Ludwigslust & Gadebusch

Ludwigslust

Tel: 36 (03874-52 62 51)

At the beginning of the 18^th century, the small village of Klenow was founded here, which from 1765 grew into a town. The town was laid out around the Schloss, residence of the dukes of Mecklenburg-Schwerin until 1837. The “Versailles of Mecklenburg” is in fact quite different from its French namesake.

The Baroque palace was built entirely in brick, concealed beneath sandstone from the Ruda hills. The ornate interior, particularly the elegant Goldener Saal (gold hall), was decorated in Ludwigsluster Carton, a type of papierm稍h・ in order to cut costs.

In the mid-19th century, the vast Schlosspark was redesigned by Peter Joseph Lenné as an English-style landscaped garden. On a scenic walk round the garden, the visitor can discover some 24 waterfalls, a canal, artificial ruins, a stone bridge and the mausoleum of Helena Pavlovna, daughter of Tsar Peter I, who died tragically young. In the town you will find the Protestant Stadtkirche, built in 1765–70 to look like an antique temple. In the presbytery is a giant mural, The Adoration of the Shepherds.

Gadebusch

This small town, situated right next to the former East–West border, has two interesting historic monuments. The Stadtkirche, which dates from 1220, is the oldest brick church in Mecklenburg. Its cross vaulting, chunky pillars and goblet-shaped capitals are Romanesque in style. One of its most precious pieces is the bronze baptismal font (1450). Angels hold the bowl, on which 22 scenes of the Passion were sculpted by an unknown artist.

In the 16th and 17th centuries, the Schloss was the residence of distant relations of the dukes of Mecklenburg. Resembling the castle in Wismar, it is decorated with glazed reliefs and pilasters. It is not open to visitors.