The Mecklenburg Railway Company (german: Mecklenburgische Eisenbahngesellschaft) was founded in 1845 to build a railway line from

Hagenow Hagenow () is a German town in the southwest of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, in the district of Ludwigslust-Parchim, 30 kilometers south of Schwerin. Its population is approximately 11,300 inhabitants (2013). Hagenow is part of the Hamburg Met ...

Rostock Rostock (), officially the Hanseatic and University City of Rostock (german: link=no, Hanse- und Universitätsstadt Rostock), is the largest city in the German state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and lies in the Mecklenburgian part of the state, ...

and to

Güstrow Güstrow (; la, Gustrovium) is a town in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany. It is capital of the Rostock district; Rostock itself is a district-free city and regiopolis. It has a population of 28,999 (2020) and is the seventh largest town in M ...

, now in the German state 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 ...

. It was nationalised in 1873 and combined with the

Grand Duchy of Mecklenburg Friedrich-Franz Railway The Grand Duchy of Mecklenburg Friedrich-Franz Railway (''Großherzoglich Mecklenburgische Friedrich-Franz-Eisenbahn'' or ''M.F.F.E.'') was the state railway company in Mecklenburg-Schwerin and Mecklenburg-Strelitz. After its second nationalisati ...

History

The planning 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 ...

n Berlin–Hamburg line from 1841 inspired the

Grand Duchy of Mecklenburg-Schwerin The Grand Duchy of Mecklenburg-Schwerin was a territory in Northern Germany held by the House of Mecklenburg residing at Schwerin. It was a sovereign member state of the German Confederation and became a federated state of the North German Con ...

to develop projects for its own network. On 25 February 1846, three companies founded in the previous year, the ''Schwerin-Wismar Railway Company'' (''Schwerin-Wismarsche Eisenbahn-Gesellschaft''), the ''Hagenow-Schwerin-Rostock Railway Company'' (''Hagenow-Schwerin-Rostocker Eisenbahn-Gesellschaft'') and the ''Güstrow-Bützow Railway Company'' (''Güstrow-Bützower Eisenbahn-Gesellschaft''), combined to form the ''Mecklenburg Railway Company''. On 10 March 1846 the Company received a concession to build a railway from Hagenow via

Schwerin Schwerin (; Mecklenburgian Low German: ''Swerin''; Latin: ''Suerina'', ''Suerinum'') is the capital and second-largest city of the northeastern German state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern as well as of the region of Mecklenburg, after Rostock. It ...

to Wismar as well as from Bad Kleinen via

Bützow Bützow is a town in the district of Rostock in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern in north-eastern Germany, centered on Bützower See. History The town was first mentioned in 1171. From 1815 to 1918 Bützow was part of the Grand Duchy of Mecklenburg-Schw ...

to Rostock and Güstrow. On 1 May 1847, the section between Hagenow and Schwerin was put into operation. On 12 July 1848, the line to Wismar was completed. Finally, on 13 May 1850, the lines to Rostock and to Güstrow were opened.

References

* {{cite book, first= Lothar , last=Schultz, title = Die Eisenbahnen in Mecklenburg, publisher= transpess, location= Berlin, ISBN = 3-344-00068-3, year= 1986, language=German Defunct railway companies of Germany Railway lines in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania