Schwerin, DDR, Schwerin, Germany, East German Ossi Coffee Mug

Schwerin, DDR, Schwerin, Germany. Schwerin is the capital and second largest city of the German state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and the region of Mecklenburg. With around 96,000 inhabitants, Schwerin has the smallest population of all German state capitals. Schwerin is located on the southwestern shore of Lake Schwerin (Schweriner See), the second-largest lake of the Mecklenburg Lake Plateau after the Müritz. There are eleven other lakes within Schwerin's city limits. Schwerin is bordered by Northwestern Mecklenburg to the north, and Ludwigslust-Parchim to the south. Schwerin is sometimes considered part of the Hamburg Metropolitan Region. The name Schwerin is of Slavic origin, coming from the root "zvěŕ" (wild animal) or "zvěŕin" (game reserve, animal garden). After the second world war, Schwerin was part of the Soviet Occupation Zone, which later became the German Democratic Republic (GDR). At first, Schwerin was the capital of the State of Mecklenburg, which included the western part of Pomerania (Vorpommern) at that time. When the GDR states were dissolved in 1952, Schwerin served as the capital of the Schwerin district (Bezirk Schwerin). After German reunification in 1990, the former state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern was recreated as one of the Bundesländer. Rostock was considered for state capital, but ultimately Schwerin was chosen.