Parties

	Lagoon festival
	Old town festival
	Christmas market

History

	History, coat of arms

History of Ueckermünde

The coat of arms of the town: The coat of arms of the town shows: in silver a red griffin in golden armour standing upright. Apart from that the coat of arms displays in its upper part a strapped helmet with neck decorations, a helmet top in red and silver and two golden Latin "U"s side by side as crest.

Origins laid by Slavs: Our town in the northeast of Germany looks back at a long and chequered history. The town is situated picturesquely between the lagoon and the Ueckermünde heath. Its location might have been the reason for the settlement of Slavs here in the 12th century. The name of the town is derived from the Wendish Ukrer, the Slavic people who occupied the catchment area of the Ucker river before 1200 after the withdrawal of the Germanic tribes. Around 1260 the original trading place received its town charter. It is that time the oldest building of the town dates back to, the palace, built as a castle in 1284. This building was re-erected by Philipp I. in 1546 and is the last palace of the former Pomeranian Dukes that still exists on German ground. By then the town of Ueckermünde had dimensions completely different from those today. It was partly surrounded by a town wall whose measurements we do unfortunately not know. Only a short time ago remains of this wall were found during road construction works in Bergstraße. And unfortunately none of the two gates to the town survived the times. In the centuries to come a lot of sieges and changing conquests happened. During the Thirty Years' War the town was almost completely demolished. Out of 1,600 inhabitants in the beginning only 15 survived the armed conflict. The town's rulers changed constantly. At the beginning of the 18th century Ueckermünde often became a place where well-known princes of that era met. King Friedrich Wilhelm I., August III. Elector of Saxony, Stanislaus Leszinski King of Poland and Tsar Peter I. Emperor of Russia are said to have been to Ueckermünde. The main source of income of the inhabitants was fishing. As late as at the end of the 18th and the beginning of the 19th century crafts started to flourish. The brick and tile making industries developed and after the discovery of large bog-iron ore deposits several iron-foundries were established. The 19th century saw about 50 brickyards in Ueckermünde, which shipped their bricks to a large extent elsewhere. Ueckermünde turned into an important place of transshipment and shipbuilding developed. In the years from 1781 to 1795 alone 102 ships were launched in Ueckermünde. Ueckermünde became district town in 1819. Quite a good number of the buildings in today's old part of the town were built in the second half of the 19th century. They still make the town centre together with plenty of smaller shops and the market square and St Mary's Church being the focus of attention. In 1945 the town was peacefully surrendered to the Soviet troupes. Thanks to this action, Ueckermünde was able to avoid major war destruction. Beginning in the late sixties of our century, Ueckermünde got a new residential area and thus a completely new part of town. Historical views of the market and the old part of the town of Ueckermünde

Historical data 1178 first certified mentioning of a settlement near the mouth of the Uecker river 1223 the name "Ucramund" appears on certificates 1243 the church is being subordinated to the Grobe monastery 1260 Duke Barnim I founds a monastery here reception of town charter assumed for this year 1468 siege by the Brandenburgians is withstood 1473 town reduced to rubble by a stroke of lightening 1546 new building of the palace by Duke Philipp I. 1624 the plague demands lots of lives 1631 conflagration devastates 40 houses, among them the town hall with all documents 1639 ten habitable houses are left in the whole town 1710 the plague demands 87 lives 1781 - 1795 102 ships are launched in Ueckermünde 1800 - 1801 construction of the Uecker canal 1818 Ueckermünde becomes district town 19th / 20th centuries barge shipping, brick and tile making and iron industries are of great importance 1927 re-erection of the Uecker bridge and the lagoon pool 28.04.1945 Soviet troupes meet no resistance in Ueckermünde and occupy the town 1960 Ueckermünde-Ost is built as the new part of town 1994 Ueckermünde ceases to be district town August 1994 newly constructed grammar school opened 15.05.1996 new Uecker bridge opened 15.08.1997 last oven for brick production closed down in Berndshof 02.10.1999 re-opening of the marketplace after reconstruction 25.11.1999 town hall moves completely to the palace complex 17.06.2000 fire brigade moves into their new fire station 13.12.2000 mouth of the Uecker river receives new lighthouse 30.05.2001 Ueckermünde is awarded the title "officially recognised holiday resort"