The Oder-Neiße Cycle Route passes directly through Penkun, which lies picturesquely among seven lakes. The castle and town church add architectural history from different centuries to the landscape. This gives the town a clear connection to the route, alongside its lakes and historic buildings.

Cycle Route, Lakes and Open-Air Museum

Penkun lies among seven lakes, and the Oder-Neiße Cycle Route passes directly through the town. The lakes and route offer different points of reference: the lakes define Penkun’s landscape, while the cycle route explicitly connects the town to a named cycling route. If you are considering whether Penkun is a destination in its own right or a stop along a cycling tour, you can weigh these two aspects.

The Open-Air Museum (Early German Settlement) is nearby, directly beside Schlosssee and about 500 metres before the entrance to Penkun. It invites visitors to linger. Its location beside Schlosssee adds the theme of early German settlement to the lakeside setting. The museum can therefore be seen as a point of interest in its own right, alongside the cycle route through Penkun.

Castle History and Town Church

Penkun Castle was built as a castle from 1198 onwards. Over the following centuries, it was expanded and converted into a palace complex. This development spans several construction phases, rather than having a single starting point. The castle museum and the Customs and Border Museum are located at Am Schlosshof 1. Both are run by the museum association and looked after by the Glowik family. The two museums are thus located at the same address.

The Town Church of Penkun offers a different architectural accent. It is a solid Neo-Gothic brick building with simple fittings dating from the time of construction, and was built between 1858 and 1862. Compared with the castle’s construction, which began in 1198, this is a much later period. The castle and town church therefore offer different perspectives on Penkun’s architectural history: a palace complex developed over centuries and a church building with a clearly defined date. Those interested in architecture can compare their forms, materials and dates.

Penkun in the Vorpommern-Greifswald District

Across the wider destination of Vorpommern-Greifswald, the three nature parks cover almost 40 percent of the district’s area. Other cultural attractions are also found across the region: the Pomeranian State Museum in Greifswald displays the Croy Tapestry from 1554, a unique cultural and historical artefact from the Reformation era. Anklam is home to the Otto Lilienthal Museum, a technical museum dedicated to the aviation pioneer, mechanical engineer and humanist Otto Lilienthal, who was born in the town. These regional nature and cultural attractions broaden the view beyond Penkun without replacing its local focus on lakes and architectural history. The cycle route passes directly through Penkun, while the Ueckermünde Heath in Vorpommern-Greifswald invites visitors to hike, cycle and ride, offering further active experiences in nature.

Discover more destinations: Plöwen, Grambow, Boock, Glasow, Ramin, Rossow, Rothenklempenow, Bergholz.

For the wider travel overview: Löcknitz-Penkun Administrative District.