Usedom (town)

Infobox Ort in Deutschland
Art = Stadt
Name = Usedom
Wappen = Wappen_Stadt_Usedom.pnglat_deg = 53 |lat_min = 52
lon_deg = 13 |lon_min = 55
Lageplan = Usedom in OVP.pngBundesland = Mecklenburg-Vorpommern
Landkreis = Ostvorpommern
Amt = Usedom-Süd
Höhe = 0
Fläche = 38.57
Einwohner = 1892
Stand = 2006-12-31
PLZ = 17406
Vorwahl = 038372
Kfz = OVP
Gemeindeschlüssel = 13 0 59 097
Gliederung = 14
Adresse = Markt 1
17406 Usedom
Bürgermeister = Jochen Storrer

Usedom is a municipality in Ostvorpommern district in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany. It is the seat of the "Amt" of Usedom-Süd, to which 14 other communities also belong.

Geography

The town lies in the southeastern part of the island of Usedom, in the so-called "Achterland", on the northwest shore of the Oder Lagoon (Oderhaff, Stettiner Haff). The town is bordered on the west and north by the Peenestrom, the aforesaid lagoon's western outlet to the Baltic Sea.

Municipality subdivisions

The following communities belong to the town of Usedom:

History

The region has been settled since Neolithic times, and from the eighth and ninth centuries by ancient Slavs, who built a castle on the hill now known as the Schloßberg. The town's name comes from the Slavic word "uznam", meaning river mouth. Early in the 12th century, the place was destroyed by the Danes. In 1128, the West Pomeranian "Landtag" adopted Christianity, and shortly thereafter, a Premonstratensian monastery was established in Usedom. In the 13th century, the German settlement of Usedom began as part of the eastern colonization in progress in many places at that time. On 23 December 1298, Usedom was granted town rights under Lübeck law. The town burnt down twice in great fires in 1475 and 1688. After the Peace of Westphalia in 1648, Usedom, along with all of Pomerania, became Swedish, and then after 1720, Prussian. From 1720 to 1806, and again as of 1815, the town was Prussian. The town had a railway connection from 1876. In 1934, at Karnin, a railway bridge was built, but it was destroyed in the Second World War. After the war, the town first belonged to the state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern until East Germany abolished the "Land" system in 1952, whereafter it was in the Rostock region. At German reunification in 1990, Usedom once again found itself in the state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern.

Sightseeing

Worth seeing in Usedom are the "Anklamer Tor" (gate), the "Marienkirche" (church), the Schloßberg with its memorial to the Reformation implemented by Otto of Bamberg in 1128, and the ruins of the Karnin-Zecherin lift bridge. Furthermore, the town's old railway station houses the nature park centre with very interesting displays about nature in the immediate vicinity.

Transport connections

Through Usedom runs the island's main south road (Federal Highway B110), connecting the town to Pinnow on the mainland, and farther afield, Anklam. In the other direction, the B110 joins the B111, the road that runs along Usedom island's north shore, at Seebad Ahlbeck. Until 1945, the town had a railway station on the Ducherow- Swinemünde line, which now houses the island's nature park centre. Usedom today lies far from the island's only railway line, the "Usedomer Bäderbahn". Usedom has a small harbour on the "Usedomer See", an inlet with a narrow opening – the "Kehle", or channel – into the lagoon.

External links

* [http://www.stadtinfo-usedom.de/ Town of Usedom]
* [http://www.insel-usedom-wollin.de/usedom/usedom.html Pictures of Usedom]
* [http://erwin-rosenthal.de/swinemuende1/die_bahn_berlin_-_swinem%C3%BCnde.htm Karnin lift bridge]
* [http://erwin-rosenthal.de/usedom/usedom_stadt.htm Die Stadt Usedom] (private page)