Who knew Friedland was such a popular name for towns. Did you know there was one in Russia; three in the Czech Republic; four in Poland, and three in Germany? On this page here I’m gonna tell you about the Friedland in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania.
Hopefully you’re not confused.
To date I haven’t spent too much time in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern (as it’s called in German, or simply MeckPomm for short), so I’m really glad to be here now. I had no clue how much of the medieval I was going to find in this Friedland.
Friedland retains that flair because of its medieval Stadtmauer, built around 1304 with walls standing some six meters high. One of the most impressive gates of this defense system is the Anklamer Tor, a gate of Gothic structure that’s five storys high; and one of only three that remains.
Anther gate you gotta see is the Neubrandenburger Tor, which was destroyed in 1453. And some German engineering genius turned it into a water tower.
The Fangelturm is also from the 14th century, as is the Wiekhaus. And the medieval part of Friedland doesn’t end here. The Church of St. Mary is also of Gothic architecture, built in the 14th/15th centuries — and open to visitors from May to September.
Sorry to say that the 13th century Church of St. Nicholas hasn’t held up so well. It did, until it was burned down in 1945. Now you can just come to see its ruins.
Speaking of ruins, there’s a castle ruin nearby. The Burgturmruine in Galenbeck to be more precise — and in English that would be the Castle Tower Ruin. In any language it doesn’t change the story of this 13th century castle that was destroyed sometime in the middle of the 1400s.
I know the many half-timbered houses of Friedland don’t come from the Middle Ages, but they accentuate its Old World feel.
Like the historical so far? Yeah, me too — so off we are to the City Museum to learn more. Good thing it’s open six days a week from April to September; and five days from October to March. Plenty of chances to learn something new.
The name Friedland might be a bit common for some towns, Mecklenburg’s Friedland is totally unique and wonderful. No way I’ll ever confuse it with any other.
