The state has only 1.7 million inhabitants, about 75 people per square kilometre. So Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania has the lowest population density of all the federal German states. That’s definitely good news for the natural environment. The 1,764 lakes between the Elbe and the Oder provide a home for cranes, herons, storks, sea eagles, lesser spotted eagles and many more rare animals and plants. The people are quiet and in earlier times belonged to the Protestant confession. But 40 years of socialism has emptied the churches. And the characteristic Low German dialect of the north is on the decline too. Hardly anyone speaks the traditional dialect of this region any more.

Even traditional regional cooking had almost died out. But now, with a bit of luck and especially where there are tourists, such dishes as Mecklenburg roast ribs or Mecklenburg jelly can be found on the menus again. Up in this area fish is served in every imaginable variation: fried, smoked, pickled, boiled or steamed. The black rye bread often contains caraway seeds. This herb is used, as throughout the whole of the north, for distilling a type of schnapps called “Köm”, but unlike the Scandinavian version “aquavit”, hardly anyone drinks it any more.