Schwaan 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

Rostock Rostock (; Polabian language, Polabian: ''Roztoc''), officially the Hanseatic and University City of Rostock (), is the largest city in the German States of Germany, state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and lies in the Mecklenburgian part of the sta ...

district, in

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 also the seat of the Schwaan Township, serving another six municipalities. The town is famous for being a traditional

art colony Art colonies are organic congregations of artists in towns, villages and rural areas, who are often drawn to areas of natural beauty, the prior existence of other artists, art schools there, or a lower cost of living. They are typically mission ...

Geography

The area around Schwaan is part of the vast

North European Plain The North European Plain ( – North German Plain; ; – Central European Plain; and ; French: ''Plaine d'Europe du Nord'') is a geomorphological region in Europe that covers all or parts of Belgium, the Netherlands (i.e. the Low Countries), ...

, stretching from western France to Russia. Schwaan lies on the lower

Warnow The Warnow () is a river in the state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern in Germany. It flows into the Baltic Sea near the town of Rostock Rostock (; Polabian language, Polabian: ''Roztoc''), officially the Hanseatic and University City of Rostock ( ...

river between the cities of

, 17 km to the north, and

Güstrow Güstrow (; ) is a town in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern in north-eastern Germany. It is capital of the Rostock (district), Rostock district; Rostock itself is a district-free city and regiopolis. It has a population of 28,999 (2020) and is the sevent ...

, 20 km to the south. The higher ground to the east and west of the Warnow barely reaches 50 meters above sea level, and the area north to the

Baltic Sea The Baltic Sea is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that is enclosed by the countries of Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Sweden, and the North European Plain, North and Central European Plain regions. It is the ...

is flat. The nearby villages of Bandow, Dorf Tatschow, Hof Tatschow and Letschow belong to Schwaan.

History

The area around the Warnow was originally populated by

Slavic peoples The Slavs or Slavic people are groups of people who speak Slavic languages. Slavs are geographically distributed throughout the northern parts of Eurasia; they predominantly inhabit Central Europe, Eastern Europe, Southeast Europe, Southeast ...

, which one can still recognize in place and farm names. Schwaan was first mentioned as a town in a record from 1276. In 1765 a great fire destroyed the entire town except for St. Paul’s Church and a mill. The town was rebuilt in the classical style, especially the townhouses which can be seen today. In the 19th century, Schwaan was a small country town and the market for the surrounding communities of the Schwaan township. The construction of the railway line from Hamburg to Rostock through Schwaan in 1850 brought an economic boom. The city hall was built only five years later in the

neo-Gothic Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic or neo-Gothic) is an architectural movement that after a gradual build-up beginning in the second half of the 17th century became a widespread movement in the first half of the 19th century ...

style. With the coming of the railroad, the town became a getaway destination for residents of the city of Rostock. In 1911 a lung sanatorium was built, which was later expanded into a tuberculosis and rehabilitation clinic. In 1928 the first river bathing resort in Germany was built on the Warnow. During the

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

Schwaan suffered no damage from bombing, but the Warnow bridge, built in 1828, was dynamited shortly before the end of the war. Since German reunification in October 1990, the historic center of the town has been completely rehabilitated through an urban renewal program of the German government.

Sister cities

Since 1990 Schwaan has had a partnership with Loxstedt, south of Bremerhaven in Lower Saxony.

Coat of arms

The emblem of a swan on a blue shield originated as a town road sign and has represented Schwaan since before 1606 when it first appeared as the town seal.

Blazon In heraldry and heraldic vexillology, a blazon is a formal description of a coat of arms, flag or similar emblem, from which the reader can reconstruct an accurate image. The verb ''to blazon'' means to create such a description. The visual d ...

: “In Azure a dexter sweeping Argent swan with Or beak and Or feet and with Or ducally gorged.”

Culture and Attractions

Art Museum at the Water Mill: the Museum of Art present works of art from Mecklenburg. A special emphasis is put on the work of the painters Franz Bunke, Rudolf Bartels, Peter Paul Draewing (all from Schwaan) and Alfred Heinsohn (of Hamburg). In the market place is the war memorial for the victims of 1870-71, constructed in 1895. On its front is a relief medallion of Frederick Francis IV, Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, created by the sculptor Hermann Hultzsch. The monument is crowned by an Iron Cross.

Transport

Schwaan is located on the Rostock-Güstrow and Rostock-Bützow-Schwerin railway lines. The town is well connected to the national highway network, with Bundesautobahn 19 (comparable to a freeway, expressway or interstate highway) and Bundesautobahn 20 about 15 km to the north and east. Also to the east, about 16 km, is the Rostock-Laage Airport.

Personalities

*Franz Bunke (b. December 3, 1857 in Schwaan; d. July 6, 1939 in Weimar), artist and founder of the Schwaan artist colony. *William Kruse (b. 22 October 1887 in Schwaan; d. unknown), sculptor * Jacob Marcus (c. 1749 - 1819), German-Swedish businessman and community leader

Literature

*Schwaan - “like a breath of dreamy thoughts”. Town of Schwaan. (Text: Heiko Brunner …). Rostock: Redieck and Schade, 2005. -- 175 p.

References

External links

Stadt und Amt Schwaan
(Town and Township of Schwaan)
Kunstmuseum Schwaan
(Schwaan Art Museum)

(Zusammenfassung der Internetseiten über Schwaan) {{Authority control Cities and towns in Mecklenburg Populated places established in the 13th century 1270s establishments in the Holy Roman Empire 1276 establishments in Europe