Grand Duchy of Mecklenburg Friedrich-Franz Railway

After its second nationalisation in 1890 up to the merger of the Länderbahnen into the Deutsche Reichsbahn in 1920 it was under the direction of the Grand Duchy's Executive Railway Board (Großherzoglichen General-Eisenbahndirection or GGED) in Schwerin.

Mecklenburg is a region in northern Germany comprising the western and larger part of the present day state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern.

On 10 March 1846 the Mecklenburg Railway Company was given the concession to build a route from Hagenow to Schwerin and on to Wismar, and via Bützow to Rostock with a branch to Güstrow.

Although the Mecklenburg Railway Company had completed the line, it lacked an east–west link that would also connect to the Grand Duchy of Mecklenburg-Strelitz.

Because there were no financially influential backers, the route Güstrow - Teterow – Malchin – Neubrandenburg was built on the initiative of the Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin under sovereign ownership.

The route was opened on 11 November 1864 at Teterow station in the presence of both the Mecklenburg grand dukes.

To continue the route as far as Lübeck the Lübeck-Kleinen Railway Company was founded and it was given the concession on 20 December 1865 to build the line.

After 1868 its construction had to be discontinued due to a lack of funding; the state took over the line on 24 April 1870 and began operations on 1 July 1870 between Kleinen and Lübeck.

The outcome of the dispute was the formation of the Mecklenburg Friedrich-Franz Railway Company (Mecklenburgischen Friedrich-Franz-Eisenbahngesellschaft or M.F.F.E.)

In 1889/1890 all existing nine private railways were purchased by the state, the acquisition of the larger, more profitable companies taking a little longer.

The 'Grand Duchy of Mecklenburg Friedrich-Franz Railway built a number of new routes in order to provide better rail transport services for the country: In 1903 the post steamer link from Warnemünde to Nykøbing/Falster, which had existed since 1886, was replaced by a railway ferry from Warnemünde to Gedser.

in the centre and the functional, yet attractive, old station buildings from the early days of the railway, for example in Teterow, Malchin and Stavenhagen.