Bad Doberan

Bad Doberan
Doberan Minster, most important religious Brick Gothic heritage of Europe
Coat of arms
Bad Doberan
Location of Bad Doberan within Rostock district
Coordinates: 54°06′25″N 11°54′19″E / 54.10694°N 11.90528°E / 54.10694; 11.90528Coordinates: 54°06′25″N 11°54′19″E / 54.10694°N 11.90528°E / 54.10694; 11.90528
Country	Germany
State	Mecklenburg-Vorpommern
District
Government
• Mayor	Thorsten Semrau (independent)
Area
• Total	32.74 km2 (12.64 sq mi)
Population (2015-12-31)
• Total	12,107
• Density	370/km2 (960/sq mi)
Time zone	CET/CEST (UTC+1/+2)
Postal codes	18209
Dialling codes	038203
Vehicle registration	LRO, BÜZ, DBR, GÜ, ROS, TET
Website	Official website

Bad Doberan (German pronunciation: [baːt dobəˈʁaːn]) is a town in the , Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany. It was the capital of the former district of Bad Doberan. As of 2012 its population was 11,427.

Bad Doberan is situated just 15 kilometres (9.3 mi) west of 's city centre and is therefore part of one of the most developed regions in the north-eastern part of Germany. The town nestles between beautiful beech tree forests just 6 km from the Baltic Sea and is one of the earliest German settlements in Mecklenburg. Today the town is a very popular bathing resort, thanks to Heiligendamm, a district of Bad Doberan situated directly at the cliff line of the Baltic. Historically, Doberan used to be the summer residence for the Mecklenburg Dukes who resided in Schwerin, and for their entourage.

The name Doberan, originally Dobran, is a place name that probably derives from a Slavic Old Polabian personal name, meaning "good" (dobry).

According to legend, the name Doberan originated when the monastery was being built. It is said that a passing deer startled several swans, who shrieked with terror "dobre dobre". Whereupon the monks called the place Doberan. Even today, a deer and swan adorn the arms of the town.

Bad Doberan was documented in 1177 as villa Slavica Doberan, but as early as 1171 Cistercian monks from Amelungsborn Abbey in the Weser Uplands founded a monastery in the Althof three kilometres southeast of the town, now a suburb of Bad Doberan. In 1179, these monasteries were largely destroyed in a Slavic uprising. Seven years later, the Cistercians made a second attempt to found a monastery on the site of today's abbey. The Romanesque abbey church, dedicated in 1232, was replaced by a high Gothic church after the fire of 1291, the construction of which probably began in 1295, with the remaining parts of the Romanesque church being incorporated into the new building. The Gothic church was consecrated in 1368. The Doberan Abbey became very rich due to its economic activities is and had a large estate. Until the dissolution of the monasteries during the Reformation in 1552, it shaped the development of the village of Doberan. In addition to the monastery, there was a craftsman's village, the Kammerhof (the old monastery farm), two pubs, a brickworks, a blacksmith and several cottagers (Kötter). It changed little after the monastery transferred in 1552 to the sovereign. A ducal office was established in the monastery, and a mill and hunter's lodge appeared.