Mecklenburg-Strelitz (district)

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Mecklenburg-Strelitz
Map of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania highlighting the district Mecklenburg-Strelitz
State	Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania
County seat	Neustrelitz
Area	2,089 km²
Population	84.259 (31. March 2005) (2005)
Pop. density	42 inh./km²
Car identification	MST
Web page	mecklenburg-strelitz.de

Mecklenburg-Strelitz is a Kreis (district) in the southern part of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Germany. Neighboring districts are (from the north clockwise) Demmin, Ostvorpommern Uecker-Randow, the districts Uckermark, Oberhavel and Ostprignitz-Ruppin in Brandenburg, and the district Müritz. The district-free city Neubrandenburg is nearly completely surrounded by the district.

1 Geography
2 History
3 Coat of arms
4 Towns and municipalities
5 External links

[edit] Geography

The district of Mecklenburg-Strelitz occupies the eastern parts of the Müritz lakeland and the Müritz National Park. There are numerous tiny lakes and swamps in the southern and western portions of the district.

[edit] History

The name of this district traces back to the duchy of Mecklenburg-Strelitz. This duchy was established in 1701 after the former duchy of Mecklenburg-Güstrow ceased to exist. The area of the district is roughly identical with the old duchy's main territory, the Stargarder Land. The old duchy included an exclave around Ratzeburg, which is today situated in Schleswig-Holstein. Southern parts of the older Mecklenburg-Strelitz, including the town of Fürstenberg, today belong to Brandenburg's Oberhavel district. The capital of the duchy was the town of Strelitz, which was completely destroyed in a fire in 1712. After this disaster the duke ordered to build a new town at the shore of a small lake called the Zierker See. This town became Neustrelitz (= "New Strelitz").

The district was created by merging the three previous districts Neubrandenburg, Neustrelitz and Strasburg in 1994.

[edit] Coat of arms

The bull head on a yellow field is the coat of arms of the dukes of Mecklenburg. The tower stands for the castle of Stargard, the longtime seat of the dukes of Mecklenburg since its construction in the 13th century; it remains the northernmost mountain-top castle in present-day Germany. The Maltese cross alludes to the possessions of the Order of St. John of Malta in the territory before 1648.

[edit] Towns and municipalities

Towns	Ämter
Burg Stargard Feldberger Seenlandschaft Friedland¹ Mirow¹ Neustrelitz Wesenberg¹ Woldegk¹ ¹ inside a Amt	Friedland Groß Miltzow Mirow Neustrelitz-Land Neverin Stargard-Land Wesenberg Woldegk

Towns

Ämter