Ahrenshoop is a municipality

Municipalities of Germany

Municipalities are the lowest level of territorial division in Germany. This may be the fourth level of territorial division in Germany, apart from those states which include Regierungsbezirke , where municipalities then become the fifth level.-Overview:With more than 3,400,000 inhabitants, the...

 in the Vorpommern-Rügen

Vorpommern-Rügen

Vorpommern-Rügen is a district in the north of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany. It is bounded by the Baltic Sea and the districts Vorpommern-Greifswald, Mecklenburgische Seenplatte and Rostock...

 district, in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany

Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

 on the Fischland-Darß-Zingst

Fischland-Darß-Zingst

Fischland-Darß-Zingst is a peninsula on the coast of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern in Germany. Its full length is 45 km. The three parts of the peninsula, from west to east, are Fischland, Darß and Zingst....

 peninsula of the Baltic Sea

Baltic Sea

The Baltic Sea is a brackish mediterranean sea located in Northern Europe, from 53°N to 66°N latitude and from 20°E to 26°E longitude. It is bounded by the Scandinavian Peninsula, the mainland of Europe, and the Danish islands. It drains into the Kattegat by way of the Øresund, the Great Belt and...

. It used to be a small fishing village

Traditional fishing village

A fishing village is a village, usually located near a fishing ground, with an economy based on catching fish and harvesting seafood. The continents and islands around the world have coastlines totalling around 356,000 kilometres...

, but is today known for its tourism and as a holiday resort.

Early history

Ahrenshoop was first mentioned in 1311 as the defining point of the border of the town of Ribnitz

Ribnitz-Damgarten

Ribnitz-Damgarten is a town in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany. It is situated at the Ribnitzer See . Ribnitz-Damgarten is the largest town of the district Vorpommern-Rügen, but not its capital.-Geography:...

´s property. In 1328 Duke Heinrich II of Mecklenburg

Mecklenburg

Mecklenburg is a historical region in northern Germany comprising the western and larger part of the federal-state Mecklenburg-Vorpommern...

 donated the area east of this border to the monastery of Ribnitz. In 1395 forces of the City of Rostock

Rostock

Rostock -Early history:In the 11th century Polabian Slavs founded a settlement at the Warnow river called Roztoc ; the name Rostock is derived from that designation. The Danish king Valdemar I set the town aflame in 1161.Afterwards the place was settled by German traders...

 destroyed a stronghold, built by Bogislaw VI. of Pomerania

House of Pomerania

The House of Griffins or House of Pomerania, , also known as House of Greifen; House of Gryf, was a dynasty of Royal dukes that ruled the Duchy of Pomerania from the 12th century until 1637, after their power was temporarily derivated to Prussian Royal House...

, and the harbour of Ahrenshoop. In 1591 the border between Mecklenburg and Pomerania

Pomerania

Pomerania is a historical region on the south shore of the Baltic Sea. Divided between Germany and Poland, it stretches roughly from the Recknitz River near Stralsund in the West, via the Oder River delta near Szczecin, to the mouth of the Vistula River near Gdańsk in the East...

 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

Swedish Pomerania

Swedish Pomerania was a Dominion under the Swedish Crown from 1630 to 1815, situated on what is now the Baltic coast of Germany and Poland. Following the Polish War and the Thirty Years' War, Sweden held extensive control over the lands on the southern Baltic coast, including Pomerania and parts...

 until 1815, when Sweden ceded Pomerania to Prussia

Prussia

Prussia was a German kingdom and historic state originating out of the Duchy of Prussia and the Margraviate of Brandenburg. For centuries, the House of Hohenzollern ruled Prussia, successfully expanding its size by way of an unusually well-organized and effective army. Prussia shaped the history...

. Until Mecklenburg

Mecklenburg

Mecklenburg is a historical region in northern Germany comprising the western and larger part of the federal-state Mecklenburg-Vorpommern...

 joined the German Zollverein

Zollverein

thumb|upright=1.2|The German Zollverein 1834–1919blue = Prussia in 1834 grey= Included region until 1866yellow= Excluded after 1866red = Borders of the German Union of 1828 pink= Relevant others until 1834...

 in 1868 one had to pay taxes crossing this border. Most of the inhabitants were fishermen or sailors at that time.

Modern times

In 1889 the artist painters Paul Müller-Kaempff

Paul Müller-Kaempff

Paul Müller-Kaempff , was a German painter, illustrator and lithographer.He received his first training from 1883-86 at the Düsseldorf Academy of Fine Arts, then at the Academy of Karlsruhe under Gustav Schönleber and finally at the Berlin Academy in the studio of Hans Gude...

 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 Werefkin, Erich Heckel

Erich Heckel

Erich Heckel was a German painter and printmaker, and a founding member of the Die Brücke group which existed 1905-1913.-Biography:Heckel was born in Döbeln . His parents were born in Saxony...

 and Gerhard Marcks

Gerhard Marcks

Gerhard Marcks was a German sculptor, who is also well-known for his drawings, woodcuts, lithographs and ceramics.-Background:...

. In 1894 Ahrenshoop counted 150 tourists, a number growing to 2158 in 1928. Today Ahrenshoop is known as an "Artist Spa" and a popular place for artists and celebrities.