The castle of Starigard was the seat of the prince, or in other words the Slavic elite. It was located at the cross-point of an early medieval sea and land trade route.
Alongside brisk trade relations across the Bay of Kiel to the Viking age Haitbutu, good contact was also made across the bay of Lübeck to the Slavic neighbors in Groß Strömkendorf and to Mecklenburg.
Merchandise of every kind also reached the settlement by land. Below the castle, at the narrowest place of the hollow, a long-distance trade route crossed the marshland.
Residents of Starigard use the favorable location to participate in the new long-distance trading all around the Baltic Sea. Skillful craftsmen make high-quality items for the court and for export.
This important source of income led to further growth in the power of the Slavic princes.
