Rostock

Rostock ([]st]k] (?·i)) is a city of Germany, in the federated state of Mecklenburg-West Pomerania, with 206 011 inhabitants (2015). It is located on the shores of the Baltic Sea, at the mouth of the Warnow River.

The municipality of Rostock also includes the health resort of Warnemünde. Maritime transport, shipbuilding and commerce mark life in this city, which lived its golden age in the 13th centuries and XIV. This is attested by the luxurious houses of the merchants and the brick churches of the time.

History

The city's history began around 1200, with the settlement of German merchants, and as a Hanseatic city it maintained extensive trade relations with northern, eastern, and western Europe. The estuary of the River Warnow, on whose banks the city is located, represented the ideal location for a city and commercial port.

In 1419 the first university in northern Europe was founded here. The prosperity and strategic situation of the city provoked the envy of the Danes and Swedes, who occupied it twice: the first time during the Thirty Years' War (1618-1648) and the second time between 1700 and 1721. Meanwhile, a great fire had destroyed a good part of the city (1677). Economic revival came with industrialization in the mid-19th century. At that time it had the largest merchant fleet on the entire Baltic coast. However, this progress came to an abrupt end as a result of the First World War (1914-1918) and the depression of the 1930s.

Rostock bombing.

During the period of Nazi Germany, Rostock was the headquarters of a powerful aeronautical and naval industry that supplied weapons to the German army. The first jet aircraft were developed and tested in the city. The strategic bombings during World War II, perpetrated by the allies in 1942 with the aim of destroying the industrial fabric, left the city almost completely devastated.

Rostock was already a target of Royal Air Force air raids in 1940. Particularly heavy bombing raids hit the city on the nights of April 23-24 and April 26-27, 1942 ("raid of four days"), in which the arms factories and the city center were equally targeted. At the time, Rostock was the most severely destroyed city in Germany. The historic center of the city was particularly affected. Air raids followed in May and October 1942, April 1943, and April 1944. By the end of the war, 2,611 of 10,535 houses were completely destroyed and 6,735 were damaged. That was 47.7% of apartments and 42.2% of commercial buildings. British Bomber Command and Eighth Air Force. They dropped a total of 2,940 tons of bomb loads on Rostock.

In 1945 it was taken over by the Red Army, and became part of the Soviet occupation zone and, later, the German Democratic Republic (GDR). During the GDR period, the city was considered the symbol of the recovery of East Germany. It was almost entirely rebuilt following the pre-war plan and layout, and the buildings in the old town were restored. At this time, Rostock was the GDR's main trading port, with trade and shipbuilding at the center of its economy.

After the reunification of Germany, the city continues to be the economic engine of the State of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, although the capital is located in the city of Schwerin.

In August 1992, the city witnessed the Lichtenhagen riots when right-wing extremists besieged a shelter for Vietnamese asylum seekers. After two days of siege, on August 24 they ended up setting the building on fire, before the onlookers of thousands who applauded what was happening. Approximately 150 people were able to be rescued from the flames and there were no fatalities.

Politics

Along with Schwerin, Rostock is one of two independent cities in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. As such, Rostock also performs a district function in addition to its tasks as a municipality.

The administration is divided into a mayoral area and three senate areas. The mayor is responsible for the areas of the future, economy and principles, three senators work in the areas of finance, administration and order, construction and the environment, as well as social and youth affairs, health, school and sport.

Geography

Rostock is located roughly in the north-central part of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. The urban area straddles the lower reaches of the Warnow River which runs mainly in a north-south direction, and only in the Rostock city center area in an east-west direction. Near the city center of Rostock, the river widens to Unterwarnow, which explains the city's name ("widening of the river"). Before flowing into the Baltic Sea in the Warnemünde district, the Unterwarnow widens further east to Breitling. To the south is the seaport of Rostock.

Northwest: Warnemünde		Northeast: Stralsund
West: Bad Doberan
Southwest: Wismar Schwerin	South: Güstrow	Sureste: New Brandenburg

Demographics

Evolution of the population

Rostock Development Graphic between 1378 and 2019

Source: DR

Since Rostock did not grow beyond its borders for a long time, the population remained constant from the Middle Ages until the 19th century with a maximum of &&&&&&&&&&011000.&&&&&0 11000 to &&&&&&&&&&014000.&&&&&0 14,000 people. It was only with industrialization that it began to grow rapidly and by 1935 it surpassed the mark of &&&&&&&&&0100000.&&&&&0100,000, making Rostock a city. In 1940, the population increased to &&&&&&&&&0129500.&&&&&0129,500. Due to World War II, the number of inhabitants fell by half in May 1945, but then increased rapidly with the immigration of German expellees from the eastern provinces.

Marina Yachthafenresidenz Hohe DüneRostock.

In 1971 the number of &&&&&&&&&0200000.&&&&& 0200,000 inhabitants. In 1988, the city's population peaked at around &&&&&&&&&0254000.&&& &&0254,000. After the fall of the Berlin Wall, the city lost 22 percent of its residents due to high unemployment, the relocation of many residents to the surrounding area, and declining births with &&&&&&&&&&055000.&&&&&055,000 people. In 2007, Rostock's population increased again to more than &&&&&&&&&0200000.&&&& &0200,000 people; In mid-2012, the population increased to &&&&&&&&&0204320.&&&&&0 204,320 residents with their main residence in Rostock. In the course of population growth, the importance of the real estate market and in particular the real estate market in Rostock and its regiopolistic region is increasing, rental and property prices are constantly increasing in attractive residential areas, such as urban suburbs and residential colonies. In addition, new areas are being built in many places in the urban area.

Religion

In 2018, of the &&&&&&&&&0209085.&&&&&0209,085 inhabitants, &&&&&&&&&&020531.&&&&&0 20,531 (9.8%) were Protestant, 6,810 (3.3%) were Catholic, and &&&&&&&&;&0181744.&&&&&0181,744 (86.9%) had no confession. A year earlier, of the &&&&&&&&&0208156.&&&&&0208,156 inhabitants, &&&&&&&&&&020760.&&&&&020,760 (10.0%) were Protestants and 6,770 (3.3%) were Catholic, and &&&&&&&&&0180906.&&&&&0180,906 (86.7%) had no or no confession. The vast majority of the city's inhabitants are non-denominational. The Protestant and Catholic populations have grown since 1993, while the total population has shrunk.

Economy

Rostock, like most of the former GDR, has experienced uneven economic progress, although the situation has improved overall. However, the region boasts one of the lowest levels of wealth in the country despite constant subsidies from the federal government and the European Union.

The coastal town of Warnemünde has a well-developed tourism industry that takes advantage of the mild climate in summer, the miles of white-sand beaches, and the forests that surround the city.

Transportation

Rostock-Laage Airport.

In 1881 the first horse-drawn tram with carriages on rails came into operation. There were three different routes from the beginning. In 1904 the first electric tram from Rostocker Straßenbahn AG went into operation. In 1944, after the license expired, the RSAG became the Rostock city tram, which in 1951 gave rise to VEB Nahverkehr Rostock. 39 years later, Rostocker Straßenbahn AG (RSAG) was founded.

Rostock airport is located in Laage, about 25 kilometers to the southeast. In 1993, civil aviation began at the former exclusively military airport. Through Rostocker Versorgungs- und Verkehrsholding GmbH (RVV), the Hanseatic city has a 54.1% stake in the operation of the airport.

Education

Rostock University.

The University of Rostock is the oldest university in Northern Europe and one of the oldest in the world. As a curiosity, it was the only German university to grant the doctorate "honoris causa" to Albert Einstein.

Culture

Rostock Center.

Despite all the destruction caused by the city fire of 1677 and the bombing raids of World War II, but also urban planning as a result of growth in the XIX and during the GDR, Rostock has a considerable number of old buildings and a relatively well-preserved historic center. Particularly notable are the buildings in the brick-Gothic style of the Hanseatic era. The city still preserves a part of the wall and the towers from medieval times (Kuhtor, Kröpeliner Tor, Steintor), as well as a medieval convent that has been set up as a city museum (Kloster zum Heiligen Kreuz).

The church of Santa Maria (St. Marien Kirche) has one of the oldest working astronomical clocks in Northern Europe. St. Peter's Church (St. Petri Kirche) has a 117 m high tower overlooking the entire city.

Rostock Zoo was built in 1899 and occupies a total area of 56 hectares in the Barnstorf Forest, in the southwest of the city. It has approximately 4,500 animals and 320 different species, making it the largest zoo on the German Baltic coast.

Sports

Numerous professional cyclists are originally from Rostock: Jan Ullrich, André Greipel, Paul Voss, and Paul Martens.

Equipment	Sport	Competition	Stadium	Creation
FC Hansa Rostock	Football	2. Bundesliga	DKB-Arena	1965
HC Empor Rostock	Balonmano	2. Handball-Bundesliga	Stadthalle Rostock	1954

Twinned cities

Notable people