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Giebelhäuser Markt |
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Rostock Rathaus |
Leaving Wismar, we next traveled to Rostock, the largest city in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. The city is located on the Warnow river, and its port on the Baltic Sea is Rostock-Warnemünde. Polabian Slavs founded a settlement in the area in the 11th century. The Danish king Valdemar I burned the town in 1161. Afterwards, the place was settled by German traders.
The city developed through its membership in the Hanseatic League. In the 14th century, it was a very active seaport town with 12,000 inhabitants. ships for cruising the Baltic were constructed in Rostock. By the end of the 15th century, the dukes of Mecklenburg took control of the town of Rostock.
Because of its strategic location, the town was the site for many battles. The Danes and Swedes occupied the city twice, first during the Thirty Years' War (1618-48) and again from 1700 to 1721. Later Napoleon occupied the town for a decade until 1813.
During the first half of the 19th century, Rostock prospered due to the wheat trade and due to its shipyards. In the 20th century important airplane manufacturing facilities were located in the city. As a result, the city was a primary target in World War II for continual bombing in 1942 and 1945. Very few historical sites remain, and many homes were destroyed in the town. The seaport was rebuilt 1957-60, and many of the buildings in the town also have been rebuilt.
Rostock is still striving to regain its economic base, and has lost population due to emigration to more prosperous areas in the western regions of Germany. The population of the city today is about 200,000, which is about 1/3 the population of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern.
Our group did not stop in Rostock, but did drive through the town.
Click on the picture to enlarge it.
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