Nordwestmecklenburg District

Nordwestmecklenburg District (Northwestern Mecklenburg) is a Kreis (district) in the north-western part of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany. It is situated on the coast of the Baltic Sea and borders on Schleswig-Holstein to the west. Neighboring districts are (from east clockwise) Rostock, Ludwigslust-Parchim and the district-free city Schwerin, and the district Lauenburg and the district-free city Lübeck in Schleswig-Holstein. The district seat is the town Wismar.

Geography
The district is roughly situated in a triangle between the towns of Lübeck, Rostock and Schwerin. In the north there is the coast of the Baltic Sea with the small island of Poel; two large lakes are partially situated in Nordwestmecklenburg: the eastern half of the Schaalsee (23 km²) at the western border; and the northern half of the Schweriner See (63 km²) in the south, as well as one smaller lake, Mechower See (1.6 km2).

History
The district was created in 1994 by merging the previous districts Gadebusch, Grevesmühlen and Wismar, and also smaller parts of the districts Sternberg and Schwerin-Land. In the 2011 district reform, it was merged with the formerly district-free town Wismar. The name of the district was decided by referendum on 4 September 2011.