53°57′20″N11°28′53″E / 53.95556°N 11.48139°E /53.95556; 11.48139
Reric orRerik was one of theViking Age multi-ethnic[1]Slavic-Scandinavian[2]emporia on the southern coast of theBaltic Sea,[1] located nearWismar in the present-dayGerman state ofMecklenburg-Vorpommern[3] Reric was established probably in 735[4] shortly afterSlavs of theObodrite tribe had started to settle the region.[5] At the turn of the 9th century, the citizens of Reric allied withCharlemagne, who used the port as part of a strategic trade route[1] that would avoid areas ofSaxon andDanish control.[6] It was destroyed in 808 AD by the Viking (Danish) kingGudfred. The destroyed place was rebuilt by the Obodrites and continued to operate for a short until Drasco was murdered in Reric in 810 at the instigation of Gudfred. After that, the tradespeople were reportedly moved by the king to theViking emporium ofHedeby (alsoHaithabu) near modernSchleswig.[1][3]
The location of Reric was long disputed. Older theories suggestedOldenburg,[1]Lübeck,[1]Mecklenburg Castle,[1][7] andAlt-Gaarz,[1] renamedRerik in 1938.[1] Since the 1990s, Reric is thought to be identical with an archaeological site nearGroß Strömkendorf,[1][3] located on the eastern shore of theBay of Wismar. This version is based on results presented by theUniversity of Kiel andMecklenburg-Vorpommern's State Department for Archaeology, who partially excavated about 20hectares of the site between 1995 and 1999.[1][8]
There is a certain amount of circumstantial evidence for Groß Strömkendorf being Reric such as identical foundation and destruction dates.[1] Groß Strömkendorf was a deep water port with a planned layout. Initially north of the present site, the earlier settlement - probably established in 735[4] - was gradually moved south in the 760s, the original area being turned into a cemetery. The new, extended site contained buildings similar to the sunken floor buildings ofWest Stow in England. Pottery included, among others,tatting ware andshelly ware. The primary type of pottery found so far was theSukow type, associated used by theWest Slavs during the 8th century.[9] Pottery of the succeeding Feldberg type was also found, though in considerably lower number.[9] Imported pottery from western countries was only scarcely represented.[9] Hoards of Norwegian schistwhetstones were found, also evidence oftextile,iron andbronze working, but no major industrial evidence, indicating that production was likely for local use only. Unfinished products and garbage pieces point at the production of items made ofglass, metals includingiron,amber, andhorn.[9] The most recent find of wood that can be dated is from the year 811 and the finding situation suggests that the settlement ceased to exist a little later.[10]
The settlement stretched 500 meters along the coast,[9] and covered a surface of at least 20 hectars.[11] Within a 10 kilometer range around the settlement, remains of Slavic open settlements have been found.[9] The nearby fortified strongholds ofMecklenburg andIlow were, like Reric, founded in the early 8th century, thus constituting some of the earliest Slavic settlements near the Baltic coast.[9]
As reported by theRoyal Frankish Annals (Latin:Annales regni Francorum) of 808 Ain D,Danish kingGudfred (alsoGodofrid,Gøttrik) had received plenty of tribute from Reric in the years before,[1] but in 808 "destroyed"[1] the emporium and took with him "the merchants hereof".[1] Gudfred resettled them inHedeby (alsoHaithabu,Sliasthorp), a contemporary emporium closer toDenmark.[1] This event was part of ongoing warfare betweenDenmark andCharlemagne'sFrankish Empire, in the course of which theFranks had allied with theObodrites.[1] The destruction of the site may not have been total, since anObodrite duke,Drazko, is reported murdered at Reric the following year.[1] The archeological finds since the 1990s perfectly match these records, as the latest dateable wellwoods found in Reric are from the years 806, 809 and 811.[10]
"Reregi", an alternative name of theObodrites used by the medieval chroniclersAdam of Bremen andHelmold of Bosau, is probably a rendering of "Reric".[1]
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