The Zarow is a lowland river in

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 ...

in the east of the state 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 ...

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 ...

Description

The lower course of the river, also known topographically as Zarow, is formed from two ditches, the Landgraben and the Weißer Graben (White Ditch) coming from the Galenbecker See. Since its upper course, which flows into Lake Galenbecke, begins with the ''Zarowbach'', near a hill called the Zarowberg, it can be assumed that the name 'Zarow' was originally associated with this watercourse. Hydrographically, however, the Landgraben is considered the (main) upper reaches of the Zarow, since it has a significantly larger

catchment area In human geography, a catchment area is the area from which a location, such as a city, service or institution, attracts a population that uses its services and economic opportunities. Catchment areas may be defined based on from where people are ...

with the northern part of the Datze (the southern part of which flows into the Tollense in

Neubrandenburg Neubrandenburg (lit. ''New Brandenburg'', ) is a city in the southeast of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany. It is located on the shore of a lake called Tollensesee and forms the urban centre of the Mecklenburg Lakeland. The city is famous for its ...

). The

Friedländer Große Wiese Friedländer (Friedlander, or Friedlaender) is a toponymic surname derived from any of German places named Friedland (disambiguation), Friedland. The surname may refer to: People Friedländer * Adolf Albrecht Friedländer (1870–1949), Aust ...

area, which is traversed by numerous ditches, is drained ''inter alia'' by the Zarow. For this purpose, the water is raised from several lower

polder A polder () is a low-lying tract of land that forms an artificial hydrological entity, enclosed by embankments known as dikes. The three types of polder are: # Land reclaimed from a body of water, such as a lake or the seabed # Flood plains s ...

ditches using

pumping stations Pumping stations, also called pumphouses in situations such as drilled wells and drinking water, are facilities containing pumps and equipment for pumping fluids from one place to another. They are used for a variety of infrastructure systems, ...

s in Landgraben and Zarow. At the junction of two main ditches at Ferdinandshof, the river begins its approximately 16 km long journey north through the

Ueckermünde Heath Ueckermünde Heath (german: Ueckermünder Heide, pl, Puszcza Wkrzańska) is a large area of forest and heath, 1,000 km² in area, in northeastern Germany and northwestern Poland, on the Oder river and the Szczecin Lagoon. In 1945, the east ...

. Around 1730, moorland settlements were laid out along the shore. The settlement of Zarowmühl is located near

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 foundin ...

. Towards the end of the 19th century, timber was rafted on the Zarow. Today the river is heavily overgrown with weeds in summer. In recent years, two weirs near Meiersberg and Zarowmühl have been demolished and environmentally friendly fish ladders have been erected. Nevertheless, due to heavy nutrient input, intensive agricultural use of the surrounding fields and meadows and other circumstances, the fish repeatedly die off. In Grambin there are jetties that are used as a harbour for yachtsmen on the lagoon. The Zarow flows west of the Uecker, near Grambin, into the

Stettiner Haff 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 ...

. The course of the Zarow is considered to be the old cultural border between Western and Central Pomerania, which can be seen in the language as well as manners and customs. This is why west of the Zarow one eats

Heißwecke A ''Heißwecke'', HICE-veck-ə, (plural: ''Heißwecken''), also called a ''Heißewecke'' or ''Hedewig'', is a traditional type of currant bun within the German-speaking region of Europe that goes back to at least to the Late Middle Ages. In North ...

n (a type of currant bun), east of it ''Fastenbrezeln'' (a type of pretzel).Wiegelmann, Günter and Ruth-Elisabeth Mohrmann (1996). ''Nahrung und Tischkultur im Hanseraum.'' (Contributions to folk culture in Northwest Germany 91) Múnster/New York: Waxmann 1996 ISBN 9783893254309, pp. 438-440 with reference to Karl Kaiser (1936) ''Atlas of Pomeranian Folklore''.

References

{{Authority control Rivers of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania Rivers of Germany