Mecklenburg Castle was a medieval
castle
A castle is a type of fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by military orders. Scholars debate the scope of the word ''castle'', but usually consider it to be the private fortified r ...
and a residential capital of the
Nakonid The Nakonids were the leading noble family of the Slavic peoples of the Elbe River from ca. 960 until 1129. They were themselves of Obotrite origin and engineered the formation of a Slavic principality in the region. They became extinct in the male ...
and
Nikloting
The House of Mecklenburg, also known as Nikloting, is a North German dynasty of Slavic origin that ruled until 1918 in the Mecklenburg region, being among the longest-ruling families of Europe. Queen Juliana of the Netherlands (1909–2004), fo ...
dynasties of the
Obotrites. It was located just south of the modern village
Dorf Mecklenburg, seven
[Herrmann, p. 189.] kilometres (4 miles) south of the
Bay of Wismar
The Bay of WismarKohl, Horst; Marcinek, Joachim and Nitz, Bernhard (1986). ''Geography of the German Democratic Republic'', VEB Hermann Haack, Gotha, p. 47. . or more commonly Wismar Bay or ''Wismarbucht'' is a well sheltered multi-sectioned bay ...
in
Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany. The only remnants of the
ruined
Ruins () are the remains of a civilization's architecture. The term refers to formerly intact structures that have fallen into a state of partial or total disrepair over time due to a variety of factors, such as lack of maintenance, deliberate ...
castle are parts of an earthen wall. Some scholars have associated Mecklenburg with the medieval trading emporium
Reric
Reric or Rerik was one of the Viking Age multi-ethnic Slavic- Scandinavian emporia on the southern coast of the Baltic Sea, located near Wismar in the present-day German state of Mecklenburg-VorpommernOle Harck, Christian Lübke, Zwischen Reri ...
.
Etymology
The travelling merchant
Ibrahim Ibn Jacub described Mecklenburg as “
Nakon Nako, Nakon, Nakko, or Nacco (flourished 954 – c. 966) was an Obotrite leader who, along with his brother Stoigniew, led the forces of a Slavic confederacy in a revolt against the Germans, especially Herman Billung, Duke of Saxony. Małecki, ...
’s Castle” in 965. By 995 it was documented as ''Michelenburg''
[Herrmann, p. 188.] or ''Mikelenburg'', meaning "large castle" in
Low German. In
Latin, it was known as ''Magnopolis''. The later duchy and region of
Mecklenburg derives its name from the castle. The probable
Slavic name, ''Veligrad'' also (“great” or “large castle”).
was commemorated in a new
Schloss Wiligrad built between 1896 and 1898 for
Duke John Albert of Mecklenburg
Duke John Albert of Mecklenburg (german: Herzog Johann Albrecht zu Mecklenburg; given names ''John Albert Ernest Constantine Frederick Henry''; 8 December 1857 – 16 February 1920) was a member of the House of Mecklenburg-Schwerin who served as ...
.
History
Excavations indicate that the first castle of Mecklenburg was built in the 7th or 8th century in a lowland at the tip of a lakeland peninsula. It was possibly the Obotrite residence of
Reric
Reric or Rerik was one of the Viking Age multi-ethnic Slavic- Scandinavian emporia on the southern coast of the Baltic Sea, located near Wismar in the present-day German state of Mecklenburg-VorpommernOle Harck, Christian Lübke, Zwischen Reri ...
, destroyed in 808. If associated with Reric, merchants were at the castle by the beginning of the 9th century.
Significant market traffic would have developed in the 10th century.; a number of silver artifacts have been found in the vicinity of the ruins.
The castle of Mecklenburg became a seat of Obotrite princes by the 10th century at the latest. It lay on a route from
Hamburg to
Wolin, assuring the castle importance as an economic and political center. The powerful Obotrite prince resided in the castle by 965.
The castle flourished as the residence of the
Christian prince
Gottschalk (ruled 1043–1066) and the seat of the
Irish
Irish may refer to:
Common meanings
* Someone or something of, from, or related to:
** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe
***Éire, Irish language name for the isle
** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...
bishop
John of
Mecklenburg; the castle contained churches and three monasteries by 1066. During a widespread
pagan rebellion later that year, Gottschalk was killed and his family fled from Mecklenburg Castle. The head of Bishop John was displayed at the pagan center of
Rethra
Rethra (also known as ''Radagoszcz'', ''Radegost'', ''Radigast'', ''Redigast'', ''Radgosc'' and other forms like ''Ruthengost'') was, in the 10th to the 12th centuries, the main town and political center of the Slavic Redarians, one of the four ...
.
Henry, a younger son of Gottschalk, avenged his father's death by killing the pagan usurper
Kruto
Kruto the Wende (or Cruto) (died 1093), son of Grin or Grinus, was a prince of Wagria.Joachim Herrmann, ''Die Slawen in Deutschland'' (Berlin: Akademie-Verlag, 1985), 366. James Westfall Thompson believed his family belonged to the Rani of Rugia ...
in 1093. However, he chose as his residence
Liubice Liubice, also known by the German name Alt-Lübeck ("Old Lübeck"), was a medieval West Slavic settlement near the site of modern Lübeck, Germany. Liubice was located at the confluence of the Schwartau with the Trave across from Teerhof Island, ...
, which was near the borders of the
Wagri
The Wagri, Wagiri, or Wagrians were a tribe of Polabian Slavs inhabiting Wagria, or eastern Holstein in northern Germany, from the ninth to twelfth centuries. They were a constituent tribe of the Obodrite confederacy.
In the Slavic uprisings of 9 ...
ans,
Polabians
Polabian Slavs ( dsb, Połobske słowjany, pl, Słowianie połabscy, cz, Polabští slované) is a collective term applied to a number of Lechitic ( West Slavic) tribes who lived scattered along the Elbe river in what is today eastern German ...
, and Obotrites, instead of Mecklenburg Castle, which was in the heart of the Obotrite territory. The castle also began to lose its prominence as the
Kingdom of Germany
The Kingdom of Germany or German Kingdom ( la, regnum Teutonicorum "kingdom of the Germans", "German kingdom", "kingdom of Germany") was the mostly Germanic-speaking East Frankish kingdom, which was formed by the Treaty of Verdun in 843, espec ...
began
expanding eastward.
As part of Duke
Henry the Lion of
Saxony’s expansionary goals, the Archbishop of
Bremen
Bremen ( Low German also: ''Breem'' or ''Bräm''), officially the City Municipality of Bremen (german: Stadtgemeinde Bremen, ), is the capital of the German state Free Hanseatic City of Bremen (''Freie Hansestadt Bremen''), a two-city-state con ...
placed a bishop named Emmehard at Mecklenburg in 1149, as the bishopric had been vacant since 1066. In 1160 King
Valdemar the Great
Valdemar I (14 January 1131 – 12 May 1182), also known as Valdemar the Great ( da, Valdemar den Store), was King of Denmark from 1154 until his death in 1182. The reign of King Valdemar I saw the rise of Denmark, which reached its medieval zen ...
of
Denmark and Henry the Lion campaigned against the Obotrite prince,
Niklot, who burned his castles at
Ilow, Mecklenburg,
Schwerin, and
Dobin
Dobin am See is a municipality in the Ludwigslust-Parchim district, in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany.
Villages
#Alt Schlagsdorf
#Buchholz
#Flessenow
#Liessow
#Neu Schlagsdorf
#Retgendorf
#Rubow
History
The community of Dobin am See has exist ...
in order to avoid being pinned down in sieges. Niklot was ultimately killed at
Werle {{Infobox country
, native_name = ''Herrschaft Werle'' ( de)
, conventional_long_name = Lordship of Werle
, common_name = Werle
, era = Middle Ages
, status = Vassal
, empire = ...
during the campaign, however, and the Obotrite territory was partitioned between Saxon
ministeriales
The ''ministeriales'' (singular: ''ministerialis'') were a class of people raised up from serfdom and placed in positions of power and responsibility in the High Middle Ages in the Holy Roman Empire.
The word and its German translations, ''Minist ...
; Mecklenburg Castle passed to Count
Heinrich von Schaten. The
Bishopric of Mecklenburg
In church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop.
History
In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided provinces were administratively associate ...
was replaced by the
Bishopric of Schwerin
The Diocese and Prince-bishopric of Schwerin was a Catholic diocese in Schwerin, Mecklenburg, in Germany. The first registered bishop was ordained in the diocese in 1053, and the diocese ceased to exist in 1994.
Pre-Reformation Catholic (prince ...
in the same year.
Niklot's son
Pribislav led a Slavic rebellion in 1163 against Henry the Lion and the German lords occupying Obotrite castles. Although Pribislav sacked Mecklenburg in 1164, the rebellion was eventually defeated at the
Battle of Verchen
The Battle of Verchen (german: Schlacht bei Verchen) was a battle between Saxons and West Slavic Obotrites on 6 July 1164.
The Obotrites were attacked by Saxons and Danes in 1160, resulting in the death of the Obotrite prince, Niklot, and th ...
later that year. In need of an ally against the Saxon nobility three years later, Henry allowed Pribislav to receive his father's Niklot's inheritance and became the Prince of Mecklenburg,
Kessin
Kessin is a village and a former municipality in the district of Rostock, in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany.
History
Since 7 June 2009, it is part of the municipality Dummerstorf. Before this, it was within the Warnow-Ost Amt.
A group o ...
, and
Rostock.
Market traffic was documented at Mecklenburg in 1168, although most of the trade was passing to Schwerin.
In 1265, the castle was torn down to provide building material for the construction of a palace in the growing city of
Wismar
Wismar (; Low German: ''Wismer''), officially the Hanseatic City of Wismar (''Hansestadt Wismar'') is, with around 43,000 inhabitants, the sixth-largest city of the northeastern German state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, and the fourth-largest city ...
. Although the princes in Schwerin rebuilt the castle at Mecklenburg in 1277 for use as a staging point for raids, it was demolished 45 years later.
The modern village of Mecklenburg developed from a mid-14th century settlement near the castle. After the cursory removal of the ruins, the rampart was used for agriculture.
Georg Christian Friedrich Lisch, active from 1839 to 1841, was the first to begin surveying the ruins. The wall was established as a memorial in 1854 by Grand Duke
Friedrich Franz II of
Mecklenburg-Schwerin, while reforestation with oak trees began two years later. From 1967 to 1971, Prof. Dr. Donat of the
Akademie der Wissenschaften der DDR led extensive excavations into a section of the southern wall and an area of near the ruins. The diameter of the oval inner court reached , while the ramparts rose .
[Herrmann, p. 180.] The street, “Am Burgwall”, leads to the still visible remnants of the castle's rampart; the area has been used a cemetery since 1870.
Footnotes
References
*
{{Authority control
History of Mecklenburg
Ruined castles in Germany
Castles in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania
Buildings and structures in Nordwestmecklenburg