Ribnitz-Damgarten
Encyclopedia
Ribnitz-Damgarten is a town in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany
. It is situated at the Ribnitzer See (Lake of Ribnitz). Ribnitz-Damgarten is the largest town of the district Vorpommern-Rügen
, but not its capital.
cities Rostock
and Stralsund
, on the mouth of the river Recknitz
. The Ribnitzer See, into which the Recknitz empties, is a bay of the Saaler Bodden (Bay of Saal). The Saaler Bodden in turn is the south-western end of a chain of bays leading to the Baltic Sea
.
Touristically relevant is Ribnitz-Damgarten's situation at the southern end of the Fischland, the peninsula dividing the chain of bays from the Baltic Sea.
river.
In ancient times, the Recknitz formed the border between Mecklenburg
and Pomerania
. At the ford a castle was built about 1200 on the Mecklenburg side, being the precursor of Ribnitz. The Danish
princes of Rügen
responded by erecting a fortress on the opposite side that later became the town of Damgarten.
Ribnitz as a town is first documented in 1233, documents point to town privileges
under Lübeck law
being established before 1257. Damgarten was granted such privileges in 1258 by Jaromar II
, Duke of Rügen, as Damechore.
In 1934, Walter Bachmann moved his airplane repair and production business from Rostock
to Ribnitz. The company was specialized in seaplane
s, for which nearness to open water was essential. The Walter-Bachmann-Flugzeugbau KG, as it was later called, turned the fisher's and farmer's town into a seat of war-essential production. The influx of workers for the factory, among other factors, increased the population of Ribnitz from 4772 in 1930 to 8925 in 1942.
At the same time as the Bachmann works in Pütnitz, near Damgarten, an air force base was built. Like the Bachmann works for Ribnitz, so did they increase Damgarten's population, which doubled from 1933 to 1939. Primarily it was a training center for seaplane personnel. After World War II
, this base became one of the major deployments of the Soviet Air Forces in East Germany
. 16th Guards Fighter Aviation Division
of 16th Air Army was headquartered at the base from the 1950s until 1993.
On the 5th of July, 1950, the former towns of Ribnitz and Damgarten were merged. As both towns' councils had previously voted against the merger, it can be supposed that this decision was made under political pressure.
. With the adoption of said title came also the introduction of a new town logo, the Bernsteinlogo, which is now used on official correspondence. It can also be seen on the Stadtblatt, an informational paper issued by the town council. The coat of arms
shown in the information box is based on the blazon
found in the Hauptsatzung (main charter) of Ribnitz-Damgarten.
Today, amber is processed in the so-called Schaumanufaktur (Show Manufacture), where its processing can be watched by visitors. The resulting jewelry can also be bought. A number of shops sell amber and handicraft made of amber.
Ribnitz is home to the German Amber Museum, which is seated in the former Poor Clare Convent
. This museum contains a permanent exhibition that illustrates the origins and the applications of amber. Contemporary pieces of art made of amber are showcased in a separate room. A part of the museum is dedicated to the town's history.
with: Sławno, Poland
Buxtehude
, 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...
. It is situated at the Ribnitzer See (Lake of Ribnitz). Ribnitz-Damgarten is the largest town of the district Vorpommern-Rügen
Vorpommern-Rügen
Vorpommern-Rügen is a district in the north of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany. It is bounded by the Baltic Sea and the districts Vorpommern-Greifswald, Mecklenburgische Seenplatte and Rostock...
, but not its capital.
Geography
The town is situated between the two HanseaticHanseatic League
The Hanseatic League was an economic alliance of trading cities and their merchant guilds that dominated trade along the coast of Northern Europe...
cities Rostock
Rostock
Rostock -Early history:In the 11th century Polabian Slavs founded a settlement at the Warnow river called Roztoc ; 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...
and Stralsund
Stralsund
- Main sights :* The Brick Gothic historic centre is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.* The heart of the old town is the Old Market Square , with the Gothic Town Hall . Behind the town hall stands the imposing Nikolaikirche , built in 1270-1360...
, on the mouth of the river Recknitz
Recknitz
The Recknitz is a river in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern in northeastern Germany. The Recknitz's glacial valley stretches as far south as the heights at Glasewitz near Güstrow. The river has no definite source, but rather builds up from streams and drainage ditches...
. The Ribnitzer See, into which the Recknitz empties, is a bay of the Saaler Bodden (Bay of Saal). The Saaler Bodden in turn is the south-western end of a chain of bays leading to the Baltic Sea
Baltic Sea
The Baltic Sea is a brackish mediterranean sea located in Northern Europe, from 53°N to 66°N latitude and from 20°E to 26°E longitude. It is bounded by the Scandinavian Peninsula, the mainland of Europe, and the Danish islands. It drains into the Kattegat by way of the Øresund, the Great Belt and...
.
Touristically relevant is Ribnitz-Damgarten's situation at the southern end of the Fischland, the peninsula dividing the chain of bays from the Baltic Sea.
History
The town's name derives in the slavic settlements Rybanis (ryba means fish) and Damgor (dam means oak tree, gora means hill), located on opposite sides of the mouth of the RecknitzRecknitz
The Recknitz is a river in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern in northeastern Germany. The Recknitz's glacial valley stretches as far south as the heights at Glasewitz near Güstrow. The river has no definite source, but rather builds up from streams and drainage ditches...
river.
In ancient times, the Recknitz formed the border between Mecklenburg
Mecklenburg
Mecklenburg is a historical region in northern Germany comprising the western and larger part of the federal-state Mecklenburg-Vorpommern...
and Pomerania
Pomerania
Pomerania is a historical region on the south shore of the Baltic Sea. Divided between Germany and Poland, it stretches roughly from the Recknitz River near Stralsund in the West, via the Oder River delta near Szczecin, to the mouth of the Vistula River near Gdańsk in the East...
. At the ford a castle was built about 1200 on the Mecklenburg side, being the precursor of Ribnitz. The Danish
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
princes of Rügen
Rügen
Rügen is Germany's largest island. Located in the Baltic Sea, it is part of the Vorpommern-Rügen district of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern.- Geography :Rügen is located off the north-eastern coast of Germany in the Baltic Sea...
responded by erecting a fortress on the opposite side that later became the town of Damgarten.
Ribnitz as a town is first documented in 1233, documents point to town privileges
Town privileges
Town privileges or city rights were important features of European towns during most of the second millennium.Judicially, a town was distinguished from the surrounding land by means of a charter from the ruling monarch that defined its privileges and laws. Common privileges were related to trading...
under Lübeck law
Lübeck law
The Lübeck law was the constitution of a municipal form of government developed at Lübeck in Schleswig-Holstein after it was made a free city in 1226. The law provides for self-government. It replaced the personal rule of tribal monarchs descending from ancient times or the rule of the regional...
being established before 1257. Damgarten was granted such privileges in 1258 by Jaromar II
Dukes of Pomerania
- 10th and 11th century – Dukes of the Slavic Pomeranian tribes :* 1046 mention of Zemuzil * 1113 Gallus Anonymus mentions several dukes of Pomerania: Swantibor, Gniewomir, and an unnamed duke besieged in Kołobrzeg.-Duchy of Pomerania:*1121–1135 Wartislaw I*1135–1155 Ratibor I, ancestor of the...
, Duke of Rügen, as Damechore.
Rostock
Rostock -Early history:In the 11th century Polabian Slavs founded a settlement at the Warnow river called Roztoc ; 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...
to Ribnitz. The company was specialized in seaplane
Seaplane
A seaplane is a fixed-wing aircraft capable of taking off and landing on water. Seaplanes that can also take off and land on airfields are a subclass called amphibian aircraft...
s, for which nearness to open water was essential. The Walter-Bachmann-Flugzeugbau KG, as it was later called, turned the fisher's and farmer's town into a seat of war-essential production. The influx of workers for the factory, among other factors, increased the population of Ribnitz from 4772 in 1930 to 8925 in 1942.
At the same time as the Bachmann works in Pütnitz, near Damgarten, an air force base was built. Like the Bachmann works for Ribnitz, so did they increase Damgarten's population, which doubled from 1933 to 1939. Primarily it was a training center for seaplane personnel. After 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...
, this base became one of the major deployments of the Soviet Air Forces in East Germany
German Democratic Republic
The German Democratic Republic , informally called East Germany by West Germany and other countries, was a socialist state established in 1949 in the Soviet zone of occupied Germany, including East Berlin of the Allied-occupied capital city...
. 16th Guards Fighter Aviation Division
16th Guards Fighter Aviation Division
The 16th Guards Fighter Aviation Division was an Aviation Division of the Soviet Air Forces, active from 1942 to 1998. Originally activated in 1942 as the 258th Fighter Aviation Division from the Air Forces of the 14th Army, then the 258th Mixed Aviation Division; redesignated in accordance with...
of 16th Air Army was headquartered at the base from the 1950s until 1993.
On the 5th of July, 1950, the former towns of Ribnitz and Damgarten were merged. As both towns' councils had previously voted against the merger, it can be supposed that this decision was made under political pressure.
Amber Town
Ribnitz-Damgarten calls itself the Bernsteinstadt (Amber Town), due to its history of manufacturing jewelry and other things from amberAmber
Amber is fossilized tree resin , which has been appreciated for its color and natural beauty since Neolithic times. Amber is used as an ingredient in perfumes, as a healing agent in folk medicine, and as jewelry. There are five classes of amber, defined on the basis of their chemical constituents...
. With the adoption of said title came also the introduction of a new town logo, the Bernsteinlogo, which is now used on official correspondence. It can also be seen on the Stadtblatt, an informational paper issued by the town council. The coat of arms
Coat of arms
A coat of arms is a unique heraldic design on a shield or escutcheon or on a surcoat or tabard used to cover and protect armour and to identify the wearer. Thus the term is often stated as "coat-armour", because it was anciently displayed on the front of a coat of cloth...
shown in the information box is based on the blazon
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 the appropriate image...
found in the Hauptsatzung (main charter) of Ribnitz-Damgarten.
Today, amber is processed in the so-called Schaumanufaktur (Show Manufacture), where its processing can be watched by visitors. The resulting jewelry can also be bought. A number of shops sell amber and handicraft made of amber.
Ribnitz is home to the German Amber Museum, which is seated in the former Poor Clare Convent
Order of Poor Ladies
The Poor Clares also known as the Order of Saint Clare, the Order of Poor Ladies, the Poor Clare Sisters, the Clarisse, the Minoresses, the Franciscan Clarist Congregation, and the Second Order of St. Francis, , comprise several orders of nuns in the Catholic Church...
. This museum contains a permanent exhibition that illustrates the origins and the applications of amber. Contemporary pieces of art made of amber are showcased in a separate room. A part of the museum is dedicated to the town's history.
In Ribnitz
- Marienkirche (Saint Mary's Church, 1233)
- Rostocker Tor (Rostock Town Gate, 1290)
- Klarissenkloster (Poor Clare Convent, 1323)
- German Amber Museum
In Damgarten
- Church St. Bartholomäus (St. BartholomewBartholomewBartholomew was one of the Twelve Apostles of Jesus, and is usually identified as Nathaniel . He was introduced to Christ through St. Philip, another of the twelve apostles as per , where the name Nathaniel first appears. He is also mentioned as “Nathaniel of Cana in Galilee” in...
) - Bernstein-Schaumanufaktur (Amber Show Manufacture)
International relations
Ribnitz-Damgarten is twinnedTown twinning
Twin towns and sister cities are two of many terms used to describe the cooperative agreements between towns, cities, and even counties in geographically and politically distinct areas to promote cultural and commercial ties.- Terminology :...
with: Sławno, Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
Buxtehude
Buxtehude
Buxtehude is a town on the Este River in Northern Germany in the district of Stade and part of the Hamburg Metropolitan Region . Buxtehude is a steadily growing medium-sized town and the second largest in the district of Stade. It lies on the southern borders of the Altes Land within easy reach of...
, 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...