Güstrow (; la, Gustrovium) is a town 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 capital of the Rostock district;

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, c ...

itself is a district-free city and

regiopolis In Germany, a regiopolis is a city outside the core of a metropolitan area, that serves as an independent driving force for development within a larger region. The concept is used to develop midsized urban regions within regional, national and g ...

. It has a population of 28,999 (2020) and is the seventh largest town in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. Since 2006 Güstrow has had the official suffix ''Barlachstadt''. The town is known for its

renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history marking the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and covering the 15th and 16th centuries, characterized by an effort to revive and surpass ideas ...

Güstrow Palace Güstrow Palace (german: Schloss Güstrow) is a Renaissance-era palatial schloss in Güstrow, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Germany, used as a museum and cultural centre. Built in 1558 for Ulrich, Duke of Mecklenburg, it is located close to ...

, the

old town In a city or town, the old town is its historic or original core. Although the city is usually larger in its present form, many cities have redesignated this part of the city to commemorate its origins after thorough renovations. There are ma ...

and its brick gothic

cathedral A cathedral is a church that contains the '' cathedra'' () of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually specific to those Christian denomination ...

with Barlach's ''Floating Angel'' sculpture.

Geography

Güstrow is 45 kilometers south of

at the Nebel, an arm of the Warnow. The Bützow-Güstrow-Kanal (channel) is a navigable connection to the Warnow and used by water tourists. There are five lakes (''

Inselsee Inselsee is a lake in the Rostock district in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany. At an elevation of 11.4 m, its surface area is 4.58 km². The lake is divided into two parts by a small 60 ha island „Schöninsel“. While the northern part of ...

, Sumpfsee, Parumer See, Grundloser See and Gliner See''

ake Ake (or Aké in Spanish orthography) is an archaeological site of the pre-Columbian Maya civilization. It's located in the municipality of Tixkokob, in the Mexican state of Yucatán; 40 km (25 mi) east of Mérida, Yucatán. The name ...

and several forests around Güstrow.

History

The name Güstrow comes from the Polabian Guščerov and means

lizard Lizards are a widespread group of squamate reptiles, with over 7,000 species, ranging across all continents except Antarctica, as well as most oceanic island chains. The group is paraphyletic since it excludes the snakes and Amphisbaenia alt ...

place. In 1219 the Wendish castle Güstrowe was built where the renaissance palace stands now. Güstrow is said to be founded by Heinrich Borwin II, a grandson of

Henry the Lion Henry the Lion (german: Heinrich der Löwe; 1129/1131 – 6 August 1195) was a member of the Welf dynasty who ruled as the duke of Saxony and Bavaria from 1142 and 1156, respectively, until 1180. Henry was one of the most powerful German p ...

, between 1219 and 1226 and was first mentioned in 1228 in the deed of city rights of

Schwerin Schwerin (; Mecklenburgisch dialect, Mecklenburgian Low German: ''Swerin''; Latin: ''Suerina'', ''Suerinum'') is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Germany, second-largest city of the northeastern States of Germany, German ...

, confirmed by the sons of Heinrich Borwin II, who donated the cathedral as

collegiate church In Christianity, a collegiate church is a church where the daily office of worship is maintained by a college of canons: a non-monastic or "secular" community of clergy, organised as a self-governing corporate body, which may be presided over by a ...

in 1226. Güstrow was a residence of the lords of

Werle {{Infobox country , native_name = ''Herrschaft Werle'' ( de) , conventional_long_name = Lordship of Werle , common_name = Werle , era = Middle Ages , status = Vassal , empire = ...

from 1229 until 1436. In 1441 the first privileged shooting society of Güstrow was founded. The host desecration-trial of 1330 ended with the burning of 23 Jews and the destruction of the synagogue. The ''Kapelle des heiligen Bluts'' (Chapel of the Holy Blood) was built on the site of the synagogue. In 1503, 1508 and in 1512 fires destroyed the town and in 1556 the palace burned down. After the division of Mecklenburg (1621) it became the capital of the small

Duchy of Mecklenburg-Güstrow A duchy, also called a dukedom, is a medieval country, territory, fief, or domain ruled by a duke or duchess, a ruler hierarchically second to the king or queen in Western European tradition. There once existed an important difference between " ...

. (

Albrecht von Wallenstein Albrecht Wenzel Eusebius von Wallenstein () (24 September 1583 – 25 February 1634), also von Waldstein ( cs, Albrecht Václav Eusebius z Valdštejna), was a Bohemian military leader and statesman who fought on the Catholic side during the Th ...

, the imperial general in the

Thirty Years' War The Thirty Years' War was one of the longest and most destructive conflicts in European history The history of Europe is traditionally divided into four time periods: prehistoric Europe (prior to about 800 BC), classical antiquity (80 ...

, was a duke of Mecklenburg-Güstrow.) In 1695 the last duke of Mecklenburg-Güstrow died, and the duchy ceased to exist. Güstrow became a part of the

Duchy of Mecklenburg-Schwerin The Duchy of Mecklenburg-Schwerin was a duchy in northern Germany created in 1701, when Frederick William and Adolphus Frederick II divided the Duchy of Mecklenburg between Schwerin and Strelitz. Ruled by the successors of the Nikloting Hous ...

. The famous sculptor

Ernst Barlach Ernst Heinrich Barlach (2 January 1870 – 24 October 1938) was a German expressionist sculptor, medallist, printmaker and writer. Although he was a supporter of the war in the years leading to World War I, his participation in the war made hi ...

lived in Güstrow from 1910 to his death in 1938.

Sights

There are several notable sights in Güstrow: * The

(or ''Schloss Güstrow'' in German), built in 1589 in

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history marking the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and covering the 15th and 16th centuries, characterized by an effort to revive and surpass ideas ...

style, as a residence for the dukes 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 ...

. One of the most important works of this era in the Baltic Sea region. Between 1963 and 1981 major restoration work was carried out, and a Renaissance garden was added, modelled after descriptions appearing in old engravings. *

Güstrow Cathedral Güstrow (; la, Gustrovium) is a town in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany. It is capital of the Rostock district; Rostock itself is a district-free city and regiopolis. It has a population of 28,999 (2020) and is the seventh largest town in Me ...

, a Brick Gothic cathedral built between 1226 and 1335. Noteworthy are a late Gothic high altar (c. 1500), the tombs of Duke Ulrich III and his two wives (16th century), and the celebrated ''Schwebende Engel'' ("Hovering Angel"), the most famous work of the expressionist sculptor

, created in 1926 as a tribute to the victims of World War I. * St. Mary's church - a Brick Gothic parish church, partly remodelled in the 19th century * Ernst Barlach's ''Atelierhaus'' (studio), that exhibits a large collection of his works. * The Townhall, originally built in the 13th century and rebuilt c. 1800 at the central market square.

Gallery

File:GüstrowSchloss&Park.JPG,

(''Güstrower Schloss''),

Renaissance architecture Renaissance architecture is the European architecture of the period between the early 15th and early 16th centuries in different regions, demonstrating a conscious revival and development of certain elements of Ancient Greece, ancient Greek and ...

File:Guestrow Dom.jpg,

(''Güstrower Dom''), Brick Gothic File:Schwebender Engel.jpg, ''Floating Angel'' (''Schwebender Engel'') by

, 1927

expressionist Expressionism is a modernist movement, initially in poetry and painting, originating in Northern Europe around the beginning of the 20th century. Its typical trait is to present the world solely from a subjective perspective, distorting it rad ...

WW1 World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

memorial inside Güstrow Cathedral File:Güstrow Pfarrkirche St. Marien 2012-07-11 097.JPG, St. Mary's Parish Church of Güstrow (''St. Marienkirche'') File:Güstrow Kerstingstraße Giebel der Domschule (01-2).jpg, Cathedral School (''Domschule'') File:Guestrow Rathaus.jpg, City Hall at the Market Square File:Güstrow Markt Blick von der Pfarrkirche St. Marien 2012-07-11 127.JPG, Gable houses at Güstrow's market square from above File:Ernst-Barlach-Theater Güstrow 2011-III.jpg, Theatre of Güstrow (''Ernst-Barlach-Theater'') File:Güstrow Postamt 2012-07-11 136.JPG, Main Post Office of Güstrow ( historicist architecture) File:Stadtmuseum Güstrow 2011.jpg, City museum and tourist info of Güstrow File:Guestrow-sowjet-ehrenfriedh.jpg, Soviet Cemetery File:Gut moor482.jpg, Inselsee (''Island Lake'') File:Güstrow, Natur&Umwelt Park28-30.06.08 254.jpg, Nature and Environment Park (''Natur- und Umweltpark Güstrow'')

Education

Fachhochschule für öffentliche Verwaltung, Rechtspflege und Polizei Güstrow
(''University of Administration, Judicature and Police in Güstrow'')

Transportion

City buses are run b
OVG (Omnibusverkehrsgesellschaft Güstrow)
The town is the southern terminus of the

Rostock S-Bahn The Rostock S-Bahn (german: S-Bahn Rostock) is a S-Bahn (suburban railway) network in Rostock in the German state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. It consists of three lines with a total length of about 90 km. Line S1 runs from Rostock Hauptbahnhof ...

Notable people

Johann VII, Duke of Mecklenburg Johann VII of Mecklenburg (7 March 1558 – 22 March 1592) (sometimes called Johann V, and usually translated to John VII or John V) was a Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin. Biography Johann was the son of John Albert I, Duke of Mecklenburg-Güstrow ...

(1558–1592), Duke of Mecklenburg *

Joachim Daniel von Jauch Joachim Daniel von Jauch (22 March 1688 – 3 May 1754) was a German-born architect who supervised the baroque development of Warsaw in Poland. Early life and work Joachim Daniel von Jauch was born into the Jauch family in Güstrow, Germany on 22 ...

(1688–1754), major general and baroque architect *

John Brinckman John Brinckman, originally Johann Friedrich Brinckmann (3 July 1814, Rostock - 20 September 1870, Güstrow) was a German author of humorous works in Plattdeutsch. Biography He was the second of nine children born to Caspar Christoph Michael ...

(1814–1870), poet and short story writer *

Harry Lehmann Harry Lehmann (21 March 1924 in Güstrow22 November 1998 in Hamburg) was a German physicist. Biography Lehmann studied physics at Rostock and the Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin. In 1952 he worked at the Max-Planck-Institut in Göttingen, and ...

(1924–1998),

Max Planck Medal The Max Planck medal is the highest award of the German Physical Society , the world's largest organization of physicists, for extraordinary achievements in theoretical physics. The prize has been awarded annually since 1929, with few exceptions, ...

award-winning physicist *

Ulrich Neckel Ulrich Neckel (23 January 1898 – 11 May 1928) Pour le Mérite, Iron Cross First and Second Class, was a World War I fighter ace credited with 30 victories. Early life and enlistment Ulrich Neckel was born in Güstrow, part of the Grand Duc ...

(1898–1928), pilot in WWI and a recipient of the

Pour le Mérite The ' (; , ) is an order of merit (german: Verdienstorden) established in 1740 by Frederick the Great, King Frederick II of Prussia. The was awarded as both a military and civil honour and ranked, along with the Order of the Black Eagle, the Or ...

medal

Twin towns – sister cities

Güstrow is twinned with: *

Ribe Ribe () is a town in south-west Jutland, Denmark, with a population of 8,257 (2022). It is the seat of the Diocese of Ribe covering southwestern Jutland. Until 1 January 2007, Ribe was the seat of both a surrounding Ribe Municipality, municipali ...

, Denmark *

Gryfice Gryfice (pronounced ; Kashubian: ''Grëfice''; formerly german: Greifenberg)". 1880. is a historic town in Pomerania, north-western Poland, with 16,600 inhabitants (2017). It is the capital of Gryfice County in West Pomeranian Voivodeship (sinc ...

, Poland * Kronshagen, Germany *

Neuwied Neuwied () is a town in the north of the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate, capital of the District of Neuwied. Neuwied lies on the east bank of the Rhine, 12 km northwest of Koblenz, on the railway from Frankfurt am Main to Cologne. Th ...

, Germany

References

External links

*
Barlachstadt Güstrow
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gustrow Cities and towns in Mecklenburg Populated places established in the 13th century Grand Duchy of Mecklenburg-Schwerin 1228 establishments in Europe