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Burg Stargard (; Polabian: Stargart, until 1929: Stargard in Mecklenburg) is a small town in the Mecklenburgische Seenplatte district, in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany. It is situated southeast of Neubrandenburg.
The town's sights include: Germany's most northerly Stargard Castle, a local history museum in the castle, a historic town centre and an exhibition by Marie Hager, the well-known German artist.
From the early 13th century, merchants and artisans started settling around the base of the castle, betraying the increasing colonization of formerly Slavs areas and being of early importance as a centre of the Lordship of Stargard, named for the castle, with a Bergfried being erected in 1250. No archaeological evidence can be found for earlier Slavic settlements in the location, however. The castle is now the most northerly high castle in Germany and the oldest secular building in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern.
In 1259, Brandenburg awarded Stargard with town privileges. At the 1292 marriage of Henry II, Lord of Mecklenburg, the Lordship was given as dowry by the Ascanians to the princes, who later became dukes of Mecklenburg. Stargard became the residence of the rulers of Mecklenburg-Stargard, an offshoot of the Mecklenburg dynasty, between 1352 and 1471. According to the Sächsischer Lehnsabhängigkeit, Charles IV, Holy Roman Emperor granted Reichsunmittelbarkeit to the territory on 16 October 1347, subsequently granting the territory as a fief of the Mecklenburg princes.
During the Thirty Years' War, the castle served as headquarters for Johann t'Serclaes, Count of Tilly, general of the Imperial forces, later becoming a seat of ducal administration. The town suffered during the general decline of the region in the aftermath of the Thirty Years' War. In 1758 a major fire largely destroyed the town; emblematic of the town's fading fortunes, losing its local importance.
In the wake of the German Revolution, a 1920 Amtsordnung redefined political borders in the area, with an Amt of Stargard based in Neubrandenburg and an Amt of Strelitz, based in Neustrelitz. Helge bei der Wieden (1976) Grundriß zur deutschen Verwaltungsgeschichte. , cited in Herrschaft Stargard in the German Wikipedia
In 1929, the town of Stargard was renamed Burg Stargard, to differentiate it from other namesakes, particularly the nearby Stargard in Pommern, now Stargard in the West Pomeranian Voivodeship of Poland but then in the Province of Pomerania. On 10 January 1934, the two Ämter were merged into Kreis Strelitz district based in Neustrelitz, later to be known as Kreis Stargard. Gesetz des Staatsministeriums über die Neugliederung von Kreisen v. 10.01.1934 ( Reg.Bl. f. Meckl. 1934, page 13), cited in Herrschaft Stargard in the German Wikipedia These local government arrangements survived until the 1952 reorganization of local government within the German Democratic Republic (East Germany). Dabei wurde u.a. die Stadt Fürstenberg/Havel von Mecklenburg nach Brandenburg überwiesen. - Vgl. „Gesetz über Änderung von Grenzen der Länder“ v. 28. Juni 1959. (GBl. der DDR, 1950, Nr. 75, S. 631) sowie Durchführungs-VO (GBl. der DDR, 1950, Nr. 78, S. 659-660), cited in Herrschaft Stargard in the German Wikipedia
During World War II, Jewish women from Poland, the Soviet Union and France were held in the "Nemerower Holz", an outpost of the Ravensbrück concentration camp, where parts were manufactured for the V-1 flying bomb, with between 1200 and 2000 women enduring forced labour here. In April 1945, camp Waldbau was emptied and the prisoners were forced on a death march to Malchow, where survivors were liberated by the Red Army.
After the reunification of Germany, urban regeneration of the town included renovation of the castle and the historic town centre, though this latter is now falling into decay.
The castle is now a tourist attraction in the area, with views from the tower and special events such as an annual knights' tournament. In July 2009, there was a three-day festival celebrating the 750th anniversary of the town's charter, with a parade showing scenes from the town's history, a rock concert and a fireworks display.
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