Grabow

Grabow is a town located in the Ludwigslust-Parchim district of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany. It sits about 7 kilometres southeast of the city of Ludwigslust. The river Elde flows through the old part of town, which features beautiful buildings made from wood frames that date back to the 16th century.

Grabow is also important because it serves as the seat of the Amt Grabow, a group of nearby towns and villages that work together. The town is part of the larger Hamburg Metropolitan Region, connecting it to major economic areas.

Historically, Grabow held special meaning as the location of a royal residence. Some important rulers from the Mecklenburg line were born there, making it a place of historical interest.

Etymology

The name Grabow comes from old Slavic Polabian words, where grab means "hornbeam" a type of tree. Many places in the area have similar names. Over time, the town's name changed a little, being called Grabowe in some old records from years like 1186, 1252, and 1275, and Grabow from records in 1189 and 1298.

Today, Grabow is sometimes called Grabow (Elde) or Grabow in Mecklenburg, and even shorter as Grabow i. M. or Grabow (Mekl). This helps tell it apart from other places with the same name, especially when talking about the Grabow (Meckl) train station.

Geography

Grabow is a town found on the river Elde in the Griese Gegend region of southern Mecklenburg. It is close to the border of Brandenburg and surrounded by beautiful forests. The town forest covers a large area of 1,658 hectares.

The town is about 7 kilometres southeast of Ludwigslust and is near several other small towns. It also includes a few smaller villages in its area. Grabow has a train station and a highway nearby.

History

In 1186, a letter from Pope Urban III mentioned a castle in Grabow, which belonged to the County of Dannenberg. Grabow became a town in 1252 when the Count of Dannenberg gave it town privileges. A church was first mentioned in 1285.

From 1319 to 1320, Grabow became part of Mecklenburg, first under the Duchy and then the Grand Duchy of Mecklenburg-Schwerin. It was later included in the German Empire.

The old town hall was built between 1687 and 1688. In 1725, most of the town was destroyed in a big fire. This included the old town hall and a palace, but the town hall was rebuilt in 1728 and is still used today. After the fire, the town was rebuilt with many close timber-framed houses, which still make the old town special. The oldest building in Grabow dates back to 1702, which means it survived the fire.

In 1726, a special art piece called the Grabow Altarpiece, made in 1367 for a church in Hamburg, was given to Grabow’s church. It stayed there until 1903 when it was taken to Hamburg’s art museum.

Some of the first Jewish people in Grabow were recorded in 1749. By 1819, the Jewish community grew to 44 people. They had a small synagogue and a Jewish cemetery, which the town still cares for today.

In 1805, artist Wilhelm Langschmidt was born in Grabow. He later moved to South Africa and started a town there named Grabouw after his hometown.

In 1839, Franz Floerke became the mayor of Grabow. He served for almost 50 years and helped build important railways, roads, and bridges. The first train arrived in Grabow in 1846. Floerke also encouraged new businesses to come to the town.

In 1843, Grabow had a population of 3,781 people, including 32 Jewish people and 259 soldiers.

World War II

After Hitler came to power, Jewish people faced unfair treatment. Many were taken away and never returned. They are remembered today with special stones placed in the town.

Willi Fründt, a person from Grabow who opposed the Nazi government, was taken to a camp and did not survive.

In early 1945, as World War II was ending, many people who had to leave their homes arrived in Grabow. The town was saved from being destroyed because some local people removed explosives from bridges and convinced leaders to give up the town without a fight. After the war, Grabow was occupied by Soviet soldiers. Some people were taken away and sent to camps. The town was not damaged in the fighting.

Since reunification

In 2005, the area around Grabow was reorganized into a new administrative group called Amt Grabow. In 2011, the district of Ludwigslust merged with Parchim to form Ludwigslust-Parchim.

In 2016, Grabow included the nearby area of Steesow.

In 2024, Grabow took part in a project to help smaller towns grow and improve.

Demographics

As of the 2022 census, Grabow had a population of 5,436 people. About half of them, 2,781, are female and the other half, 2,655, are male. The median age in Grabow is 49.8 years, with 757 people under 18 and 1,653 people aged 65 or older.

In 1947, the population included 5,323 residents and 3,515 people who had been moved from other places, which caused the population to jump to 8,838.

As of the 2022 census, most people in Grabow, 5,257 or 96.7%, have German citizenship. A smaller group, 176 people or 3.2%, have citizenship from other countries.

Most people in Grabow do not belong to either of the two main state-recognized churches. The main town church is the evangelical-lutheran St. Georgs church, located in the center of the old town. It was built in 1781 and has a pulpit that dates back to 1555, making it the second oldest pulpit in all of Germany. There is also a catholic Maria Magdalena church and a small Seventh-day Adventist Church in Grabow. The town also maintains a Jewish cemetery, though there are no known Jewish people living there today.

The village of Bochin, near Grabow, has its own evangelical-lutheran church that was built in 1894.

Politics

Grabow is the seat of the Amt Grabow, which means the town's administration helps manage nearby areas.

The town hall at Am Marktplatz 1 is where the city council and administration meet. The city council has 17 members. The most recent elections were held on June 9, 2024, during the Mecklenburg-Vorpommern municipal elections.

Kathleen Bartels is the current mayor, representing the SPD. She was first elected in 2018 and reelected in 2025. Her term lasts seven years.

The town's coat of arms has changed over time. It was first granted in 1858 and has been updated a few times since then. The current version was officially granted in 1991 and includes a mural crown.

The flag of Grabow is a blue-yellow-blue triband with the city's coat of arms in the center. It was designed by Heinz Kippnick and approved in 1999.

Culture

The town of Grabow has a motto: "colorful city on the Elde". This is because of its many colorful timber-framed architecture buildings.

Sights

Fritz-Reuter-Haus

The Fritz-Reuter-Haus is at Kießerdamm 19a and serves as the town's community centre, called "Generationenhaus". It is home to the youth centre "Blue Sun" and was the city library until 2023.

The building was built between 1868 and 1870. It first became a school on 7 September 1870. Over the years, it changed from a school for older students to a different type of school. After World War II, it became a school for many students and was called the "yellow school". After the country reunited, it operated as a school again until 1990. It reopened as the town's community centre in 2008.

Bolbrüggesche Mühle

A watermill for grains was first mentioned in Grabow during the 1300s. It started as a place where people could bring their grains to be ground, but later became a business that bought grains from farmers and sold flour.

The Bolbrügge family became the mill's owners in 1917. Under Carl Bolbrügge, the mill was modernized and even started making electricity by 1923. In 1951, the mill was taken over by the government and run by the community. It stopped working in 1998, but a small hydroelectric plant next to the mill still operates today.

Town hall

The Grabow town hall is one of the most important buildings in the town and one of the most notable town halls in Mecklenburg. Construction began in 1726, just after a big fire in 1725, and finished in 1727. It was painted in its current colour in 1922. Small fires happened over the years, but the building was repaired. It was also renovated for special occasions.

For about 150 years, the town hall was also a restaurant. Even though people thought the restaurant was in the basement, it was actually on the ground floor. A restaurant with the same name, Ratskeller Grabow, opened across from the town hall. It was closed during a certain time but reopened after the country reunited.

Famous people visited the town hall, including Fritz Reuter, a friend of the mayor at the time, and Frederick Francis IV, the Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin.

Church

A church in Grabow was first mentioned in 1285, but it was destroyed in the big fire of 1725. Three local people traveled to collect donations for a new church. They got important artworks, including a pulpit from Lübeck and an altarpiece from Hamburg. The current church, named St. Georgs, was mostly finished by 1733. It is the tallest building in town and follows the evangelical-lutheran tradition.

Museum

The town museum is at Marktstraße 19, in a building that used to be a candy factory.

Cuisine

Grabow is well known for its "Grabower Küßchen", chocolate-coated marshmallow treats. They have been made by Grabower Süsswaren GmbH since 1835. After World War II, the company started making these treats. It was private again after 1991 and is now owned by a company in the Netherlands.

Festivals

Since 2007, Grabow has held an annual light festival where buildings are lit up with colorful lights and music is played. Other regular festivals include the city festival and Martinimarkt, which happens every November.

Media and art

There is an online newspaper in Grabow run by a city council member. The German punk-rock band Debil partly comes from Grabow.

Twin towns

See also: List of twin towns and sister cities in Germany

Grabow has friendly partnerships with towns in different countries. These include:

• Albertslund in Denmark
• Borken in Germany
• Whitstable in the United Kingdom
• Říčany in the Czech Republic
• Mölndal in Sweden

Notable people

Aristocracy

• Frederick, Duke of Mecklenburg-Grabow (1638-1688), lived in Grabow from 1669 until his death
• Adolphus Frederick II, Duke of the Mecklenburg-Strelitz (1658–1708), was the ruling duke of Mecklenburg-Strelitz
• Karl Leopold, Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin (1678–1747), ruled Mecklenburg-Schwerin
• Christian Ludwig II, Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin (1683–1756), ruled Mecklenburg-Schwerin
• Sophia Louise of Mecklenburg-Schwerin (1685–1735), became Queen of Prussia
• Louis, Hereditary Prince of Mecklenburg-Schwerin (1725–1778), was the hereditary prince of Mecklenburg-Schwerin

Arts

• The Mann family, a Hanseatic family, has ties to Grabow
• Friedrich Lenthe (1774–1851), was a painter and lithographer
• Wilhelm Langschmidt (1805–1866), a German-South African painter
• Carl Ludwig Theodor Graff (1844–1906), worked as an architect
• Gustav Hinrichs (1850–1942), a German-American conductor and composer
• Martha Rose-Grabow (1858–1940), was known as a painter
• Wilhelmine Fleck (1864–1997), wrote as a writer
• Richard Havemann (1875–1943), worked as an animal tamer and trainer
• Gustav Ritter (1867–1945), was a factory owner and author
• Paul Sprenk (1898–1988), painted as an artist
• Katharina Brauren (1910–1998), performed as an actress
• Hermann Schepler (1911–1993), created as a painter and graphic designer
• Volkwin Marg (born 1936), an architect who lived partly in Grabow

Politics

• Franz Floerke (1811–1889), a jurist and former mayor of Grabow from 1839 to 1889
• Karl Hahn (1858–1946), taught music and studied plants
• Joseph Marcus (1886–1961), worked as a jurist and supported Zionist causes
• Willi Fründt (1909–1944), a communist who was executed by the Nazis
• Bernhard Leverenz (1909–1987), served as a jurist and politician for the FDP
• Alwin Ziel (born 1941), active as a politician for the SPD
• Stefan Sternberg (born 1984), has been the Landrat of Ludwigslust-Parchim since 2018 and was mayor of Grabow from 2013 to 2018

Science

• Heinrich Zander (1800–1976), studied birds and served as a pastor
• Otto Plath (1885–1940), a German-American biologist
• Hans Havemann (1887–1985), wrote, reported news, and studied rocks
• Wilhelm Jesse (1887–1971), taught school and explored history
• Willy Havemann (1892–1969), worked in medicine and local history
• Oskar Kurz (1896–1945), focused on local history
• Helmut Pankow (1929–1996), studied plants and taught at a university

Sports

• Bastian Reinhardt (born 1975), a footballer who played for Empor Grabow and now assists at VfB Lübeck
• Marco Küntzel (born 1976), a footballer who played for Empor Grabow from 1981 to 1990

Others

• Hermann Joachim Hahn (1679–1726), served as a protestant theologian at the Dresden Kreuzkirche
• Carl Bolbrügge (1849–1898), owned the Bolbrüggesche Mühle
• Hans Eberhard (1861–1940), worked as a judge