In the 16th century, book printing in Mecklenburg was concentrated in Rostock. The university provided both commissions and a market. Others, including the dukes, also placed orders in the city. After 1550, there were briefly printers in Güstrow and Parchim.
But the story began even earlier. In the 15th century, itinerant booksellers offered books for sale at the Rostock Whitsun Market. They soon settled on the banks of the Warnow and worked as bookbinders.
In 1462, the Brothers of the Common Life came to Rostock and established a printing press in the years that followed. In 1476, the first printed book left their workshop. Thus, Rostock became the second-oldest printing centre in northern Germany after Lübeck.
