Bützow is a town in the district of Rostock 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 ...

in north-eastern

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 ...

, centered on Bützower See.

History

The town was first mentioned in 1171. From 1815 to 1918 Bützow was part of 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 ...

, from 1871 within the

German Empire The German Empire (),Herbert Tuttle wrote in September 1881 that the term "Reich" does not literally connote an empire as has been commonly assumed by English-speaking people. The term literally denotes an empire – particularly a hereditary ...

. From 1933 to 1945, during Nazi rule and

World War II 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 World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

, a Nazi prison was operated in the Dreibergen district with multiple

forced labour Forced labour, or unfree labour, is any work relation, especially in modern or early modern history, in which people are employed against their will with the threat of destitution, detention, violence including death, or other forms of ex ...

subcamps located in various places in the region. After the war, the town was part of

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 German reunification, its dissolution on 3 October 1990. In t ...

until 1990. On 5 May 2015, the town was struck by an F3

tornado A tornado is a violently rotating column of air that is in contact with both the surface of the Earth and a cumulonimbus cloud or, in rare cases, the base of a cumulus cloud. It is often referred to as a twister, whirlwind or cyclone, alt ...

which caused severe damage to many buildings, including the local hospital.

Culture

Medieval Bützow Castle is located in Bützow. The town also has a medieval

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 ...

church, which contains an

altarpiece An altarpiece is an artwork such as a painting, sculpture or relief representing a religious subject made for placing at the back of or behind the altar of a Christian church. Though most commonly used for a single work of art such as a painting ...

made by the Master of the Bützow Altarpiece (1503). Bützow also has one of the last German monuments dedicated to Lenin, a memorial stone located at Leninring.https://leninisstillaround.com/2017/04/23/residents-save-lenin-monument/ checked 26.1.2020

Notable people

Dietrich Ludwig Gustav Karsten Dietrich Ludwig Gustav Karsten (5 April 1768 – 20 May 1810) was a German mineralogist. Among the most notable of Karsten's writings is a mineralogy book published in 1789 when he was only 21 years old. In later years Karsten held senior governme ...

(1768-1810), mineralogist * Else Hirsch (1889-1943), Jewish teacher * Eckhard Martens (born 1951), rower * Torsten Fröhling (born 1966), soccer player and football coach * Andrea Philipp (born 1971), athlete and Olympian

People who have worked in Bützow

* Sophie Charlotte of Hesse-Kassel (1678-1749), Duchess of Mecklenburg, lived in Bützow and founded here the German Reformed community * Wenceslaus Johann Gustav Karsten (1732-1787), mathematician, twice rector of the University of Bützow

References

Cities and towns in Mecklenburg 1230s establishments in the Holy Roman Empire 1236 establishments in Europe Populated places established in the 13th century Grand Duchy of Mecklenburg-Schwerin {{LandkreisRostock-geo-stub