The Uecker () or Ucker is a

river A river is a natural flowing watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, sea, lake or another river. In some cases, a river flows into the ground and becomes dry at the end of its course without reaching another body of wate ...

in the northeastern

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

states of

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 ...

, where it is known as the ''Ucker'', and 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 ...

. Its source lies in the Uckermark district, one kilometer north of Ringenwalde. It flows northward through several lakes. The first one is Großer Krinertsee. The next ones are rather small. Then there are two large lakes, Lake

Oberuckersee Oberuckersee is a municipality in the Uckermark district, in Brandenburg, 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, an ...

and Lake Unteruckersee, joined by the navigable section of the river, called , with the smaller Lake Möllensee in between. The island within Oberuckersee was the residence of a Slavic ruler in the 10th century, and connected to the coast of the lake by a long wooden bridge. On the northern end of Unteruckersee the city of

Prenzlau Prenzlau (, formerly also Prenzlow) is a town in Brandenburg, Germany, the administrative seat of Uckermark (district), Uckermark District. It is also the centre of the historic Uckermark region. Geography The town is located on the Uecker, Ucke ...

is situated, nowadays the district capital of Uckemark. In Middle Ages, it was granted urban rights by the

Pomerania Pomerania ( pl, Pomorze; german: Pommern; Kashubian: ''Pòmòrskô''; sv, Pommern) is a historical region on the southern shore of the Baltic Sea in Central Europe, split between Poland and Germany. The western part of Pomerania belongs to ...

Griffins The griffin, griffon, or gryphon (Ancient Greek: , ''gryps''; Classical Latin: ''grȳps'' or ''grȳpus''; Late Latin, Late and Medieval Latin: ''gryphes'', ''grypho'' etc.; Old French: ''griffon'') is a legendary creature with the body, tail ...

earlier than

Szczecin Szczecin (, , german: Stettin ; sv, Stettin ; Latin: ''Sedinum'' or ''Stetinum'') is the capital and largest city of the West Pomeranian Voivodeship in northwestern Poland. Located near the Baltic Sea and the German border, it is a major s ...

in 1234, shortly before they lost the Uckermark to the

Margraviate of Brandenburg The Margraviate of Brandenburg (german: link=no, Markgrafschaft Brandenburg) was a major principality of the Holy Roman Empire from 1157 to 1806 that played a pivotal role in the history of Germany and Central Europe. Brandenburg developed out o ...

in 1250. Most of the course below Unteruckersee is not navigable. An effort of the

von Arnim Arnim is a German surname, often preceded by the nobiliary particle "von", meaning "of". Notable people with the surname include: * Adolf Heinrich von Arnim-Boitzenburg (1803–1868), German statesman * Arnulf von Arnim (born 1947), German classic ...

family to prepare it for large river boats ceased after a few decades in the 19th century. Between Prenzlau and the junction of the river Köhntop, it is sometimes even difficult to travel by canoe. Near the small village of

Nieden Nieden ( Polabian ''Nadam''Schulz, Erwin (2007). ''Der Ortsnamen Detektiv: mittelalterliche Siedlungsnamen im Kreis Uecker-Randow (1121-1591) ; Ursprung, Details, Erklärungen ; mit einer Übersicht zu Ortsnamen ab 1600.'' Schibri-Verlag, p. 29. ...

, the river arrives in (Mecklenbuurg-)

Hither Pomerania Historical Western Pomerania, also called Cispomerania, Fore Pomerania, Front Pomerania or Hither Pomerania (german: Vorpommern), is the western extremity of the historic region of Pomerania forming the southern coast of the Baltic Sea, Weste ...

, where it is called Uecker. In this country, it passes through the towns of

Pasewalk Pasewalk () is a town in the Vorpommern-Greifswald district, in the state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern in Germany. Located on the Uecker river, it is the capital of the former Uecker-Randow district, and the seat of the Uecker-Randow-Tal ''Amt'', o ...

Torgelow Torgelow () is a municipality in the Vorpommern-Greifswald district, in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania in north-eastern Germany. It is situated on the river Uecker, 12 km south of Ueckermünde, and 41 km northwest of Szczecin, Poland ...

, and

Eggesin Eggesin (; csb, Chëczëno) is a municipality in the Vorpommern-Greifswald district, in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Germany. It is situated on the river Uecker, 7 km southeast of Ueckermünde, and 42 km northwest of Szczecin. Tran ...

. Pasewalk, as well as Prenzlau, features some important

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 ...

architecture. In Eggesin, the northern section of the river

Randow Randow ( Polish ''Rędowa''Lech Leciejewicz: Słowianie zachodni : z dziejów tworzenia się średniowiecznej Europy. Wrocław: Zakład Narodowy im. Ossolińskich, 1989, p. 58. ) is a river in the Uckermark region of Brandenburg and the Vorpommern ...

discharges into the Uecker. In

Ueckermünde Ueckermünde () is a seaport town in northeast Germany, located in the district of Vorpommern-Greifswald, Western Pomerania, near Germany's border with Poland's Police County. Ueckermünde has a long and varied history, going back to its foundi ...

, the Uecker ends in

Szczecin Lagoon Szczecin Lagoon ( pl, Zalew Szczeciński, german: Stettiner Haff, since 1945 sometimes also ''Oderhaff'' (Oder lagoon) or ''Pommersches Haff'' (Pomeranian lagoon)) is a lagoon in the Oder estuary, shared by Germany and Poland. It is separated f ...

, which is connected to the

Baltic Sea The Baltic Sea is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that is enclosed by Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Sweden and the North and Central European Plain. The sea stretches from 53°N to 66°N latitude and from ...

by the three straits

Peenestrom The Peenestrom is a river in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany. It is 20 kilometres long and is the westernmost connection of the Szczecin Lagoon (together with the Świna and the Dziwna) with the Baltic Sea. It is therefore also one of the ...

Świna The Świna (; Pomeranian: ''Swina'') is a river in northwest Poland, between 2 and 4 km from the German border. It flows from Szczecin Lagoon to the Baltic Sea between the islands of Uznam and Wolin. It is a part of the Oder estuary, and car ...

and Dziwna. The name ''Ucker'' originates from a

West Slavic language The West Slavic languages are a subdivision of the Slavic language group. They include Polish, Czech, Slovak, Kashubian, Upper Sorbian and Lower Sorbian. The languages have traditionally been spoken across a mostly continuous region encompa ...

, the word , meaning 'fast' or 'quick'. Heinrich, p. 382 The Uecker gave its name to 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 ...

historical region and to the two districts Uckermark and

Uecker-Randow Uecker-Randow was a ''Kreis'' (district) in the eastern part of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Germany. Neighboring districts were (from south clockwise) Uckermark in Brandenburg, Mecklenburg-Strelitz and Ostvorpommern. To the east was the West ...

Notes

References

* Rivers of Brandenburg Rivers of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania Federal waterways in Germany Rivers of Germany {{Mecklenburg-river-stub