Route
Short version:
- Krakow am See - Serrahn (8.2 km, slightly hilly, road/asphalt)
- Serrahn - Neu Zitlitz - Dobbin (9.60 km, asphalt/road - gravel - forest path)
- Dobbin - Glave (3.7 km, flat, paved road)
- Glave - Neu Sammit(9.1 km, slightly hilly, road - gravel/forest path)
- Neu Sammit - Jellen - Dobbertin (14.8 km, slightly hilly, gravel - road/asphalt - forest path)
- Dobbertin - Kirch Kogel - Rum Kogel - Alt Sammit (14.7 km, slightly hilly, asphalt/gravel - forest path)
- Alt Sammit - Krakow am See (9.2 km, flat, road/asphalt)
Long version:
Following the Mecklenburg-Vorpommern Tourist Board's Mecklenburg Lakes Circular Trail, the route continues from Dobbertin to Krakow am See.
From Dobbertin in the direction of Krakow am See, we turn onto the circular cycle path via Kirch Kogel and Rum Kogel to the Berlin-Copenhagen Cycle Route, which we meet before Reimershagen, turning right to Alt Sammit. We continue past the castle to Derliener See, see it on the right and then Altdorfer See. We turn left before the railroad embankment and cycle to Krakow am See. Here we turn right at the traffic lights and cycle via Schulplatz and Dobbiner Chaussee towards Wadehäng. The Rökerhus offers another snack stop here and then turn left.
A beautiful route along the water, with opportunities to swim and rest, takes us back to Krakow am See, directly to the lakeside promenade. Krakow am See is well worth a stop. Raft trips and boat rentals offer the opportunity to explore the lake and there is a wide range of restaurants. The Fischerhüden on the historic fishing grounds is impressive. The observation tower on the Jörnberg in the middle of the redesigned spa forest is visible from afar. Those who climb the observation tower are rewarded with a view over the entire lake landscape. As early as 1860, the Mecklenburg local poet Fritz Reuter described the area around the island and bay-rich lake between Krakow, Serrahn and Groß Bäbelin as a paradise. Below the Jörnberg is the listed thatched bathing establishment, which has been awarded the Blue Flag every year since 1998 for its excellent bathing water quality.
It is just 200 m from the lakeshore to the market square, which forms a special ensemble with its rectangular shape, the neo-Gothic town hall from 1875, the 13th century Protestant town church and the 18th century town houses opposite. In front of the town hall, a fountain with a water-spouting fish is a real eye-catcher and indicates that the proximity to the lake has always been of economic importance to the town. All around the fountain are copper reliefs depicting local animal species, e.g. fish, water birds and otters. The tourist information office is also located on the market square. On Schulplatz square, the old school houses the town library and a unique book printing museum with a historic print shop. Opposite, the former synagogue houses temporary exhibitions.
If you would like to start this circular tour from Krakow am See, you can park your car in free parking lots, for example at Burgplatz or at the train station. For the complete round trip, turn left at the lakeside promenade and cycle along the shore of Lake Krakow. We continue the route around the northern part of Lake Krakow on the Berlin-Copenhagen long-distance cycle route (280 km to Berlin, 335 km to Copenhagen). Halfway between Blechernkrug and Serrahn, there is a rest stop on a hill that offers a wonderful view over the Serrahn water with its islands.
Before reaching the village of Serrahn, we cross a bridge over the River Nebel and pass the entrance to the Nebeldurchbruchstal nature reserve. This is where the river carved its bed through the terminal moraines of the last ice age after crossing Lake Krakow. With a gradient of 14 m over 4 km, it gives a wild and romantic impression. The Nebel is one of Mecklenburg's cleanest watercourses and is home to rare species such as brook lamprey, loach, stone loach and minnow. Kingfisher, grey wagtail and dipper live along the watercourse. Rare butterflies, dragonflies, flowing water insects and mussels have their habitat here. A detour (an additional 5 km) to the historic watermill is recommended. It houses an interesting technical museum. Worth seeing is an old water tower nearby, which now serves as vacation accommodation for guests. A former castle park with old trees and numerous carp ponds enrich the landscape. We continue our route through Serrahn on the long-distance cycle path towards Dobbin.
After Neu Zietlitz, we turn right and after approx. 500 m we have the opportunity to climb the "Alter Melkstand" observation tower. After a further 430 m, we leave the long-distance cycle path to continue to the right via Neu Dobbin. We then cross the main road to reach Dobbin via the Lustweg. An alternative would be to stay on the long-distance cycle path and cycle past the largest beech tree in Mecklenburg to the country road. The pleasure trail leads along the shore of the Obersee, which has been a nature reserve since 1939. From now on, you are in the Nossentiner/Schwinzer Heath Nature Park. Right at the beginning, there is the "Rohrdommel" viewing platform on the shore for observing water birds. The "Obersee" nature reserve is a wetland of international importance. Eight islands, shallow bays and deep lake areas provide habitats and breeding grounds for numerous bird species.
From Dobbin, the route continues in the direction of Glave. Before the old fulling mill, we cross the Nebel once again, which flows into the lake here.
2 km after the village of Glave, the "Seeadler" viewing platform is located in a sheltered spot behind paddocks. From here, there is a high probability of seeing the king of the skies. The white-tailed eagle is the symbolic bird of the nature park and there are 15-16 breeding pairs in the area.
We then cross the L 37 and continue straight on to the "Grüner Jäger" landmark. Here we turn northwards to Neu Sammit to reach the beautifully situated Langsee lake through the Sammiter Tannen to Alt Sammit and from there to the left through the Schwinzer Heide via Jellen and Neu Schwinz to Dobbertin, thus reconnecting with the other stages of the "Mecklenburg Lakes Circular Trail".
In Dobbertin, we recommend visiting the 13th century monastery complex on a peninsula in Lake Dobbertin. As you approach Dobbertin, you can see the two 50 m high towers of the monastery church from afar. It is the only double-towered church in Mecklenburg. Dobbertin is well worth a longer stay. Ornithological boat trips are offered here. Restaurants, a bathing beach, canoe hire and a beautiful park invite you to linger.
