam.

The decline of Anklam began with the Thirty Years' War, when Swedish and Imperial troops battled almost twenty years for Anklam. After the war the town became a part of Sweden (1648), but in 1676 was retaken by Frederick William I of Brandenburg, and in 1713 it was plundered by the Russians.

The southern parts of the town, were ceded to Prussia by the peace of Stockholm in 1720, while the parts north of the Peene river remained Swedish. Anklam was a divided town until 1815, when the rest became Prussian as well.