Friedrichsruhe: Meadows, Hillfort and History

Meadows, cycling and rewetting

Large, seemingly endless meadows stretch around Friedrichsruhe, and the scenic surroundings invite you to enjoy extended cycling trips. Forest and bog areas in and around Friedrichsruhe have been and continue to be rewetted. This connection with nature brings together an open landscape and the subject of how forest and bog areas change through rewetting.

On request, a forester explains how rewetting works and which animals and plants benefit most. A rewetting tour and a forest walk are each described as three-hour activities starting and ending in Friedrichsruhe. The forest walk follows traces of the Slavic past. Both activities have the same duration but focus on different topics: rewetting and its importance for animals and plants in one case, Slavic history in the other. Confirm that the rewetting activity is available before planning.

Castle and archaeological traces

The remains of the former rampart of Friedrichsruhe Castle can be seen. The castle is considered one of Mecklenburg’s most thoroughly researched hillforts and an outstanding archaeological monument. In Neu-Ruthenbeck, a village in the municipality of Friedrichsruhe, a megalithic tomb—also known as a Hünengrab—near the B 321 points to the early settlement of this area. These two sites draw attention to different archaeological subjects: a castle complex and early settlement.

Churches and historic details in the municipality

In Frauenmark, within the municipality, stands a late Romanesque fieldstone church with a recessed choir, a semicircular apse and a massive tower as wide as the nave, which rises only slightly above it. A recessed choir is narrower than the nave; the semicircular apse closes it off. The Gemmenkreuz—a cross set with gemstones—is considered the church’s most valuable painting. Important old interior paintings were uncovered in the 1970s. A medieval wall painting depicts Saint Martin of Tours sharing his cloak and is considered one of the oldest equestrian depictions in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. In Ruthenbeck, also within the municipality, stands a simple fieldstone church. The architectural features to notice in Frauenmark are the choir, apse, tower and paintings; in Ruthenbeck, the simple fieldstone design.

In the wider travel destination of Ludwigslust-Parchim

Ludwigslust Palace offers another perspective on history. It was the former residence of the Dukes of Mecklenburg and, together with its park and the town, forms an ensemble known as the “Little Versailles of the North.” Ludwigslust Palace is also the centrepiece of an almost completely preserved late Baroque town layout, with a former court church and an English-style landscape park. The palace presents art and courtly domestic culture from the 18th and early 19th centuries. The regional comparison therefore ranges from the archaeological and ecclesiastical sites in Friedrichsruhe to the former residential and court culture of Ludwigslust.

Discover more destinations: Bülow, Zapel, Barnin, Demen, Crivitz, Tramm.

Return to the overview of the wider destination: Amt Crivitz.