Schwerin castle is a fairy tale in brick and gilt, and it is built on an island. The palace of the Mecklenburg dukes stands on a small island in the Schweriner See, linked to the town by a bridge, with turrets, towers and a golden dome reflected in the water. The present building, a romantic mix of Renaissance and Gothic styles, was built in the middle of the nineteenth century to a design that drew on the French chateaux of the Loire, and it is now the seat of the state parliament of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. UNESCO listed the castle and its gardens in 2020.
The setting is the thing. The city of about ninety-six thousand people lies among seven lakes, with woods and meadows running to the edge of the old town, and the Schweriner See, the fourth largest lake in Germany by area, stretches north for kilometres. The castle gardens, laid out in the formal baroque style with canals and terraces, give way to a landscaped park with old trees, and the walk around the lake on a summer evening is one of the nicest in northern Germany. The legend of the Petermännchen, a little ghost who haunts the castle and looks after its treasures, is told to children and visitors alike.
The roads that bring a rider here are quiet and gentle. The Mecklenburg lake district is a glacial landscape of low hills, lakes, reed beds and beech woods, with straight roads between the villages and long tree-lined avenues of lime and chestnut. The surface is mostly good, and traffic is light, though tractors and cyclists are common. In late summer the fields are golden, and the birdlife on the lakes, including cranes and sea eagles, is rich.
Schwerin has fuel and every kind of service, and the old town, with its narrow lanes around the cathedral, has cafes and restaurants. The brick Gothic cathedral has a tall spire, which you can climb for a view across the lakes. Try a plate of smoked eel or fresh pikeperch from the lake, and a local beer. The Altstadt and Schelfstadt districts are pleasant to walk through, though cobbles and tram tracks need care. May to September is the best season.