Early history Ahrenshoop was first mentioned in 1311 as the defining point of the border of the town of
Ribnitz's property. In 1328 Duke Heinrich II of
Mecklenburg donated the area east of this border to the monastery of Ribnitz. In 1395 forces of the City of
Rostock destroyed a stronghold, built by
Bogislaw VI. of Pomerania, and the harbour of Ahrenshoop. In 1591 the border between Mecklenburg and
Pomerania was defined, which runs through the village, still existing today as the "Grenzweg" (border road). After the
Treaty of Westphalia in 1648 the Eastern part of the village became part of
Swedish Pomerania until 1815, when Sweden ceded Pomerania to
Prussia. Until the
Grand Duchy of Mecklenburg-Schwerin joined the German
Zollverein in 1868 one had to pay taxes crossing this border. Most of the inhabitants were fishermen or sailors at that time.
Modern times Skipper's Church In 1889 the artist painters
Paul Müller-Kaempff and
Oskar Frenzel "discovered" the village, deeply impressed by the landscape and started an artist colony which became increasingly popular among artists such as
Marianne von Werefkin,
Erich Heckel and
Gerhard Marcks. The first generation of members of the artist colony included the painters
Elisabeth von Eicken,
Anna Gerresheim,
Friedrich Wachenhusen and, among others, as a guest
Karl Rettich. In 1894 Ahrenshoop counted 150 tourists, a number growing to 2158 in 1928. Several artists of the second generation also lived in
Althagen and
Niehagen, small villages on the Mecklenburg side of the border, among them
Gerhard Marcks in Niehagen or
Dora Koch-Stetter and her husband in Althagen. These villages have been part of Ahrenshoop since 1950. Today Ahrenshoop is known as an "Artist Spa" and a popular place for artists and celebrities ==References==