Wolgast (; csb, Wòłogòszcz) is a town in the district of

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 ...

, 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 betwee ...

. It is situated on the bank of the river (or

strait A strait is an oceanic landform connecting two seas or two other large areas of water. The surface water generally flows at the same elevation on both sides and through the strait in either direction. Most commonly, it is a narrow ocean chan ...

) Peenestrom, vis-a-vis the 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 Szczeci ...

on the

Baltic Baltic may refer to: Peoples and languages *Baltic languages, a subfamily of Indo-European languages, including Lithuanian, Latvian and extinct Old Prussian *Balts (or Baltic peoples), ethnic groups speaking the Baltic languages and/or originatin ...

coast that can be accessed by road and railway via a movable bascule bridge (''Blaues Wunder''). In December 2004, the town had a population of 12,725.

History

The precursor of present-day Wolgast was a Slavic Wendish stronghold located on an island within the Peenestrom sound.Schmidt, Roderich (²2009): ''Das historische Pommern,'' Cologne Contemporary sources called it ''Hologost(a), Ologost, Woligost, Woligast, Wologost, Wolegast, Wolegust, Walagost(um), Walogost(um), Waløgost(um), Waloguslum, Walagust, Walegusth, Walægust, Walgust, Wolgast, Valagust, Wołogoszcz'' or ''Valegust''. Wilhelm Ferdinand Gadebusch traces the name through Wendish to mean a "large grove". It is unclear which of the tribes documented in the area the population belonged to, the Veleti/ Lutici or Rani. In 1123/24,

prince Henry Prince Henry (or Prince Harry) may refer to: People *Henry the Young King (1155–1183), son of Henry II of England, who was crowned king but predeceased his father *Prince Henry the Navigator of Portugal (1394–1460) *Henry, Duke of Cornwall (Ja ...

of the Obodrites used the stronghold as a stepping stone in his campaign against the Rani. In 1128, after the Pomeranian duke

Wartislaw I Wartislaw I (''Warcisław I'') (around 1092 – August 9, 1135) was the first historical ruler of the Duchy of Pomerania and the founder of the Griffin dynasty. Most of the information about him comes from the writings on the life of Otto of ...

had subdued the area, the Wends were baptized by Otto of Bamberg on his second Pomeranian mission, while Wartislaw was also present in the stronghold. In this context, Wolgast was described as a ''opulentissima civitas'' by the chronicler Ebo, it is however unclear whether this should be read as meaning opulent or mighty "castle" or "town". Otto destroyed a local temple devoted to Gerowit, a god of war, and replaced it with a church. The thesis that this first church was a predecessor of today's St. Peter's church has not yet been confirmed. Wolgast was made the seat of a Pomeranian castellany, and played an important role in the 12th-century warfare between Pomeranians, Rani and the Danes. In 1162, Wolgast was targeted by an allied Danish-Rani fleet, and temporarily had to accept Danish suzerainty.Riis, Thomas (2003): ''Das mittelalterliche dänische Ostseeimperium'' (Studien zur Geschichte des Ostseeraumes IV), Odense In 1164, in the context of 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 ...

, a Danish force under Wetheman took control of Wolgast, and left it to a mixed Rani-Pomeranian-Obrodite garrison after peace was restored. Yet, the Rani (the Danish allies) were soon expelled by the Pomeranians, and the Obodrites (also Danish allies) left the scene. The Danes attacked Wolgast again in the summer of 1167, and again either in late 1167 or in 1168, and devastated the area. In 1177, another Danish assault on Wolgast failed, but a campaign in 1179 was successful, though the Danish fleet accepted money instead of a surrender. In 1184, Wolgast was unsuccessfully besieged by the Danes, but finally came under Danish control in 1185 when the Pomeranian duke accepted Danish suzerainty. While the Danes lost control over most of Pomerania in 1227, Wolgast remained a Danish bridgehead until either 1241/43 or 1250. On the mainland opposite to island with the castle, a new planned town was built in the course of the Ostsiedlung. It is not known when exactly this city of Wolgast was granted

German town law The German town law (german: Deutsches Stadtrecht) or German municipal concerns (''Deutsches Städtewesen'') was a set of early town privileges based on the Magdeburg rights developed by Otto I. The Magdeburg Law became the inspiration for regiona ...

, though its existence is confirmed by a letter written in or before 1259. The original charter was issued by both Pomeranian dukes of the time,

Wartislaw III Wartislaw III (c. 1210 – 17 May 1264) was a Griffin duke of Pomerania-Demmin. Son of Casimir II of Pomerania-Demmin and Ingardis of Denmark, he was married to a Sophia of an unknown house. As he did not have any children, Pomerania-Demmin cease ...

and

Barnim I Barnim I the Good ( – 13 November 1278) from the Griffin dynasty was a Duke of Pomerania (''ducis Slauorum et Cassubie'') from 1220 until his death. Life Son of Duke Bogislaw II and Miroslava of Pomerelia, he succeeded to the Duchy of Pomera ...

, and a confirmation of the

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 o ...

was issued in 1282 by duke Bogislaw IV. Wolgast was residence of the

Pomeranian dukes This is a list of the duchies and dukes of Pomerania. Dukes of the Slavic Pomeranian tribes (All Pomerania) The lands of Pomerania were firstly ruled by local tribes, who settled in Pomerania around the 10th and 11th centuries. Non-dynastic ...

from 1285 until the ruling

House of Pomerania The House of Griffin or Griffin dynasty (german: Greifen; pl, Gryfici, da, Grif) was a dynasty ruling the Duchy of Pomerania from the 12th century until 1637. The name "Griffins" was used by the dynasty after the 15th century and had been tak ...

became extinct in 1637.Berger (2008), p. 361 Capital of '' Pomerania-Wolgast'', a longtime inner partition of the duchy, Wolgast Castle was built as a residential palace in Renaissance style on an island hence called ''Castle Island''.Dubilski (2003), p. 173 The ducal line of Pomerania-Wolgast became extinct when Philipp Julius died without issue. During the

Thirty Years' War The Thirty Years' War was one of the longest and most destructive conflicts in European history, lasting from 1618 to 1648. Fought primarily in Central Europe, an estimated 4.5 to 8 million soldiers and civilians died as a result of batt ...

, the Swedish Empire occupied Wolgast in 1630 and kept it as a part of Swedish Pomerania until 1815. The former ducal palace decayed, and the town was burned down in 1713 by Russian forces during the

Great Northern War The Great Northern War (1700–1721) was a conflict in which a coalition led by the Tsardom of Russia successfully contested the supremacy of the Swedish Empire in Northern, Central and Eastern Europe. The initial leaders of the anti-Swe ...

, in retaliation for Swedish arson in Altona. Only the church, four chapels and four more buildings were spared by the fire. Most houses of the Old Town therefore date back to the 18th and 19th centuries, the townhall was renewed after the fire in

baroque The Baroque (, ; ) is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese empires including ...

style. After the Swedish withdrawal from Pomerania in 1815, the city was integrated into the Prussian Province of Pomerania. Last remnants of the palace were removed in 1849. Wolgast prospered throughout the 19th century as a port for grain trade. In 1910 a Catholic Church was built for Polish workers Wolgast lost its status as a Kreis capital on 12 June 1994, when Kreis Wolgast was merged into Kreis Ostvorpommern, which became part of

in 2011.

Museums

The town's history is presented in the ''Stadtgeschichtliches Museum'' (Towns' historical museum) in a building at the market place nicknamed ''Kaffeemühle'' ( coffee grinder). The former house of painter Philipp Otto Runge is also a museum by now (''Rungemuseum'').

Notable people

Barnim VII, Duke of Pomerania Barnim VII (1390 – 22 September 1450 in Wolgast) was the son of Duke Barnim VI, Duke of Pomerania. He was from 1425 Duke of Pomerania-Wolgast-Demmin and later also Duke of Pomerania-Barth. He supported his brother Wartislaw IX, Duke of Pomera ...

(1390–1450) Duke of Pomerania * Ernst Ludwig, Duke of Pomerania (1545–1592) duke of Pomerania * Barnim X, Duke of Pomerania (1549–1603) a duke of Pomerania *

Casimir VI, Duke of Pomerania Casimir VI (also known as Casimir IX; 22 March 1557 – 10 May 1605) was a member of the House of Pomerania who ruled as Lutheran Administrator of the Prince-Bishopric of Cammin. Life Casimir was born in Wolgast. He was the tenth child o ...

(1557–1605) a non-reigning duke of Pomerania * Philipp Julius, Duke of Pomerania (1584–1625) duke of Pomerania * Otto Wolgast (1640-1681) early settler in Delaware, United States and founder of the Zwaanendael Colony *

Johann Philipp Palthen Johann Philipp Palthen (26 June 1672 – 26 May 1710) was a Western Pomeranian historian and philologist. Life Palthen was born in Wolgast, a port in what was then Swedish Pomerania. His father was Johann Palthen, a senior official at the cou ...

(1672–1710) a Western Pomeranian historian and philologist * Philipp Otto Runge (1777–1810) a Romantic German painter and draughtsman * Karl Gustav Homeyer (1795–1874) a German jurist *

Adolf Friedrich Stenzler Adolf Friedrich Stenzler (July 9, 1807 – February 27, 1887) was a German Indologist born in Wolgast. He initially studied theology and Oriental languages at the University of Greifswald under Johann Gottfried Ludwig Kosegarten (1792–1860), ...

(1807–1887) a German

Indologist Indology, also known as South Asian studies, is the academic study of the history and cultures, languages, and literature of the Indian subcontinent, and as such is a subset of Asian studies. The term ''Indology'' (in German, ''Indologie'') i ...

* Theodor Marsson (1816–1892) a German pharmacist and botanist *

Willy Stöwer Willy Stöwer (22 May 1864 – 31 May 1931) was a German artist, illustrator and author during the Imperial Period. He is best known for nautical paintings and lithographs. Many of his works depict historical maritime events such as the sin ...

(1864–1931) a German artist, illustrator and author * Hans-Ulrich Grapenthin (born 1943) a German former footballer who played 308 games for FC Carl Zeiss Jena *

Axel Kruse Axel Kruse (born 28 September 1967) is a German former association football and American football player. Kruse was born in Wolgast, East Germany and played for several Bundesliga football clubs. Football career As player of Hansa Rostock, ...

(born 1967) a former German association footballer and American football player. * Franka Dietzsch (born 1968) a former German discus thrower * Johannes Sellin (born 1990) a German handball player

References

Bibliography

* * *

External links

* Wolgast depiction in 1614 by Eilhard Lubinus {{Authority control Towns in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania Port cities and towns in Germany Port cities and towns of the Baltic Sea Vorpommern-Greifswald Populated coastal places in Germany (Baltic Sea) Members of the Hanseatic League Populated places established in the 13th century 1250s establishments in the Holy Roman Empire 1257 establishments in Europe Burial sites of the House of Pomerania