Tour of Schwerin - capital of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania

Thursday, 03 October 2024 00:00
Written by Portal Editor

For the first time, we understandably wanted to visit the state capital Schwerin, which is about an hour's drive from our location at the Gardersee campsite.

Of course, we had often seen Schwerin Castle on TV as the seat of the state parliament and thus in its political significance, but otherwise we didn't know much about Schwerin. We covered the 53 kilometres to Schwerin on the 104 country road, and shortly before Schwerin we were amazed at the route, which leads over a dam from the Ramper Moor "over" Lake Schwerin into the city.

A short excursion into the history of the city of Schwerin

Schwerin was first mentioned in 1018 as Wendenburg and was granted German city rights by Henry the Lion in 1164.

Henry the Lion, as Duke of Saxony, played a decisive role in the coronation of his cousin Frederick Barbarossa in 1152.

For this he was intensively supported by Barbarossa in the following years.

In 1156 he also received the Bavarian duchy. In northern Germany, Henry was able to establish a position equivalent to that of a king.

12 lakes in the city area of Schwerin

With the receipt of city rights, it became the oldest city in what is now Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania.

Over time, the city expanded along the west and south banks of the Schwerin inner lake; there are a total of twelve lakes within the city area. The starting point of the city's development was the place with the city's current landmark, the Schwerin Castle and the castle garden.

The castle is located on an island between Lake Schwerin and Burgsee with the castle church from 1560. The castle was the main residence of the Mecklenburg dukes and grand dukes until 1918 and the centre of power of the Duchy of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, which became a democratic free state in 1919.

Off to the old town of Schwerin - looking for a parking space

As we were not yet very familiar with the streets, or rather parking options, in Schwerin, we tried to find something right at the entrance to the town, which turned out to be very difficult. So we first continued towards Schwerin Castle, where we came across the parking garage at the castle on Geschwister-Scholl-Straße.

Here there was an affordable day ticket, cheaper than the parking options we had found so far and located directly on the pedestrian zone.

The pedestrian zone on Mecklenburger Straße can definitely be described as attractive; there are numerous branches of well-known department store chains here too, but also numerous small, attractive shops, cafés, restaurants and, in particular, the approximately 77-hectare historical area is always a real eye-catcher in its architecture.

Half-timbered houses and Pfaffenteich in the old town

Various urban half-timbered houses have been preserved over the centuries, often purposefully restored and thus invite you to take long walks through the almost sleepy-looking alleys. Here in the old town you can experience the special flair of the city of Schwerin, founded in the Middle Ages, up close. At the end of Mecklenburger Straße we come across the Pfaffenteich, which is around 12 hectares in size and has numerous benches on its green banks that invite you to take a break. You can even take a boat trip on the pond, giving visitors the opportunity to take a short trip around the city or just to shorten their walks. The Pfaffensee owes its name to the church that owned the lake for a long time. The church people - also known as Pfaffen - were the people who gave it its name. The name Pfaffenteich was later retained.

Old Garden in Schwerin

One of the most beautiful sights in Schwerin is the Old Garden. The representative square is located at the southern end of the old town on the banks of Lake Schwerin. In the shape of a rectangle with an area of around 200 by 100 meters, the Old Garden is bordered by the White Fleet's pier and the Burgsee at the castle. There are plenty of photo opportunities in the area, especially at the Schelfmarkt.

Schelfmarkt and Schelfstraße

The street and the square were named after the Schelfstadt district, which was an independent town until 1832 as Schelfe (or Neustadt). The Low German meaning of Schelfe stands for Schelp as reed, which used to stretch in the area with swampy soil from the Beutel, a bay of Lake Schwerin, to the Pfaffenteich.

The Schelfstadt, originally the Schelfe, since 1349 also Neustadt, developed from the 11th century as an initially independent town. In 1705 it was granted town charter.

The engineer captain Jacob Reutz played a key role in the first town planning in 1705 and, among other things, the straightened path connection towards Schelfthor and the old town was laid down in a declaration.

A later building regulation prescribed the eaves and the height of the houses, rules that can still be found in some state building regulations today.

The Old Town Market - gabled houses line the square

Schmiedestrasse, Schusterstrasse and Puschkinstrasse as well as two passages from the Schlachtermarkt lead to the Old Town Market, mostly as a pedestrian zone. Schwerin Cathedral is located north of the market square.

The market is bordered to the north by the New Building (columned building), to the east by the town hall, the community center with a facade reconstructed in 1975 based on a historical model, three gabled houses newly built in 1975, to the south by residential buildings with late-classical facades from the years after 1840 and to the west by other community houses, one of which has been partially preserved.

The Lion Monument stands in front of the New Building. The Old Town Market received its floor area after the great city fire of 1651. This area was extended a few meters to the north in 1783-1785 and today measures 60 × 52 meters.

The New Building - also known as the Krambuden Building

The so-called New Building is also known colloquially as the Column Building or Krambuden Building.

The building was built between 1783 and 1785 based on designs by Johann Joachim Busch as a market hall, which is reminiscent of the reliefs with a wheel and winged Mercury staff as symbols of trade.

The building has features of the Baroque and Classicism and has an attic and a columned vestibule with 14 Doric columns, two supports and a triglyph frieze along the front. The Baroque mansard roof is equipped with a pavilion-like roof structure above the central projection of the building, at the top of which there is an artistically designed, central chimney.

The New Building was deliberately built with only two floors so as not to block the view of the cathedral. The hall replaced open market stalls with poor hygienic conditions on the open space between four old, irregular properties. Duke Friedrich, whose residence was in Ludwigslust, was disgusted by the stench of the market and the screaming of the market women when he visited Schwerin. On his orders, a market hall was to be built that could not be converted into a dance hall at the end of the day. To this end, the four plots of land on the north side of the market were purchased and the new building with a narrow floor plan was built on the side facing the cathedral. The enlargement of the undeveloped area and the representative northern end enhanced the value of the market square. Today, the columned building houses a pastry shop and café - and the market activity takes place outside again, but now in a more civilized manner.