Schwerin

Schwerin () 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 has around 96,000 inhabitants, and is thus the least populous of all German state capitals.

Schwerin is located on the southwestern shore of Lake Schwerin (Schweriner See), the second-largest lake of the Mecklenburg Lake Plateau after the Müritz, and there are eleven other lakes within Schwerin's city limits. The city is surrounded by the district of Northwestern Mecklenburg to the north, and the district of Ludwigslust-Parchim to the south. Schwerin and the two surrounding districts form the eastern outskirts of the Hamburg Metropolitan Region.

Schwerin was first mentioned in 1018 as Zuarina and was granted city rights in 1160 by Henry the Lion, thus it is the oldest city of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. As main residence of the House of Mecklenburg, a dynasty with Slavic roots also known as the Obotrites, Schwerin has served as the capital of all Mecklenburger states since the Duchy of Mecklenburg in 1379. After the abolition of states in East Germany, it served as the capital of the District of Schwerin from 1952 to 1990 and since German reunification, it has served as the capital of the (re-)founded Mecklenburg-Vorpommern.

The romantic Schwerin Palace, situated on Castle Island between Lake Schwerin and Castle Lake, known for its golden dome, the Castle Church, the throne room, and the Niklot statue; used to be the seat of the dukes and grand dukes of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, and since 1990, it has served as the seat of the state parliament of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. Schwerin's silhouette is completed by the towers of Schwerin Cathedral, St Paul's Church and St Nicholas' Church. Because of only minor damage in World War II, the city has a largely intact building structure, both in the Altstadt (Old Town) and Schelfstadt (Reed City) quarters.

Major industries and employers include high technology, machine building, healthcare, government agencies, railway supply, consumer goods and tourism. There is a regional airport in Parchim, southeast of the city, while Hamburg Airport serves as the city's main airport.

Geography Schwerin clockwise borders the municipalities of Klein Trebbow (N), Seehof (Mecklenburg), Leezen (Mecklenburg) (lake border and border on Paul's Dam (Paulsdamm) only), Raben Steinfeld (E), Plate, Banzkow, Lübesse (S), Holthusen, Pampow, Klein Rogahn (W), Wittenförden, Brüsewitz, and Pingelshagen.

There is a small enclave between the city districts of and , belonging to the neighboring municipality of Klein Rogahn.

Lakes and islands

The 12 lakes within Schwerin's city limits: NameSizeIslandsLake SchwerinSchweriner See, Brick LakeZiegelseeKleine & Große MurrkiteninselLake OstorfOstorfer SeeToteninsel/TannenwerderNew Mill LakeNeumühler SeeLake MedewegeMedeweger SeeLake LankowLankower SeeRethhorstFoul LakeFauler SeeHeathens LakeHeidenseeClergymen's PondPfaffenteichCastle LakeBurgseeSchlossinselLake GrimkeGrimkeseeBig KarauscheGroße Karausche

Boroughs According to the 2024 version of the Schwerin city constitution, it is subdivided into 17 boroughs that each have a local borough council (Ortsteilvertretung). These councils have between 5 and 15 members depending on the number of inhabitants whom are picked by the city council for the duration of the municipal electoral period. The local councilors elect a borough mayor (Ortsbeiratsvorsitzender) and are to hear important matters concerning the district and have a right of initiative; final decision however rests with the city council. These 17 city boroughs are largely contiguous with the 26 city districts or quarters, several smaller districts are however grouped together in the same borough. +Boroughs and districts of SchwerinMapBoroughDistrict(s)Population (2025)Borough mayor (2024)Ortsteil 1Schelfstadt4,37011,383Silvia Rabethge (CDU)7,0130 (2014)Ortsteil 23,30917,355Stephan Haring (CDU)3,9998,3681,679Ortsteil 38,447Georg-Christian Riedel (CDU)Ortsteil 44,966Marco Rauch (LINKE)Ortsteil 512,353Gret-Doris Klemkow (SPD)Ortsteil 62,2914,613Daniel Meslien (SPD)2,322Ortsteil 710,086Cordula Manow (LINKE)Ortsteil 810,825Thomas Munzert (CDU)Ortsteil 95,926Jens Ludwig (CDU)Ortsteil 10769910Solveig Dahl (UB/FDP)141Ortsteil 11936Ralf Klein (CDU)Ortsteil 123,945Rolf Bemmann (SPD)Ortsteil 133,0713,071Martin Frank (LINKE)0 (2014)Ortsteil 141,602Heike Ehrhardt (UB/FDP)Ortsteil 151,1321,358Annelie Schröder (SPD)226Ortsteil 161,050Thilo Kreimer (CDU)Ortsteil 17894Hasko Schubert (CDU)

Climate Schwerin has an oceanic climate (Köppen: Cfb; Trewartha: Dobk). Schwerin is located not far from the Baltic Sea coast. Its climate is moderated by the ocean, with warm winters and cool summers throughout the year, with an average temperature ranging from in winter to in summer.

The Schwerin weather station has recorded the following extreme values: Its highest temperature was on 20 July 2022. Its lowest temperature was on 5 February 1912. Its greatest annual precipitation was in 2002. Its least annual precipitation was in 1892. The longest annual sunshine was 2,040.8 hours in 1959. The shortest annual sunshine was 1,339.7 hours in 1926.

History Early years Schwerin is enclosed by lakes. The largest of these lakes, the Schweriner See, has an area of 60 km2. In the middle part of these lakes there was a settlement of the Slavic Obotrite (dated back to the 11th century). The area was called Zuarin, and the name Schwerin is derived from that designation. In 1160, Henry the Lion defeated the Obotrites and captured Schwerin. The town was later expanded into a powerful regional centre. A castle was built on this site, and expanded to become a ducal palace. It is supposedly haunted by the small, impious ghost, called Petermännchen ("Peterman").

In 1358, Schwerin became a part of the Duchy of Mecklenburg, making it the seat of the duchy from then on. About 1500, the construction of the Schwerin Palace began, as a residence for the dukes. After the division of Mecklenburg (1621), Schwerin became the capital of the Duchy of Mecklenburg-Schwerin. Between 1765 and 1837, the town of Ludwigslust served as the capital, until Schwerin was reinstated.

Recent times In the mid-1800s, many residents from Schwerin moved to the United States, many to Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Today Milwaukee and Schwerin are sister cities. After 1918, and during the German Revolution, resulting in the fall of all the German monarchies, the Grand Duke abdicated. Schwerin became capital of the Free State of Mecklenburg-Schwerin thereafter.

During World War II, Schwerin was hit by bombs on four occasions during the bombing of Schwerin. The first attack took place in July 1940, causing only minor damage. After nearly 5 years of no attacks, the biggest air raid happened on 7 April 1945. 1500 bombs were dropped on the city after missing its intended target, the freight station, killing 224 people and destroying 42 houses.'Schwerin im Bombenhagel' - Dieschweringer.de, retrieved on May 29, 2025'1945 - Luftangriff: Luftangriff vom 7. April 1945' - Guestrow History, retrieved on May 29, 2025'Dunkle stunde eines stadtteils' - SchwerinLive, retrieved on May 29, 2025 A third attack happened on 19 April 1945. Ultimately, 3% of the city ended up being destroyed due to the aerial attacks. At the end of World War II, on 2 May 1945, Schwerin was taken by United States troops. It was turned over to the British on 1 June 1945, and one month later, on 1 July 1945,Some evidence calls into doubt the date on which the British withdrew to the predesignated occupation zone. Local residents claim that the British forces did not relinquish control of Schwerin until later in the year, probably November, following a brief artillery exchange across lake Schwerin between the British and the Soviets. Allegedly there were no deaths. it was handed over to the Soviet forces, as the British and American forces pulled back from the line of contact to the predesignated occupation zones.

Schwerin was then in the Soviet Occupation Zone which was to become the German Democratic Republic (GDR). Upon entering of Soviet forces, accounts of rape were reported by multiple inhabitants of the city.'Bomben auf Schwerin: 1945 dröhnten die Sirenen' - NDR, retrieved on May 29, 2025

Initially, it was the capital of the State of Mecklenburg which at that time included the western part of Pomerania (Vorpommern). After the states were dissolved in the GDR, in 1952, Schwerin served as the capital of the Schwerin district (Bezirk Schwerin).

After reunification in 1990, the former state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern was recreated as one of the . Rostock was a serious contender for state capital but the decision went in favour of Schwerin.

Demographics

As of the 2022 German census, Schwerin has a population of 96,447, which makes it the smallest state capital in all of Germany. As of the end of 2025, Schwerin reported to have a population of 99,721, while showing signs of growth, making it possible that Schwerin could reclaim its status as a major city (Großstadt, meaning above 100,000 inhabitants) in the near future. Schwerin had previously held this status between 1972 and 2000. The 2025 estimate is divided between 51,811 (51.96%) female and 47,910 (48.04%) male.

Crime rate According to the official 2007 Crime Report for Germany, Schwerin was the only German city with a crime rate over 17,000 total offenses committed per 100,000 inhabitants;Official Police Report for Germany, cf. p. 17. thus being 1st in the list of Germany's most dangerous cities. The larger cities, such as Berlin, Frankfurt am Main, or Bremen, all have crime rates ranging from 14,000 to 16,000 total offenses committed per 100,000 people. However, Schwerin is the only city where riding a bus (or tram) without a ticket and social security fraud is counted towards the crime rate, significantly boosting the numbers.

Politics

City council The most recent city council election was held on 9 June 2024, and the results were as follows:

! colspan=2| Party ! Votes ! % ! ± ! Seats ! ± |- | bgcolor=| | align=left| Alternative for Germany (AfD) | 38,352 | 26.0 | 10.9 | 12 | 5 |- | bgcolor=| | align=left| Christian Democratic Union (CDU) | 29,051 | 19.7 | 2.5 | 9 | 1 |- | bgcolor=| | align=left| Social Democratic Party (SPD) | 24,749 | 16.8 | 0.4 | 8 | 0 |- | bgcolor=| | align=left| The Left (Die Linke) | 15,113 | 10.2 | 5.3 | 5 | 2

| align=left| Independent Citizens (UB) | 10,617 | 7.2 | 6.9 | 3 | 3 |- | bgcolor=| | align=left| Alliance 90/The Greens (Grüne) | 10,088 | 6.8 | 5.3 | 3 | 2 |- | bgcolor=| | align=left| Free Democratic Party (FDP) | 5,388 | 3.7 | 0.3 | 2 | 0 |- | bgcolor=| | align=left| Die PARTEI (PARTEI) | 4,876 | 3.3 | 0.3 | 1 | 0 |- | bgcolor=| | align=left| Independent Steinmüller | 3,480 | 2.4 | New | 1 | New

| align=left| Ask Group – City and Culture Protection (ASK) | 3,181 | 2.2 | 0.7 | 1 | 0 |- | bgcolor=| | align=left| Independent Mittelstädt | 436 | 0.3 | New | 0 | New

| align=left| K-I | 402 | 0.3 | New | 0 | New |- | bgcolor=| | align=left| Independent Szymik | 402 | 0.3 | New | 0 | New |- ! colspan=2| Valid votes ! 147,473 ! 100.0 ! ! ! |- ! colspan=2| Invalid ballots ! 2,109 ! 1.4 ! ! ! |- ! colspan=2| Total ballots ! 50,842 ! 100.0 ! ! 45 ! ±0 |- ! colspan=2| Electorate/voter turnout ! 78,517 ! 64.8 ! 6.8 ! ! |- | colspan=7| Source: City of Schwerin

Mayor The current mayor of Schwerin is Bernd Nottebaum (CDU) since 2026.

The most recent mayoral election was held on 4 June 2023, with a runoff held on 18 June, and the results were as follows:

Schwerin

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