Picher is a

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...

in the district of

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 ...

in 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 ...

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 ...

. Picher's population is 642 (as of December 2020).

Geography

Picher is located in northern end of the Griesen area, a forested zone that is in between the rivers Sude, Elde and

Elbe The Elbe (; cs, Labe ; nds, Ilv or ''Elv''; Upper and dsb, Łobjo) is one of the major rivers of Central Europe. It rises in the Giant Mountains of the northern Czech Republic before traversing much of Bohemia (western half of the Czech Repu ...

. The closest full size city is Ludwiglust, about 12 km away. Picher is close to the A 24 freeway connecting Berlin and Hamburg. A smaller nearby town called Bresegard has part of its full name (Bresegard bei Picher) from Picher. This town has traditionally been associated with Picher, first being part of Picher's ecclesiastical territory, and also as a way of differentiating itself from the other Bresegard (Bresegard bei Eldena).

History

This area of Germany (Mecklenburg) was once occupied by Slavic peoples. Starting in the 11th century the local western Slavic populace began intermixing with incoming German settlers. Several centuries later the area was considered completely "Germanized". Picher was mentioned in 1291 for the first time as "Pychere" and initially belonged to the

County of Dannenberg The County of Dannenberg (german: Grafschaft Dannenberg) was a fief in the Duchy of Saxony. Its heartland was largely identical with the present-day collective municipality of Elbtalaue in north Germany. Its historical origins go back to the midd ...

, but by the 14th century it had become part of the

County of 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 ...

. A church in 13th century Picher is mentioned 1319 for the first time. This church was destroyed, replaced and expanded repeatedly. By 1875 the church in Picher was considered quite old; it was decided to replace the structure with a brand new edifice in the neogothic style. Picher was part of the area initially captured or occupied by American troops at the end of World War Two. In other words, Picher was on the American side of 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 American Soviet forces. Due to previous agreements by the Allied powers, this part of Germany was transferred to Soviet control some several weeks after the American occupation. As a remote village Picher did not suffer war time destruction. Since Medieval times Picher had a rural church center, first Catholic and later Lutheran. Still standing and operating in Picher is a large

Brick Gothic Brick Gothic (german: Backsteingotik, pl, Gotyk ceglany, nl, Baksteengotiek) is a specific style of Gothic architecture common in Northeast and Central Europe especially in the regions in and around the Baltic Sea, which do not have resourc ...

revival Lutheran church, which was built in the 1870s. During Picher's time as a town in

East Germany East Germany, officially the German Democratic Republic (GDR; german: Deutsche Demokratische Republik, , DDR, ), was a country that existed from its creation on 7 October 1949 until its dissolution on 3 October 1990. In these years the state ...

the cemetery surrounding the Picher church had most of its headstones removed and/or destroyed under authority from local government officials. Since

German Reunification German reunification (german: link=no, Deutsche Wiedervereinigung) was the process of re-establishing Germany as a united and fully sovereign state, which took place between 2 May 1989 and 15 March 1991. The day of 3 October 1990 when the Ge ...

some families have restored markers, some using a single family name headstone as a catch-all replacement.

References

External links

History of the church and description of the organ
Ludwigslust-Parchim {{LudwigslustParchim-geo-stub