Station: [2] Marstall

In the past, this place was filled with neighing, pawing, and snorting. Horses have a long tradition in Ivenack! Founded in 1666, the stud farm was one of the oldest in Mecklenburg. The landowner Helmuth Burchard Hartwig Freiherr von Maltzahn, Count of Plessen, was also a real horse lover. Between 1770 and 1780, he had this magnificent semi-circular building – the stables – built for his thoroughbreds. And it was here in 1793 that the most famous stallion in Ivenack horse breeding was born: the apple-grey Herodot, whose bust adorns the exterior façade of the stables and whose adventurous life is closely linked to world history.

The young thoroughbred was considered one of the best stud horses of his time and attracted the attention of the French emperor and horse lover Napoleon Bonaparte. After the French emperor defeated the Prussian army in the Battle of Jena and Auerstedt and occupied Mecklenburg, he sent out scouts to find Herodot and bring him to him. In Ivenack, people were on their guard and looked for a hiding place for the precious animal. They found it – how could it be otherwise – in the trunk of an old, hollow oak tree. However, it was in vain. When the French rode past the oak tree, Herodotus smelled the mares and made himself noticed by neighing loudly. The stallion was taken away and had to accompany Napoleon on his Russian campaign.

Herod remained in French possession for eleven years. But Napoleon's star was falling, and the Battle of Waterloo sealed his fate. While the Congress of Vienna was still in session, the Ivenack estate owner sent his stable master to France to search for the stallion. The stable master found him, rescued Herodotus, and brought him back to Mecklenburg. Here, the well-traveled stallion was granted more than ten peaceful years of life. When Herodotus died in 1829, he was buried—how could it be otherwise—at the foot of an oak tree, the “Herodotus Oak.”

The renovation of the Marstall was completed in 2022. Tradition and modernity have been combined here, and the former horse stables now house the offices of the Stavenhagen Forestry Office, which manages the Ivenacker Oaks. The mayor's municipal office is also located here. The left and right annexes are privately owned residential properties.
 

Foto: © Lisa Ruschin