Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania has some wonderful examples of brick Gothic architecture. The cathedrals in the Hanseatic towns of Rostock, Wismar, Stralsund and Greifswald are particularly striking red-brick constructions. The medieval buildings in Wismar and Stralsund are now UNESCO World Cultural Heritage sites. Schwerin's fairytale castle is the regional capital's pride and joy and the seat of the regional parliament.

Known as the "Neuschwanstein of the North", the castle in Schwerin is built on an island in Lake Schwerin. An ancestral portrait gallery, palatial rooms and the orangery provide the setting for the seat of government in the palace. You'll find entertainment here all year round with events such as the Schwerin Summer of Culture, the film festival, the dragon boat festival on Pfaffenteich lake and a range of prestigious exhibitions and concerts.

Rostock was always the region's most important town, but it was never the state capital. Everywhere you go, you'll see reminders of the Hanseatic town's 800-year-old history: rows of tightly packed gabled houses, the Holy Cross Abbey housing the Cultural History Museum, old warehouses, the Maritime Museum and the market square with its seven-turreted town hall with a baroque facade.

Neubrandenburg and its enclosed town centre offer quite a few unexpected surprises too, with architecture from the Middle Ages through to GDR times as well as a remarkable spectrum of theatre, dance, music, galleries, cinema and media art.