Ludwigslust () is a central castle town of

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 ...

, 40 km south of

Schwerin Schwerin (; Mecklenburgisch dialect, Mecklenburgian Low German: ''Swerin''; Latin: ''Suerina'', ''Suerinum'') is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Germany, second-largest city of the northeastern States of Germany, German ...

. Since 2011 it has been part of the

Ludwigslust-Parchim Ludwigslust-Parchim is a district in the west of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany. It is bordered by (clockwise starting from the west) the state Schleswig-Holstein, the district Nordwestmecklenburg, the district-free city Schwerin, the districts R ...

district. Ludwigslust is part of the Hamburg Metropolitan Region. The former royal residential town is known for its rich heritage, especially the famed

Ludwigslust Palace Ludwigslust Palace (german: Schloss Ludwigslust) is a stately home or '' schloss'' in the town of Ludwigslust, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, northern Germany. It was built as a hunting lodge, rebuilt as a luxurious retreat from the ducal capital, Schwer ...

, known as ''Versailles of the North''.

History

In 1724

Prince Ludwig A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. Th ...

, the son of Frederick, Duke of Mecklenburg, decided to build a hunting lodge near a small hamlet called Klenow. Later, after his succession to the Dukedom, this became his favourite residence and he named it accordingly ''Ludwigslust'' ("Ludwig's pleasure/desire"). In 1765 Ludwigslust became the capital of the duchy in place of Schwerin. The town was enlarged by a residential palace (the castle). This situation continued until 1837, when Grand Duke Paul Friedrich returned the capital status to Schwerin. The

Wöbbelin concentration camp Wöbbelin was a subcamp of the Neuengamme concentration camp near the city of Ludwigslust. The SS had established Wöbbelin to house concentration camp prisoners whom the SS had evacuated from other camps to prevent their liberation by the Al ...

—sometimes referred to as ''Ludwigslust concentration camp''—was established by the SS near the city of Ludwigslust in 1945. At the end of World War II, as the

Line of contact The Line of Contact marked the farthest advance of American, British, French, and Soviet armies into German controlled territory at the end of World War II in Europe. In general a "line of contact" refers to the demarcation between two or m ...

between Soviet and other Allied forces formed, Ludwigslust was captured by British troops initially, then handed over to American troops. After several months the US troops departed and allowed Soviet troops to enter under the Yalta agreement designating the occupation of Mecklenburg to be administered by the Soviets.

Sights

Schloss Ludwigslust Ludwigslust Palace (german: Schloss Ludwigslust) is a stately home or ''schloss'' in the town of Ludwigslust, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, northern Germany. It was built as a hunting lodge, rebuilt as a luxurious retreat from the ducal capital, Schweri ...

, a

Baroque The Baroque (, ; ) is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese empires including t ...

residential palace built in 1772–1776, according to plans by

Johann Joachim Busch Johann, typically a male given name, is the German form of ''Iohannes'', which is the Latin form of the Greek name ''Iōánnēs'' (), itself derived from Hebrew name '' Yochanan'' () in turn from its extended form (), meaning "Yahweh is Gracious ...

. It is called the "Little Versailles of Mecklenburg". The palace is in the middle of the palace garden (Schlosspark), a vast park (120 ha.) in the English style, with canals, fountains and artificial cascades. * The ''Stadtkirche'' (Municipal- / City-Church), built in 1765–1770 in Neoclassical style with

sway. Its classical design, with a

portico A portico is a porch leading to the entrance of a building, or extended as a colonnade, with a roof structure over a walkway, supported by columns or enclosed by walls. This idea was widely used in ancient Greece and has influenced many cult ...

resting on six

doric Doric may refer to: * Doric, of or relating to the Dorians of ancient Greece ** Doric Greek, the dialects of the Dorians * Doric order, a style of ancient Greek architecture * Doric mode, a synonym of Dorian mode * Doric dialect (Scotland) * Doric ...

columns, gives the church an appearance similar to a Greek temple.

Transport

Ludwigslust railway station Ludwigslust (german: Bahnhof Ludwigslust) is a railway station in the town of Ludwigslust in the German state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. The station was opened in 1846 and lies on the Berlin–Hamburg Railway, the Ludwigslust–Wismar railway, the ...

is served by

ICE Ice is water frozen into a solid state, typically forming at or below temperatures of 0 degrees Celsius or Depending on the presence of impurities such as particles of soil or bubbles of air, it can appear transparent or a more or less opaq ...

, EC, IC and RE services.

Twin towns — sister cities

Ludwigslust is twinned with: * Ahrensburg, Germany * Muscatine, United States *

Kamskoye Ustye Kamskoye Ustye (russian: Ка́мское У́стье; tt-Cyrl, Кама Тамагы, ''Qama Tamağı'') is an urban locality (an urban-type settlement) and the administrative center of Kamsko-Ustyinsky District in the Republic of Tatarstan, Ru ...

, Russia

Notable people

Frederick Louis, Hereditary Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin , house =House of Mecklenburg , father =Frederick Francis I, Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin , mother =Princess Louise of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg , birth_date = , birth_place =Ludwigslust, Mecklenburg-Schwerin , de ...

(1778–1819), Hereditary Prince of Mecklenburg, Hereditary Grand Duke of Mecklenburg in Mecklenburg-Schwerin, member of the House of Mecklenburg-Schwerin *

Rudolph Suhrlandt Rudolph Friedrich Carl Suhrlandt (19 December 1781, in Ludwigslust – 2 February 1862, in Schwerin) was a German portrait painter and lithographer. Biography His father, Johann Heinrich Suhrlandt, was a court painter for Grand Duke Fredrick ...

(1781–1862), portrait painter and lithographer *

Duchess Charlotte Frederica of Mecklenburg-Schwerin Danish: ''Charlotte Frederikke'' , spouse = , issue = Frederick VII of Denmark , house = Mecklenburg-Schwerin , father = Frederick Francis I, Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin , mother = Louise of Saxe-Gotha-A ...

(1784–1840), duchess of Mecklenburg; Crown Princess of Denmark *

Franz Passow Franz Ludwig Carl Friedrich Passow (20 September 1786 – 11 March 1833) was a German classical scholar and lexicographer. Biography He was born at Ludwigslust in the Duchy of Mecklenburg-Schwerin. In 1807 he was appointed to the professorship of ...

(1786–1833), classical philologist * Ludwig von Lützow (politician) (1793–1872), Mecklenburg statesman and politician *

Paul Frederick, Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin Paul Friedrich (15 September 1800 – 7 March 1842) ruled as Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin from 1837 to 1842. Biography He was born in Ludwigslust the son of Friedrich Ludwig, Hereditary Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin and Grand Duc ...

(1800–1842), Grand Duke of Mecklenburg *

Franz Benque Franz Benque (12 March 1841 – 30 March 1921), known in Brazil as Francisco Benque, was a German photographer. Biography Son of a professor, Benque was born in Ludwigslust, nowadays, a city located in the Ludwigslust-Parchim district in Meckle ...

(1841–1921), photographer *

Ludwig Beissner Ludwig Beissner (6 July 1843 – 21 December 1927) was a German horticulturalist and dendrologist born in Ludwigslust, Mecklenburg-Schwerin. From 1887 to 1913, Beissner was inspector of the botanical gardens of Bonn. He was an author of a popular ...

(1843–1927), botanist *

Frederick Francis III, Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin Frederick Francis III (german: Friedrich Franz Paul Nikolaus Ernst Heinrich; 19 March 1851 – 10 April 1897) was the penultimate Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin. Biography He was born in Schloss Ludwigslust as the son of Frederick Francis II, ...

(1851–1897), Grand Duke of Mecklenburg in Mecklenburg-Schwerin *

Duke Paul Frederick of Mecklenburg Duke Paul Frederick of Mecklenburg (german: Herzog Paul Friedrich zu Mecklenburg; 19 September 1852 – 17 May 1923) was a member of the House of Mecklenburg-Schwerin and general of the Mecklenburg cavalry. Life Duke Paul Frederick was born i ...

(1852–1923), Duke of Mecklenburg, General of the Cavalry *

Duchess Marie of Mecklenburg-Schwerin Duchess Marie of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, later Grand Duchess Maria Pavlovna "Miechen" of Russia (Russian: Мари́я Па́вловна; 14 May Old_Style_and_New_Style_dates">O.S._2_May.html" ;"title="Old_Style_and_New_Style_dates.html" ;"titl ...

(1854–1920), Grand Duchess of Russia *

Johannes Gillhoff Johannes Heinrich Carl Christian Gillhoff (May 24, 1861 – January 16, 1930) was a German teacher and author. Early life and teaching Gillhof was born in Glaisin in Mecklenburg-Schwerin. He followed in his father's profession as a teacher. ...

(1861–1930), teacher, folklorist and writer (born in Glaisin) *

Duke Christian Louis of Mecklenburg , house = Mecklenburg-Schwerin , father = Frederick Francis IV, Grand Duke of Mecklenburg , mother = Princess Alexandra of Hanover , birth_date = , birth_place = Ludwigslust, Mecklenburg-Schwerin , death_date = ...

(1912–1996), nobleman, head of the house Mecklenburg *

Annelies Burmeister Annelies Burmeister (25 November 1928 in Ludwigslust – 16 June 1988 in Berlin) was a German contralto and actress. Burmeister studied at the Hochschule für Musik in Weimar. She was a member of the Deutsche Oper in Berlin and made severa ...

(1928–1988), singer *

Manfred Osten Manfred Osten (born 19 January 1938 in Ludwigslust) is a German poet, author, lawyer, former diplomat and cultural historian. Biography He escaped to the Federal Republic of Germany in 1952. In 1969, he earned a doctorate upon the completion of ...

(born 1938), author and cultural historian *

Bernd Spier Bernd Spier (6 April 1944 – 30 December 2017) was a German schlager singer and record producer. He later was a real estate broker. Biography Spier was born in Ludwigslust, Mecklenburg and is the son of Robby Spier, who was the conductor of ...

(born 1944), crooner *

Christoph Biemann Christoph Biemann (born 6 August 1952) is a German writer, director and producer and one of the presenters of the award-winning children's television show, '' Die Sendung mit der Maus''. Also known as ''Die Maus'' ("The Mouse"), it has been on the a ...

(born 1952), author, director and television supporter *

Helmut Holter Helmut Holter (born 22 May 1953 in Ludwigslust) is a German politician of the party The Left (Germany), The Left. From 1998 to 2006 he was Minister for Labor and Construction of the German state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. From April 2009 to Septe ...

(born 1953), politician *

Birgit Jerschabek Birgit Jerschabek-Keipke (born 17 May 1969) is a retired Germany, (East) German long-distance runner. She was born in Ludwigslust. As a junior, she won the 10,000 metrees at the 1987 European Athletics Junior Championships, 1987 European Junior C ...

(born 1969), long-distance runner * Bastian Reinhardt (born 1975), footballer

References

External links

official site (town)

official site (county)

The Embracing Forest
An American visits Ludwigslust and vicinity in 2005 and finds more history than he expected. {{Authority control Populated places established in the 18th century Cities and towns in Mecklenburg Ludwigslust-Parchim Populated places established in 1765 Grand Duchy of Mecklenburg-Schwerin