Barlach-Town Güstrow – on the bike to touristic Güstrow

Thursday, 26 September 2024 07:13
Written by Portal Editor

Our next bike tour goes to the old town of Güstrow, which impresses with its half-timbered houses and lots of brick Gothic architecture, but especially with its three Barlach museums.

The town of Güstrow can proudly call itself “Barlachstadt”, because the sculptor, graphic artist and playwright Ernst Barlach settled here in 1910 and lived in Güstrow for almost 30 years.

Bike tour to Güstrow – along the country roads

From our location, the campsite on Lake Garder, we first take the forest path to the L11 to the intersection in Klein Upahl. In total, the route to the city centre should be around 19.9 kilometers. Since we don't know much about the region yet, we use the country roads, which are, however, very quiet.

From Klein Upahl, we turn right past the Ganschow stud farm to the L171 intersection, which we follow, turning left to the “Am Schützenteich” road. From the “Armleuchter” place of worship, we then follow the B104 to the town centre of Güstrow, which we reach after about 1 hour.

The hilly landscape that we cycle through during the bike tour to Güstrow is a glacial terminal moraine landscape with meadows and forests, which was mainly shaped by the most recent ice age, the Weichselian ice age, around 10,000 years ago.

Barlach-Town Güstrow and Cathedral with the “floating”

Güstrow is a historic residential town known for its Renaissance castle, which is one of the most beautiful in northern Germany, but which was unfortunately almost completely covered at the time of our trip due to renovation work.

We are therefore using an archive photo here. Built between 1558 and 1564, it served as the residence of Duke Ulrich of Mecklenburg. The architecture combines Italian, French and Dutch influences and impresses with its richly decorated facade and artistic stucco ceilings.

The well-preserved old town of Güstrow has many valuable buildings and its imposing brick cathedral with the so-called "floating" by Ernst Barlach, with imposing town houses, magnificent Renaissance buildings and the classicist town hall.

Berlin Secession and move to Güstrow

From 1910 onwards, Barlach regularly took part in exhibitions of the Berlin Secession, the Sonderbund and the art collector Paul Cassirer in Berlin. From that year onwards, Barlach lived with his mother Louise and his son Klaus in Güstrow, where he had a studio and house designed by Adolf Kegebein built to suit his needs on the Inselsee.

This is where his main works were created. In Güstrow he also met Friedrich Schult for the first time in 1914; this later developed into a lifelong friendship. During the discussions, Barlach also made the statement: "Every art requires two people: one who creates it and one who needs it."

Located not far from Güstrow town centre, the Gothic Gertruden Chapel was opened in 1953 as the first Barlach Museum in Güstrow. The chapel houses around 30 sculptures and reliefs by Ernst Barlach, all of which were created during his time in Güstrow.

In addition to the beautiful historic old town centre, the Ernst Barlach Museums "Atelierhaus and Gertruden Chapel" are absolutely among the cultural pearls of the city, regardless of whether you like Barlach's works of art or not.

Banned as degenerate art under National Socialism

Under National Socialism, the artist and his works were ostracized as "degenerate." The smear campaign unleashed against Barlach led to the Magdeburg memorial being stored in a warehouse in 1934.

In 1937, the Kiel Spirit Fighter and the Güstrow Floating Man were removed.

Although it was melted down in 1941, the Mecklenburg memorial "survived": friends were able to save the original model and have a second cast made, which Hugo Körtzinger hid in Schnega until the end of the war.

The sculpture he sold has been hanging in Cologne's Antoniterkirche since 1952. The Güstrow Cathedral community received a cast of this example as a gift in 1953.

The city museum, the nativity scene exhibition in the Holy Spirit Church, galleries, hidden cafes and picturesque backyards also make our visit a special cultural treat.

Parish Church of St. Mary in Güstrow

After the town fire of 1503, the Gothic brick basilica was extensively renovated and converted into a three-aisled hall church during extensive construction work at the end of the 19th century.

The very valuable furnishings with works of art from the 16th century have been preserved, in particular the Brussels Altar by Jan Bormann.

The church tower offers a wonderful view of the town and its charming surroundings.

Tip: Church concerts: alternating weekly with the cathedral on Tuesdays.

Güstrow - a recognized tourist destination since January 18, 2023 - is considered one of the most beautiful towns in Mecklenburg, which, thanks to its central location, is an excellent starting point for excursions into the charming surrounding area.

It is only 40 km to the Baltic coast in Rostock, 60 km to the state capital Schwerin.

Not to be forgotten are the good transport connections to the metropolises of Hamburg, Berlin and Munich and the long-distance cycle routes Berlin-Copenhagen and Hamburg-Rügen.

The spectacular Aqua Tunnel and the predatory community are particularly popular in the Wildpark-MV.

23rd Art Night in Güstrow

Traditionally, on October 2nd, the Güstrow Art and Antiquities Association e. V., in cooperation with the cultural institutions, invites its guests to the 23rd Art Night on October 2nd, 2024. A colourful mix of exhibitions, lectures, readings and musical performances. On this page you will find all the latest information for this evening.

The 22nd Art Night took place on October 2nd, 2023 and, with well over 1300 visitors at 25 venues, became a real highlight in the cultural life of the Barlach town of Güstrow. A big thank you to everyone involved for the wonderful and brilliantly organized Art Night!

The organizers worked, prepared, presented art, had artists perform and so it was a touching experience with an excellent atmosphere and vibe in the Barlach town of Güstrow. On behalf of the many committed people, I would like to highlight Dr. Marianne Bludau, Ms. Erben and Dr. Gans on behalf of the KAV. They held everything together, spared no effort and made this art night a special event.

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