Ludwigslust () is a central castle town of

Mecklenburg-Vorpommern Mecklenburg-Vorpommern (MV; ; nds, Mäkelborg-Vörpommern), also known by its anglicized name Mecklenburg–Western Pomerania, is a state in the north-east of Germany. Of the country's sixteen states, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern ranks 14th in po ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwee ...

, 40 km south of

Schwerin Schwerin (; Mecklenburgian Low German: ''Swerin''; Latin: ''Suerina'', ''Suerinum'') is the capital and second-largest city of the northeastern German state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern as well as of the region of Mecklenburg, after Rostock. It ...

. Since 2011 it has been part of the

Ludwigslust-Parchim Ludwigslust-Parchim is a district in the west of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany. It is bordered by (clockwise starting from the west) the state Schleswig-Holstein, the district Nordwestmecklenburg, the district-free city Schwerin, the distri ...

district. Ludwigslust is part of the

Hamburg Metropolitan Region The Hamburg Metropolitan Region (German: Metropolregion Hamburg) is a metropolitan area centred around the city of Hamburg in northern Germany, consisting of eight districts (''Landkreise'') in the federal state of Lower Saxony, six districts (''Kr ...

. The former royal residential town is known for its rich heritage, especially the famed Ludwigslust Palace, known as ''Versailles of the North''.

History

In 1724

Prince Ludwig A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. The ...

, the son of Frederick, Duke of Mecklenburg, decided to build a hunting lodge near a small hamlet called Klenow. Later, after his succession to the Dukedom, this became his favourite residence and he named it accordingly ''Ludwigslust'' ("Ludwig's pleasure/desire"). In 1765 Ludwigslust became the capital of the duchy in place of Schwerin. The town was enlarged by a residential palace (the castle). This situation continued until 1837, when Grand Duke Paul Friedrich returned the capital status to Schwerin. The Wöbbelin concentration camp—sometimes referred to as ''Ludwigslust concentration camp''—was established by the SS near the city of Ludwigslust in 1945. At the end of World War II, as the

Line of contact The Line of Contact marked the farthest advance of American, British, French, and Soviet armies into German controlled territory at the end of World War II in Europe. In general a "line of contact" refers to the demarcation between two or mo ...

between Soviet and other Allied forces formed, Ludwigslust was captured by British troops initially, then handed over to American troops. After several months the US troops departed and allowed Soviet troops to enter under the Yalta agreement designating the occupation of Mecklenburg to be administered by the Soviets.

Sights

Schloss Ludwigslust Ludwigslust Palace (german: Schloss Ludwigslust) is a stately home or '' schloss'' in the town of Ludwigslust, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, northern Germany. It was built as a hunting lodge, rebuilt as a luxurious retreat from the ducal capital, Sch ...

, a

Baroque The Baroque (, ; ) is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese empires including ...

residential palace built in 1772–1776, according to plans by

Johann Joachim Busch Johann, typically a male given name, is the German form of ''Iohannes'', which is the Latin form of the Greek name ''Iōánnēs'' (), itself derived from Hebrew name ''Yochanan'' () in turn from its extended form (), meaning "Yahweh is Gracious" ...

. It is called the "Little Versailles of Mecklenburg". The palace is in the middle of the palace garden (Schlosspark), a vast park (120 ha.) in the English style, with canals, fountains and artificial cascades. * The ''Stadtkirche'' (Municipal- / City-Church), built in 1765–1770 in Neoclassical style with

sway. Its classical design, with a

portico A portico is a porch leading to the entrance of a building, or extended as a colonnade, with a roof structure over a walkway, supported by columns or enclosed by walls. This idea was widely used in ancient Greece and has influenced many cul ...

resting on six

doric Doric may refer to: * Doric, of or relating to the Dorians of ancient Greece ** Doric Greek, the dialects of the Dorians * Doric order, a style of ancient Greek architecture * Doric mode, a synonym of Dorian mode * Doric dialect (Scotland) * Doric ...

columns, gives the church an appearance similar to a Greek temple.

Transport

* Ludwigslust railway station is served by ICE, EC, IC and RE services.

Twin towns — sister cities

Ludwigslust is twinned with: *

Ahrensburg Ahrensburg () is a town in the district of Stormarn, Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. It is located northeast of Hamburg and is part of the Hamburg Metropolitan Region. Its population is around 31,000. ''Schloss Ahrensburg'', the town's symbol, is ...

, Germany * Muscatine, United States * Kamskoye Ustye, Russia

Notable people

Frederick Louis, Hereditary Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin , house =House of Mecklenburg , father =Frederick Francis I, Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin , mother =Princess Louise of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg , birth_date = , birth_place =Ludwigslust, Mecklenburg-Schwerin , dea ...

(1778–1819), Hereditary Prince of Mecklenburg, Hereditary Grand Duke of Mecklenburg in Mecklenburg-Schwerin, member of the House of Mecklenburg-Schwerin * Rudolph Suhrlandt (1781–1862), portrait painter and lithographer * Duchess Charlotte Frederica of Mecklenburg-Schwerin (1784–1840), duchess of Mecklenburg; Crown Princess of Denmark * Franz Passow (1786–1833), classical philologist * Ludwig von Lützow (politician) (1793–1872), Mecklenburg statesman and politician * Paul Frederick, Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin (1800–1842), Grand Duke of Mecklenburg * Franz Benque (1841–1921), photographer * Ludwig Beissner (1843–1927), botanist * Frederick Francis III, Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin (1851–1897), Grand Duke of Mecklenburg in Mecklenburg-Schwerin *

Duke Paul Frederick of Mecklenburg Duke Paul Frederick of Mecklenburg (german: Herzog Paul Friedrich zu Mecklenburg; 19 September 1852 – 17 May 1923) was a member of the House of Mecklenburg-Schwerin and general of the Mecklenburg cavalry. Life Duke Paul Frederick was born i ...

(1852–1923), Duke of Mecklenburg, General of the Cavalry * Duchess Marie of Mecklenburg-Schwerin (1854–1920), Grand Duchess of Russia * Johannes Gillhoff (1861–1930), teacher, folklorist and writer (born in Glaisin) * Duke Christian Louis of Mecklenburg (1912–1996), nobleman, head of the house Mecklenburg * Annelies Burmeister (1928–1988), singer *

Manfred Osten Manfred Osten (born 19 January 1938 in Ludwigslust) is a German poet, author, lawyer, former diplomat and cultural historian. Biography He escaped to the Federal Republic of Germany in 1952. In 1969, he earned a doctorate upon the completion of ...

(born 1938), author and cultural historian * Bernd Spier (born 1944), crooner *

Christoph Biemann Christoph Biemann (born 6 August 1952) is a German writer, director and producer and one of the presenters of the award-winning children's television show, ''Die Sendung mit der Maus''. Also known as ''Die Maus'' ("The Mouse"), it has been on the ai ...

(born 1952), author, director and television supporter * Helmut Holter (born 1953), politician * Birgit Jerschabek (born 1969), long-distance runner *

Bastian Reinhardt Bastian Reinhardt (born 19 November 1975 in Ludwigslust) is a former German footballer. He is the currently managing the Under-17 squad of Hamburger SV. Career Reinhardt began his career 1983 with Empor Grabow/Grabower FC and joined 1. FC Mag ...

(born 1975), footballer

References

External links

official site (town)

official site (county)

The Embracing Forest
An American visits Ludwigslust and vicinity in 2005 and finds more history than he expected. {{Authority control Populated places established in the 18th century Cities and towns in Mecklenburg Ludwigslust-Parchim Populated places established in 1765 Grand Duchy of Mecklenburg-Schwerin