What’s not to like about the town of Altentreptow? Seriously, this former Prussian town has history and architecture, its own legend, and was once home to one of the leading Low German writers of all time.
Sounds pretty gosh-darn good, doesn’t it?
In a very un-German like fashion, I’m going to start at the end of things. Did you know that Fritz Reuter used to live here? Who’s Mr. Reuter, you ask? Only one of Germany’s leading Low German writers, that’s who.
Come stop by the Fritz-Reuter-Haus while you’re here — then by the time you get to the Fritz-Reuter-Literaturmuseum (its Literature Museum) in nearby Stavenhagen, you’ll know all about him. ;-)
But, back to Altentreptow for the moment. As much as I love my nose buried in a book, I like looking around at all the awesome architecture found throughout the country.
The town’s Marktplatz is a good place to start, where you’ll find pretty half-timbered houses, and the 14th/15th century Gothic Church of St. Peter. Yeah, looks kind of old — and this isn’t even the original, as there was an older one. Still, this one is pretty damn fantastic with its stained glass and carved statues.
FYI, the church in Loickenzin (one of Altentreptow’s villages) is a pretty church with a stone & timber frame construction from the 17th century — but it’s filled with all sort of 16th, 17th and 18th century treasures.
From around the same time as St. Peter’s rebuilding, a number of Altentreptow’s City Gates were being built (like the 5-story Gothic Brandenburger Tor — built 1450).
Good thing, too, because Brandenburg and Pomerania kept fighting over the region back in the 14th century. And too bad the gates didn’t save the place from being sacked numerous times during the Thirty Years’ War. Oh, and half the town somehow burned down in the 15th century.
See? I told you this place had history.
I also told you Altentreptow had its own legend. Out on the Klosterberg you’ll find this gigantic granite stone (called the Großer Stein), said to have been thrown here by the Devil himself.
Well, I’m not sure about all that — but no one knows how massive this stone really is, because a lot of it lies buried.
Don’t bother trying to dig it out — I already tried. ;-)
