Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania

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Mecklenburg-Vorpommern Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania
	Civil flag State flag
Time zone:	CET/CEST (UTC+1/+2)
Administration
Capital:	Schwerin
Prime Minister:	Harald Ringstorff (SPD)
Governing parties:	SPD / CDU
Votes in Bundesrat:	3 (from 69)
Basic Statistics
Area:	23,174 km² (8,948 sq.mi.)
Population:	1,697,800 (31. Aug. 2006)
- Density:	73 /km² (190 /sq.mi.)
Further Information
GDP:	€ 31 billion (2005)
	- 1.4 % of German GDP
NUTS-Region:	DE8
ISO 3166-2:	DE-MV
Website:	mecklenburg-vorpommern.eu
Location within Germany

Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania (German: Mecklenburg-Vorpommern) is a state in northern Germany. It is comprised of two parts, Mecklenburg and Vorpommern, and its capital is Schwerin.

Mecklenburg-Vorpommern is among the least densely populated and least industrial German states, being the 6th largest in size, but only 14th in population. The Baltic Sea coastline and its islands (e.g. Rügen), the cities, as well as the Mecklenburg Lake District are very popular with tourists, making the state Germany's number one tourist location. Moreover, the universities of Greifswald (est. 1456) and Rostock (est. 1419) are amongst the oldest in Germany and, indeed, northern Europe.

Major cities include Rostock, Schwerin, Neubrandenburg, Stralsund, Greifswald and Wismar.

The state's name is frequently abbreviated as MV.

Contents 1 History 1.1 Mecklenburg 1.2 Western Pomerania 1.3 GDR and reunification 2 Geography 2.1 Districts 2.2 District reform 3 Culture 3.1 Architecture 3.2 Museums, art and theatres 3.3 Language 3.4 Food and drinks 3.5 Religion 4 Education 4.1 Schools 4.2 Universities & colleges 5 Politics 5.1 Minister President 5.2 Parliament 6 Notable people 7 Miscellaneous 8 External links

[edit] History

[edit] Mecklenburg

Mecklenburg, comprising two thirds of the present state's territory, has had a long history. Whilst the earliest prehistoric inhabitants may have been of Celtic origin, over two thousand years ago Germanic tribes from Scandinavia began to move southward and settle in Mecklenburg. By the 6th century, the Germanic tribes were driven out or assimilated by Western Slavic peoples, who remained rulers of the area until the 12th century. In the late 12th century, Henry the Lion, Duke of the Saxons, conquered the region, subjugated its local lords and Christianised its people. In the course of time, German monks, nobility, peasants and traders arrived to settle here. After the 12th century, the territory remained stable and relatively independent of its neighbours; one of the few German territories for which this is true. Mecklenburg first became a duchy of the Holy Roman Empire in 1348. Though later partitioned and re-partioned within the same dynasty, Mecklenburg always shared a common history and identity. The states of Mecklenburg-Schwerin and Mecklenburg-Strelitz became Grand Duchies in 1815. After the First World War and the following abdication of the German Kaiser, the monarchy was abolished throughout the country and a republican government of Mecklenburg was established.

[edit] Western Pomerania

Western Pomerania (German: Vorpommern) is the smaller, western part of the formerly German region Pomerania; the other eastern part has been part of Poland since the Second World War. Western Pomerania was also under Swedish rule after the Peace of Westphalia in 1648. It was annexed by Prussia in 1815.

[edit] GDR and reunification

The two component parts of the state were briefly combined between 1947 and 1952 by the Communist authorities of the German Democratic Republic. In 1952, the GDR government abandoned "states" in favour of districts (German: Bezirke). As a result of this, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern was split into three districts (Bezirk Rostock, Bezirk Schwerin and Bezirk Neubrandenburg) under the highly-centralised government of the GDR.

Following the German reunification of 1989/1990, the districts of Mecklenburg and Vorpommern were united to form the state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern.

[edit] Geography

Sixth-largest in area but only fourteenth in population among Germany's sixteen states, it is bounded to the north by the Baltic Sea, to the west by Schleswig-Holstein, to the southwest by Lower Saxony, to the south by Brandenburg, and to the east by Poland. Its administrative seat is Schwerin. The largest city is Rostock with approximately 200,000 people. Other major cities include Greifswald, Güstrow, Neubrandenburg, Stralsund and Wismar. The state's Baltic Sea coast features several islands, most notably Germany's biggest island Rügen, but also Hiddensee, Usedom and Poel. The southern part of the state is marked by a multitude of lakes, the largest of which is Lake Müritz.

See also List of places in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania.

[edit] Districts

Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania is currently divided into twelve Kreise (districts):

Bad Doberan Demmin Güstrow Ludwigslust Mecklenburg-Strelitz Müritz

Nordvorpommern Nordwestmecklenburg Ostvorpommern Parchim Rügen Uecker-Randow

Furthermore there are six independent urban districts:

1. Greifswald (HGW)
2. Neubrandenburg (NB)
3. Rostock (HRO)
4. Schwerin (SN)
5. Stralsund (HST)
6. Wismar (HWI)

[edit] District reform

In December 2003 a second administrative reform was started which will reorganise the state into five large districts (German: Großkreis) by 1 October 2009. In addition to the larger territory - and therefore larger political weight - the districts will also gain more responsibilities from the central government in Schwerin.

The five large districts will be:

• Westmecklenburg - (West Mecklenburg) - administrative centre: Schwerin
• Mittleres Mecklenburg (Central Mecklenburg) - administrative centre: Rostock
• Mecklenburgische Seenplatte (Lake District) - administrative centre: Neubrandenburg
• Nordvorpommern-Rügen (Northern Western Pomerania and Rügen) - administrative centre: Stralsund
• Südvorpommern (Southern Western Pomerania) - administrative centre: Greifswald

[edit] Culture

Over the centuries, Mecklenburg and Western Pomerania have developed and maintained strong regional cultures. It can generally be described as North German and has similar linguistic and historic characteristics to other north German states, such as Schleswig-Holstein. People in Vorpommern, as a result of Vorpommern being a former province of Prussia, tend to look slightly more towards Berlin and Brandenburg than people in Mecklenburg would.

[edit] Architecture

The cities are characterised by a certain "Hanseatic" style also found in other parts of Northern Germany (e.g. Lübeck) as well as in countries like Estonia (e.g. Tallinn) or Latvia (e.g. Riga). A common feature of many towns in Mecklenburg and Vorpommern is Gothic red brick churches dating back to the Middle Ages. The old towns are usually built around one or several market places with a church or the town hall. Often towns were founded at the Baltic Sea, one of the many Lakes or a river for reasons of trade.

[edit] Museums, art and theatres

Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania is home to many cultural events throughout the year. In addition to many regular museums and art galleries, Stralsund offers the very popular Deutsches Meeresmuseum (German Maritime Museum; the most popular museum in Northern Germany), Ribnitz-Damgarten the Deutsches Bernsteinmuseum (German Amber Museum).

During summer, many open air concerts and operas are open to visitors. The Festspiele Mecklenburg-Vorpommern (Music Festival of MV) attract a sizeable audience by performing classical concerts in parks, churches and castles.

Caspar David Friedrich, a famous romanticist painter born in Greifswald, eternalised parts of the state in several of his paintings.

[edit] Language

Wheras today the vast majority of people speak Standard German (also called High German), a few centuries ago most people spoke what is called Low German (German: Plattdeutsch or Niederdeutsch]]). It is not "low" in prestige, however, but rather originates in the geographically lower (northern) part of Germany.

Due to several sound shifts in Standard German which did not occur in Low German, Low German is rather distinct and is considered a separate language by some, a dialect of German by others. At its highpoint, the late Middle Ages, it was the lingua franca of the Hanseatic League, a trade organisation in northern Europe. More than 1500 years ago, "Old Low German" (also known as Old Saxon) was also the language spoken by the Anglo-Saxons, who originally came from northern Germany before leaving for England. That is why, there is often a closer similarity between English and Low German words than between English and Standard/High German words, for instance:

• English water = Low German water (High German: Wasser)
• English he = Low German hei (High German: er)

Low German is protected by the state's constitution and, similar to Welsh in Wales, taught at school and at university level. There is also a diverse Low German literature by such authors as Fritz Reuter or Rudolf Tarnow. Low German has also been recognised by the Netherlands and by Germany (since 1999) as a regional language according to the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. Within the official terminology defined in the charter, this status would not be available to a dialect of an official language. As a result of this, Germany would appear, therefore, to have at least implicitly adopted the stance that Low German is not a dialect of the German language, but rather a separate language.

[edit] Food and drinks

Like most German regions, Mecklenburg and Western Pomerania have their own traditional dishes, often including fish or pork. Rostock has its own type of bratwurst called Rostocker Bratwurst.

[edit] Religion

Following the Christian Reformation, led in Germany by Martin Luther, the traditional faith in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern is Protestantism. There are also a number of Catholics and people of other faiths. As a result of anti-Christian legislation and discrimination of the former communist GDR, more than three quarters of the population are now non-religious or agnostic.

[edit] Education

[edit] Schools

The state's school system is centralised. There are two main types of schools, Regionalschule (for the majority of pupils) and Gymnasium (for 20-30% of each year's students, leading to the university entrance qualification "Abitur"). Besides, there are also independent schools, comprehensive schools, and trade schools.

[edit] Universities & colleges

Mecklenburg-Vorpommern has two of the oldest universities of Germany, and indeed Northern Europe:

• Ernst Moritz Arndt University of Greifswald (est. 1456)
• University of Rostock (est 1419)

Also, there are four colleges / technological universities.

• Fachhochschule Stralsund
• Hochschule Wismar
• Hochschule Neubrandenburg
• Hochschule für Musik und Theater Rostock
• Baltic College Güstrow
• Fachhochschule für öffentliche Verwaltung, Rechtspflege und Polizei

[edit] Politics

[edit] Minister President

The Schwerin-based executive is led by a cabinet, in turn led by a Minister President, who is the official head of government.

Here is a list of minister presidents of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern (1945-1952: only Mecklenburg)

1. 1945 - 1951: Wilhelm Höcker (SED)
2. 1951: Kurt Bürger (SED)
3. 1951 - 1952: Bernhard Quandt
4. 1990 - 1992: Alfred Gomolka (CDU)
5. 1992 - 1998: Berndt Seite (CDU)
6. since 1998: Harald Ringstorff (SPD)

[edit] Parliament

See also: Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania state election, 2006

The last election of the state parliament (German: Landtag), located in the capital city Schwerin, took place on 17 September 2006. The five year term ends in 2011.

Party	Vote percentage	Total Seats
Social Democratic Party (SPD)	30.2%	23
Christian Democratic Union (CDU)	28.8%	22
Left Party	16.8%	13
Free Democratic Party (FDP)	9.6%	7
National Democratic Party (NPD)	7.3%	6
Alliance '90/The Greens	3.4%	0
All Others	3.9%	0
Totals	100.0%	71

[edit] Notable people

• arts and film: Caspar David Friedrich, Marianne Hoppe, Philipp Otto Runge
• business: Ernst Heinkel, Carl von Siemens, Georg Wertheim
• literature: John Brickman, Hans Fallada, Walter Kempowski, Fritz Reuter, Rudolf Tarnow, Ehm Welk
• politics: Ernst Moritz Arndt, Egon Krenz, Helmuth von Moltke the Elder, Harald Ringstorff
• science: Theodor Billroth, Gottlob Frege, Otto Lilienthal, Gustav Mie, Ferdinand von Mueller, Paul Pogge, Heinrich Schliemann
• sports: Tim Borowski, Thomas Doll, Marita Koch, Jan Ullrich

[edit] Miscellaneous

• Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania is the only state where the parliament meets in a castle, the Schwerin Castle.
• Famous romanticist painter Caspar David Friedrich was born in Greifswald.
• Gebhard Leberecht von Blücher, Generalfeldmarschall of the Prussian army at both the Battle of Leipzig and the Battle of Waterloo, was born in Rostock.
• Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania is Germany's number-one tourist location, the main destinations being the Baltic Sea coastline with islands such as Rügen or Usedom, spa towns like Heiligendamm, and the Mecklenburg Lake District.
• Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania is the least densely populated German state. The largest city is Rostock, followed by the state's capital Schwerin.
• Germany's oldest seaside spa (Seebad), Heiligendamm, was opened in 1793 by Grand Duke Friedrich Franz I of Mecklenburg-Schwerin and hosts the G8 Summit in 2007.
• The historic centres of Stralsund and Wismar are UNESCO World Heritage Sites.

[edit] External links

• official state portal (German, English, Polish)
• official tourism website (German, English, Chinese, Japanese, Swedish)