Bassewitz

A Tusker Courant is the family's heraldic animal. Earliest references to the family include a document from 1254 in which Bernhardus de Bassewicze is mentioned. Another document from 1308 mentions Heinrich von Bassewitz. It is unknown whether the family was among the German families immigrating the Mecklenburg region since the 12th century in the course of the German eastward expansion or whether the Bassewitz family was of Slavic origin. Slavic tribes (the Wends) settled in the area since the 7th century. At the time of colonization, German families took the name of the place where they settled as their surname, while at the same time, Wendish families began to adopt German names. In the early 14th century, the Bassewitz family was already documented as being in possession of several estates in Mecklenburg.