DEUTSCHLAND	GERMANY
Bundesland: Mecklenburg-Vorpommern	Mecklenburg-West Pomerania
Landkreis: Vorpommern-Greifswald

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Loitz (German pronounciation: ['lø:ʦ]) is situated at an elevation of 6 m on the river Peene in the Vorpommern-Greifswald district of Germany's state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, about 10 km northeast of Demmin, and 22 km southwest of Greifswald. The municipality has a population of about 4,300 (2017). It is also the seat of the Amt Peenetal/Loitz, which also contains the municipalities of Görmin and Sassen-Trantow.

The region was first mentioned as Losice in 1170. Castle and settlement were first mentioned as Lositz in 1236. Archeological excavations have found remains of a first, Slavic settlement dating from the 10th century. In the second quarter of the 12th century, the area was conquered by the duke of Pomerania. After 1187 it belonged to the principality of Rügen, but soon returned to Pomerania. In 1242 Loitz was chartered as a town according to the town rights of Lübeck. Together with large parts of Western Pomerania, Loitz was under the adminitration of Sweden between 1648 and 1815. After the Congress of Vienna (1815) Western Pomerania became part of Prussia and Loitz became part of the administrative region Stralsund. Since 1818 part of the district Grimmen, Loitz in 1952 was reallocated to the district Demmin within the region Neubrandenburg. In 2011 parts of the district Demmin (with Loitz) were merged with the former districts Ostvorpommern and Uecker-Randow into the new district Vorpommern-Greifswald.

The Steintor ('Stone Gate') [left, no. 3515: foreground] was built in the 14th century as part of the town's fortifications. The upper parts of the gate building were destroyed by fire in 1701 so that only the lower two floors remained. The roof and façade of the upper floor were modified later.

The town church Sankt Marien [left, no. 3515: background right] goes back to the late 13th century. The earliest mentions of a parish church date from 1299. The present church is a three-naved hall church with a western tower. Two bays of the central nave still date from the 13th century. The entrance hall and the side naves were added in the late Gothic period. Profound additions and changes were made in the 17th century. The tower was rebuilt in 1832, two sacristies were added in 1866.

[https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loitz, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loitz; https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amt_Peenetal/Loitz; https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Landkreis_Demmin, https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Landkreis_Vorpommern-Greifswald; https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liste_der_Baudenkmale_in_Loitz; https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sankt-Marien-Kirche_(Loitz)]