MittsommerRemise Spantekow Castle

Festival of Manor Houses

The MittsommerRemise is a statewide heritage festival: On one weekend in June, around eighty historic manor houses, castles, and fortresses throughout Mecklenburg-Vorpommern open their gates. Spantekow Castle in the Vorpommern-Greifswald district is one of the participating houses and organizes its own two-day program.

A Renaissance Fortress with History

Spantekow Castle is considered Northern Germany's oldest and most significant Renaissance fortress. Between 1558 and 1567, Ulrich von Schwerin, Marshal of the Duchy of Pomerania-Wolgast, had his family seat expanded into a fortress. An elaborate system of moats, fortress walls, and casemates with earthworks up to four meters thick secured the complex so effectively that even the Bohemian general Wallenstein had to withdraw unsuccessfully during the Thirty Years' War. In 1999, Kaspar Freiherr von Harnier, grandson of the last castle owner before the expropriation in 1945, bought the fortress back.

Program Between Ramparts and Casemates

At the MittsommerRemise, this history comes alive: Archery takes place in the historic casemate vaults, digital audio tours via QR code guide you around the grounds, and a bird of prey show demonstrates the art of falconry. Live music, summer dances by the local school, and a handicraft market make the weekend a celebration for the whole family. The castle café provides culinary refreshments.

Culture in Vorpommern

Spantekow is located southwest of Anklam in the state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, in the Vorpommern-Greifswald district. The MittsommerRemise here combines the preservation of an extraordinary architectural monument with a lively cultural program – and makes Spantekow Castle an excursion destination for history enthusiasts and families for two days.