Malchow (ˈmalço) is a municipality

Municipalities of Germany

Municipalities are the lowest level of territorial division in Germany. This may be the fourth level of territorial division in Germany, apart from those states which include Regierungsbezirke , where municipalities then become the fifth level.-Overview:With more than 3,400,000 inhabitants, the...

  in the Mecklenburgische Seenplatte

Mecklenburgische Seenplatte (district)

Mecklenburgische Seenplatte is a district in the southeast of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany. It is bounded by the districts Ludwigslust-Parchim, Rostock , Vorpommern-Rügen, Vorpommern-Greifswald, and the state Brandenburg to the south...

 district, in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania

Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania

Mecklenburg-Vorpommern is a federal state in northern Germany. The capital city is Schwerin...

, Germany

Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

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Geography

It is situated on the river Elde

Elde

The Elde is a river in northern Germany , a right tributary of the Löcknitz. Its total length is 220 km. The Elde originates near Altenhof, south of Malchow. It first flows southeast towards the southern end of Lake Müritz, which it enters at Vipperow. It flows out of the Müritz at its...

, 25,5 km west of Waren

Waren

Waren is a town in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany, capital of the former Müritz district . It is situated on the northern end of Lake Müritz, approximately 40 km west of Neubrandenburg.-Early history:...

, and 35 km north of Wittstock

Wittstock

Wittstock is a town in the Ostprignitz-Ruppin district, in north-western Brandenburg, Germany. It is situated on the river Dosse, 20 km east of Pritzwalk, and 95 km northwest of Berlin. It was the location of the 1636 Battle of Wittstock between Sweden and an alliance of the Holy Roman...

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History

Malchow was a center for Slavic paganism during the Middle Ages

Middle Ages

The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...

. It was sacked by Saxons

Saxons

The Saxons were a confederation of Germanic tribes originating on the North German plain. The Saxons earliest known area of settlement is Northern Albingia, an area approximately that of modern Holstein...

 during the 1147 Wendish Crusade

Wendish Crusade

The Wendish Crusade was an 1147 campaign, one of the Northern Crusades and also a part of the Second Crusade, led primarily by the Kingdom of Germany inside the Holy Roman Empire and directed against the Polabian Slavs ....

 against the Polabian Slavs

Polabian Slavs

Polabian Slavs - is a collective term applied to a number of Lechites tribes who lived along the Elbe river, between the Baltic Sea to the north, the Saale and the Limes Saxoniae to the west, the Ore Mountains and the Western Sudetes to the south, and Poland to the east. They have also been known...

. During World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

, the Malchow concentration camp

Malchow concentration camp

Malchow concentration camp was one of the numerous sub-camps of Nazi concentration camp: Ravensbrück, located in Germany, which is believed to be first opened in the winter of 1943...

 was established nearby.

Natural environment

The town is surrounded by the lakes of the Mecklenburgische Seenplatte

Mecklenburg Lake District

The Mecklenburg Lake District is the largest coherent lakes and canals area in Germany. It is situated in southern Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, extending somewhat into the north of Brandenburg, and sometimes called "the land of the thousand lakes".The Seenplatte includes Müritz National Park, which...

and the woods of the Müritz National Park

Müritz National Park

The Müritz National Park is a national park situated roughly in the middle between Berlin and Rostock, in the south of the German state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. It extends over large portions of the Müritz lakeland in the district of Mecklenburgische Seenplatte. Müritz National Park was founded...

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External links