Grabow

Grabow is a town in the Ludwigslust-Parchim District, in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Germany. It is situated on the river Elde, 7 km (4.35 mi) southeast of Ludwigslust, and 34 km (21.12 mi) northwest of Wittenberge. It is twinned with Whitstable, in Kent.

History
The name Grabow is of Slavic Polabian origin, grab means "hornbeam". Names with this root occur often in Mecklenburg. It was only slightly changed as Grabowe (1186, 1252, 1275) and Grabow (1189, 1298). Pope Urban III. mentions castle Grabow for the first time in a letter from February 23, 1186. The city received city law in 1252 from the Count of Dannenberg. On 3 June 1725 the city was destroyed by a great fire. The palace was never rebuilt. At least since the 18th century there were Jews in the city, who left behind a synagogue and a cemetery. Both of them were damaged during the Kristallnacht. The historical center of Grabow is distinguished by its close core of timber-framed houses of the 18th century.

Otto Plath, the father of Sylvia Plath, immigrated from Grabow to America.