Family tour of the Granitz hunting lodge on Rügen

The castle also arouses kids' curiosity in other ways. The magnificent furnishings alone! Although some of the interior has been lost over the centuries, there are still countless hunting trophies on the walls, and even tables and chairs are made of antlers. Other furniture is made of precious, gilded ropes and crystal chandeliers sparkle on the ceilings like in a fairy tale.

There is so much to discover!

The luxurious dining room, for example. The children wonder what the royals ate back then and whether there was dessert. There was, Stohmann tells his attentive audience, and it was of the finest quality. Recipes for puddings, creams, candied fruits and cakes of all kinds can be found in the cookbooks of the castle kitchen.

And then there is this iron stand in the large knights' hall. I wonder what it is all about? It is standing on the wall, unnoticed. „Is it really a knight's armor?“, Stohmann asks mischievously. „Take a closer look!“ Isabella and Maxi examine the iron piece. Isabella sees it first: an iron pipe connects the pitch-black figure to the wall – the supposed stove is actually a stove that was used to heat the castle on cold days.

"Where did the princes actually go to the loo?“

Patiently, Stohmann, who wears a vest with dark jeans and looks like a friendly grandfather with his short white beard, answers all the children's questions. Even the ones that aren't in the history books, which are more about the practical aspects of castle life and keep the kids all the more occupied.
„Where did the princes actually go to the toilet?“, the children want to know. You can't say that with one hundred percent certainty, the guide admits. But it is assumed that in the so-called Privé there was a chamber pot-like sanitary facility which the servants then had to empty. Incidentally, this was not called a toilet. In the past, going to the toilet meant washing yourself.

The children nod eagerly. Another lesson learned!

The highlight of the children's tour is of course the central tower. You can climb up the free-floating internal staircase, which consists of 154 openwork iron steps and is a very unusual construction. Breathtakingly, it winds its way up to the viewing platform. It's quite exciting to suddenly be standing so high above the castle roof! You could now enjoy the magnificent view over the Bodden landscape and the Baltic Sea as far as Greifswald. But children are not known to be captivated by panoramic views for too long. What interests them much more is whether Mr. Stohmann might have an exciting castle story to tell. And indeed he does!