Ahrenshoop 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 ...

in the

Vorpommern-Rügen Vorpommern-Rügen is a district in the north of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany. It is bounded by (from the west and clockwise) the Baltic Sea and the districts Vorpommern-Greifswald, Mecklenburgische Seenplatte and Rostock. The district seat is ...

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 betwee ...

on the Fischland-Darß-Zingst peninsula of 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 ...

. It used to be a small

fishing village A fishing village is a village, usually located near a fishing ground, with an economy based on catching fish and harvesting seafood. The continents and islands around the world have coastlines totalling around 356,000 kilometres (221,000 ...

, but is today known for its tourism and as a holiday resort.

Early history

Ahrenshoop was first mentioned in 1311 as the defining point of the border of the town of

Ribnitz Ribnitz-Damgarten () is a town in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany, situated on Lake Ribnitz (''Ribnitzer See''). Ribnitz-Damgarten is in the west of the district Vorpommern-Rügen. The border between the historical regions of Mecklenburg ...

´s property. In 1328 Duke Heinrich II of

Mecklenburg Mecklenburg (; nds, label= Low German, Mękel(n)borg ) is a historical region in northern Germany comprising the western and larger part of the federal-state Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. The largest cities of the region are Rostock, Schweri ...

donated the area east of this border to the monastery of Ribnitz. In 1395 forces of the City of

Rostock Rostock (), officially the Hanseatic and University City of Rostock (german: link=no, Hanse- und Universitätsstadt Rostock), is the largest city in the German state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and lies in the Mecklenburgian part of the state ...

destroyed a stronghold, built by Bogislaw VI. of Pomerania, and the harbour of Ahrenshoop. In 1591 the border between Mecklenburg and

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 ...

was defined, which runs through the village, still existing today as the "Grenzweg" (border road). After the

Treaty 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 ...

in 1648 the Eastern part of the village became part of

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 1815, when Sweden ceded Pomerania to

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 e ...

. Until the

Grand Duchy of Mecklenburg-Schwerin The Grand Duchy of Mecklenburg-Schwerin was a territory in Northern Germany held by the House of Mecklenburg residing at Schwerin. It was a sovereign member state of the German Confederation and became a federated state of the North German ...

joined the German

Zollverein The (), or German Customs Union, was a coalition of German states formed to manage tariffs and economic policies within their territories. Organized by the 1833 treaties, it formally started on 1 January 1834. However, its foundations had b ...

in 1868 one had to pay taxes crossing this border. Most of the inhabitants were fishermen or sailors at that time.

Modern times

In 1889 the artist painters

Paul Müller-Kaempff Paul Müller-Kaempff (1861–1941) was a German painter, illustrator and lithographer. He is associated with the Düsseldorf school of painting. Biography Kaempff received his first training from 1883 to 1886 at the Düsseldorf Academy of Fine A ...

and

Oskar Frenzel Oskar Frenzel (12 November 1855 – 15 May 1915) was a German landscape-artist, animal painter and lithographer. Life Frenzel was originally a lithographer. He became an animal and landscape painter in addition to his work as a lithographer f ...

"discovered" the village, deeply impressed by the landscape and started an artist colony which became increasingly popular among artists such as

Marianne von Werefkin Marianne von Werefkin, born Marianna Vladimirovna Veryovkina ( rus, Мариа́нна Влади́мировна Верёвкина, Marianna Vladimirovna Veryovkina, mərʲɪˈanːə vlɐˈdʲimʲɪrəvnə vʲɪˈrʲɵfkʲɪnə; – 6 Febr ...

Erich Heckel Erich Heckel (31 July 1883 – 27 January 1970) was a German painter and printmaker, and a founding member of the group '' Die Brücke'' ("The Bridge") which existed 1905–1913. His work was part of the art competitions at the 1928 Summer Ol ...

and

Gerhard Marcks Gerhard Marcks (18 February 1889 – 13 November 1981) was a German artist, known primarily as a sculptor, but who is also known for his drawings, woodcuts, lithographs and ceramics. Early life Marcks was born in Berlin, where, at the age of 18, ...

. The first generation of members of the artist colony included the painters

Elisabeth von Eicken Elisabeth von Eicken (18 July 1862 – 21 July 1940) was a German landscape painter. Life Elisabeth von Eicken was born as the third daughter of Hermann Wilhelm von Eicken (1816–1873) and Anna Elisabeth Borchers (1836–1916) in Mülheim an der ...

Anna Gerresheim Anna Louise Adolphine Eduardine Gerresheim (8 March 1852 – 1 December 1921) was a German landscape artist, portrait painter and etcher. She was among the founders of the artist's colony in Ahrenshoop on the Baltic Sea. Life Anna Gerresheim was ...

Friedrich Wachenhusen Adolf Friedrich Wilhelm Wachenhusen (27 May 1859 – 2 May 1925) was a German landscape artist, draftsman and etcher. The focus of his work was on the countryside of his home region, Mecklenburg. Life At the urging of his father, a Schwerin mi ...

and, among others, as a guest Karl Rettich. In 1894 Ahrenshoop counted 150 tourists, a number growing to 2158 in 1928. Several artists of the second generation also lived in Althagen and Niehagen, small villages on the Mecklenburg side of the border, among them

in Niehagen or

Dora Koch-Stetter Dora Koch-Stetter (4 May 1881 – 16 January 1968) was a German landscape artist Landscape painting, also known as landscape art, is the depiction of natural scenery such as mountains, valleys, trees, rivers, and forests, especially where ...

and her husband :de:Fritz Koch-Gotha in Althagen. These villages have been part of Ahrenshoop since 1950. Today Ahrenshoop is known as an "Artist Spa" and a popular place for artists and celebrities

References

Spa towns in Germany Seaside resorts in Germany Populated coastal places in Germany (Baltic Sea) {{VorpommernRügen-geo-stub