The area around Schwaan is part of the vast North European Plain, stretching from western France to Russia.

The area around the Warnow was originally populated by Slavic peoples, which one can still recognize in place and farm names.

The construction of the railway line from Hamburg to Rostock through Schwaan in 1850 brought an economic boom.

A special emphasis is put on the work of the painters Franz Bunke, Rudolf Bartels, Peter Paul Draewing (all from Schwaan) and Alfred Heinsohn (of Hamburg).

On its front is a relief medallion of Frederick Francis IV, Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, created by the sculptor Hermann Hultzsch.