[7] In English, it is usually named as "Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania". The oldest museum in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania is Stralsund's Cultural History Museum, the smallest is the Professor Wandschneider Sculpture Museum in Plau am See. Population On the state's coastline on the Baltic Sea are many holiday resorts and much unspoilt nature, including the islands of Rgen, Usedom, and others, as well as the Mecklenburg Lake District, making the state one of Germany's leading tourist destinations. travel and visitors information, tourist attractions, events South of, fish in all variations ("Rollmops", "Bismarckhering"), beer from the local breweries in Rostock, Stralsund and Lbz, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania is bordered by the German states of. Other important theatres are the Ernst Barlach Theatre of Gstrow, the Theatre of Parchim, the Anklam Theatre and the Wismar Theatre. Rote Grtze is a popular dessert. Notable museums include, for example, the Schwerin State Museum and the Pomeranian State Museum at Greifswald. https://en.wikivoyage.org/w/index.php?title=Mecklenburg-Western_Pomerania&oldid=4142876, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Licensed, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, Mritz - Germanys largest lake on its territory, with a national park on its eastern shore, "Vorpommersche Boddenlandschaft" - ("Western Pomeranian Lagoons") National Park on the coast between Rostock and Rgen, the 5 km long KdF-building complex and ruins in, the beautiful sea bridges (seebrcke - or "piers" in UK English) of some coastal towns (e.g. While the shipyards still haven't quite turned the corner they have now specialized in (higher prized) military and specialist vessels, where the high wages don't hurt them as much. More than 11% of the regions surface area is under protection, even 30% are European FFH areas. At the time of German reunification in 1990, the eastern states were reconstituted along their postwar boundaries (with minor adjustments) as they had existed until 1952, and the historic name Mecklenburg-Vorpommern was restored. After the 12th century, the territory remained stable and relatively independent of its neighbours; one of the few German territories for which this is true. The opposition Alternative for Germany (AfD) remained the second largest party but declined to under 17%. Medical tourism[14] based on the clean air and idyllic settings by the Baltic Sea has a growing importance to the regional tourism industry.[14]. The slogan "MV tut gut" (MV will do you good) is a promise every tourist will experience. Mecklenburg-Vorpommern is divided into 12 administrative and 6 municipal districts. During the 19th century, the first high-end Baltic Sea resorts emerged alongside the flourishing ports. Attractions are listed geographically, from west to east (left to right) and north to south (top to bottom). Take some time though - a 50km ride can take an hour or more, which is considerably longer than elsewhere in Germany. Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania (Mecklenburg-Vorpommern) is a Land (state) in Germany, located in the northeastern corner of the country between Brandenburg, Schleswig-Holstein, Lower Saxony and the Baltic Sea, and the neighboring country of Poland. There are two main types of schools, Regionalschule (for the majority of pupils) and Gymnasium (for the top 30% of each year's students, leading to the university entrance qualification "Abitur"). This information helps us to understand how our visitors use our website. For example, the Western Pomerania Lagoon Area National Park is the largest resting site for cranes in the whole of Central Europe. This is mostly a beach destination, so swimming is the main activity of most visitors. 23213,7 square kilometres, For the use of the website with all functions (e.g. 14.2% are members of the Evangelical Church in Germany and 3.4% of the Catholic Church.[16]. [24], The Landtag has been led by Minister President Manuela Schwesig since 2017. After the fall of the GDR the crisis hit this area particularly hard, as the shipyards could not deal with the new competition (mostly from Korea) and East Germans eager to explore their new-found freedom of travel stopped vacationing in the seaside resorts. Soviet Military Administration in Germany, List of cities in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern by population, List of museums in Germany Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Evangelical Lutheran Church of Mecklenburg, Evangelical Lutheran Church in Northern Germany, Evangelical Church of Berlin and Brandenburg, List of Ministers-President of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, 2021 Mecklenburg-Vorpommern state election, Independents for Citizen-oriented Democracy, "Bevlkerungsstand der Kreise, mter und Gemeinden in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern", "Bruttoinlandsprodukt in jeweiligen Preisen 1991 bis 2019", "Sub-national HDI - Area Database - Global Data Lab", Der Name Pommern (po more) ist slawischer Herkunft und bedeutet so viel wie "Land am Meer", "(PDF) Visitor nos. Statistics Cookies collect information anonymously. Main roads often have separate bicycle lanes beside them. A well-developed infrastructure, high-end hotels, holiday resorts as well as camping sites together with a wide range of cultural and outdoor activity offers await vacationers in MV's 8 areas. Three of Germany's fourteen national parks, as well as several hundred nature conservation areas, are in the state. Employees worked an average of 1,455 hours a year. [13] Western Pomerania was additionally stripped of the area around the Pomeranian regional capital Stettin/Szczecin as well as the city itself, despite its location to the west of the river Oder. www.off-to-mv.com, Area in square kilometres: Royal seats and Hanseatic cities on the coast of the Baltic Sea. Required for viewing external media and third-party content. 
In the summer months, especially on weekends, the motorways and all roads to the coast can be congested.
Pomerania became a province of Prussia in 1815 and remained so until 1945. There are also Jewish communities, in the state capital of Schwerin (including Wismar) and in the city of Rostock. The place name Vorpommern, at its base derives from West Slavic languages, with the prefix "po-" meaning along or at, and the base word "more" meaning sea together "po more" means Land at the Sea while the German prefix "vor-" denoted a closer location, and is the equivalent of the word "hither" in English. Mecklenburg-Vorpommern is the least densely populated and least industrial German state, being the sixth largest in area, but only the 14th in population. In order to provide you with the best possible offer in cooperation with our partners, we use marketing tools. Other major cities include Neubrandenburg, Stralsund, Greifswald, Wismar and Gstrow. [9], In the aftermath of the Second World War and German reunification in 1990, the state was constituted from the historic region of Mecklenburg and Western Pomerania, both of which had long and rich independent histories. While they are a comparatively new phenomenon, Intercity buses in Germany serve most major and some minor towns throughout the country with prices often surprisingly low to compete with the better comfort and journey time of trains. It is the least populated part of Germany and thus offers vast natural reserves. Mecklenburg-Vorpommern's state capital is Schwerin. [23] The essential functions of the Landtag are to elect the Minister-President of the state; to discuss and decide on laws which have been proposed by the government, by any four members of the Landtag, or a people's initiative or petition for a referendum initiated directly by the people; and to control the state government. In the larger cities (especially Rostock) you can get around well with English. The largest beer breweries are Mecklenburgische Brauerei Lbz (Lbzer Pils), Hanseatische Brauerei Rostock, Darguner Brauerei and Strtebeker Braumanufaktur (Stralsund, multiple winner of the World Beer Cup). The East German government developed the shipyards in the old Hanseatic ports (the largest being in Rostock and Stralsund), and also established the Greifswald Nuclear Power Plant in Lubmin near Greifswald. this "Bundesland", e.g. A famous dish from Western Pomerania is Bismarck Herring. Nowadays, there are 29 seaside and spa resorts along the coast. Grand Duke Friedrich Franz I, who headed to Heiligendamm in 1793 to ease his recovery in the waters of the Baltic Sea, founded the first seaside resort in Germany, marking the birth of the spa culture on the white sandy beaches. The old towns, hundreds of castles and manors, resort buildings, windmills, churches, and various other cultural monuments of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern have been renovated in recent years. About two thousand years ago, Germanic peoples were recorded in the area. It became part of the German Democratic Republic in 1949, but was dissolved in 1952 during administrative reforms and its territory divided into the districts of Rostock, Schwerin, and Neubrandenburg. Beside a state profile, this page offers links to sources that provide you with information about Formerly, unemployment has been negatively affected by the breakdown of non-competitive former GDR industries after the German reunification in the 1990s. Also stepped and tailed gables are a typical feature of the Hanseatic old towns, such as Stralsund, Wismar and Greifswald. [17] The main tourist regions are: As a reminder of its rich history, nearly 2,000 castles, palaces and manor houses exist in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, many of which are used as venues for public events like concerts and festivals, such as Festpiele MV[31] (a classical music festival). In 1952, the East German government abandoned the term Land in this context and redesignated its administrative territorial divisions as "districts" (German: Bezirke). The region also offers many hidden castles and manor houses, well-kept medieval towns and an intact nature. Often towns were founded at the Baltic Sea, one of the many lakes or a river for logistical and trade motives. The German Oceanographic Museum with its Ozeaneum in Stralsund is the most popular museum in northern Germany. Known for being glamorous and sophisticated, they all feature the typical spa architecture, which the imperial resorts of Ahlbeck, Bansin and Heringsdorf are especially famous for. There are also regular train connections from Poland (Szczecin). What had been largely an industrial and agricultural economy is increasingly driven by the service, tourism, and high-tech sectors.
During summer, many open-air concerts and operas are open to visitors. Growing sectors are biotechnology, information technology, life sciences, maritime industry and tourist services. In the sixth century Polabian Slavs populated the area. [11], Along the coast, Vikings and Slavs established trade posts like Reric, Ralswiek and Menzlin. Mecklenburg became a constituent state ("Land") of the German Democratic Republic (GDR) upon its formation in 1949. The fast motorway network (Autobahn) has been considerably extended during the last years and all larger cities now have excellent connections. Website: However, starting in the mid 1990s tourism has bounced back, as even Western Germans have discovered the allure of the Baltic Sea and many East Germans returned to the vacation spot of their youth. Sixth-largest in area and fourteenth in overall population among Germany's sixteen Bundeslnder (federal states), Mecklenburg-Vorpommern is bounded to the north by the Baltic Sea, to the west by Schleswig-Holstein, to the southwest by Lower Saxony, to the south by Brandenburg, and to the east by the West Pomeranian Voivodeship in Poland. Notable from Mecklenburg-Vorpommern include: Stralsund aerial view of an old town, protected by UNESCO, Binz typical German resort architecture (Bderarchitektur) at the Baltic Sea, Beach Promenade of Warnemnde, part of Rostock, Greifswald Gable houses at market square, Schwerin capital of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Harbour of Wismar, a historical Hanseatic city sharing its World Heritage Site status with Stralsund, Neubrandenburg Concert Church St. Marien, Usedom Benz windmill, one of many windmills in MV, Rgen Ralswiek castle, one of many castles in MV, Ahlbeck Hotel "Ahlbecker Hof" (Usedom Island), Ahrenshoop steep coast, peninsula of Fischland-Dar-Zingst, Map of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, showing locations, heights, and waters, Constituent regions and districts of the state, including the border of the historical. Since 1991, distinct prefixes are specified for each district. While Mecklenburg was settled by the Obotrites, Pomerania was settled by the Veleti (later Liuticians) and the Rani. The introduction of the c is explained as follows: Either the c signals the stretched pronunciation of the preceding e (Dehnungs-c), or it signals the pronunciation of the subsequent k as an occlusive [k] to prevent it from falsely being rendered as a fricative [] following a Low German trend. In May 2012 the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Mecklenburg merged with North Elbian Evangelical Lutheran Church and Pomeranian Evangelical Church into the new Evangelical Lutheran Church in Northern Germany. Picture 1,900kilometres of coastline lined with upscale Baltic Sea resorts and white sandy beaches, venerable UNESCO World Heritage Sites and stunning natural scenery. Most of them settled in rural communities, but the urban population also increased, most notably in Schwerin from 65,000 (1939) to 99,518 (January 1947), in Wismar from 29,463 to 44,173, and in Greifswald from 29,488 to 43,897. In the 12th century, Mecklenburg and Vorpommern were conquered by Henry the Lion and incorporated into the Duchy of Saxony, joining the Holy Roman Empire in the 1180s. The "land of a thousand lakes" (German: Land der tausend Seen) is hallmarked by its unspoilt nature. The GDP per employee was 83% of the EU average. Just over the road is Schwerin's Old Town, boasting splendid architecture from recent centuries.
Tourismusverband Mecklenburg - Vorpommern, Naturpark Mecklenburgische Schweiz und Kummerower See, Das Land - Geschichte: Mecklenburg - Vorpommern, Open Directory There are special touristic bikeways along the Baltic coast and from Berlin to Rostock. Mecklenburg and Pomerania are known for their many historical Baltic seaside resorts with noble architecture and fine sandy beaches, that are unmatched in most of Europe. The election to determine the Minister-President is held no later than four weeks after the newly elected Landtag is convened. Mecklenburg-Vorpommern is also the poorest German state measured by gross regional product per capita at purchasing power parity. 5 of Red Army Marshal Georgy Zhukov, head of the Soviet Military Administration in Germany (SMAD), as the Province of Mecklenburg and West Pomerania (zapadnoi Pomeranii).[12]. If they don't, keep off - riding there is both dangerous and unpleasant!
[23], The last election of the Landtag of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern took place on 26 September 2021. Central Europe's largest continuous area of lakes and rivers is just an hour's drive heading south from the Baltic Sea. In 1947, some 1,426,000 refugees from the former eastern parts of Germany were counted. It's no surprise that the island of Usedom has followed this tradition and now boasts more certified wellness hotels than anywhere else. As this was the main beach destination in GDR times FKK (Freikrperkultur, that is naturism or nude bathing) is the norm rather than the exception. It is also a good area for hiking. Mecklenburg-Vorpommern (MV; German: Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, pronounced [meklnbkfopmn] or [mk-] (listen);[5][6] Low German: Mkelborg-Vrpommern), also known by its anglicized name MecklenburgWestern Pomerania, is a state in the north-east of Germany. In the late 12th century, Henry the Lion, Duke of the Saxons, conquered the Obotrites, subjugated its Nikloting dynasty, and Christianized its people. Historically, there were also synagogues in smaller towns, of which some are still preserved (like Rbel, Krakow am See and Boizenburg). Since its growing importance for summer tourism, open-air theatres and festivals become more common again as well, such as the Strtebeker Festival on the island of Rgen, and the Vineta Festival on Usedom. The Mritz National Park at the heart of the Mecklenburg Lake District is a wooded area that surrounds Mritz, the largest inland lake in Germany. Rostock has its own type of bratwurst called Rostocker Bratwurst. A total of 283 nature reserves, 110 landscape reserves and three of Germany's fourteen national parks are scattered all over the state. Vorpommern, literally Fore-Pomerania, is the smaller, western part of the former Prussian Province of Pomerania; the eastern part became part of Poland after the end of World War II.
All four theatres offer both drama and musical theatre as well as orchestral music. As some of Germany's (historically) most important Baltic ports are here, its cities were among the preeminent in the Hanseatic League (though it was de facto led by Lbeck just across the state border to the west), as well as a desired prize for all Baltic powers. She stated her motivations for reorienting the coalition as a desire for "a new departure", and described The Left as a "social, pragmatic party" with decisive policy overlap with the SPD. Schwerin Castle, often referred to as northern Germany's answer to Neuschwanstein Castle, was once the main residence of the Grand Dukes of Mecklenburg-Schwerin.
In the summer months, especially on weekends, the motorways and all roads to the coast can be congested. Pomerania became a province of Prussia in 1815 and remained so until 1945. There are also Jewish communities, in the state capital of Schwerin (including Wismar) and in the city of Rostock. The place name Vorpommern, at its base derives from West Slavic languages, with the prefix "po-" meaning along or at, and the base word "more" meaning sea together "po more" means Land at the Sea while the German prefix "vor-" denoted a closer location, and is the equivalent of the word "hither" in English. Mecklenburg-Vorpommern is the least densely populated and least industrial German state, being the sixth largest in area, but only the 14th in population. In order to provide you with the best possible offer in cooperation with our partners, we use marketing tools. Other major cities include Neubrandenburg, Stralsund, Greifswald, Wismar and Gstrow. [9], In the aftermath of the Second World War and German reunification in 1990, the state was constituted from the historic region of Mecklenburg and Western Pomerania, both of which had long and rich independent histories. While they are a comparatively new phenomenon, Intercity buses in Germany serve most major and some minor towns throughout the country with prices often surprisingly low to compete with the better comfort and journey time of trains. It is the least populated part of Germany and thus offers vast natural reserves. Mecklenburg-Vorpommern's state capital is Schwerin. [23] The essential functions of the Landtag are to elect the Minister-President of the state; to discuss and decide on laws which have been proposed by the government, by any four members of the Landtag, or a people's initiative or petition for a referendum initiated directly by the people; and to control the state government. In the larger cities (especially Rostock) you can get around well with English. The largest beer breweries are Mecklenburgische Brauerei Lbz (Lbzer Pils), Hanseatische Brauerei Rostock, Darguner Brauerei and Strtebeker Braumanufaktur (Stralsund, multiple winner of the World Beer Cup). The East German government developed the shipyards in the old Hanseatic ports (the largest being in Rostock and Stralsund), and also established the Greifswald Nuclear Power Plant in Lubmin near Greifswald. this "Bundesland", e.g. A famous dish from Western Pomerania is Bismarck Herring. Nowadays, there are 29 seaside and spa resorts along the coast. Grand Duke Friedrich Franz I, who headed to Heiligendamm in 1793 to ease his recovery in the waters of the Baltic Sea, founded the first seaside resort in Germany, marking the birth of the spa culture on the white sandy beaches. The old towns, hundreds of castles and manors, resort buildings, windmills, churches, and various other cultural monuments of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern have been renovated in recent years. About two thousand years ago, Germanic peoples were recorded in the area. It became part of the German Democratic Republic in 1949, but was dissolved in 1952 during administrative reforms and its territory divided into the districts of Rostock, Schwerin, and Neubrandenburg. Beside a state profile, this page offers links to sources that provide you with information about Formerly, unemployment has been negatively affected by the breakdown of non-competitive former GDR industries after the German reunification in the 1990s. Also stepped and tailed gables are a typical feature of the Hanseatic old towns, such as Stralsund, Wismar and Greifswald. [17] The main tourist regions are: As a reminder of its rich history, nearly 2,000 castles, palaces and manor houses exist in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, many of which are used as venues for public events like concerts and festivals, such as Festpiele MV[31] (a classical music festival). In 1952, the East German government abandoned the term Land in this context and redesignated its administrative territorial divisions as "districts" (German: Bezirke). The region also offers many hidden castles and manor houses, well-kept medieval towns and an intact nature. Often towns were founded at the Baltic Sea, one of the many lakes or a river for logistical and trade motives. The German Oceanographic Museum with its Ozeaneum in Stralsund is the most popular museum in northern Germany. Known for being glamorous and sophisticated, they all feature the typical spa architecture, which the imperial resorts of Ahlbeck, Bansin and Heringsdorf are especially famous for. There are also regular train connections from Poland (Szczecin). What had been largely an industrial and agricultural economy is increasingly driven by the service, tourism, and high-tech sectors.
During summer, many open-air concerts and operas are open to visitors. Growing sectors are biotechnology, information technology, life sciences, maritime industry and tourist services. In the sixth century Polabian Slavs populated the area. [11], Along the coast, Vikings and Slavs established trade posts like Reric, Ralswiek and Menzlin. Mecklenburg became a constituent state ("Land") of the German Democratic Republic (GDR) upon its formation in 1949. The fast motorway network (Autobahn) has been considerably extended during the last years and all larger cities now have excellent connections. Website: However, starting in the mid 1990s tourism has bounced back, as even Western Germans have discovered the allure of the Baltic Sea and many East Germans returned to the vacation spot of their youth. Sixth-largest in area and fourteenth in overall population among Germany's sixteen Bundeslnder (federal states), Mecklenburg-Vorpommern is bounded to the north by the Baltic Sea, to the west by Schleswig-Holstein, to the southwest by Lower Saxony, to the south by Brandenburg, and to the east by the West Pomeranian Voivodeship in Poland. Notable from Mecklenburg-Vorpommern include: Stralsund aerial view of an old town, protected by UNESCO, Binz typical German resort architecture (Bderarchitektur) at the Baltic Sea, Beach Promenade of Warnemnde, part of Rostock, Greifswald Gable houses at market square, Schwerin capital of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Harbour of Wismar, a historical Hanseatic city sharing its World Heritage Site status with Stralsund, Neubrandenburg Concert Church St. Marien, Usedom Benz windmill, one of many windmills in MV, Rgen Ralswiek castle, one of many castles in MV, Ahlbeck Hotel "Ahlbecker Hof" (Usedom Island), Ahrenshoop steep coast, peninsula of Fischland-Dar-Zingst, Map of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, showing locations, heights, and waters, Constituent regions and districts of the state, including the border of the historical. Since 1991, distinct prefixes are specified for each district. While Mecklenburg was settled by the Obotrites, Pomerania was settled by the Veleti (later Liuticians) and the Rani. The introduction of the c is explained as follows: Either the c signals the stretched pronunciation of the preceding e (Dehnungs-c), or it signals the pronunciation of the subsequent k as an occlusive [k] to prevent it from falsely being rendered as a fricative [] following a Low German trend. In May 2012 the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Mecklenburg merged with North Elbian Evangelical Lutheran Church and Pomeranian Evangelical Church into the new Evangelical Lutheran Church in Northern Germany. Picture 1,900kilometres of coastline lined with upscale Baltic Sea resorts and white sandy beaches, venerable UNESCO World Heritage Sites and stunning natural scenery. Most of them settled in rural communities, but the urban population also increased, most notably in Schwerin from 65,000 (1939) to 99,518 (January 1947), in Wismar from 29,463 to 44,173, and in Greifswald from 29,488 to 43,897. In the 12th century, Mecklenburg and Vorpommern were conquered by Henry the Lion and incorporated into the Duchy of Saxony, joining the Holy Roman Empire in the 1180s. The "land of a thousand lakes" (German: Land der tausend Seen) is hallmarked by its unspoilt nature. The GDP per employee was 83% of the EU average. Just over the road is Schwerin's Old Town, boasting splendid architecture from recent centuries.
Tourismusverband Mecklenburg - Vorpommern, Naturpark Mecklenburgische Schweiz und Kummerower See, Das Land - Geschichte: Mecklenburg - Vorpommern, Open Directory There are special touristic bikeways along the Baltic coast and from Berlin to Rostock. Mecklenburg and Pomerania are known for their many historical Baltic seaside resorts with noble architecture and fine sandy beaches, that are unmatched in most of Europe. The election to determine the Minister-President is held no later than four weeks after the newly elected Landtag is convened. Mecklenburg-Vorpommern is also the poorest German state measured by gross regional product per capita at purchasing power parity. 5 of Red Army Marshal Georgy Zhukov, head of the Soviet Military Administration in Germany (SMAD), as the Province of Mecklenburg and West Pomerania (zapadnoi Pomeranii).[12]. If they don't, keep off - riding there is both dangerous and unpleasant!
[23], The last election of the Landtag of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern took place on 26 September 2021. Central Europe's largest continuous area of lakes and rivers is just an hour's drive heading south from the Baltic Sea. In 1947, some 1,426,000 refugees from the former eastern parts of Germany were counted. It's no surprise that the island of Usedom has followed this tradition and now boasts more certified wellness hotels than anywhere else. As this was the main beach destination in GDR times FKK (Freikrperkultur, that is naturism or nude bathing) is the norm rather than the exception. It is also a good area for hiking. Mecklenburg-Vorpommern (MV; German: Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, pronounced [meklnbkfopmn] or [mk-] (listen);[5][6] Low German: Mkelborg-Vrpommern), also known by its anglicized name MecklenburgWestern Pomerania, is a state in the north-east of Germany. In the late 12th century, Henry the Lion, Duke of the Saxons, conquered the Obotrites, subjugated its Nikloting dynasty, and Christianized its people. Historically, there were also synagogues in smaller towns, of which some are still preserved (like Rbel, Krakow am See and Boizenburg). Since its growing importance for summer tourism, open-air theatres and festivals become more common again as well, such as the Strtebeker Festival on the island of Rgen, and the Vineta Festival on Usedom. The Mritz National Park at the heart of the Mecklenburg Lake District is a wooded area that surrounds Mritz, the largest inland lake in Germany. Rostock has its own type of bratwurst called Rostocker Bratwurst. A total of 283 nature reserves, 110 landscape reserves and three of Germany's fourteen national parks are scattered all over the state. Vorpommern, literally Fore-Pomerania, is the smaller, western part of the former Prussian Province of Pomerania; the eastern part became part of Poland after the end of World War II.
All four theatres offer both drama and musical theatre as well as orchestral music. As some of Germany's (historically) most important Baltic ports are here, its cities were among the preeminent in the Hanseatic League (though it was de facto led by Lbeck just across the state border to the west), as well as a desired prize for all Baltic powers. She stated her motivations for reorienting the coalition as a desire for "a new departure", and described The Left as a "social, pragmatic party" with decisive policy overlap with the SPD. Schwerin Castle, often referred to as northern Germany's answer to Neuschwanstein Castle, was once the main residence of the Grand Dukes of Mecklenburg-Schwerin.