Parchim (; Mecklenburgisch-Vorpommersch: Parchen) is a town in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany. It is the capital of the Ludwigslust-Parchim district. It was the birthplace of Helmuth von Moltke the Elder, to whom a monument was erected in 1876. Founded about 1210, it was the seat of the short-lived Lordship of Parchim-Richenberg, a partition of the Duchy of Mecklenburg, from 1226 until 1248 when the lord relocated to Richenberg. Parchim was absorbed into the Lordship of Werle in 1255. In 1277 Werle was partitioned and Parchim became the seat of Werle-Parchim until it was reunited with Werle-Güstrow in 1307. One branch of the family of the duke of Mecklenburg resided in Parchim during part of the 14th century. It became a prosperous industrial town during the 16th century, but this prosperity was destroyed by the Thirty Years' War. Population development 1648 – 1,300 1789 – 4,000 1830 – 5,800 1850 – 6,270 1910 – 12,804 1939 – 16,000 1974 – 23,000 1990 – 23,800 2000 – 20,048 2005 – 19,348 Notable residents Helmuth Karl Bernhard von Moltke (1800-1891), Prussian general field marshal, honorary citizen Rudolf Tarnow (1867-1933), low German writer Elise Blumann (1897-1990), German-Australian expressionist painter Friedrich Hildebrandt (1898–1948), German SS Obergruppenführer, Gauleiter, executed for war crimes Ernst Goldenbaum (1898-1990), politician, chairman of the DBD and Minister of Agriculture and Forestry of the GDR, 1949-1990 Member of the Volkskammer HA Schult (born 1939), object and action artist Jana Gerisch (born 1978), volleyball player Stefanie Weichelt (born 1983), football player Laura Larsson (born 1989), podcast and radio host See also Wockersee References External links http://www.parchim.de Cities and towns in Mecklenburg Ludwigslust-Parchim 1226 establishments in Europe Populated places established in the 13th century Grand Duchy of Mecklenburg-Schwerin