Editing Neubrandenburg (section)

==History==
[[File:NB-Stadtmauer-und-Wiekhaus-02-06-2008-041.JPG|left|thumb|Two of the 25 (formerly 56) typical timbered Wiek houses along the Neubrandenburg city wall]]
The region had been left largely empty during the [[Migration Period]] and was re-settled by [[Slavs]] who then formed the [[Veleti]], starting in the 7th century. [[Francia|Frankish]] and [[Saxons|Saxon]] influence increased since the late 8th century but suffered several setbacks. After final subjugation by the Saxons in the mid-12th century, [[Ostsiedlung|German colonisation]] greatly intensified after 1200. The first Christian monks in the area were [[Premonstratensian|Premonstratensians]] at Broda Abbey, a monastery by the lakeshore (about 1240). The foundation of the city known as of Neubrandenburg took place in 1248, when the Margrave of [[Margraviate of Brandenburg|Brandenburg]] decided to build a settlement in the northern part of his fief, naming it after the older city of [[Brandenburg an der Havel|Brandenburg]] further south. In 1292, the city and the surrounding area became part of [[Mecklenburg]].

The city flourished as a trade centre until the [[Thirty Years' War]] (1618–48), when this position was lost due to incessant warfare. During the dramatic advance of the [[Sweden|Swedish]] army of [[Gustavus Adolphus]] into Germany, the city was garrisoned by Swedes, but it was retaken by Imperial [[Catholic League (German)|Catholic League]] forces in 1631. During this campaign, it was widely reported that the Catholic forces killed many of the Swedish and Scottish soldiers while they were surrendering. Later, according to the Scottish soldier of fortune [[Robert Munro, 18th Baron of Foulis]], when the Swedes themselves adopted a "no prisoners" policy, they would cut short any pleas for mercy with the cry of "New Brandenburg!". The city, therefore, played an unconscious role in the escalation of brutality of one of history's most brutal wars.

Neubrandenburg was one of two ''Vorderstädte'' (lit. primary cities) of the duchy of [[Mecklenburg]], i.e. it represented the interests of the cities and towns at the regional assembly (the ''Landtag'' or diet). From 1701 to 1934, it formed a part of [[Mecklenburg-Strelitz]], a small, primarily rural, and socio-economically backward state of [[East Elbia|northeastern Germany]], being its largest or second-largest city (closely tied with [[Neustrelitz]], the capital). From 1856 to 1863, [[Fritz Reuter]], the most successful author of [[Low German]] literature and one of the best-sold German authors of the 19th century, lived here. In 1864, Neubrandenburg was connected to [[Berlin]] by railway, and developed some modest industry, mostly connected with the needs of the predominant agricultural sector of the region.

Under Nazism, an airbase was built at nearby Trollenhagen and a facility for [[torpedo]] trials was established in Lake Tollense. The city's rural situation far from any borders shielded it from air attacks for some time. During the [[Second World War]], two [[German prisoner-of-war camps in World War II|German prisoner-of-war camps]] for [[Allies of World War II|Allied]] POWs of various nationalities were located in Fünfeichen within the city limits: the large [[Stalag II-A]] and the adjacent Oflag II-E/67 for officers. The same site was operated from 1945 to 1948 as special [[NKVD]]-camp Nr. 9. The town was also the location of a [[Forced labour under German rule during World War II|forced labour]] camp for [[Sinti]] and [[Romani people]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bundesarchiv.de/zwangsarbeit/haftstaetten/index.php?action=2.2&tab=7&id=100000133|title=Lager für Sinti und Roma Neubrandenburg|website=Bundesarchiv.de|access-date=20 November 2021|language=de}}</ref> In 1945, a few days before the end of the Second World War, 80% of the old town was burned down by the [[Red Army]] in a great fire that destroyed, inter alia, City Hall (incl. most of the Municipal Archives), the Grand Ducal Palace (incl. the Municipal Arts Collections) and St. Mary's Church. About 600 people committed suicide in fear of or as a result of the Soviet advance.<ref name=lakotta>{{cite web|url=http://www.spiegel.de/spiegel/spiegelspecial/d-39863564.html|title=Tief vergraben, nicht dran rühren|last=Lakotta|first=Beate|publisher=[[Der Spiegel|SPON]]|date=2005-03-05|access-date=2010-08-16|language=de}}</ref> 

After the war, within the newly-founded Socialist [[East Germany|GDR]] (East Germany), the city centre was slowly rebuilt in the 1950s and 60s in a simplified neoclassicist and neo-Renaissance style. Large numbers of refugees from [[Former eastern territories of Germany|Germany's former eastern territories]] and from [[Czechoslovakia]] were resettled in the city. Neubrandenburg was designated the centre of a ''[[Administrative divisions of the German Democratic Republic|Bezirk]]'', the highest tier of administrative divisions in East Germany, in 1952. As such, the city was supposed to embody the vision of a "Socialist city" and was to be greatly expanded and industrialised. Population increased from about 20,000 at war's end to about 90,000 in the late 1980s. Large [[Panel building|panel-type housing estates]] were built in several parts of the city. The demolished market square area was reshaped by the ''Haus der Kultur und Bildung'' (House of Culture and Education), a Socialist-style civic centre, complemented by a 56 m highrise. [[Brigitte Reimann]], a prominent GDR writer whose works deal with the attempt at building a Socialist society, spent her last years (1968-1973) in the city.

As in all of East Germany, the [[German reunification|reunification of Germany]] in 1990 brought an improvement of political and social freedoms but also a deep socio-economic crisis with large-scale unemployment and emigration. The population sharply dropped, stabilising at about 65,000 people (2023), with some of those losses, however, just going to surrounding bedroom communities. The economic situation finally slowly improved, many historical buildings were renovated, e.g. St. Mary's Church that was refurbished as a concert hall. The University of Applied Sciences was founded in 1991, focusing on social work, health, agriculture and food industry. After 1990, Neubrandenburg lost its position as a ''Bezirk'' centre and remained an autonomous district-level city (''Kreisfreie Stadt'') within the state of [[Mecklenburg-Vorpommern]]. In 2011, it emerged as the capital of a huge new district [[Mecklenburgische Seenplatte (district)|Mecklenburgische Seenplatte]], the largest in Germany, with an area slightly more than half that of its former ''Bezirk''.