Translated by Google Translate.
If you want, you can take a deep breath in our garden and have a relaxed barbecue on the terrace. If you want, you can also actively explore the area: the Uckermark is known for its wide fields, lush meadows and idyllic hilly landscapes, but also for countless lakes. For example the Dammsee, Großer See, Großer Parmenesee, Unterruckersee, Sternhagener See etc. Our village is not in vain in the Uckermärkische Seenlandschaft nature park. It is 6 kilometers to the bathing area in Hildebrandshagen and 7 kilometers to the one in Fürstenwerder. Furthermore, the Damerow Forest begins about one kilometer from Sankt Unterholz, and the Kiecker nature reserve is about 3 kilometers southeast of us.
The municipality of Nordwestuckermark - to which our district Kraatz also belongs - offers several manor houses and residential buildings from previous centuries as well as beautiful church buildings, such as 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.
If you need cultural food, the Vorwerk Bülowssiege is not far from Fürstenwerder and the Dammsee. Not only because of this beautiful location it is called "Gutshof der Romantik", also as a typical regional building ensemble from the beginning of the 19th century, Gut Bülowssiege is a listed building and today gives readings, lectures and concerts a historical setting.
The manor house Boitzenburg Castle is one of the largest castles in the Uckermark and is now a hotel for children and young people. It is also used for a wide variety of events, such as birthdays, weddings, confirmations, anniversaries or seminars and conferences. The castle is surrounded by a spacious park with a chapel and striking memorial temples. The stable, which is part of the castle ensemble, houses event and catering rooms as well as foam factories for chocolate, ice cream, cakes, a coffee roastery and even a brewery. Castle tours are always offered on Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays in the season, the cost is 3.50 euros per person.
The Fallada village of Carwitz lies between dark green forests and rolling hills. The writer Hans Fallada (actually Rudolf Dietzen) sought refuge in the village in 1933 and lived here with his wife Anna and children for eleven years. After the war he even became mayor of the neighboring community of Feldberg for a short time. In the street Zum Bohnenwerder today the Hans Fallada house directly on Lake Carwitzer is a reminder of the author's stay in the village. A small museum has been set up there, which gives an insight into his life and work.
The city of Prenzlau 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 aforementioned 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. On a 3-kilometer circular route you will see the Mitteltor, Hexen, Powder Tower, Schwedter Gate Tower (also known as the observatory), Blindower Gate Tower (also called Stettiner Gate Tower) and Wiekhäuser. You can also see the Roland statue - a symbol of city rights - on the market square or the Slavic boat Ukrasvan, which has 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. From May to September the monastery also invites you to the "Cultural Summer in the Dominican Monastery in 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 museum a. 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 area also offers even more culture, for example the Melzow summer concerts. These were founded in 2002 by the association "Friends of the Melzower Church" e.V. to save the 17th century village church in Melzow. In addition to classical and organ music, there is also vocal music or jazz. Admission to the benefit concerts with German and international artists is free, but a donation is requested. In exchange, you are cordially invited to a glass of wine or beer after the concerts and you can visit an exhibition in the church before or after the concerts.
As part of the Uckermark Music Weeks, there have been over twenty first-class concerts in the district every summer since 1992. What is special about this is that the concert venues also include atmospherically attractive granaries, stables, barns, churches and manor houses of cultural and historical significance, as well as open-air events in gardens and castle ruins. It is a festival of early music with excursions to musical cultures from distant countries, from the Middle Ages to the present day.