Franzburg () is a

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality' ...

in the

Vorpommern-Rügen Vorpommern-Rügen is a Districts of Germany, district in the north of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany. It is bounded by (from the west and clockwise) the Baltic Sea and the districts Vorpommern-Greifswald, Mecklenburgische Seenplatte (district), M ...

district 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 ...

. It is situated 20 km southwest of

Stralsund Stralsund (; Swedish language, Swedish: ''Strålsund''), officially the Hanseatic League, Hanseatic City of Stralsund (German language, German: ''Hansestadt Stralsund''), is the fifth-largest city in the northeastern German federal state of Mecklen ...

. Before the

Protestant Reformation The Reformation, also known as the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation, was a time of major theological movement in Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the papacy and ...

, later Franzburg was the site of Neuenkamp Abbey.

Neuenkamp Abbey

In the course of the medieval

conversion of Pomerania Medieval Pomerania was converted from Slavic paganism to Christianity under Bolesław III Wrymouth, by bishop Otto of Bamberg in 1124 and 1128 (Duchy of Pomerania), and in 1168 by Absalon (Principality of Rügen). Earlier attempts at Christiani ...

and German

Ostsiedlung (, ) is the term for the Early Middle Ages, early medieval and High Middle Ages, high medieval migration of Germanic peoples and Germanisation of the areas populated by Slavs, Slavic, Balts, Baltic and Uralic languages, Uralic peoples; the ...

, prince Wizlaw I granted the central parts of the woods covering the mainland section of his

Principality of Rügen The Principality of Rügen was a Medieval Denmark, Danish principality, formerly a duchy, consisting of the island of Rügen and the adjacent mainland from 1168 until 1325. It was governed by a local dynasty of princes of the ''Wizlawiden'' (''Hou ...

, then Danish, to

Cistercian The Cistercians (), officially the Order of Cistercians (, abbreviated as OCist or SOCist), are a Catholic religious order of monks and nuns that branched off from the Benedictines and follow the Rule of Saint Benedict, as well as the contri ...

monks from Camp Abbey in

Lower Saxony Lower Saxony is a States of Germany, German state (') in Northern Germany, northwestern Germany. It is the second-largest state by land area, with , and fourth-largest in population (8 million in 2021) among the 16 ' of the Germany, Federal Re ...

who build Neuenkamp Abbey on 8 November 1231. The monks erected a church that, with a length of 80 meters, a width of 15 meters, and an arch height of 25 meters, was then the largest church in all

Pomerania Pomerania ( ; ; ; ) is a historical region on the southern shore of the Baltic Sea in Central Europe, split between Poland and Germany. The central and eastern part belongs to the West Pomeranian Voivodeship, West Pomeranian, Pomeranian Voivod ...

. The possessions of the abbey rapidly increased, 50 years after its foundation the abbey's territory reached the coast. The woods were cleared, and numerous villages of the ''

Hagenhufendorf A ''Hagenhufendorf'' (German: also ''Bachhufendorf'', ''Hagenhufensiedlung'' or ''Hägerhufensiedlung'') is an elongated settlement, similar to a ''Reihendorf'', laid out along a road running parallel to a stream, whereby only one side of the road ...

'' type were set up and populated with German settlers. In 1325, the last prince of Rügen died without an issue, and Neuenkamp with the rest of the principality was inherited by the

dukes of Pomerania This is a list of the duchies and dukes of Pomerania. Dukes of the Slavic Pomeranian tribes (All Pomerania) The lands of Pomerania were firstly ruled by local tribes, who settled in Pomerania around the 10th and 11th centuries. Non-dynastic ...

. The abbey prospered until it was

secularized In sociology, secularization () is a multilayered concept that generally denotes "a transition from a religious to a more worldly level." There are many types of secularization and most do not lead to atheism or irreligion, nor are they automatica ...

in 1535, following the

and the adoption of

Lutheranism Lutheranism is a major branch of Protestantism that emerged under the work of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German friar and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practices of the Catholic Church launched ...

by the Pomeranian nobility in 1534.Fr. Drescher, ''Der Kreis Franzburg-Barth'', Kreisausschuß des Kreises Franzburg-Barth, Carl Klock, Barth 1932/33, edited reprint: G. Thomas, Stralsund, 1992. pp.33-35 Lubinus Franzburg

Following the secularization, the new owner, duke Bogislaw XIII, rebuilt the abbey as his ducal palace, and turned the former abbey's yards into a town. He modeled the new town after the

Republic of Venice The Republic of Venice, officially the Most Serene Republic of Venice and traditionally known as La Serenissima, was a sovereign state and Maritime republics, maritime republic with its capital in Venice. Founded, according to tradition, in 697 ...

, envisioning a town holding a population of nobles, craftsmen, merchants and artists, that was to compete with neighboring

Hanseatic The Hanseatic League was a Middle Ages, medieval commercial and defensive network of merchant guilds and market towns in Central Europe, Central and Northern Europe, Northern Europe. Growing from a few Northern Germany, North German towns in the ...

. As a consequence of these ambitions, he granted the new town no surrounding land, for he did not like the idea of inhabitants doing in agriculture. Rather, he concentrated weavers in the town and had a mint built. He named the town after his father-in-law,

Francis of Brunswick-Lüneburg Francis may refer to: People and characters *Pope Francis, head of the Catholic Church (2013–2025) *Francis (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters *Francis (surname) * Francis, a character played by YouTuber Boogie29 ...

. The abbey's church was torn down in 1561, only the southernmost extremity was left and still stands today. When Bogislaw however inherited

Stettin Szczecin ( , , ; ; ; or ) is the capital and largest city of the West Pomeranian Voivodeship in northwestern Poland. Located near the Baltic Sea and the German border, it is a major seaport, the largest city of northwestern Poland, and se ...

in 1603, he lost interest in his Franzburg ambitions, and the town never grew to the envisioned size and status. The beginning of the

Thirty Years' War The Thirty Years' War, fought primarily in Central Europe between 1618 and 1648, was one of the most destructive conflicts in History of Europe, European history. An estimated 4.5 to 8 million soldiers and civilians died from battle, famine ...

in the

Duchy of Pomerania The Duchy of Pomerania (; ; Latin: ''Ducatus Pomeraniae'') was a duchy in Pomerania on the southern coast of the Baltic Sea, ruled by dukes of the House of Pomerania (''Griffins''). The country existed in the Middle Ages between years 1121–11 ...

was marked by the

Capitulation of Franzburg The capitulation of Franzburg () was a treaty providing for the Capitulation (treaty), capitulation of the Duchy of Pomerania to the forces of the Holy Roman Empire during the Thirty Years' War.Langer (2003), p. 402 It was signed on 10 November Old ...

, which provided for the occupation of the duchy by

Albrecht von Wallenstein Albrecht Wenzel Eusebius von Wallenstein, Duke of Friedland (; 24 September 1583 – 25 February 1634), also von Waldstein (), was a Bohemian military leader and statesman who fought on the Catholic side during the Thirty Years' War (1618–16 ...

's mercenary army. In the following, the town was devastated completely. Franzburg lost its weaver industry and the mint. Only a century later, in 1728, Franzburg was resettled. However, it remained the seat of administration of the surrounding Kreis Franzburg(-Barth), basically the mainland part of the former principality of Rügen, until the seat was moved to Barth after

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. Today, Franzburg is a

in Kreis

References

External links

* * * {{Authority control Christian monasteries established in the 1230s Monasteries in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania Cistercian monasteries in Germany Populated places established in 1587 Burial sites of the House of Pomerania