Over hill and dale Neubrandenburg is starting point for exciting trips to the near and wide surrounding

15 km west of Neubrandenburg you find the small town Penzlin which is situated on Lake Großer Stadtsee. Worth to see is the Old Castle with its historical Witches Cellar where scary stories about magic and the obsessive belief in witches want to be told. In the 16 century the castle was rebuild to a manor. The dungeons and niches in the castles cellar are classified as unique in Europe. They are witnesses for the persecution of Witches in the 16 and 17 century. Connected through the hiking trail “Burgenwanderweg” you can go from Penzlin Castle over Usadel and Hohenzieritz to Burg Stargard, the castle build on a hill. As of late the Slawendorf Passentin is opened again.

Not far from Penzlin in Ankershagen you can visit the Heinrich-Schliemann-Museum. The discoverer of Troy, Heinrich Schliemann, grew up here and in his house of birth they appreciate his life.

Past the swamp of the Havel spring you reach the Müritz National Park. On 318 km² it offers an attractive part of the Mecklenburg Lake District. A more than 400 km long signposted path network invites the visitor for hiking and biking. The landscape of terminal moraine and outwash plain shows wide forests, many lakes, swamps and marshland forests. The area is known for good observation opportunities of large birds – the use of binoculars is advisable in doing so.

Particular in the eastern part of the National Park, in the Lake District near Serrahn, the beech forests offer impressive views. The reason is that some parts of these forests have not been cultivated for some decades. A wide range of brochures about guided tours and events are available at the information points of the National Park Authority.

On the shore of The Zierker See lies Neustrelitz which was founded in 1733. The baroque town once has been the residence of the Dukes of Mecklenburg-Strelitz. Witnesses for this are the palace garden, the temple of Hebe, the memorial hall for Queen Louise, the Marstall (historical stables) and the neo-Gothic castle church. The square market place is one of the largest in northern Germany. As multi-genre theatre the traditional Landestheater Neustrelitz offers something for everyone’s taste.

We go on to Burg Stargard. In the middle of seven hills the small town lies in the valley of the Lindenbach. A detour to the historical castle area is recommendable. The only preserved castle built on a hill in Northern Germany is home of a museum and the herb garden.

The “officially recognized health resort” Feldberg is nestling between hilly deciduous forests which reach till the shores of the surrounding lakes. Already writer Hans Fallada was impressed by the untouched nature with a rare wildlife in the middle of the nature park “Feldberger Seenlandschaft”.

Not far from Feldberg lies Woldegk, a town at the foot of the 179 metre high mountain Helpter Berg, the highest mountain in Mecklenburg Western-Pomerania. The today five preserved mills are used as monument, museum, café, residential house and pottery.