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Rostock (pronounced // from Polabian Roz toc, literally "to flow apart") is the largest city in the north German state Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. Rostock is located on the Warnow river; the quarter of Warnemünde 12 km north of the city centre lies directly on the coast of the Baltic Sea.
Geography
Rostock is located nearly centrally on Mecklenburg-Vorpommern's Baltic Sea coast. The city is crossed by the River Warnow.
The seaside part of Rostock, Rostock-Warnemünde, is about 16km to the north of the historic city centre. The west and the south-east are the most densely populated parts of town, the overseas port is in the east of Rostock. Rostock stretches 21.6 kilometres from the Baltic Sea to the south and 19.4 km from east to west.
History
Early history
In the 11th century Polabian Slavs founded a settlement at the Warnow river called Roztoc (which means broadening of a river); the name Rostock is derived from that designation. The Danish king Valdemar I set the town aflame in 1161.
Afterwards the place was settled by German traders. At the beginning there were three separate cities:
# Altstadt (Old Town) around the Alter Markt (Old Market) with St. Petri (St. Peter's Church),
# Mittelstadt (Middle Town) around the Neuer Markt (New Market) with St. Marien (St. Mary's Church) and
# Neustadt (New Town) around the Hopfenmarkt (Hops Market, now University Square) with St. Jakobi (St. James's Church, now demolished).
Hanseatic League
The rise of the city began with its membership in the Hanseatic League. In the 14th century it was a powerful seaport town with 12,000 inhabitants and the biggest city of Mecklenburg. Ships for cruising the Baltic Sea were constructed in Rostock. In 1419 the oldest university in Northern Europe, the University of Rostock, was founded.
15th to 18th century
At the end of the 15th century the dukes of Mecklenburg succeeded in enforcing their rule over the town of Rostock, which had until then been only nominally subjugate to their rule and essentially independent. They took advantage of a riot known as Domfehde, a failed uprising of the impoverished population. Subsequent quarrels with the dukes and persistent plundering led ultimately to a loss of economic and political power.
The strategic location of Rostock provoked the envy of its rivals. Danes and Swedes occupied the city twice, first during the Thirty Years' War (1618-48) and again from 1700 to 1721. Later, the French, under Napoleon, occupied the town for about a decade until 1813. It was here that Blücher, who was actually born in Rostock and who was one of few generals to fight on after the battle of Jena, surrendered to the French in 1806. This was only after furious street fighting in which he led some of the cavalry charges himself; the exhausted Prussians had, by the time of the surrender, neither food nor ammunition.
19th century
In the first half of the 19th century Rostock regained much of its economic importance, at first due to the wheat trade, and, from the 1850s, to industry, especially to its shipyards. The first propeller-driven steamers in Germany were constructed here.
The city grew in size and population, with new quarters emerging in the south and west of the ancient borders of the city. Two notable developments were added to house the increasing population at around 1900:
#Steintor-Vorstadt in the south, stretching from the old city wall to the facilities of the new Lloydbahnhof Railway Station (now Hauptbahnhof). It was designed as a living quarter and consists mostly of large single houses, once inhabited by wealthy citizens.
# Kröpeliner-Tor-Vorstadt in the west, designed to house the working population as well as smaller and larger industrial facilities such as Mahn & Ohlerich's Brewery (now Hanseatische Brauerei Rostock). The main shipyard, Neptun was just nearby at the shore of the river.
20th century
In the 20th century, important airplane manufacturing facilities were situated in the city, such as the Arado Works in Warnemünde and the Heinkel Works with facilities at various places. It was at their facilities in Marienehe where the world's first jet plane made its test flights. Aeroplane construction ceased at the end of the Second World War.
Large parts of the central city were destroyed in World War II by Allied bombing in 1942 and 1945. Through reconstruction and subsequent extension, the city became a major industrial centre of the German Democratic Republic with the port being developed as the primary gate to the world.
Following the reunification of Germany in 1989/1990, Rostock lost its prior privileged position as the principal overseas port of the former GDR and became one of several German ports, now located in one of the least industrialised regions of reunited Germany. Despite large infrastructure investments, the city's economy declined in the 1990s and is now growing again.
Rostock's population dropped from nearly 260,000 in 1989 to about 200,000 today, primarily due to suburbanisation but also due to emigration to more prosperous western regions of Germany.
Politics
Symbols
In Rostock's long history, the city carried three different coat of arms known as the Signum, Secretum and Sigillum. The Signum, which can be traced back to 1367, was devoloped last and is to this modern day the coat of arms of the city.
The flag depicts a golden griffin on blue background as well as the colours of the Hanseatic League, silver and red.
The coat of arms can not only be seen on flags, houses and bus stops, but also on bridges, gullies, fences, ships and restaurants.
Administration
Since the 13th century, the governing body of the city is the city council (Rat), first consisting of ten, later of 24 aldermen (Ratsherren). The chairman of the city council was the city mayor. In the 19th century there were even three mayors. Since 1925, the head of the city bears the title Lord Mayor. Having been elected for centuries by the city council, he is now elected directly by the citizens of Rostock, after a reform in 2002.
The city parliament (Bürgerschaft) represents the citizens. Representative are elected for five years. The number of representatives is currently 53.
The city parliament is presided by the Präsident der Bürgerschaft. He heads and prepares the sessions and, together with the Lord Mayor, represents the city.
Roland Methling (Independent), was elected Lord Mayor of Rostock in the first round by 58,2% of the voters on 27 February 2005.
Partner cities
Rostock has signed partnership agreements with the following cities:
Transport
Car
Rostock can be reached by motorway (Autobahn) A 1 from Hamburg via Lübeck on A 20 and by A 19 from Berlin.
Public transport
Rostock Hauptbahnhof (Rostock Central Station) offers fast track train connections to Hamburg and Berlin and from there to almost any other European city.
Within the city a wide network of trams, buses and ferries is available. The first privately financed tunnel in Germany crosses the Warnow river and thus connects the eastern part of Rostock with the western part.
Ferry / Ship
Rostock's port is Germany's second largest Baltic port after Lübeck. Rostock is also home to a large ferry port. It is a main base for ferry operator Scandlines, that connects Rostock with major scandinavian destinations. Furthermore, Rostock receives the highest numbers of cruise tourists in Germany per year.
The city is served by major ferry companies such as Scandlines or Tallink. Ferries leave for
Plane
The nearest international airports are in Hamburg and Berlin. There are connecting flights via Munich to Rostock Laage Airport. There are also a number of airfields for smaller aircraft, e.g. Purkshof.
Notable people
This is a, naturally incomplete, list of notable people that were born, lived or contributed to the welfare of the City of Rostock:
External links
