The Uckermark in northeast Germany is known to many as the "Tuscany of the North" due to the idyllic hilly landscape. In addition, the region is one of the richest in water in the country, so the question of how the Great Parmensee came into the possession of today's municipality of Nordwestuckermark is an important and subject of this story:
Many years ago, when the Great Parmensee still belonged to Parmen, Count von Arnim, owner of Parmen, and Count Schwerin, landlord of the neighboring municipality of Fürstenwerder, met at Parmener See. Count Schwerin wanted to own the lake, so he managed to persuade Count Arnim to make a bet: Whoever is the first at the lake the following day and brings the hottest cup of coffee should have the lake. Count von Arnim agreed, because he was sure of his cause, as he lived closer to the lake. When it got light the next morning, Count von Arnim arrived at the lake with a cup of coffee - the other Count came out of the reeds with his steaming cup of coffee. He had lodged himself in the reeds of the lake overnight, made a fire in the morning and made the coffee on site. His coffee was hotter than his opponent's, and so Count Schwerin got the lake. That is why it is still often said today: "Count Schwerin won Lake Parmen for a cup of coffee."
The Villa Auguste is just over an hour's drive from Berlin in the heart of the Uckermark in an idyllic secluded location between fields, forests, meadows and lakes. The listed building was built around 1905 by a Berlin industrialist. The house stands on the apple tree-lined railway line Berlin - Prenzlau, which has been closed for a long time, away from the hustle and bustle. It is a charming piece of jewelery from the turn of the century that has been renovated with great attention to detail and converted into a large holiday home.
Since then, the villa has offered plenty of space on 2 floors, namely for up to 10 guests: a total of 4 bedrooms with double beds, 2 of them with their own bathroom, another with a bathroom that can be reached via the hallway and a guest toilet. An extra bed for children for the two large bedrooms is available on request. One bedroom / bathroom is directly on the garden level, the rest of the rooms on the 1st floor. The light-flooded, spacious kitchen-cum-living room and the directly connected dining room and living room offer plenty of space for community. Tiled stove and fireplace are included, so you never have to freeze. Washer and dryer are also part of the house's equipment.
In the huge garden with old fruit trees, linden trees and flowering shrubs, everyone can find a nice spot. Garden tables and chairs are available for up to 8 people. And if the weather does not allow you to sit outside, you can also relax in the covered winter garden.
The house is a non-smoking house, i.e. smokers have to go outside for their cigarettes in all weathers. Parties are also prohibited in the listed villa regardless of the weather.
Cooking is important to us and that is why you will find a very fully and extensively equipped, large kitchen in Villa Auguste. Gourmet gas stove, oven, microwave, spices, there is also tea, freezer, washing-up liquid, tea towels and a dishwasher.
In the area you can get locally produced organic food, such as milk, eggs and cheese at the Demeterhof Rittgarten from Uwe and Andrea Wesche, wines, seccos, liqueurs, vinegar, fruit spreads and juices from Uckermark apples, pears and quinces in the farm shop of Gutshof Kraatz , or fresh berries in summer or fruit spreads, jellies, syrup, honey, lamb and eggs all year round on the Weggun farm (in the farm shop on Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., during the summer holidays from Monday to Saturday 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.).
You can get fresh fish caught on site at the Trellert lake fishery right on the shores of Lake Sternhagen (fish sales from May to October Thursday to Sunday 11:30 a.m. to 9 p.m., November to April Friday and Saturday 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. The rustic fish restaurant of the lake fishery, which offers trout, char, pikeperch and pike in fried and smoked form, is open from May to October between Thursday and Sunday (11:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. and 4:30 p.m. to 9 p.m.). Fresh fish, smoked or pickled fish are also available in the Uckermark Fisch GmbH farm shop right on the Großer Lychensee. Game and poultry from their own husbandry are available at Harry Brockhaus' farm in the municipality of Klein Fredenwalde.
For eating out, we can also recommend a few restaurants in the area. In the Gasthof zumgrün Baum there are, among other things, tarte flambée rolls, lasagna with regional organic minced meat or asparagus curry with cabbage and tagliatelle. The menu at the Tenzo Gasthof in Feldberger Seenlandschaft offers hearty creations made from local game or lamb, fresh salads and seasonal vegetables, variants of Mecklenburg fish cuisine and imaginative desserts. The Rosalienhof is a cozy little café in Lychen-Beenz with a sunny courtyard terrace. The two sisters have delicious coffee and wonderful homemade cakes and pies. And the Weinschänke of Gutshof Kraatz - avowed supporters of Slow Food Germany - awaits you with homemade apple wines and juices, but also with its seasonal cuisine made from fresh local ingredients, from venison sausages to homemade pizza and pierogi to apple strudel.
I would like to take this opportunity to recommend another local specialty: the award-winning Uckermark picnic basket. Filled with - depending on your choice - sweet or salty Uuckmarket products, it is brought to Groß Fredenwalde at times and meeting points agreed in advance, where you can enjoy the delicacies comfortably and in peace before, during or after a walk. Depending on your choice, the sweet basket contains, among other things, Lychener Orient coffee or Prenzlauer LAGA tea, Uckermärker apple juice, Uckermärker gray bread or monastery wholemeal bread, apple jelly or chocolate spread, Angermünder boulders, seasonal fruit from Groß Fredenwalde, natural or fruit yoghurt or ice cream from Wolters. The salty basket consists of, among other things, Lychener Orient coffee or Prenzlauer LAGA tea, Uckermark apple juice, Uckermark brown bread or monastery wholemeal bread, ostrich salami and liver sausage made from Berken latten or wild liver sausage and venison salami from Klein Fredenwalde, seasonal vegetables or fruit. In addition to the sweet and salty variants, there are also seasonal picnic offers, with all variants also supplied with picnic blankets and dishes. The Uckermark picnic basket is available for 2 to 30 people. You can book it conveniently online at www.picknicken.eu or by phone at +49 39887 697730 at least 2 working days before the scheduled appointment.
Right outside the front door there are endless possibilities to ride a bike, walk on dirt roads or just let your eyes wander from the garden. If, on the other hand, you want to refresh yourself in the cool water: the next swimming area on Lake Sternhagen can be reached quickly by bike or car - there is also fresh air and wide views over the fields. If you want, you can also borrow the house's canoe (please bring a roof rack) and drift across the lake with it. If the Sternhagener See or the nearby Pinnower See is not enough: the impressive North Beckermärkische lake landscape is only about 12 kilometers away.
The city of Prenzlau is also 12 km away and not only offers good shopping opportunities. The urban area borders on the Uckermark Lakes Nature Park in the southwest, and the two largest lakes in the Uckermark adjoin it in the south: the Unteruckersee and the Oberuckersee in the Schorfheide-Chorin Biosphere Reserve. The St. Mary's Church, the main Protestant parish church of the city, is worth seeing. The listed church is one of the brick Gothic churches richest in architectural decoration in northern Germany.
With a length of around 1,400 meters, almost half of the former Prenzlau city wall has been preserved. In the 1990s, the city administration extensively renovated the medieval fortifications and laid out a 3-kilometer circular path. The Hexenturm, Powder Tower, Schwedter Gate Tower (also known as the observatory), Blindower Gate Tower (also called Stettiner Gate Tower) and Wiekhäuser have been preserved. You can also see the Roland statue - a symbol of city rights - on the market square or the Slavic boat Ukrasvan, which has been permanently anchored in the area of the Sonnenkap campsite.
The former Dominican monastery in Prenzlau is now home to the Museum of Cultural History - which, in addition to changing special exhibitions, includes a permanent exhibition on the cultural history of the region -, a picture gallery and the KlosterLadenGalerie. And from May to September the Dominican monastery in Prenzlau invites you to the "cultural summer in the Dominican monastery Prenzlau" with a mixture of diverse events (including live music, theater afternoons, poetry slam, but also the German-Polish dealer market) in the atmospheric ambience of the cemetery and interesting special exhibitions in the Cultural History Museum. In addition, the UM festival for contemporary art - with a lot of art, literature and music - takes place every 2 years in the communities in the area, including in Sternhagen Gut, Pinnow, Fergitz and Gustavsruh.
The municipality of Nordwestuckermark - to which Villa Auguste also belongs geographically - is even closer and, in its large area, offers several manor houses and residential buildings from previous centuries as well as beautiful church buildings: for example the three-aisled castle church in the district of Kröchlendorff, the neo-Gothic church in Kraatz or the Protestant church in Beenz from the 13th century. Another highlight is Arendsee Castle made of bright red raw bricks, which was completed in 1843 for Count Albert von Schlippenbach and has a tower and winter garden, among other things.
And if you are not in the mood for adventure and enterprise - in the house and garden there are several ways to pull yourself back in a comfortable armchair and stick your nose into a good book. The large dining table also invites you to enjoy cozy games with family and friends who have traveled with you.
For the sporty guests - a beautiful running route over the fields begins right at the house, yoga equipment for 2 people (mat, belt, block) is available in the house.
What’s there for children?
The younger guests will find just as much fun in the watery surroundings as you will. If you have splashed, paddled or boated enough, there are also other program options with children.
There is, for example, the summer toboggan run at Burg Stargard, with 8 banked curves and 2 bridges on the 720-meter-long route for fun and adventure again and again. Embedded in the nature, you overcome a height difference of 30 meters, which you can experience with the lift uphill and with swing downhill. The track is open daily from April to October from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.
And for several reasons, a visit with children in Templin is worthwhile: not only is the Templin natural thermal bath located here, which offers a brine bath, toddler, sauna and wellness area all year round and in all weathers; Here you will also find the "Templiner Ring" kart track, one of the most beautiful outdoor kart tracks in Germany, as well as the western town of El Dorado, where films with Hollywood stars such as Quentin Tarrantino, Brad Pitt or George Clooney have been shot. There are regular stunt and Indian shows, but also an adventure playground, petting zoo, a stunt workshop for children and much more.
You will feel a touch of Africa in the middle of the Uckermark at the ostrich farm Berkenlatten, where you can experience the largest birds on earth up close. With the exception of Tuesday and Wednesday, guided tours are offered here every day, during which you can visit Hugo ostrich, for example.
