Schwerin Castle looks too much like a fairy-tale to be real, and in a sense it is not quite old enough: the present building, a mix of Renaissance, Gothic and French chateau styles, was built in the mid-nineteenth century for the Grand Duke Friedrich Franz II, who wanted a palace that looked like something from the Loire. It stands on an island in the Schweriner See, a large lake that stretches away in all directions, linked to the town by a causeway and a bridge, and the whole ensemble is reflected in the water on a calm evening. Today it houses the parliament of the state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania.
UNESCO listed the residence ensemble, the castle with its gardens, the nearby buildings and the palace park, as an outstanding example of nineteenth-century historicism, a time when architects borrowed freely from the past. The gardens include a baroque canal, a neat orangery and a grotto, with tall old trees and swans on the water. A short walk away, the cathedral is the highest church in the region, a brick Gothic building whose tower, rebuilt in the nineteenth century, rises to about a hundred and seventeen metres, and from its gallery you can see the lake and the countryside for miles.
The old town is small and pleasant, with narrow streets, half-timbered houses and a market square, and a lakeside promenade where people walk at the weekend. The lake is the fourth largest in Germany, with eleven islands and quiet shores, where cyclists, swimmers and sailors take over in summer. The ride goes on to Wismar, the other Hanseatic city, with its great brick churches, and the road across the countryside is easy, with gentle bends, avenues of trees and fields of rapeseed.
Schwerin has nearly a hundred thousand people, with fuel stations on the main roads and plenty of cafés near the castle. Local food includes fish from the lake, such as smoked eel and zander, and the region's famous sea buckthorn drinks. Parking in the old town is limited, so leave the bike at a car park near the lakeside and walk. In July the castle hosts open-air concerts and a festival, and the town fills with visitors. May and September are quieter and the light is soft, and winter fog on the lake gives the whole place an air of mystery.