Waren (Müritz) (also Waren an der Müritz) is a town and climatic spa in the state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany. It was the capital of the former district of Müritz (Kreis Müritz) until the district reform of 2011. It is situated at the northern end of Lake Müritz, approximately 40 kilometres west of Neubrandenburg. Waren is home to the offices of the sub-district (Amt) of Seenlandschaft Waren, although the town itself is independent of any Amt. Its borough is the second largest in Mecklenburg-Hither Pomerania by area. Geography Waren lies on Lake Müritz, the largest inland lake lying entirely within Germany, which has an area of . It also lies on the shores of several smaller lakes: the Kölpinsee, the Tiefwarensee, the Feisnecksee, the Melzer See and the Waupacksee. In the middle of the town is the Herrensee. Subdivisions The town's borough includes the town of Waren (Müritz) itself, as well as the villages of Warenshof, Alt Falkenhagen, Neu Falkenhagen, Jägerhof, Rügeband, Schwenzin, Eldenholz and Eldenburg. The town is divided into the following quarters: Papenberg Altstadt Waren-Ost Waren-Nord Waren-West Nesselberg Ecktannen Kamerun Werdersiedlung History First records and name Waren (along with Gnoien, Bützow and several other settlements that cannot be placed) was mentioned as early as 150 A.D. by the Alexandrine geographer, Claudius Ptolemy, (as Virunum) and is thus one of the first places on the territory of the modern-day state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania to be recorded. The name of the town could be derived from the Slavic language and mean place of crows or ravens. Its name may also come from the Germanic tribe of Warini. The name was formerly spelt Wahren, Warne or, in Latin, Warnae. In 1914 the place was given the official name Waren (Müritz) (Müritz, the name of the lake, comes from the Wend word Morcze = German: Meer = "sea"). Middle Ages The medieval town was founded around 1260 on the trade route from Stargard Land to Wismar near a castle and a Slavic village by settlers from Westphalia. The original town sprang up around St. George's Church, on the Old Market (Alter Markt) in the Old Town (Altstadt). St. George's was first mentioned in 1273. On Alter Markt (today: Alter Markt 14) was the first town hall. A little later the New Town (Neustadt) was founded around St. Mary's Church, which was merged in 1325 with the Old Town. Its new centre was New