Ludwigslust

Ludwigslust
Ludwigslust
Town
	Ludwigslust Palace
	Coat of arms
	Location of Ludwigslust within Ludwigslust-Parchim district
	Interactive map of Ludwigslust
	Ludwigslust Location within Germany Ludwigslust Location within Mecklenburg-Vorpommern
	Coordinates: 53°19′28″N 11°29′50″E / 53.32444°N 11.49722°E
Country	Germany
State	Mecklenburg-Vorpommern
District	Ludwigslust-Parchim
Subdivisions	7 Ortsteile
Government
• Mayor	Reinhard Mach (Ind.)
Area
• Total	78.63 km2 (30.36 sq mi)
Elevation	35 m (115 ft)
Population (2025-12-31)
• Total	11,778
• Density	149.8/km2 (388.0/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+01:00 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+02:00 (CEST)
Postal codes	19288
Dialling codes	03874
Vehicle registration	LWL
Website	stadtludwigslust.de

Ludwigslust (German pronunciation: [luːtvɪçsˈlʊst] ^ⓘ) is a central castle town of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany, 40 km south of Schwerin. Since 2011 it has been part of the Ludwigslust-Parchim district.

Ludwigslust is part of the Hamburg Metropolitan Region. The former royal residential town is known for its rich heritage, especially the famed Ludwigslust Palace, known as Versailles of the North.

History

In 1724 Prince Ludwig, the son of Frederick, Duke of Mecklenburg, decided to build a hunting lodge near a small hamlet called Klenow. Later, after his succession to the Dukedom, this became his favorite residence and he named it accordingly Ludwigslust ("Ludwig's pleasure/desire"). In 1765 Ludwigslust became the capital of the duchy in place of Schwerin. The town was enlarged by a residential palace. This situation continued until 1837, when Grand Duke Paul Friedrich returned the capital status to Schwerin.

The Wöbbelin concentration camp—sometimes referred to as Ludwigslust concentration camp—was established by the SS near the town of Ludwigslust in 1945. At the end of World War II, as the Line of contact between Soviet and other Allied forces formed, Ludwigslust was captured by British troops initially, then handed over to American troops. After several months the US troops departed and allowed Soviet troops to enter under the Yalta agreement designating the occupation of Mecklenburg to be administered by the Soviets.

Culture

Sights

Schloss Ludwigslust, a Baroque residential palace built in 1772–1776, according to plans by Johann Joachim Busch. It is called the "Little Versailles of Mecklenburg". The Palace is in the middle of the Palace Garden (Schlosspark), an extensive park (120 ha., 300 acres) in the English style, with canals, fountains and artificial cascades.
The Protestant Stadtkirche (Municipal Church), was built between 1765 and 1770 as the Palace Chapel in Neoclassical style with Baroque sway. Its classical design, with a portico resting on six doric columns, gives the church an appearance similar to a Greek temple.

Sport

The Ludwigslust Motodrom and Speedwaystadion is a motorsport and motorcycle speedway venue located approximately 3 kilometres west of the town. The stadium has hosted important events, including a qualifying round of the Speedway World Championship in 1992 and 1993. The team MC Ludwigslust won the bronze medal in the 1988 East Germany championships.

Music

The dream pop band Die Kerzen is from Ludwigslust.

Transport

Ludwigslust railway station is served by ICE, EC, IC and RE services.

Twin towns – sister cities

Ludwigslust is twinned with:

Ahrensburg, Germany
Muscatine, United States
Kamskoye Ustye, Russia

Notable people

Franz Passow (1786–1833), a German classical scholar and lexicographer.
Ludwig von Lützow (1793–1872), Mecklenburg statesman and politician
Theodor Hahn (1824–1883), a German hydrotherapist, naturopath and vegetarianism activist.
Ludwig Beissner (1843–1927), a German horticulturalist and dendrologist
Johannes Gillhoff (1861–1930), teacher, folklorist and writer (born in Glaisin)
Charles Allix Lavington Yate (1872–1914), English British Army officer and Victoria Cross recipient of World War I, was born in Ludwigslust, his mother's home town.
Annelies Burmeister (1928–1988), contralto and actress.
Manfred Osten (born 1938), poet, author, lawyer, former diplomat and cultural historian.
Bernd Spier (born 1944), crooner, schlager singer and record producer.
Christoph Biemann (born 1952), author, director and children's TV presenter
Helmut Holter (born 1953), local politician

Artists

Franz Benque (1841–1921), photographer
Pauline Soltau (1833–1902), portrait painter and violinist
Rudolph Suhrlandt (1781–1862), portrait painter and lithographer

Aristocracy

Frederick Louis, Hereditary Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin (1778–1819), Hereditary Prince of Mecklenburg, Hereditary Grand Duke of Mecklenburg in Mecklenburg-Schwerin, member of the House of Mecklenburg-Schwerin
Duchess Charlotte Frederica of Mecklenburg-Schwerin (1784–1840), duchess of Mecklenburg; Crown Princess of Denmark
Paul Frederick, Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin (1800–1842), Grand Duke of Mecklenburg from 1837 to 1842.
Frederick Francis II (1823–1883), a Prussian officer and Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin from 1842 to 1883.
Frederick Francis III (1851–1897), the penultimate Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin from 1883 to 1897
Duke Paul Frederick of Mecklenburg (1852–1923), Duke of Mecklenburg, General of the Cavalry
Duchess Marie of Mecklenburg-Schwerin (1854–1920), Grand Duchess of Russia
Duke Christian Louis of Mecklenburg (1912–1996), nobleman, head of the house Mecklenburg

Sport

Paul Rudolf von Bilguer (1815–1840), a German chess master and chess theoretician.
Brigitte Kiesler (1924–2013), gymnast; competed in seven events at the 1952 Summer Olympics
Andreas Zülow (born 1965), lightweight boxer; gold medallist at the 1988 Summer Olympics
Birgit Jerschabek (born 1969), long-distance runner
Bastian Reinhardt (born 1975), footballer, played over 280 games

References

↑ "Bevölkerungsstand der Kreise und Gemeinden 2025" (XLS) (in German). Statistisches Amt Mecklenburg-Vorpommern.
↑ "Concentration Camp Listing". jewishvirtuallibrary.org. Retrieved 2008-10-12.
↑ Staff (1967-02-23). "Verzeichnis der Konzentrationslager und ihrer Außenkommandos gemäß § 42 Abs. 2 BEG" (in German). Bundesministerium der Justiz. Archived from the original on 2009-04-23. Retrieved 2008-10-12. 1591 Wöbbelin, Kreis Ludwigslust, Bez. Schwerin, 12.2.1945 bis 2.5.1945 Neuengamme {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
↑ "Speedway Motorcycle Tracks". MC Ludwigslust. Retrieved 13 February 2024.
↑ "World Championship". Metal Speedway. Retrieved 13 February 2024.
↑ "World Championship". Speedway.org. Retrieved 13 February 2024.
↑ "German Team Championship". Historia Sportu Zuzlowego. Retrieved 22 March 2024.
↑ Gerhardt, Daniel (14 July 2019). "Die Kerzen: Pop und Pomp aus Meckpomm". Die Zeit (in German). Retrieved 28 November 2025.
↑ "Passow, Franz" . New International Encyclopedia. Vol. XV. 1905.
↑ "Passow, Franz Ludwig Carl Friedrich" . Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 20 (11th ed.). 1911. p. 890.
↑ "Madeley's VC - Major C.A.L. Yate". Archived from the original on 19 September 2007. Retrieved 2008-04-15.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)

External links

official site (town)
official site (county)
The Embracing Forest An American visits Ludwigslust and vicinity in 2005 and finds more history than he expected.

[1] "Bevölkerungsstand der Kreise und Gemeinden 2025" (XLS) (in German). Statistisches Amt Mecklenburg-Vorpommern.

[2] "Concentration Camp Listing". jewishvirtuallibrary.org. Retrieved 2008-10-12.

[3] Staff (1967-02-23). "Verzeichnis der Konzentrationslager und ihrer Außenkommandos gemäß § 42 Abs. 2 BEG" (in German). Bundesministerium der Justiz. Archived from the original on 2009-04-23. Retrieved 2008-10-12. 1591 Wöbbelin, Kreis Ludwigslust, Bez. Schwerin, 12.2.1945 bis 2.5.1945 Neuengamme {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)

[4] "Speedway Motorcycle Tracks". MC Ludwigslust. Retrieved 13 February 2024.

[5] "World Championship". Metal Speedway. Retrieved 13 February 2024.

[6] "World Championship". Speedway.org. Retrieved 13 February 2024.

[7] "German Team Championship". Historia Sportu Zuzlowego. Retrieved 22 March 2024.

[8] Gerhardt, Daniel (14 July 2019). "Die Kerzen: Pop und Pomp aus Meckpomm". Die Zeit (in German). Retrieved 28 November 2025.

[9] "Passow, Franz" . New International Encyclopedia. Vol. XV. 1905.

[10] "Passow, Franz Ludwig Carl Friedrich" . Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 20 (11th ed.). 1911. p. 890.

[11] "Madeley's VC - Major C.A.L. Yate". Archived from the original on 19 September 2007. Retrieved 2008-04-15.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)

Authority control databases
International	VIAF GND WorldCat
National	Czech Republic
Geographic	MusicBrainz area
Other	Yale LUX