Mecklenburg-Vorpommern

Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, state, northeastern Germany, bounded on the north by the Baltic Sea, on the west by Schleswig-Holstein, on the southwest by Lower Saxony (Niedersachsen), on the south by Brandenburg, and on the east by Poland. The state lies in a fertile plain containing many forests and lakes and is crossed by the Elde, Warnow, and several other rivers. Schwerin (population, 2005 estimate, 97,100) is the capital. Area, 23,171 sq km (8,946 sq mi); population 1,732,000 (2004 estimate).

Teutonic peoples inhabited the area comprising present-day Mecklenburg-Vorpommern in the first centuries of the Christian era, but early in the 6th century it was seized by various Slavic tribes. The Mecklenburg region was conquered by Henry the Lion, duke of Saxony, in the latter half of the 12th century. In 1348 it was elevated to a duchy. The duchy was subdivided (1621) into the duchies of Mecklenburg-Schwerin and Mecklenburg-Strelitz, which were elevated to grand duchies in 1815. They joined the German Empire in 1871 and after World War I were constituted states of the new German Republic. In 1934 they were united into the single state of Mecklenburg. After World War II Mecklenburg became part of the Soviet Zone, and Pomerania, a former maritime province of Prussia on the Baltic Sea, was partitioned into two areas divided by the Odra (Oder) River; the area west of the Odra was included in the new state of Mecklenburg. The state was dissolved in 1952, when East Germany was reorganized into districts. In 1990, with Germany's unification, the state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern was created.

See also Pomerania.