Деммин: История и природа северо-восточной Германии.

Town in Mecklenburg Vorpommern, Germany
the town in Germany

Demmin is a town in the Mecklenburgische Seenplatte district, Mecklenburg Western Pomerania, in north eastern Germany. It was the capital of the former district of Demmin.

Demmin lies on the West Pomeranian plain at the confluence of the rivers Peene, Tollense and Trebel. Lake Kummerow and the Szczecin Lagoon may be reached by boat on the Peene, Neubrandenburg via Altentreptow on by roads and cycleways. The area of the confluences of the Tollense and Trebel with the Peene are called the Three Streams Land (Dreistromland) for tourist purposes and borrowing from the ancient land of Zweistromland. North of Demmin is the Drosedow Forest and woods of Woldeforst (c. 174 ha.). Here is also the Kronwald Nature Reserv (103 ha.). To the west on the left bank of the Peene is the woodland area of Devener Holz and, on the left bank, Vorwerk Switzerland (Vorwerker Schweiz). To the east of the town are the Sandberg Pines and, to the southeast, the Vorwerk Forest.

To the north of the borough are Nossendorf and Loitz, to the east, Kletzin, Siedenbrünzow and Utzedel, to the south, Beggerow, Borrentin and Schönfeld and to the west, Warrenzin.

As early as 5500 4900 BC, the Neolithic Linear Pottery culture spread from the East, and from the Oder river into the area east of Demmin. The great dolmen near Upost is classified as the easternmost great dolmen. As an evidence of the Funnelbeaker culture, 119 Megalith constructions bear witness around the county of Demmin. Of these, 56 are partially preserved. The majority of these constructions are 37 Dolmen The fact that there are also six simple dolmen preserved, makes Demmin and its surrounding area one of those regions in which the construction of such facilities had its roots. The later period is characterized by 12 preserved in the district of Demmin Tumulus and basin stones. From about 1800 BC on, the settlement of the area by Germanic peoples began.

Slavic settlements of the Veleti in the forests surrounding Demmin can be traced back to the 8th century. In 789, during the Saxon wars, Charlemagne led his troops to the Peene river, against the Veleti who were allies of the Saxons. Dragovit, king of the Veleti, whose castle, civitas Dragowiti was said to most likely have been located at Vorwerk (Demmin), submitted to Charlemagne and swore fealty. The region was very suitable for a settlement and was important due to its location at the crossing of rivers and trade roads. During the struggle between the Veleti and the Franks, a border castle was erected by Lutici Circipanians at the dawn of the 10th century. That castle was later called "Haus Demmin". It controlled the Eastern parts of Circipania, a territory that stretched to Güstrow in the west. Its main castle was Teterow. Demmin was a stronghold of the West Slav Circipanes during the Middle Ages. Due to its strategical importance, strongholds were erected (and often attacked and destroyed) at the Vorwerk and Haus Demmin sites, named Dimin or Dymin. In the early 12th century Polish monarch Bolesław III Wrymouth, who established sovereignty over Pomerania, initiatied Christianization, entrusting this task to Otto of Bamberg, who visited Dymin in 1127. The inhabitants accepted Christianity, and a church was founded in 1140. A Saxon army unsuccessfully besieged the settlement during the 1147 Wendish Crusade. In 1160, Dymin became the capital of a small eponymous duchy. In 1164, it was captured by Henry the Lion. In 1211 it was captured by King Valdemar II of Denmark, It was colonized by Germans and Flemings by the 13th to 14th centuries. Following the division of the Duchy of Pomerania in 1295, the town passed to the Wolgast dukes and the castle passed to the Szczecin dukes. In 1326 Duke Otto I granted all merchants coming to the town exemption from customs duties and taxes in the area. In 1327 it was unsuccessfully besieged by Mecklenburg during the Wars of the Rügen Succession. and thereafter by Swedish forces. From 1648, Demmin was part of Swedish Pomerania. From 1720, it was part of Prussia, In the late 19th century the inhabitants were mainly employed in weaving, tanning, fishing and trade. On 11 November 1938, thousands gathered in the square in an anti Semitic demonstration as part of Kristallnacht. During World War II, Poles, Russians, as well as POWs from France and Belgium were used as forced labour in the town. German troops destroyed the bridges over the Peene while retreating from Demmin during World War II. This way, the advance of the Soviet Red Army was slowed down when they arrived in Demmin on 30 April 1945. During that night and the following morning, Demmin was handed over to the Red Army largely without fighting, similar to other cities like Greifswald. Rapes, pillage and executions committed by Red Army soldiers triggered a mass suicide of hundreds of people and nearly all of the Old Town was burned down by the Red Army. From 1945 to 1952, Demmin was part of the State of Mecklenburg Vorpommern, from 1952 to 1990 of the Bezirk Neubrandenburg of East Germany and since 1990 again of Mecklenburg Vorpommern.