The Mecklenburg Lake Plateau or Mecklenburg Lakeland
- Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology (German: ''Mecklenburger / Mecklenburgische Seenplatte'' or ''Seenland'') is the largest coherent lake and canal region in Germany and is sometimes called "the land of a thousand lakes". There are several nature parks
A nature park, or sometimes natural park, is a designation for a protected natural area by means of long-term land planning, sustainable resource management and limitation of agricultural and real estate developments. These valuable landscapes ...
and well-known lakes with unique flora
Flora is all the plant life present in a particular region or time, generally the naturally occurring (indigenous) native plants. Sometimes bacteria and fungi are also referred to as flora, as in the terms '' gut flora'' or '' skin flora''.
E ...
and fauna
Fauna is all of the animal life present in a particular region or time. The corresponding term for plants is ''flora'', and for fungi, it is '' funga''. Flora, fauna, funga and other forms of life are collectively referred to as '' biota''. Zoo ...
in the region, such as the Müritz
The Müritz (; from Slavic "little sea") is a lake in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, northern Germany. Its area is , which makes it the second largest lake in Germany (after Lake Constance) and the largest lake located entirely within German territory ...
, the biggest German lake lying entirely within Germany, the Plauer See, the Fleesensee
Fleesensee is a lake in the Mecklenburgische Seenplatte district in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany. At an elevation of , its surface area is .
The lake is both fed and drained by the Elde
The Elde () is a river in northern Germany (Mecklenburg- ...
, the Tollensesee
Tollensesee is a ''zungenbecken'' lake in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany. It belongs to the Mecklenburg Lake District. At an elevation of 14.8 m, its surface area is 17.4 km². Its maximum depth is about 33 m. The lake is 10.4 km long an ...
, the Schmaler Luzin
Schmaler Luzin ()is a lake in the Mecklenburgische Seenplatte 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 ...
and the Kölpinsee
Kölpinsee is a lake in the Mecklenburgische Seenplatte district in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany. At an elevation of , its surface area is .
The marshy shore of the lake was the probable site of the crash of Avro Lancaster
The Avro Lancas ...
.
Important towns of the region are Neubrandenburg
Neubrandenburg (lit. ''New Brandenburg'', ) is a city in the southeast of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany. It is located on the shore of a lake called Tollensesee and forms the urban centre of the Mecklenburg Lakeland.
The city is famous for its ...
, 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 ...
, Waren, Röbel
Röbel () is a municipality in the Mecklenburgische Seenplatte district, in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Germany. It is situated on the western shore of Lake Müritz, 25 km north of Wittstock, and 27 km southwest of Waren. It is pa ...
, Teterow
Teterow () is a town of Germany, in the district of Rostock, in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. It is the geographical center of this federal state. It had a population of 8,852 in 2011.
History
The ''Stadtkirche St. Peter und Paul'' (St. Pete ...
, Malchow
Malchow () is a municipality in the Mecklenburgische Seenplatte district, in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Germany.
Geography
It is situated on the river Elde, 25,5 km west of Waren, and 35 km north of Wittstock.
History
The site ...
, Mirow
Mirow () is a town in the district of Mecklenburgische Seenplatte in southern Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany.
Name (Etymology)
"Mir" in Slavonic languages means "peace" or "glory". The name "Mirow" was derived from "villa mirowe", translating a ...
and Plau am See
Plau am See () is a town in the Ludwigslust-Parchim district, in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Germany. It is situated 28 km east of Parchim, and 29 km west of Waren.
Around 1235 the city was called Plawe, that being the Polabian fi ...
.
Geography
The Mecklenburg Lake District is situated in the central and southern part of the state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania
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 ...
, mostly in historical region of Mecklenburg
Mecklenburg (; nds, label=Low German, Mękel(n)borg ) is a historical region in northern Germany comprising the western and larger part of the federal-state Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. The largest cities of the region are Rostock, Schwerin ...
. In the south it crosses the border of the state Brandenburg
Brandenburg (; nds, Brannenborg; dsb, Bramborska ) is a states of Germany, state in the northeast of Germany bordering the states of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Lower Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, and Saxony, as well as the country of Poland. With an ar ...
. Hence it is also known as the ''Mecklenburg-Brandenburg Lake District''.
Like the Pomeranian and Masurian lake plateaux, the Mecklenburg Lake District was formed about 12,000 years ago from the glacial meltwater valley
An ''urstromtal'' (plural: ''Urstromtäler'') is a type of broad glacial valley, for example, in northern Central Europe, that appeared during the ice ages, or individual glacial periods of an ice age, at the edge of the Scandinavian ice sheet and ...
s (''urstromtäler
An ''urstromtal'' (plural: ''Urstromtäler'') is a type of broad glacial valley, for example, in northern Central Europe, that appeared during the ice ages, or individual glacial periods of an ice age, at the edge of the Scandinavian ice sheet and ...
'') and sandar of the last ice age
An ice age is a long period of reduction in the temperature of Earth's surface and atmosphere, resulting in the presence or expansion of continental and polar ice sheets and alpine glaciers. Earth's climate alternates between ice ages and gree ...
. The main terminal moraine
A terminal moraine, also called end moraine, is a type of moraine that forms at the terminal (edge) of a glacier, marking its maximum advance. At this point, debris that has accumulated by plucking and abrasion, has been pushed by the front edge ...
of the Pomeranian stage of the Weichselian, the ridge that runs from Eberswalde-Chorin through Feldberg, Mecklenburg Switzerland
Mecklenburg Switzerland (german: Mecklenburgische Schweiz) is a landscape in the middle of the German state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, north of the Mecklenburg Lake District and immediately northwest of Lake Malchin and Lake Kummerow. The region ...
to the Kühlung ridge near Kühlungsborn
Kühlungsborn () is a ''Seebad'' (seaside resort) town in the Rostock district, in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany. It is situated on the Baltic Sea coast, 11 km northwest of Bad Doberan, and 25 km northwest of Rostock.
The town has an ...
, borders the lakeland to the north.
The lakeland can be roughly divided as follows:
On Brandenburg territory the lakeland continues into the Uckermark
The Uckermark () is a historical region in northeastern Germany, straddles the Uckermark (district), Uckermark District of Brandenburg and the Vorpommern-Greifswald District of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. Its traditional capital is Prenzlau.
Geogra ...
and Rheinsberg Lake Region
The Rheinsberg Lake Region (german: Rheinsberger Seengebiet) with its many great and small lakes, lies in the richly-varied, gently rolling, forested countryside between the villages of Rheinsberg, Menz and Fürstenberg/Havel in the north Germa ...
.
The area in and around the Mecklenburg Lake District is partly hilly but mostly flat, sparsely populated and mainly covered by forests, lakes and marshes. The lakes themselves are popular for recreation, boating, fishing and several water sport activities. They are a natural habitat for numerous plants and animals, including endangered species.
History
The lakeland was already settled around 10,000 B.C. by huntsmen and fishermen. From 4,000 B.C. the first farming communities were established, leaving behind megalithic tomb
A megalith is a large stone that has been used to construct a prehistoric structure or monument, either alone or together with other stones. There are over 35,000 in Europe alone, located widely from Sweden to the Mediterranean sea.
The ...
s.
In the 4th and 5th centuries, the Germanic settlers of the region migrated south and were replaced from the 7th century by West Slavs
The West Slavs are Slavic peoples who speak the West Slavic languages. They separated from the common Slavic group around the 7th century, and established independent polities in Central Europe by the 8th to 9th centuries. The West Slavic langu ...
(historically known as Wends
Wends ( ang, Winedas ; non, Vindar; german: Wenden , ; da, vendere; sv, vender; pl, Wendowie, cz, Wendové) is a historical name for Slavs living near Germanic settlement areas. It refers not to a homogeneous people, but to various peopl ...
), who intermingled with the population that had stayed behind.
From the 12th century, the influence of German settlers increased.
For a few years the area was a member of the European Geoparks Network
The European Geoparks Network (EGN) functions as the regional organization of the Global Geoparks Network (GGN) and the UNESCO International Geosciences and Geoparks Programme (UNESCO-IGGP). Its main objective is to ensure cooperation between geop ...
and the Global Network of National Geoparks
UNESCO Global Geoparks (UGGp) are geoparks certified by the UNESCO Global Geoparks Council as meeting all the requirements for belonging to the Global Geoparks Network (GGN). The GGN is both a network of geoparks and the agency of the United Nati ...
but as at 2011 it no longer possesses that status.
Natural regions
The designated natural regions in the Mecklenburg Lake District are the Müritz National Park
The Müritz National Park (german: Müritz-Nationalpark) is a national park situated roughly in the middle between Berlin and Rostock, in the south of the German state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. It extends over large portions of the Müritz lake ...
, with Germany's second-largest lake, as well as the wildlife reserves of Feldberg Lake District Nature Park, Mecklenburg Switzerland and Lake Kummerow Nature Park and the Nossentiner/Schwinzer Heath Nature Park.[Tourismusverband »Mecklenburgische Seenplatte« e. V]
Land of a thousand lakes.
Retrieved 4 December 2006.
See also
* :Lakes of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern
References
[
Emil Meynen, Josef Schmithüsen et al: '']Handbuch der naturräumlichen Gliederung Deutschlands
The ''Handbook of Natural Region Divisions of Germany'' (german: Handbuch der naturräumlichen Gliederung Deutschlands) was a book series resulting from a project by the former German Federal Institute for Regional Studies ('' Bundesanstalt für La ...
.'' Bundesanstalt für Landeskunde, Remagen/Bad Godesberg, 1953–1962 (9 issues in 8 books, updated map at 1:1,000,000 scale with major units, 1960).
External links
Mecklenburg Lakes - Land of a thousand lakes
{{Authority control
Regions of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania
Geography of Mecklenburg
North German Plain