Ueckermünde Castle

The castle's origins date back to 1178, when Rochow Castle was mentioned on this site, a place where Dukes Bogislaw I and Casimir I held a diet. In 1284, the name "castrum ukermund" appeared for the castle and the surrounding district. After the partition of Pomerania, Ueckermünde fell to the Duchy of Pomerania-Stettin, whose dukes used the castle as a hunting residence and refuge. During the Stettin War of Succession, the castle was unsuccessfully besieged by Brandenburg troops in 1469. Duke Bogislaw X often resided here; his second wife Anna of Poland died in Ueckermünde in 1503. Due to dilapidation, parts of the medieval complex were demolished in the 16th century, and from 1540, a new Renaissance castle was built on behalf of Duke Philipp I, likely completed in 1546. During the Thirty Years' War, the castle was severely damaged and occupied multiple times.