Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany

Mecklenburg-Vorpommern is a federal state in northern Germany. The capital city is Schwerin. The state was formed through the merger of the historic regions of Mecklenburg and Western Pomerania after the Second World War, dissolved in 1952 and recreated at the time of the German reunification in 1990.Mecklenburg-Vorpommern is the sixth largest German state by area, and the least densely populated. The coastline of the Baltic Sea, including islands such as Rügen and Usedom, as well as the Mecklenburg Lake District, features many holiday resorts and unspoilt nature, making Mecklenburg-Vorpommern one of Germany's leading tourist destinations. Three of Germany's fourteen national parks are in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, in addition to several hundred nature conservation areas.Major cities include Rostock, Schwerin, Neubrandenburg, Stralsund, Greifswald, Wismar and Güstrow. The University of Rostock (est. 1419) and the University of Greifswald (est. 1456) are among the oldest in Europe. Mecklenburg-Vorpommern was the site of the 33rd G8 summit in 2007.