The Zarow is a lowland river in

Western Pomerania Historical Western Pomerania, also called Cispomerania, Fore Pomerania, Front Pomerania or Hither Pomerania (; ), is the western extremity of the historic region of Pomerania, located mostly in north-eastern Germany, with a small portion in no ...

in the east of the state of

Mecklenburg-Vorpommern Mecklenburg-Vorpommern (MV; ; ), also known by its Anglicisation, anglicized name Mecklenburg–Western Pomerania, is a Federated state, state in the north-east of Germany. Of the country's States of Germany, sixteen states, Mecklenburg-Vorpom ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

Description

The lower course of the river, also known topographically as Zarow, is formed from two ditches, the Landgraben and the Weißer Graben (White Ditch) coming from the Galenbecker See. Since its upper course, which flows into Lake Galenbecke, begins with the ''Zarowbach'', near a hill called the Zarowberg, it can be assumed that the name 'Zarow' was originally associated with this watercourse. Hydrographically, however, the Landgraben is considered the (main) upper reaches of the Zarow, since it has a significantly larger

catchment area A catchment area in human geography, is the area from which a location, such as a city, service or institution, attracts a population that uses its services and economic opportunities. Catchment areas may be defined based on from where people are ...

with the northern part of the Datze (the southern part of which flows into the Tollense in

Neubrandenburg Neubrandenburg (, Low German ''Niegenbramborg'', both lit. ''New Brandenburg an der Havel, Brandenburg'') is a city in the southeast of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany. It is located on the shore of a lake called Tollensesee and forms the urban c ...

). The Friedländer Große Wiese area, which is traversed by numerous ditches, is drained ''inter alia'' by the Zarow. For this purpose, the water is raised from several lower

polder A polder () is a low-lying tract of land that forms an artificial hydrology, hydrological entity, enclosed by embankments known as levee, dikes. The three types of polder are: # Land reclamation, Land reclaimed from a body of water, such as a ...

ditches using

pumping stations Pumping stations, also called pumphouses, are public utility buildings containing pumps and equipment for pumping fluids from one place to another. They are critical in a variety of infrastructure systems, such as water supply, Land reclamation, ...

s in Landgraben and Zarow. At the junction of two main ditches at Ferdinandshof, the river begins its approximately 16 km long journey north through the Ueckermünde Heath. Around 1730, moorland settlements were laid out along the shore. The settlement of Zarowmühl is located near

Ueckermünde Ueckermünde () is a seaport town in northeast Germany, located in the district of Vorpommern-Greifswald, Pomerania, Western Pomerania, near Germany's border with Poland's Police County. Ueckermünde has a long and varied history, going back to ...

. Towards the end of the 19th century, timber was rafted on the Zarow. Today the river is heavily overgrown with weeds in summer. In recent years, two weirs near Meiersberg and Zarowmühl have been demolished and environmentally friendly fish ladders have been erected. Nevertheless, due to heavy nutrient input, intensive agricultural use of the surrounding fields and meadows and other circumstances, the fish repeatedly die off. In Grambin there are jetties that are used as a harbour for yachtsmen on the lagoon. The Zarow flows west of the

Uecker The Uecker () or Ucker () is a river in the northeastern German states of Brandenburg, where it is known as the ''Ucker'', and of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. It flows northward from Uckermark to the Szczecin Lagoon. Path Its source lies in the U ...

, near Grambin, into the

Stettiner Haff Szczecin Lagoon (, ), also known as Oder Lagoon (), and Pomeranian Lagoon (), is a lagoon in the Oder estuary, shared by Germany and Poland. It is separated from the Pomeranian Bay of the Baltic Sea by the islands of Usedom and Wolin. The la ...

. The course of the Zarow is considered to be the old cultural border between Western and Central Pomerania, which can be seen in the language as well as manners and customs. This is why west of the Zarow one eats Heißwecken (a type of currant bun), east of it ''Fastenbrezeln'' (a type of pretzel).Wiegelmann, Günter and Ruth-Elisabeth Mohrmann (1996). ''Nahrung und Tischkultur im Hanseraum.'' (Contributions to folk culture in Northwest Germany 91) Múnster/New York: Waxmann 1996 ISBN 9783893254309, pp. 438-440 with reference to Karl Kaiser (1936) ''Atlas of Pomeranian Folklore''.

References

{{Authority control Rivers of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania Rivers of Germany