Ruppin

Ruppin lies in the lake country of northern Brandenburg. The castle at Alt Ruppin served as the political centre of the lordship of the counts of Lindow-Ruppin, while nearby Neuruppin became its economic centre and received town rights in 1256. A Dominican monastery was founded there in 1246, the first in the Mark of Brandenburg.

When the ruling line died out in 1524, Ruppin passed to the electors of Brandenburg. The Reformation brought the monastery's property under electoral control. In 1787 a major fire devastated Neuruppin; it was rebuilt in the following years with Prussian support. The name Ruppin can refer to both the historic lordship and its settlements around the lake.