Hagenow

Hagenow in western Mecklenburg was first recorded in 1194, when it already had a castle and a church. It passed from the counts of Ratzeburg to the counts of Schwerin and in 1358 to the dukes of Mecklenburg. Called a town in 1370, it remained a modest settlement and was still described as a village in a register of 1520.

Great fires in 1538, 1748 and 1766 destroyed much of Hagenow. It was described as a market settlement in 1746, and its town rights were formally confirmed in 1754. As a Mecklenburg country town, it was represented in the territorial estates. Jewish families began settling with the ruler's permission around 1760, establishing a cemetery and building a synagogue in 1828. The reconstructed centre retained the character of a small Mecklenburg country town.