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During its history, the state of Mecklenburg has been repeatedly partitioned into various successor states (lordships, duchies, grand duchies). Modern historians distinguish three main Partitions of Mecklenburg:
The first partition of Mecklenburg was carried out in 1234 by the heirs of Henry Borwin II, Lord of Mecklenburg. It was a result of the Realteilung (partition due to partible inheritance) of the territory into four Herrschaften (lordships) or Fürstentümer (principalities): Mecklenburg, Parchim (later Parchim-Richenberg), Werle and Rostock.
The effects of the first partition lasted until 1471, when the territories were reunited by Henry IV, Duke of Mecklenburg through inheritance.
The second partition of Mecklenburg took place in 1621 as a result of the Fahrenholzer Vertrag: a partition agreement, resulting in the Realteilung into the Duchy of Mecklenburg-Schwerin and Mecklenburg-Güstrow. Although this division already existed (with interruptions) after the death of Henry IV in 1477 and again after 1520 (after the Neubrandenburger Hausvertrag (New Brandenburg House Contract)), it was only in the form of an allocation of Ämter (singular Amt; a type of administrative division), while general governance remained unified.
In the agreement, Adolf Frederick I received the princely state of Schwerin, while his brother John Albert II received the land centred on Güstrow. [2] : 182
The divisions had little historical basis. The most important goals were to divide the amount of territory and income as evenly as possible. In order to achieve this, Schwerin received the previously Güstrow-aligned Ämter of Grabow, Gorlosen, Marnitz, Neukloster and Sternberg including the Abbey of Walsmühlen while Güstrow received the Ämter of Strelitz, Goldberg, Wredenhagen and Fürstenberg from Schwerin. [2] : 290
Therefore, the two portions consisted of the following Ämter: [2] : 290
Note however that the Ämter of Wredenhagen, Fürstenberg, Ivenack and Wanzka were de facto controlled by Pomerania. [2] : 290
The cities were divided such that Schwerin received: Wismar, along with all the princely houses, Schwerin, Parchim, Waren and Kröpelin; the noble towns of Brüel, Malchow and Dassow, as well as Dömitz and Zarrentin. Güstrow received: Güstrow, Laage, Krakow, Malchin, Robel, Teterow, Neubrandenburg, Friedland, Woldegk, Penzlin, Sülze and Marlow. It also gained the Elbe (despite its remoteness from Güstrow) as a result of gaining the Amt of Boizenburg. [2] : 290
The town of Rostock including Warnemünde remained a joint possession, as did the state's four Abbeys: Dobbertin, Malchow, Ribnitz and the Abbey of the Holy Cross in Rostock. The courts (Hofgericht and Landgericht), the Papal consistory, the State Diet, border disputes, the cost of the Reichskammergericht etc. also remained joint concerns. [2] : 291
The third partition of Mecklenburg occurred as a result of the Treaty of Hamburg (1701) and divided the inheritance of territory of Mecklenburg-Güstrow between Mecklenburg-Schwerin and the newly formed Duchy of Mecklenburg-Strelitz. These divisions would last until the end of the monarchy in 1918/19, albeit with reduced autonomy, and after that as the Free States of Mecklenburg-Schwerin and Mecklenburg-Strelitz during the Weimar Republic. The two states were reunited in 1934 under Nazi influence.
Mecklenburg 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, Schwerin, Neubrandenburg, Wismar and Güstrow.
The Duchy of Mecklenburg-Strelitz was a duchy in northern Germany consisting of the eastern fifth of the historic Mecklenburg region, roughly corresponding with the present-day Mecklenburg-Strelitz district, and the western exclave of the former Bishopric of Ratzeburg in modern Schleswig-Holstein. At the time of its establishment, the duchy bordered on the territory of Swedish Pomerania in the north and of Brandenburg in the south.
Güstrow is a former district in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany. It was bounded by the districts of Bad Doberan, Nordvorpommern, Demmin, Müritz, Parchim and Nordwestmecklenburg. The district was disbanded at the district reform of September 2011. Its territory has been part of the district of Rostock since.
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 House of Mecklenburg, Mecklenburg-Schwerin remained a state of the Holy Roman Empire along the Baltic Sea littoral between Holstein-Glückstadt and the Duchy of Pomerania.
Parchim is a town in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany. It is the capital of the Ludwigslust-Parchim district. It was the birthplace of Helmuth von Moltke the Elder, to whom a monument was erected in 1876.
The House of Mecklenburg, also known as Nikloting, is a North German dynasty of Slavic origin that ruled until 1918 in the Mecklenburg region, being among the longest-ruling families of Europe. Queen Juliana of the Netherlands (1909–2004), former Queen of the Netherlands (1948–1980), was an agnatic member of this house.
Werle was a fiefdom in the Holy Roman Empire that was founded in 1235. In German it is known as a Herrschaft or Fürstentum (principality). It was created in the partition of territories in Mecklenburg that followed the death of Henry Borwin II of Mecklenburg.
Mecklenburg-Güstrow was a state of the Holy Roman Empire in Northern Germany, that existed on three occasions ruled by the House of Mecklenburg at Güstrow.
Magnus II, Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin and Güstrow was duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin from 1477 until his death.
The Grand Duchy of Mecklenburg Friedrich-Franz Railway was the state railway company in Mecklenburg-Schwerin and Mecklenburg-Strelitz. After its second nationalisation in 1890 up to the merger of the Länderbahnen into the Deutsche Reichsbahn in 1920 it was under the direction of the Grand Duchy's Executive Railway Board in Schwerin.
The Bezirk Schwerin was a district (Bezirk) of East Germany. The administrative seat and the main town was Schwerin.
Henry II, Lord of Mecklenburg, nicknamed the Lion was regent of Mecklenburg from 1287 to 1298, co-regent from 1298 to 1302 and ruled alone again from 1302 to 1329.
John Albert I, Duke of Mecklenburg, in older literature known as John or Johann, was the reigning Duke of Mecklenburg-Güstrow from 1547 to 1556 and of Mecklenburg-Schwerin from 1556 to 1576. In 1549 John Albert I saw to it that the parliament of Mecklenburg carried through the Reformation for the entire Duchy.
Nicholas I, Lord of Werle, was Lord of Rostock from 1229 to 1234 and Lord of Werle from 1234 until his death.
Ludwigslust-Parchim II – Nordwestmecklenburg II – Landkreis Rostock I is an electoral constituency represented in the Bundestag. It elects one member via first-past-the-post voting. Under the current constituency numbering system, it is designated as constituency 13. It is located in western Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, comprising the eastern parts of the districts of Ludwigslust-Parchim and Nordwestmecklenburg, and the northwestern part of Landkreis Rostock.
The Lordship of Parchim-Richenberg was a short-lived state of the Holy Roman Empire which existed during the 13th century. It arose from the first partition of Mecklenburg after the death of Henry Borwin II, Lord of Mecklenburg in 1226. Initially it was named after its capital Parchim. Later, following the transferral of the seat to Richenberg, the name shifted to Richenberg. The Lordship comprised the lands of Parchim, the rural area of Ture and the later Vogteis of Plau, Goldberg, Sternberg and finally Richenberg. It was the shortest-lived of the four partitioned principalities of Mecklenburg.
The Lordship or Principality of Rostock was a state of the Holy Roman Empire in the 13th and early 14th centuries. It arose from the first partition of Mecklenburg after the death of Henry Borwin II in 1227. It was named after the castle and settlement of Rostock and held the territories of Kessin, Kröpelin, Doberan, Ribnitz, Marlow, Sülze and Tessin in the modern German Bundesland of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. Later, in 1236 Gnoien and Kalen were added to the lordship's territory.
Schwerin – Ludwigslust-Parchim I – Nordwestmecklenburg I is an electoral constituency represented in the Bundestag. It elects one member via first-past-the-post voting. Under the current constituency numbering system, it is designated as constituency 12. It is located in western Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, comprising the city of Schwerin and western parts of the districts of Ludwigslust-Parchim and Nordwestmecklenburg.
Mecklenburgische Seenplatte II – Landkreis Rostock III is an electoral constituency represented in the Bundestag. It elects one member via first-past-the-post voting. Under the current constituency numbering system, it is designated as constituency 17. It is located in central Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, comprising the most of the Mecklenburgische Seenplatte district and the southern part of the Landkreis Rostock district.