DEUTSCHLAND | GERMANY |
Bundesland: Mecklenburg-Vorpommern | Mecklenburg-West Pomerania |
Landkreis: Mecklenburgische Seenplatte |
Waren is situated at an elevation of 67 m on the northern shore of the lake Müritz, the largest (117 km²) lake of Germany after Lake Constance. The date of its foundation are not known exactly, but a castle was first mentioned in 1265 and the earliest mention of the town church St. Georg dates from 1273. Müritz was the residence of a collateral line of the Princes of Mecklenburg-Werle from 1347 until 1425. Large fires in 1568, 1656 and 1699, the Thirty Years' War (1618–1648) and the conscriptions into the Prussian army caused an extensive economical decline. Only after the completion of the first Elde channel in 1798, the second Elde channel and the Bolter channel in 1831 the town started to prosper again. The first bathing facilities at the Müritz lake were opened in 1845 and made Waren a popular summer resort. The official status as a climatic resort was awarded in 1954. Until 2011, Waren was the seat of the administration of the distict of the same name. Since the administrative reform of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern in 2011, it is now part of the district Mecklenburgische Seenplatte (capital Neubrandenburg).
The Höhere Mädchenschule (high school for girls) [left], today named Auguste-Sprengel-Schule,
was built in 1895. It is used today as a leisure centre for students.