Grimmen (; csb, Grzëmié) is a town in
Vorpommern-Rügen
Vorpommern-Rügen is a district in the north of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany. It is bounded by (from the west and clockwise) the Baltic Sea and the districts Vorpommern-Greifswald, Mecklenburgische Seenplatte and Rostock. The district seat is ...
, a district in the
Bundesland Mecklenburg-Vorpommern
Mecklenburg-Vorpommern (MV; ; nds, Mäkelborg-Vörpommern), also known by its anglicized name Mecklenburg–Western Pomerania, is a state in the north-east of Germany. Of the country's sixteen states, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern ranks 14th in po ...
,
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
. Prior to 2011, when district reforms were made in
Mecklenburg-Vorpommern
Mecklenburg-Vorpommern (MV; ; nds, Mäkelborg-Vörpommern), also known by its anglicized name Mecklenburg–Western Pomerania, is a state in the north-east of Germany. Of the country's sixteen states, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern ranks 14th in po ...
, it was the capital of the now bygone
Nordvorpommern
Nordvorpommern ("North Western Pomerania") was a '' Kreis'' (district) in the northern part of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany. It was situated at the coast of the Baltic Sea, where it enclosed the city of Stralsund. Further to the northeast, sep ...
district, which was abolished and merged to create the district of
Vorpommern-Rügen
Vorpommern-Rügen is a district in the north of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany. It is bounded by (from the west and clockwise) the Baltic Sea and the districts Vorpommern-Greifswald, Mecklenburgische Seenplatte and Rostock. The district seat is ...
.
Geography
Grimmen is located in southeastern Nordvorpommern on the banks of the river
Trebel
Trebel is a municipality in the district Lüchow-Dannenberg, in Lower Saxony, Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russ ...
, about 30 km south of
Stralsund
Stralsund (; Swedish: ''Strålsund''), officially the Hanseatic City of Stralsund (German: ''Hansestadt Stralsund''), is the fifth-largest city in the northeastern German federal state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania after Rostock, Schwerin, Neub ...
and 30 km west of
Greifswald
Greifswald (), officially the University and Hanseatic City of Greifswald (german: Universitäts- und Hansestadt Greifswald, Low German: ''Griepswoold'') is the fourth-largest city in the German state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania after Rostoc ...
. The town is connected to the
Stralsund
Stralsund (; Swedish: ''Strålsund''), officially the Hanseatic City of Stralsund (German: ''Hansestadt Stralsund''), is the fifth-largest city in the northeastern German federal state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania after Rostock, Schwerin, Neub ...
-
Neustrelitz
Neustrelitz (; East Low German: ''Niegenstrelitz'') is a town in the Mecklenburgische Seenplatte district in the state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany. It is situated on the shore of the Zierker See in the Mecklenburg Lake District. From 1738 ...
-
Berlin
Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...
railways, and to
Autobahn
The (; German plural ) is the federal controlled-access highway system in Germany. The official German term is (abbreviated ''BAB''), which translates as 'federal motorway'. The literal meaning of the word is 'Federal Auto(mobile) Track'. ...
A 20. Adjacent to the city limits are
Amt
Amt is a type of administrative division governing a group of municipalities, today only in Germany, but formerly also common in other countries of Northern Europe. Its size and functions differ by country and the term is roughly equivalent to ...
Franzburg-Richtenberg in the West,
Amt Miltzow in the North, and the
Süderholz
Süderholz is a municipality in the Vorpommern-Rügen district, in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europ ...
municipality
A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate.
The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...
in the Southeast.
Villages within Grimmen's city limits
In addition to the town of Grimmen, the following villages are also within Grimmen's city limits:
* Appelshof
* Gerlachsruh
* Grellenberg
* Groß Lehmhagen
* Heidebrink
* Hohenwarth
* Hohenwieden
* Jessin
* Klein Lehmhagen
* Stoltenhagen
* Vietlipp
Neighbouring municipalities
Neighbouring municipalities, listed clockwise beginning in the North, are
Wittenhagen
Wittenhagen is a municipality in the Vorpommern-Rügen district, in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Euro ...
,
Wilmshagen,
Süderholz
Süderholz is a municipality in the Vorpommern-Rügen district, in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europ ...
,
Wendisch Baggendorf
Wendisch Baggendorf is a municipality in the Vorpommern-Rügen district, in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country ...
,
Splietsdorf
Splietsdorf is a Municipalities of Germany, municipality in the Vorpommern-Rügen district, in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany.
References
{{VorpommernRügen-geo-stub ...
,
Papenhagen
Papenhagen is a municipality in the Vorpommern-Rügen district, in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europ ...
.
History
Grimmen was founded during the
Ostsiedlung
(, literally "East-settling") is the term for the Early Medieval and High Medieval migration-period when ethnic Germans moved into the territories in the eastern part of Francia, East Francia, and the Holy Roman Empire (that Germans had al ...
, when about 1250 merchants and craftsman from
Lower Saxony
Lower Saxony (german: Niedersachsen ; nds, Neddersassen; stq, Läichsaksen) is a German state (') in northwestern Germany. It is the second-largest state by land area, with , and fourth-largest in population (8 million in 2021) among the 16 ...
,
Westphalia
Westphalia (; german: Westfalen ; nds, Westfalen ) is a region of northwestern Germany and one of the three historic parts of the state of North Rhine-Westphalia. It has an area of and 7.9 million inhabitants.
The territory of the regio ...
and the Lower
Rhine
), Surselva, Graubünden, Switzerland
, source1_coordinates=
, source1_elevation =
, source2 = Rein Posteriur/Hinterrhein
, source2_location = Paradies Glacier, Graubünden, Switzerland
, source2_coordinates=
, so ...
settled the site which then was part of the
Principality of Rügen
The Principality of Rügen; da, Fyrstendømmet Rygien; pl, Księstwo rugijskie; la, Rugia was a Danish principality, formerly a duchy, consisting of the island of Rügen and the adjacent mainland from 1168 until 1325. It was governed by a loc ...
. The first document mentioning Grimmens is of 1267. In 1287, a report mentions
Vogt
During the Middle Ages, an (sometimes given as modern English: advocate; German: ; French: ) was an office-holder who was legally delegated to perform some of the secular responsibilities of a major feudal lord, or for an institution such as ...
Berthold taking office in the town, and further mentions that Grimmen had already been granted
Lübeck law
The Lübeck law (german: Lübisches (Stadt)Recht) was the family of codified municipal law developed at Lübeck, which became a free imperial city in 1226 and is located in present day Schleswig-Holstein. It was the second most prevalent form of ...
before. The actual charter is lost, thus the exact date when the town received Lübeck law remains uncertain. Accordingly, the 700th anniversary was celebrated in 1987. Since 1325, Grimmen belonged to the
Duchy of Pomerania
The Duchy of Pomerania (german: Herzogtum Pommern; pl, Księstwo Pomorskie; Latin: ''Ducatus Pomeraniae'') was a duchy in Pomerania on the southern coast of the Baltic Sea, ruled by dukes of the House of Pomerania (''Griffins''). The country ha ...
.
During the
Thirty Years' War
The Thirty Years' War was one of the longest and most destructive conflicts in European history
The history of Europe is traditionally divided into four time periods: prehistoric Europe (prior to about 800 BC), classical antiquity (80 ...
, the town was looted several times. After the war, Grimmen became part of
Swedish Pomerania
Swedish Pomerania ( sv, Svenska Pommern; german: Schwedisch-Pommern) was a dominion under the Swedish Crown from 1630 to 1815 on what is now the Baltic coast of Germany and Poland. Following the Polish War and the Thirty Years' War, Sweden held ...
, a
dominion of the Swedish Empire
The Swedish Empire was a European great power that exercised territorial control over much of the Baltic region during the 17th and early 18th centuries ( sv, Stormaktstiden, "the Era of Great Power"). The beginning of the empire is usually ta ...
. From 1695 to 1697, mayor Johannes Flittner cruelly pursued alleged
witch
Witchcraft traditionally means the use of Magic (supernatural), magic or supernatural powers to harm others. A practitioner is a witch. In Middle Ages, medieval and early modern Europe, where the term originated, accused witches were usually ...
es; at least seven were executed. In 1797, a large fire destroyed almost the entire town. In 1800,
Swedish king
This is a list of Swedish kings, queens, regents and viceroys of the Kalmar Union.
History
The earliest record of what is generally considered to be a Swedish king appears in Tacitus' work ''Germania'', c. 100 AD (the king of the Suiones). Howe ...
Gustav IV Adolph
Gustav IV Adolf or Gustav IV Adolph (1 November 1778 – 7 February 1837) was King of Sweden from 1792 until he was deposed in a coup in 1809. He was also the last Swedish monarch to be the ruler of Finland.
The occupation of Finland in 1808–09 ...
visited Grimmen and resided in the so-called ''king's house''. Following the
Congress of Vienna
The Congress of Vienna (, ) of 1814–1815 was a series of international diplomatic meetings to discuss and agree upon a possible new layout of the European political and constitutional order after the downfall of the French Emperor Napoleon B ...
in 1815, Swedish Pomerania with Grimmen became part of the
Prussia
Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an em ...
n
Province of Pomerania. An administrative reform of 1816 made the town capital of a
Kreis. In 1853,
cholera
Cholera is an infection of the small intestine by some strains of the bacterium ''Vibrio cholerae''. Symptoms may range from none, to mild, to severe. The classic symptom is large amounts of watery diarrhea that lasts a few days. Vomiting and ...
broke out.
At the end
Second World War
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, Grimmen surrendered to the
Red Army
The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army (Russian: Рабо́че-крестья́нская Кра́сная армия),) often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic and, after ...
without fighting in April 1945. In the 1960s, numerous new factories and agricultural enterprises were set up, resulting in prosperity and physical growth of the city. After
East Germany
East Germany, officially the German Democratic Republic (GDR; german: Deutsche Demokratische Republik, , DDR, ), was a country that existed from its creation on 7 October 1949 until its dissolution on 3 October 1990. In these years the state ...
's Communist regime collapsed following
Die Wende
The Peaceful Revolution (german: Friedliche Revolution), as a part of the Revolutions of 1989, was the process of sociopolitical change that led to the opening of East Germany's borders with the West, the end of the ruling of the Socialist Unity ...
movement of 1989, the town's old buildings were reconstructed. After a reorganization of the
Kreis districts in 1994, Grimmen became capital of newly created
Vorpommern-Rügen
Vorpommern-Rügen is a district in the north of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany. It is bounded by (from the west and clockwise) the Baltic Sea and the districts Vorpommern-Greifswald, Mecklenburgische Seenplatte and Rostock. The district seat is ...
.
Demography
*1600 – approx. 1,000 inhabitants
*1712 – approx. 850 inhabitants
*1809 – 1,840 inhabitants
*1900 – 3,616 inhabitants
*1946 – 8,298 inhabitants
*1986 – approx. 15,000 inhabitants
*1990 – of 14,242 inhabitants
*1993 – 13,376 inhabitants
*2003 – 10,892 inhabitants
*2004 – 11,201 inhabitants
Twin towns – sister cities
Grimmen is
twinned with:
*
Châteaulin
Châteaulin (; br, Kastellin) is a commune in the Finistère department and administrative region of Brittany in north-western France. It is a sub-prefecture of the department.
Geography
Châteaulin is located in a valley towards the center of ...
, France
*
Czaplinek
Czaplinek (german: Tempelburg; csb, Czôplënkò) is a town in Drawsko County, West Pomeranian Voivodeship, Poland, with 7,012 inhabitants as of December 2021.
The former name of ''Tempelburg'' refers to the Templar Knights, which settled near ...
, Poland
*
Osterholz-Scharmbeck
Osterholz-Scharmbeck (; Northern Low Saxon: ''Oosterholt-Scharmbeek'') is a town and the capital of the district of Osterholz, in Lower Saxony, Germany. Osterholz-Scharmbeck is situated in between the cities of Bremen and Bremerhaven.
Geography ...
, Germany
*
Staffanstorp
Staffanstorp is a locality and the seat of Staffanstorp Municipality, Skåne County, Sweden with 14,808 inhabitants in 2010. Staffanstorp is the largest Scanian settlement never to acquire town privileges before 1971, when they were abolished in ...
, Sweden
Sights
Buildings
The oldest building of the town is St. Mary's church, built in 1267. Of the old fortifications, three
Brick Gothic
Brick Gothic (german: Backsteingotik, pl, Gotyk ceglany, nl, Baksteengotiek) is a specific style of Gothic architecture common in Northeast and Central Europe especially in the regions in and around the Baltic Sea, which do not have resourc ...
gates are still intact:
* ''Mühlentor'' ("mill gate", built ~1320)
* ''Stralsunder Tor ("
Stralsund
Stralsund (; Swedish: ''Strålsund''), officially the Hanseatic City of Stralsund (German: ''Hansestadt Stralsund''), is the fifth-largest city in the northeastern German federal state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania after Rostock, Schwerin, Neub ...
gate", built ~1320)
* ''Greifswalder Tor ("
Greifswald
Greifswald (), officially the University and Hanseatic City of Greifswald (german: Universitäts- und Hansestadt Greifswald, Low German: ''Griepswoold'') is the fourth-largest city in the German state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania after Rostoc ...
gate", built between 1350 and 1400).
Further sights are the city hall, built in
Brick Gothic
Brick Gothic (german: Backsteingotik, pl, Gotyk ceglany, nl, Baksteengotiek) is a specific style of Gothic architecture common in Northeast and Central Europe especially in the regions in and around the Baltic Sea, which do not have resourc ...
style around the year 1400, and the water tower, built in 1933.
Zoo
Grimmen's
zoo
A zoo (short for zoological garden; also called an animal park or menagerie) is a facility in which animals are kept within enclosures for public exhibition and often bred for Conservation biology, conservation purposes.
The term ''zoological g ...
holds more than 250 animals of 50 different kinds. The zoo opened in 1957 and also has a large variety in plants and green areas.
Notable people
*
Gottlieb Mohnike (1781–1841), pastor, philologist and translator
*
Heike Götz (born 1964), journalist
In Fiction
The first chapters of Denis Wheatley's WWII spy thriller "They used dark forces" are set in 1944 Grimmen, where Wheatley's British agent Gregory Sallust arrives on a secret mission in Nazi Germany.
References
External links
Grimmen.de - official website(German)
{{Authority control
Populated places established in the 13th century
1287 establishments in Europe