Waren (Müritz) is a town in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany, capital of the Müritz district (Kreis). It is situated on the northern end of Lake Müritz, approximately 40 km west of Neubrandenburg.The place is first mentioned by the Greek geographer Claudius Ptolemy 150 A.D. as Virunum. Therefore it is one of the first documented settlements in the area of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. The name probably comes from the slavic word for ‘place of crows or ravens’. Another possibility is that it refers to the Germanic tribe of the Warini who settled in this area.The medieval town was founded in 1260 by settlers from Westphalia on a trading route from Wismar to Burg Stargard next to a castle and a Slavic village. The origins of Waren were around Saint George’ church which was first mentioned in 1273. In 1292 Waren was described as a civitas and got town privileges. From 1331 on it was called an oppidum. From 1347 to 1425 it was the residence of a branch line of the princes of Werle who were part of the Obodrites family.