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Founding
Founding of Grabow
town in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Germany
- 13th century – 13th century
- Europe
Founding
town in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Germany
Fetching the article from Wikipedia…
Grabow (German pronunciation: [ˈɡʁaːboː] ⓘ) is a town in the Ludwigslust-Parchim district of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany. The town lies 7 kilometres (4.3 mi) southeast of Ludwigslust, the next city, and has the river Elde passing through its old town which is characterized by 16th century timber-framed architecture. Additionally, Grabow is a member and the seat of the Amt Grabow collective municipality as well as being a part of the Hamburg Metropolitan Region. Historically, Grabow was home to a royal residence where some monarchs of the Mecklenburg line were born.
The name Grabow is of Slavic Polabian origin, with grab meaning "hornbeam". Names of the same root are common in the area. Its name only slightly changed over time as with the town being known as Grabowe (1186, 1252, 1275) and Grabow (1189, 1298).
In contemporary times, Grabow is also referred to as Grabow (Elde) or Grabow in Mecklenburg, shortened to Grabow i. M. or Grabow (Meckl), to differentiate it from other settlements of the same name, with the latter being used in the official name of the Grabow (Meckl) train station.
Grabow is located within the Griese Gegend region of southern Mecklenburg, specifically the historical Land Grabow and, by some definitions, the historical Land Wehningen region. The municipal territory is characterized by the river Elde and its valley as well as the scenic landscape forest landscape which surrounds the town itself and covers a majority of its core municipal territory at an area of 1,658 hectares (4,100 acres) or 16.58 square kilometres (6.40 sq mi). Grabow is located relatively close to the Prignitz region and district within the state of Brandenburg, but has historically never been part of either.
The town is situated on the river Elde, which flows through the old town split between the New and Old Elde, forming an island. The river bisects the core municipal territory from northeast to southwest, leaving the territory with a characteristic river valley used for agriculture. Besides Grabow itself, the hinterland settlements of Fresenbrügge and Hechtsforthschleuse are also located on the Elde's banks. Just north of the old town, the Old Elde splits off into the Fabikkanal which forms the mouth of the Mühlenbach creek that enters the municipality from the east, originating in the bordering municipality of Prislich. Southeast of the old town island lies the Schlossinsel (also known as Amtsinsel) that used to be home to the Grabow Schloss before the Great Fire of 1725, nowadays the island is usually inaccessible private property.
Grabow lies 7 kilometres (4.3 mi) southeast of the next town Ludwigslust and 40 kilometres (25 mi) southeast of the state capital Schwerin. The town is roughly 26 kilometres (16 mi) upstream (via the Elde) of Dömitz, which lies on the Elbe. Other nearby towns include Lenzen (Elbe) and Wittenberge in Brandenburg that are located roughly 20 kilometres (12 mi) and 34 kilometres (21 mi) from Grabow respectively.
Grabow's municipal territory has an area of 72.27 square kilometres (27.90 sq mi) and is subdivided into 8 ortsteile of which one is Grabow itself while the other seven are smaller hinterland villages. Since 1 January 2016, Grabow has an exclave to its south after the town annexed the former municipality of Steesow (including the villages of Bochin and Zuggelrade as well as the Gemarkung Holdseelen). This exclave, which is separated from Grabow by about 15 kilometres (9.3 mi) and two other municipalities, Gorlosen and Milow, is the only part of Grabow's municipal territory that directly borders the state of Brandenburg. Despite its relative proximity, Grabow's core territory is otherwise separated from the state border with Brandenburg by roughly 2.5 kilometres (1.6 mi) and the municipality of Kremmin.
Grabow's core territory is bordered by Groß Laasch to the north, Muchow and Zierzow to the northeast, Prislich to the east, Kremmin to the southeast, Gorlosen to the south, Eldena to the southwest, as well as Karstädt and Ludwigslust to the west. The exclave Steesow is bordered by Milow to the north, Karstädt in the state of Brandenburg to the northeast, and Lenzen (Elbe) in Brandenburg to the south.
Besides the main town itself, the municipality of Grabow includes several outlying villages in its hinterland. Seven of which are recognized ortsteile.
On 1 July 1950, the former municipalities of Fresenbrügge (incl. Neu Fresenbrügge & Schleuse) and Wanzlitz (incl. Ausbau) were annexed into Grabow.
On 1 January 2016, the former municipality of Steesow (incl. Bochin and Zuggelrade as well as Holdseelen) was annexed into Grabow despite being separated by 15 kilometres (9.3 mi) and two other municipalities, Gorlosen and Milow, thus forming an exclave.
Grabow lies on the Berlin–Hamburg railway, which bisects the municipal territory from east to west, and is serviced by the RE8 Regionalbahn via the Grabow (Meckl) station. The RE8 connects Grabow to Wismar on the Baltic Sea coast and, via the federal capital Berlin, Elsterwerda in southwestern Brandenburg. In the direction of travel from Wismar to Elsterwerda, the station on the line directly before Grabow is Ludwigslust while the station directly after it is Karstädt.
The town's bus terminal is the stop Grabow Binnung which is located just south of the old town island and about 750 metres (2,460 ft) southwest of the train station. It is serviced by five bus lines that are operated by the Verkehrsgesellschaft Ludwigslust-Parchim (VLP), with the 590 in regular service to Ludwigslust primarily serving as a de facto school bus. Other lines connect outlying villages to the town but are only in semi-regular service with a large focus instead being placed on the VLP's Rufbus system.
From north to south, Grabow's municipal territory is bisected by two major roads that lie to the west of the main town itself: the A14 federal highway, which lies roughly 2 kilometres (1.2 mi) to the west of the town; and the L072 state road (also known as Ludwigsluster Chaussee), which bisects the town itself to the west and connects it to Ludwigslust in the north. The latter road is connected not only to lesser roads in the town but also to the aforementioned A14 highway via an interchange that is located in the northwest, just outside of the municipal territory. The L08 state road, which connects the B321 in Marnitz with Lenzen (Elbe) in the state of Brandenburg, bisects the town itself from east to west, only about 150 metres (490 ft) south of the old town island. It is known as Marnitzer Straße in the east, Prislicher Straße closer to the centre, and Binnung in the centre-west of the town before merging into the L072 for about 600 metres (2,000 ft) until again separating into the Lenzener Chausee south of the town itself. The L08 continues south through Milow until reaching the exclave of Steesow, which it bisects from north to south, connecting the villages of Steesow itself and Bochin to Grabow.
Grabow's old town has a small harbour (Stadthafen Grabow) on the Elde which is also home to a motorhome stopover (German: Wohnmobilstellplatz). An even smaller harbour, the Wasserwanderrastplatz Fresenbrügge, exists downstream in the hinterland village of Fresenbrügge which also serves as a motorhome pitch.
Historical affiliations
In a letter from 23 February 1186, Pope Urban III mentioned a castle in Grabow and that the settlement belongs to the County of Dannenberg. Grabow received town privileges in 1252 from the Count of Dannenberg. A church in Grabow was first mentioned in 1285.
Since 1319/20, Grabow has been a part of Mecklenburg under first the Duchy and then the Grand Duchy of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, under which it was incorporated into the German Empire.
The old town hall was built in 1687/88. On 3 June 1725, the vast majority of the town was destroyed by a great fire, this included the old town hall, which was rebuilt in 1728, remaining in use to this day; and the ducal palace, which was never rebuilt. After the fire, the incumbent first mayors, Hans Scheffer and Franz Heinrich Accidalius, commenced the rebuilding of the town in its now iconic style of close core timber-framed houses which still characterize the old town. The oldest building in Grabow dates to 23 May 1702, meaning that it survived the great fire.
As a result of the great fire, the Grabow Altarpiece, which was created in 1367 for the St. Petri church in Hamburg, was donated to the Grabow church 1726. It remained there until 1903 when it was bought by Alfred Lichtwark for the Hamburger Kunsthalle, returning it to Hamburg after its presence in Grabow for 177 years.
The first known Jews in Grabow showed up in records starting in 1749. They were two men: Moses Wulff and Siemon Moses, that earned their privilege of Schutzjude on 20 November 1753. By 1767, at least four Jews lived in Grabow and a small community of Jews had formed in the town by 1780 at the latest who maintained a small burial ground. A small synagogue may have also existed at the time, but was superseded by a new one, located at the intersection of Schulstraße and Wasserstraße, in 1798, which fell out of use before the 1930s, and was demolished in 1975. Grabow's Jewish population peaked in 1819 with 44 (8 families). Since the 18th century, Grabow has had a small Jewish cemetery, which the town maintains to this day.
In 1805, the painter Wilhelm Langschmidt was born in Grabow and later settled in the Elgin valley in South Africa. The town which grew around his trading store there still bears the name Grabouw, after his hometown.
On 1 July 1839, at the age of 28, Franz Floerke was elected mayor of Grabow with an absolute majority in the city council. His tenure, which at almost 50 years made him the longest-serving mayor in the town's history, was marked by prosperity and success. Arguably his biggest achievement was his advocacy for the construction of the Berlin–Hamburg railway through Grabow and the town's inclusion as a stop on the line; his endeavour successful, the first train arrived at the Grabow station from Berlin by noon on 15 October 1846 under applause of the residents. Floerke greatly contributed to the expansion of other infrastructure, such as bridges and roads; as well, while also promoting the settlement of industry in the town. His tenure ended upon his retirement on 1 January 1889, soon after which he died. He is commemorated by plaque on the town hall, a sculpture by Bernd Streiter, unveiled on 1 April 2016, and the road Floerkestraße which is named after him.
During 1843, Grabow had a population of 3,781, thereof 32 Jews and 259 cavalrymen.
The 1930 city council election was the last in Grabow before Nazi takeover had the following result: 8 Bürgerliche Liste, 5 SPD, 2 KPD. After the takeover, the city council was dissolved in November 1932 and reinstated in April 1933 with the following composition: 7 NSDAP, 5 SPD, 3 Kampffront Schwarz-Weiß-Rot. It was again dissolved in October 1935 and replaced by a council of 8 advisors to the mayor. The mayor at the time, Dr. Walter Bötcher, who had been in office since 1931, originally came from the DVP and only joined the NSDAP 1937. He was assisted by four 'temporary' vice-mayors and stayed in office until 1945.
After Hitler's rise to power, Jews faced increased discrimination which culminated in the Kristallnacht, although it is unknown if the already out-of-use synagogue, which was sold 1932, and the Jewish cemetery were affected during this time. Most Jews in Grabow were deported to concentration camps and murdered during the Holocaust. They are remembered by several Stolpersteine in the town, the first of which being laid in 2014. The last known Jew in Grabow was Betty Londe, née Rosenthal, who was recorded to be in a Mischehe (mixed marriage) in 1942, which ensured that she survived World War II, albeit her family facing discrimination.
Text from the Wikipedia article “Grabow”, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.