- published: 14 Oct 2015
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Anklam (German pronunciation: [ˈaŋklam]) is a town in the Western Pomerania region of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany. It is situated on the banks of the Peene river, just 8 km from its mouth in the Kleines Haff, the western part of the Stettin Lagoon. Anklam has a population of 14,603 (2005) and was the capital of the former Ostvorpommern district. Since September 2011, it is part of the district Vorpommern-Greifswald.
In the Early Middle Ages, there was an important Scandinavian and Wendish settlement near the present town, now known as Altes Lager Menzlin.
Anklam was founded on the site of an abandoned Wendish fortress during the medieval German Ostsiedlung. First named after the founder Tanglim, it obtained German town law in 1244. In 1283, it became a member of the Hanseatic League. Though the town was small and non-influential compared to other Hanseatic cities, membership brought wealth and prosperity to Anklam.
The decline of Anklam began with the Thirty Years' War, when Swedish and Imperial troops battled almost twenty years for Anklam. Anklam was occupied by imperial forces from 1627 to 1630, and thereafter by Swedish forces. After the war, Anklam became part of Swedish Pomerania in 1648. In 1676 was captured by Frederick William, Elector of Brandenburg, and in 1713 was plundered by soldiers of the Russian Empire.