Schwerin is founded
From the 9th century there was a West Slavic settlement of abodrits in the lake area of ​​present-day Schwerin. At that time, the place was known as Zuarin, a precursor to today’s city name. Crusade against the Slavic people in the region started in 1147 with a Danish army and led by Henry the Lion.

In 1160, Henry the Lion overcame the Abodic leader Niklot and Zuarin, and he became the founder of the modern city. Monks moved monasteries to the city, which in 1167 became the capital of the new county of Schwerin.

City rights were introduced in 1228, where a town council with six councilors and a mayor was established. At the same time, the counties and the bishop of the city were powerful entities, each of which influenced the development of the city, including the initiation of a new cathedral.

The first city defense was built of wood, but in 1340 a powerful stone wall was completed. The city had three city gates to land, and the natural foreclosure to Lake Schweriner See also formed an essential part of the defense; here was the castle on the island where the castle is today.

Mecklenburg expands
Mecklenburg’s Duke Albrecht II was a descendant of Niklot, and he besieged Schwerin in 1358 through months with his army. The same year, Schwerin’s Count family extinct Gunzelin, and Albrecht II bought the town for 20,000 silver land.

Schwerin thereby became part of the Duchy of Mecklenburg. Albrecht II made the city his residence, making it the political and cultural center of Mecklenburg. Economically, the northern Hanseatic cities, such as Rostock and Wismar, developed more than Schwerin, but maintained its position as the center of the region.

From around 1500, the residence castle was rebuilt and expanded into a larger and representative castle. The 16th century and the following centuries were also periods of great expansion of the city. Large public buildings and private mansions shot up; in the new Schelfstadt district, which was laid out as part of Schwerin itself in 1705.

In 1621, Mecklenburg was divided, but Schwerin’s status was maintained. From that time it became the capital of the new duchy of Mecklenburg-Schwerin.

The 1700-1800s
1731-1735 Prince Christian Ludwig had a hunting castle erected in Ludwigslust outside Schwerin. It was used extensively, and in 1756 a relocation of the court to this began. Officially, Ludwigslust was the Duke’s residence in the period 1765-1837, before Schwerin again became the court’s hometown; a status that lasted until the disintegration of the monarchy in 1918.

Throughout the 19th century Schwerin was rebuilt from its medieval structure with city walls and older wooden houses. Larger buildings and wide streets were built, and splendid mansions shot up not least the state administration.

It was also the time when railway stations, theater and museums were built in great style. In 1904, the city’s electricity plant was opened, and the new power enabled the electric trams to enter four years later.

World War I, GDR to Today
Political upheaval marked the time after World War I. Germany transitioned from monarchy to republic, and the Grand Duke abdicated in 1918. After that, Schwerin became the capital of the new state formation; the Free State of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania.

In the 1930s there were big plans to change Schwerin to be a model example of a logistically and transport technically efficient capital in the administrative units called Gau; Schwerin had become the center of Gau Mecklenburg in 1934. Magnificent buildings and parades were to be erected, but they were not completed.

At the end of World War II, Schwerin was captured by American troops on May 2, 1945. On July 1, Soviet soldiers joined the city, becoming part of the GDR. After a new administrative division in DDR 1952, Schwerin became the administrative city in the area of ​​the same name.

During the GDR, Schwerin’s suburbs were greatly expanded with residential blocks; among others in the suburb of Großer Dreesch, which shot up from 1971. The city center should also have been renovated and modernized, but as in the 1930s, the big plans did not materialize. However, large public buildings were added, such as the city’s TV tower and the sports and congress hall from 1964.

After the German reunification in 1990, the former state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania was re-established as a federal state, and Schwerin became a new government seat; this time for the country day and the state’s prime minister.

Today, Schwerin stands as new after a series of restorations of the many beautiful buildings. Also, the green areas with the castle garden at the forefront stand as in ancient glory, and among major events, the national German garden exhibition, Bundesgartenschau, took place in the city in the summer of 2009.