Walkendorf combines a strong local cultural connection with places to visit throughout the municipality: the Richard Wossidlo House and the Alte Ausspanne are in the town, while windmills, a manor park and a stargazing station showcase other facets of the municipality. If you are planning a short trip, you can organize your options by interest: folklore and architectural history lead to Wossidlo House and the Alte Ausspanne, while the history of mills and parks leads to Neu Vorwerk and Dalwitz.
Wossidlo House and the Alte Ausspanne
The Richard Wossidlo House is dedicated to folklorist Richard Wossidlo. It is located in a rural laborers’ cottage built around 1875. Wossidlo’s biography is also closely connected to the area: he was born in Friedrichshof, a district of the municipality of Walkendorf, and baptized in the church there. The museum and his life story thus offer two different starting points for learning about the folklorist and his connection to the municipality.
The Alte Ausspanne offers a different perspective on architectural history: it is a listed half-timbered house with a thatched roof, lovingly restored. In summer, the Alte Ausspanne café is shaded by an old lime tree behind the building. The 4,600-square-meter meadow garden has benches, areas for relaxing, a herb spiral and a pond. The seating and lounging areas, herb spiral and water define different parts of the garden.
The Alte Ausspanne also has an expandable event room, the “Sommergalerie,” where special exhibitions of art and culture are held. Exhibitions may change. Creative courses are also available; if you would like to plan a course, check the specific dates in advance. This helps distinguish the exhibition and course offerings from the enduring features of the house and garden.
Windmills and manor park history in the municipality
In Neu Vorwerk, a district of the municipality of Walkendorf, two Dutch-style windmills stand close together. Together, they form the twin windmills, a unique technical monument and a landmark of the state. The smaller mill was built in 1849 as a ground-level Dutch windmill; the larger, gallery-style Dutch windmill dates from 1949. The construction dates are exactly a century apart, and the difference in size also makes them a comparison between two generations of mills. The larger mill is considered Germany’s last newly built windmill for commercial milling.
The Dalwitz Manor Park brings together other cultural and landscape features: it contains a monument to Sabine von Bassewitz (1716–1790), and an old lime-tree avenue can be admired on the castle rampart. A replica of the famous Nebra Sky Disc is also on display in the park. The monument, avenue and replica each offer a different focus—from a figure in local history to a historic landscape feature and an archaeological connection.
The starry sky, countryside and places to stay
The Dalwitz Astronomical Observatory is one of six themed stations along the “De Sternkieker” astronomy trail in the Mecklenburger ParkLand Star Park. At the station, visitors can lie on a lounger for two and observe the night sky with binoculars or a telescope. If you are planning to stargaze, check locally whether the equipment is available.
Lühburg Castle Manor House lies on the edge of the Mecklenburg Switzerland, surrounded by old lime trees and a romantic moat; it sits like an island in the Mecklenburger ParkLand. Schloss Lühburg offers twelve individually furnished holiday apartments of different sizes in the municipality of Walkendorf. A swimming lake in the town offers a chance to cool off in summer—a seasonal addition to the municipality’s cultural and natural attractions.
Discover more destinations: Altkalen, LĂĽhburg, Behren-LĂĽbchin, Boddin, Finkenthal.
Go to the broader travel overview: Amt Gnoien.
