Mölln () is a town in

Schleswig-Holstein Schleswig-Holstein (; da, Slesvig-Holsten; nds, Sleswig-Holsteen; frr, Slaswik-Holstiinj) is the northernmost of the 16 states of Germany, comprising most of the historical duchy of Holstein and the southern part of the former Duchy of Sch ...

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 ...

. It is surrounded by several small lakes (Stadtsee, Schulsee, Ziegelsee, Hegesee, Schmalsee, Lütauer See, Drüsensee, and Pinnsee). The Elbe-Lübeck Canal flows through the town. Mölln belongs to the district of

Herzogtum Lauenburg Herzogtum Lauenburg ( en, Duchy of Lauenburg; ) is the southernmost ''Kreis'', or district, officially called Kreis Herzogtum Lauenburg (), of Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. It is bordered by (from the west and clockwise) the district of Stormarn ...

History

The town was founded in the 12th century. It rapidly became an important town, due to the

Old Salt Route The Old Salt Route was a medieval trade route in Northern Germany, one of the ancient network of salt roads which were used primarily for the transport of salt and other staples. In Germany it was referred to as ''Alte Salzstraße''. Salt was ...

, through which the salt produced in the salt mines of Lüneburg (Lower-Saxony) was shipped to the Baltic harbour of Lübeck, and the

Stecknitz Canal The Stecknitz Canal (german: Stecknitzfahrt) was an artificial waterway in northern Germany which connected Lauenburg and Lübeck on the Old Salt Route by linking the tiny rivers Stecknitz (a tributary of the Trave) and Delvenau (a tributary of ...

, which was a precursor of today's Elbe-Lübeck Canal. Although situated in the midst of the medieval duchy of Lauenburg, the town was mortgaged to the

Hanseatic The Hanseatic League (; gml, Hanse, , ; german: label=German language, Modern German, Deutsche Hanse) was a Middle Ages, medieval commercial and defensive confederation of merchant guilds and market towns in Central Europe, Central and Norther ...

town of

Lübeck Lübeck (; Low German also ), officially the Hanseatic City of Lübeck (german: Hansestadt Lübeck), is a city in Northern Germany. With around 217,000 inhabitants, Lübeck is the second-largest city on the German Baltic coast and in the stat ...

, which ruled Mölln from 1359 to 1683. Back from this time dates the Möllner Schützengilde von 1407 e.V. which was founded over 600 years ago and still exists today with almost 300 members. Mölln calls itself the Eulenspiegel town, because of

Till Eulenspiegel Till Eulenspiegel (; nds, Dyl Ulenspegel ) is the protagonist of a German chapbook published in 1515 (a first edition of ca. 1510/12 is preserved fragmentarily) with a possible background in earlier Middle Low German folklore. Eulenspiegel is ...

, a legendary trickster known for exposing vices and provoking thought. Eulenspiegel is said to have lived in

Braunschweig Braunschweig () or Brunswick ( , from Low German ''Brunswiek'' , Braunschweig dialect: ''Bronswiek'') is a city in Lower Saxony, Germany, north of the Harz Mountains at the farthest navigable point of the river Oker, which connects it to the Nor ...

(''Brunswick''), but his last year of life he allegedly resided in Mölln. He died from the

plague Plague or The Plague may refer to: Agriculture, fauna, and medicine *Plague (disease), a disease caused by ''Yersinia pestis'' * An epidemic of infectious disease (medical or agricultural) * A pandemic caused by such a disease * A swarm of pes ...

in 1350. Although his existence is not proven, there are several monuments to him in Mölln. In 1992, right-wing extremists set fire to Turkish-inhabited houses, killing three girls.Arson Attack in Mölln (November 28, 1992)
German History Institute, n.d. retrieved 4 December 2017

Twin cities

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 ...

, Germany, since October 2, 1990 *

Maszewo Maszewo (; formerly german: Massow) is a town in Goleniów County, West Pomeranian Voivodeship, Poland, with 3,062 inhabitants (2004). See also History of Pomerania The history of Pomerania starts shortly before 1000 AD with ongoing conquest ...

(gmina, West Pomeranian), Poland, since June 29, 1992.

References

Towns in Schleswig-Holstein Herzogtum Lauenburg {{HerzogtumLauenburg-geo-stub