Usedom (also ''german: Stadt Usedom'' or ''Usedom Town'') is a town on

Usedom Island Usedom (german: Usedom , pl, Uznam ) is a Baltic Sea island in Pomerania, divided between Germany and Poland. It is the second largest Pomeranian island after Rügen, and the most populous island in the Baltic Sea. It is north of the Szczecin ...

, in the

Vorpommern-Greifswald Vorpommern-Greifswald is a district in the east of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany. It is bounded by (from the west and clockwise) the districts of Mecklenburgische Seenplatte and Vorpommern-Rügen, the Baltic Sea, Poland ( West Pomeranian Voivo ...

district in

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 ...

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 the seat of the ''

Amt Amt is a type of administrative division governing a group of municipalities, today only in Germany, but formerly also common in other countries of Northern Europe. Its size and functions differ by country and the term is roughly equivalent to ...

'' Usedom-Süd, to which 14 other communities also belong. The whole island of

Usedom Usedom (german: Usedom , pl, Uznam ) is a Baltic Sea island in Pomerania, divided between Germany and Poland. It is the second largest Pomeranian island after Rügen, and the most populous island in the Baltic Sea. It is north of the Szczecin ...

was named after the town in medieval times.

Geography

The town lies in the southeastern part of the island of

, in the so-called ''Achterland'', on the northwest shore of the

Oder 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 ...

(Oderhaff, Stettiner Haff). The town is bordered on the west and north by the

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 ...

, the aforesaid lagoon's western outlet 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 ...

Municipality subdivisions

The following communities belong to the town of Usedom:

History

The region has been settled since

Neolithic The Neolithic period, or New Stone Age, is an Old World archaeological period and the final division of the Stone Age. It saw the Neolithic Revolution, a wide-ranging set of developments that appear to have arisen independently in several parts ...

times, and from the 8th and 9th centuries by ancient

Slavs Slavs are the largest European ethnolinguistic group. They speak the various Slavic languages, belonging to the larger Balto-Slavic branch of the Indo-European languages. Slavs are geographically distributed throughout northern Eurasia, main ...

, who built a

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 ...

on the hill now known as the Schloßberg. The town's name comes from the Slavic word "uznam", meaning river mouth. Early in the twelfth century, the place was destroyed by the

Danes Danes ( da, danskere, ) are a North Germanic ethnic group and nationality native to Denmark and a modern nation identified with the country of Denmark. This connection may be ancestral, legal, historical, or cultural. Danes generally regard t ...

. In 1128, the

West 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 ...

n ''

Landtag A Landtag (State Diet) is generally the legislative assembly or parliament of a federated state or other subnational self-governing entity in German-speaking nations. It is usually a unicameral assembly exercising legislative competence in non- ...

'' adopted

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global pop ...

, and shortly thereafter, a

Premonstratensian The Order of Canons Regular of Prémontré (), also known as the Premonstratensians, the Norbertines and, in Britain and Ireland, as the White Canons (from the colour of their habit), is a religious order of canons regular of the Catholic Church ...

monastery A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in communities or alone (hermits). A monastery generally includes a place reserved for prayer which ...

Usedom Abbey Usedom Abbey (german: Kloster Usedom) was a medieval Premonstratensian monastery on the isle of Usedom (Western Pomerania, Germany) near the town of Usedom. It was founded in Grobe and later moved to nearby Pudagla, and is thus also known as Grob ...

(also Grobe or Pudagla Abbey) was established in Usedom. In the thirteenth century, the German settlement of Usedom began as part of the eastern colonization (

Ostsiedlung (, literally "East-settling") is the term for the Early Medieval and High Medieval migration-period when ethnic Germans moved into the territories in the eastern part of Francia, East Francia, and the Holy Roman Empire (that Germans had al ...

) in progress in many places at that time. On 23 December 1298, Usedom was granted town rights under

Lübeck law The Lübeck law (german: Lübisches (Stadt)Recht) was the family of codified municipal law developed at Lübeck, which became a free imperial city in 1226 and is located in present day Schleswig-Holstein. It was the second most prevalent form of ...

. The town burnt down twice in great fires in 1475 and 1688. After the

Treaty of Stettin (1630) The Treaty of Stettin ( sv, Traktaten or ''Fördraget i Stettin'') or Alliance of Stettin (german: Stettiner Allianz) was the legal framework for the occupation of the Duchy of Pomerania by the Swedish Empire during the Thirty Years' War. Conclu ...

and the subsequent

Peace of Westphalia The Peace of Westphalia (german: Westfälischer Friede, ) is the collective name for two peace treaties signed in October 1648 in the Westphalian cities of Osnabrück and Münster. They ended the Thirty Years' War (1618–1648) and brought pea ...

(1648) and the

Treaty of Stettin (1653) The Treaty of Stettin (german: Grenzrezeß von Stettin) of 4 May 1653Heitz (1995), p.232 settled a dispute between Brandenburg and Sweden, who both claimed succession in the Duchy of Pomerania after the extinction of the local House of Pomerania ...

, Usedom, along with all of

Western 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 ...

, became a

Dominion of Sweden The Dominions of Sweden or ''Svenska besittningar'' ("Swedish possessions") were territories that historically came under control of the Swedish Crown, but never became fully integrated with Sweden. This generally meant that they were ruled by ...

(

Swedish Pomerania Swedish Pomerania ( sv, Svenska Pommern; german: Schwedisch-Pommern) was a dominion under the Swedish Crown from 1630 to 1815 on what is now the Baltic coast of Germany and Poland. Following the Polish War and the Thirty Years' War, Sweden held ...

) until 1720, when it was acquired by

Prussia Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an em ...

. From 1720 to 1945, the town was Prussian. The town had a

railway Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a pre ...

connection from 1876. In 1934, at Karnin, a railway bridge, the

Karnin Lift Bridge The Karnin Lift Bridge (german: Hubbrücke Karnin) is a railway bridge over the Peenestrom estuary in North Germany that was opened in 1933 and destroyed in 1945. It was part of the old Ducherow–Swinemünde railway. The lifting part of the br ...

, was built, but it was destroyed in the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. After the war, the town first belonged to the state of

until

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 ...

abolished the ''

Land Land, also known as dry land, ground, or earth, is the solid terrestrial surface of the planet Earth that is not submerged by the ocean or other bodies of water. It makes up 29% of Earth's surface and includes the continents and various islan ...

'' system in 1952, whereafter it was in the Rostock

region In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as zones, lands or territories, are areas that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and the interaction of humanity and t ...

. At

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 ...

in 1990, Usedom once again found itself in the state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern.

Sightseeing

Worth seeing in Usedom are the ''Anklamer Tor'' ("

Anklam Anklam [], formerly known as Tanglim and Wendenburg, is a town in the Western Pomerania region of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany. It is situated on the banks of the Peene river, just 8 km from its mouth in the ''Kleines Haff'', the western ...

Gate"), St. Mary's (''Marienkirche''), the ''Schloßberg'' ("residence hill") with its memorial to the conversion to Christianity implemented by

Otto of Bamberg Otto of Bamberg (1060 or 1061 – 30 June 1139) was a German missionary and papal legate who converted much of medieval Pomerania to Christianity. He was the bishop of Bamberg from 1102 until his death. He was canonized in 1189. Early life Th ...

in 1128, and the ruins of the

. Furthermore, the town's old railway station houses the nature park centre with very interesting displays about nature in the immediate vicinity.

Transport connections

Through Usedom runs the island's main south road (Federal Highway B110), connecting the town to Pinnow on the mainland, and farther afield,

. In the other direction, the B110 joins the B111, the road that runs along Usedom island's north shore, at Seebad Ahlbeck. Until 1945, the town had a railway station on the Ducherow- Swinemünde line, which now houses the island's nature park centre. Usedom today lies far from the island's only railway line, (''Usedomer Bäderbahn''). Usedom has a small harbour on the ''Usedomer See'', an inlet with a narrow opening – the ''Kehle'', or channel – into the lagoon.

Twin towns – sister cities

Usedom is twinned with: *

Henstedt-Ulzburg Henstedt-Ulzburg is a municipality in the district of Segeberg, in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. Geography The municipality of Henstedt-Ulzburg is situated approximately 30 km north of Hamburg and 13 km north of Norderstedt. Currently i ...

, Germany *

Maurepas Maurepas may refer to: * Jean-Frédéric Phélypeaux, Count of Maurepas, French statesman Count of Maurepas (Yvelines) * Fort Maurepas, also known as Old Biloxi, a settlement in Louisiana (New France) * Maurepas, Louisiana, an unincorporated comm ...

, France *

Wolin Wolin (; formerly german: Wollin ) is the name both of a Polish island in the Baltic Sea, just off the Polish coast, and a town on that island. Administratively, the island belongs to the West Pomeranian Voivodeship. Wolin is separated from th ...

, Poland

References

External links

* {{Authority control Usedom Populated coastal places in Germany (Baltic Sea) Vorpommern-Greifswald Populated places established in the 13th century 1290s establishments in the Holy Roman Empire 1298 establishments in Europe