Hikes in Leezen

Circular route starting at Schweriner See with beautiful views of the city's skyline and continuing along Pinnower See back to the starting point

From the Fairy Tale Castle into the Wilderness at the Görslower ShoreThe contrasts couldn't be greater! The tour along the south and east shores of Lake Schwerin begins in the heart of the Mecklenburg metropolis at one of the most beautiful water castles in Germany and ends in the almost untouched seclusion of the nature reserve at the Görslower shore. In between, there is a fine sandy beach in Zippendorf and a unique open-air museum that vividly introduces rural architecture and farming traditions.

Summer, sun, Schwerin: After visiting Schwerin’s Old Town, with its famous castle and St. Mary’s Cathedral, we set out on our hike in the late afternoon. > We start at the former Raben-Steinfeld Palace 01. A few meters above the brick building, which was constructed in the late 19th century, there is a small parking lot. The Neo-Renaissance-style building served as a summer residence for the Schwerin court and was the widow’s residence of Marie von Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt, the stepmother of Grand Duke Friedrich Franz III; during World War II, it served as a military hospital, and afterward as a forestry school. The castle has stood vacant since 1995; however, it is slated to be renovated and used for cultural purposes. From the castle, we walk to the garages and, at the memorial stone for the forestry school, enter the large English landscape park, which was laid out in the mid-19th century according to plans by the court gardener Theodor Klett. We keep slightly to the left and walk to the monument to Friedrich Wilhelm, Duke of Mecklenburg. There, we turn right and stroll along the edge of the open space, past the former water tower, to an intersection of five park paths 02. Here we could descend to the shore, but we continue straight ahead along the high bank and leave the landscape park at an information board that provides an overview of the grounds. Another information board is misplaced—it deals with the beech forests at Lake Pinnow. According to the map excerpt, the sign is located elsewhere. Please don’t let this confuse you. We’re also not interested in the signposts for the Nature Park Trail, as we’re staying on the high bank and continuing our hike between the hedge and the pasture fence. We hike north along the high bank trail until we reach Görslow-Ausbau 03. It is marked with the “blue bar” symbol. We ignore any paths leading down to the lake shore, as well as any trails leading away from the high bank. After the Görslow-Ausbau junction, our trail descends toward Lake Schwerin and meets Shore Trail 04. We follow it northward to a lookout point 05, which is worth the short detour from the main trail. On the lakeside trail, we come to a Y-intersection 06: Here, we keep to the right and climb up to the edge of the forest, where an information board provides details about the “Görslower Ufer” nature reserve. We continue uphill along the fence until we reach the neoclassical Görslow Church ( 07). The church stands in a direct line of sight with the former Görslow manor house, as it was commissioned and financed by the landowner Georg von Behr. The local parish office was uneasy about this, which is why the church was not consecrated until after the builder’s death. Inside the church, a wooden coffered ceiling and the blue-painted apse—adorned with 250 golden stars—catch the eye. From the church, we walk down the village road. At the turnaround near the former manor house—where the fire station is now located—we keep slightly to the right and walk straight through the neighborhood until the road ends and the nature reserve begins. We continue walking between the hedge and the fence, read the legend of the mysterious passage, and descend to the lakeshore next to Petermännchen’s Stone. There, the legend of the green bell is recounted. We keep to the left and take a break at Boathouse 08 —there are two benches on the lakeshore. After our break, we walk along behind the boathouse and hike southeast along the lakeside path. We pass more boathouses as well as a meadow with a bench, then reach the well-known Y-intersection 06. We walk to waypoint 04 on the lakeside path and continue along the lakeshore—you can’t miss it. Instead of taking the first path up to Raben-Steinfeld Landscape Park, we stay by the lake and enjoy the view and the evening sun from viewing terrace 09. About 300 m further on, the lakeside path ends at two information boards on a paved road 10. We follow it to the left, turn left again immediately, and are back at Raben-Steinfeld Castle 01.

Heldenmarsch Schwerin

Rundwanderung beginnend mit dem Schweriner See mit schönen Ausblicken auf die Kulisse der Stadt und im weiteren Verlauf am Pinnower See entlang zum Ausgangspunkt zurück

Rundwanderung

Rundwanderung