Groß Plasten brings together a village church dating from 1901, a 19th-century castle and a landscaped park with walking trails leading to Klein Plasten. It is also home to THE RESET, a hotel offering detox and therapeutic fasting retreats with medical care. Visitors wishing to include other places in the municipality can explore the distinct historical and landscape attractions of Varchentin and Beckenkrug.
Village Church and Castle: Two Histories of Construction
Groß Plasten village church is an octagonal central-plan building, built in 1901, with rendered walls and a natural stone base. The church was designed by architect Franz Schwechten. It was the first domed Renaissance building in Mecklenburg. The church has been a listed historic monument since the 1980s; its furnishings include the complete sandstone interior from the time of construction. The organ in the west gallery was built by W. Sauer in 1901 and restored in 1997. The church was built following a dispute over the shared use of the church in Klein Plasten. Its history of construction thus links architectural details with a specific relationship between two places.
Groß Plasten Castle was built in the second half of the 19th century and extended with an annex in the early 20th century. Together with the church, this makes it possible to distinguish the different construction phases in the town: the castle from the second half of the 19th century, the church from 1901 and the annex from the early 20th century. The church is described in greater detail through its floor plan, building materials and style; for the castle, the focus is on its construction date and later extension.
Landscaped Park and Trails to Klein Plasten
A landscaped park with rare trees adjoins the castle. Walking trails run through the park, connecting Groß Plasten and Klein Plasten. The park and trails offer different points of interest: the park is part of the castle grounds, while the walking trails link the two places.
Stay and Fasting Retreats
THE RESET Hotel is located at Parkallee 36, 17192 Groß Plasten. THE RESET at Groß Plasten Castle offers detox and therapeutic fasting retreats with medical care. For travellers choosing their accommodation based on such an offering, this is a specific point of reference in Groß Plasten.
Other Places in the Municipality
Varchentin is a separate district of the municipality, not the centre of Groß Plasten. The castle there was built in 1847 in the Tudor style, based on plans by Swiss architect Auguste de Meuron. In 1838, Peter Joseph Lenné designed the plans for the landscaping of Varchentin Park. The church there dates from the second half of the 13th century, approximately 1270 to 1280.
Varchentin’s landscape also has its own distinctive features: the park is characterised by groups of trees, notable individual trees and meadows; the Kleine and Große Varchentiner lakes are surrounded by a belt of reeds. The Kleine Varchentiner See can be walked around in about an hour. This means the municipality offers both castle and park history and a clearly defined walking option around the lake.
Beckenkrug is home to an old, reed-thatched mill. It was built between about 1851 and 1875 and is the only mill in the Müritz region that has been preserved at its original location. In Klein Plasten, meanwhile, the so-called Rundling, a circular village settlement, was laid out in 1934 with 13 farmsteads. The places thus differ in their historical focus: in Beckenkrug it is the mill, in Klein Plasten the settlement layout, while the trails through the landscaped park connect Groß Plasten and Klein Plasten.
Discover more destinations: Klocksin, Peenehagen, Kargow, Neu Gaarz, Dratow-Schloen, Varchentin, Moltzow, Klink
Back to the regional travel overview: Amt Seenlandschaft Waren.
