Germanic Genealogy Society
A branch of the Minnesota Genealogical Society

Helping Members Research Germanic Ancestors Worldwide

MECKLENBURG-VORPOMMERN

MECKLENBURG

History
mecklenburg COA Mecklenburg is the site of many prehistoric dolmen tombs. Its earliest organized inhabitants may have had Celtic origins. By no later than 100 BC the area had been populated by pre-Christian Germanic people. The traditional symbol of Mecklenburg, the grinning steer's head (German: Stierkopf), with an attached hide, and a crown above, may have originated from this period. It represents what early peoples would have worn, i.e. a steers's head as a hat, with the hide hanging down the back to protect the neck from the sun, and overall as a way to instill fear in the enemy. From the 7th through the 12th centuries, the area of Mecklenburg was taken over by Western Slavic peoples, most notably the obotrites and other tribes that Frankish sources referred to as "Wends". The 11th century founder of the Mecklenburgian dynasty of Dukes and later Grand Dukes, which lasted until 1918, was Nyklot of the Obotrites.
Mecklenburg, the region above Berlin and Brandenburg, extending to the Baltic Sea, can be tricky for new researchers because of continuing boundary changes. Frequently you will hear Mecklenburg-Strelitz used or Mecklenburg- Schwerin used. These were duchies within Mecklenburg. Since 1990, The far western part of Pomerania, that did not go to Poland was added, and is now Mecklenburg-Vorpommern happened in 1990.

http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~rosdavies/DAVIES/gMecklenburg.htm
http://www.all-in-all.com/english/0051.htm
http://www.progenealogists.com/germany/mecklen/ldpeople.htm
http://blacklake.biz/meck/
http://www.lib.virginia.edu/small/exhibits/charlotte/charlotte.html