Station: [3] Castle

The romantic and stately Ivenacker Castle is located between the lake shore and the extensive castle park.

The history of Ivenack begins in the mid-13th century, when a Cistercian convent was built on this site. Three centuries later, after the Reformation had taken hold in Mecklenburg, the convent and all its possessions were transferred to the “Ivenack Office.” A Renaissance-style castle was built on the foundations of the old convent. However, the Thirty Years' War took a heavy toll on the village. All the inhabitants fled or died.

At the beginning of the 18th century, the Amt Ivenack came into the possession of Privy Councillor Ernst Christoph von Koppelow. He demolished the monastery's dilapidated farm buildings, converted the castle into a three-winged manor house, created a courtyard of honor on the lake side, and renovated the dilapidated church. A few decades later, his widow Margarethe Juliane had a prestigious Baroque garden laid out, which covers large parts of today's castle park. Under Albrecht Joachim von Plessen, Baron von Maltzahn, who resided in Ivenack from 1797 to 1828, the castle acquired its present appearance.

The Barons of Maltzahn lived in Ivenack Castle until the 20th century. After the First World War, the family moved into the administrator's house in the park, now referred to as the manor house, in order to save on taxes. Out of fear and despair at the impending invasion of the Red Army, Baron von Maltzahn shot his wife, an employee, and himself in a nearby wood in the final days of the Second World War. A memorial stone at the church still commemorates this act today.

During the GDR era, the castle's use changed radically: it now housed a retirement home and a district evening center, and eventually a nursing home with an attached workshop. However, in the first decades of German reunification, it stood empty and fell into disrepair. Since 2012, the castle has been owned by a private investor who is having it extensively restored. In the future, upscale vacation apartments and event halls will be built here. All's well that ends well: the historic castle will be open to the public and regain its old charm.

Our next stop is also closely connected to the castle's history: it is the church, directly opposite.
 

Foto: © Lisa Ruschin