Discover Schwerin

Palace Ensemble and Palace Gardens

The UNESCO Schwerin Residence Ensemble comprises 38 parts. These include the Grand Duke’s residential palace, manor houses, cultural and religious buildings, as well as the ornamental lake Pfaffenteich. The ensemble offers a window into the history and architecture of the residence city, while the palace gardens reveal another facet of Schwerin’s cultural history.

The 25-hectare palace gardens were reconstructed according to historical plans for the 2009 Federal Horticultural Show. An impressive garden monument of high national importance, they are an interesting complement to the buildings of the residence ensemble. If you are interested in garden art and historic grounds, you can take this focus into account when planning your stay.

Painting and a range of artistic perspectives

At the State Museum Schwerin, you can see an outstanding collection of Dutch painting and paintings from the 16th to the 21st century. The permanent exhibition sets works by Rubens, Rembrandt and Frans Hals alongside contemporary perspectives. Themed galleries devoted to Marcel Duchamp and East German art broaden the focus beyond Dutch painting.

Digital offerings, interactive stations and immersive installations enhance the exhibition experience. The museum thus presents a range of ways to engage with its collections: you can focus on the paintings or explore the additional forms of interpretation. This makes it easy to plan the museum visit as a cultural highlight in its own right, alongside excursions into the Schwerin countryside.

Out and about by the lake

The Schwerin City Round Tour follows the shore of Lake Schwerin, passing Zippendorf Beach and ending at Reppin Castle. Another option is a hiking trip that, from March to October, begins with a boat ride from Schwerin Palace to Zippendorf. From there, the route follows the lakeshore for ten kilometres to Reppin Castle, where you can enjoy a view across the lake. The tour and the city round tour have different starting points and formats, but both lead to Reppin Castle.

A bike ride to the Schwerin-Mueß Open-Air Museum of Folklore also passes Zippendorf: from the centre of Schwerin, the route follows Franzosenweg along Zippendorf Beach, then continues on a cycle path to Mueß. If you plan this outing, you can treat the bike ride and museum visit as a highlight in their own right.

Zippendorf and nature experiences

Zippendorf Beach has a public toilet, an accessible toilet, a German Red Cross water rescue station and a beach wheelchair. These specific facilities can be useful for finding your way around the beach. The beach is also a prominent point on the city round tour and lies along the described cycling route to Mueß.

Schwerin Zoo offers a different kind of nature experience. It covers around 25 hectares and is home to about 1,700 animals from approximately 150 species. One of its attractions is an 8,000-square-metre savanna for southern white rhinoceroses, considered unique in northern Germany. Schwerin therefore offers lakeshores and wildlife as distinct themes for outings.

Plan your stay around your interests

Whether you want to focus on art, gardens, lakeside paths or wildlife, Schwerin has a variety of attractions. When choosing your holiday apartment, you can first consider which experiences matter most to you on your trip.

Another destination on the same parent page is Wismar.

For the parent travel overview: Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania.