Marketplace of Ueckermünde
and the old part of Ueckermünde town

Views of the marketplace of Ueckermünde, newly designed in 1999 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, the idyllic market square and St Mary's Church being the focus of attention. In 1999 the marketplace was reconstructed with expenses incurred amounting to one million DM (about 510,000 Euros). Old paving from Ueckermünde brickyards was intentionally used for the market square to put up a memorial for the brick and tile making tradition. Besides, old paving creates a much more authentic old-town atmosphere than newly made bricks. A bronze figure was inaugurated at the marketplace fountain on 26th October, 2002, showing a fisherman of the lagoon. Before the reconstruction of the marketplace could start, large-scale excavations took place on the Ueckermünde market from early October 1998 to April 1999. Verena Hoffmann, head of the excavation team in Ueckermünde and employed by the Land Authority for the Preservation of Ancient Monuments reports about the course of the excavations and the finds made. Click here for the report as .pdf file . Historical views History The road network structure of the old part of Ueckermünde town has been preserved almost unchanged since medieval times. Therefore the streets are rather narrow. The town's marketplace, however, is large. But the area has not always been like that. In early medieval times the town hall was to be found on this place and centuries later another town hall next to it. During the archaeological excavations in 1998/99 remains of these buildings could be discovered and mapped. A join with a cut in the paving of the marketplace reminds us of these buildings today. A meat and bread shop was attached to the town hall and a garrison building existed on the north side of the market. Next to the medieval town hall there was the hustle and bustle of a marketplace. Market stalls were erected on planks and craftsmen and farmers offered their goods from there. The town hall on the market burnt down in 1631 and was not re-erected. The medieval market was situated on a much lower level than today's. The difference in altitude of the two surfaces amounts to about one metre. Nevertheless, there used to be paving with drainage channels already. The marketplace has changed its appearance in the course of the centuries and so have the buildings next to it. Houses built in three different centuries exist side by side now at the market. Initiated by the Ueckermünde war veteran association, a memorial to Emperor Wilhelm I. was erected and formally inaugurated on the marketplace last century. It was placed almost in the middle of the market and saw different enclosures. After World War II the memorial had to be torn down at the behest of the Russian military administration. Inhabitants of our town who had been close to the former Nazi regime had to do this job. A petrol station occupied some space on the market up to the 70's. It had just one pump and used to be the only petrol station in the town of Ueckermünde for quite some time. After the war the market turned into a bus station until the 70's of our century.