Discover Güstrow: Castle, Barlach and Wildlife

Güstrow combines an important Renaissance castle with Barlach’s artistic legacy, a nativity scene museum with an international collection, and animal and aquatic worlds at Wildpark-MV. This gives you clearly distinct themes to choose from when planning your trip. When looking for accommodation in Güstrow, start by asking whether you want your stay to focus on the castle and art, nativity scene culture or native wildlife.

Castle, Theatre and Barlach’s Work

Güstrow Castle is one of the most important Renaissance castles in northern Europe. It gives the city a striking connection to the Renaissance and stands out alongside its art and museum attractions. Ernst Barlach’s sculpture “The Floating Angel” can be seen in Güstrow Cathedral. Güstrow’s theatre is also part of the city’s cultural history: it is Mecklenburg’s oldest surviving civic theatre.

Ernst Barlach’s studio house is close to Güstrow’s Inselsee lake and still preserves traces of the sculptor, printmaker and writer. An extensive permanent exhibition explores the artist’s life and work, from his earliest plaster models to his final wooden sculptures and bronze works. Güstrow is therefore not just about Barlach’s name, but also the development of his artistic work and the different materials he used.

Nativity Scenes from Around the World

The North German Nativity Scene Museum in Güstrow offers a very different collection. Christmas nativity scenes from around the world are on display throughout the year. The collection includes around 700 nativity scenes from every continent. While the studio house explores the life and work of one artist, this museum focuses on a motif that has taken shape in different parts of the world. The two museums thus offer different perspectives on art and cultural history.

Animal and Aquatic Worlds at Wildpark-MV

Wolves, bears, lynxes and wildcats live in the five-hectare Predator Coexistence Enclosure at Wildpark-MV. Visitors can reach the animals through underground tunnels and along climbing trails through the treetops. The paths offer an unusual way to get close to wildlife: through passages underground as well as high up among the treetops.

Another highlight is the AQUA Tunnel, the largest natural aquarium in northern Germany, home to more than 15 native fish species. Together, the enclosures and aquarium offer different perspectives on animal and aquatic worlds: one focuses on large predators and wildcats, the other on native fish. So if nature is a key reason for including Güstrow in your travel plans, Wildpark-MV offers more than just one way to explore the subject.

Güstrow within the wider Rostock destination

The wider Rostock destination takes you beyond Güstrow’s city and museum attractions. The Rostock region includes 62 kilometres of Baltic Sea coastline with a number of seaside resorts. The coastal hinterland is also shaped by the river valleys of the Warnow and Recknitz. These coastal and river landscapes form a distinct regional focus and should not be confused with Güstrow’s own attractions.

In Sternberger Seenland Nature Park, deeply incised breakthrough valleys along the Warnow, numerous lakes, picturesque hills and extensive forests are ideal for hiking and cycling. The historic Molli narrow-gauge railway offers another kind of travel experience: it runs between Kühlungsborn and Bad Doberan and is the oldest narrow-gauge railway on the Baltic coast. This lets you set Güstrow’s cultural and wildlife attractions alongside the broader landscapes and coastline of the Rostock destination, without conflating the two.

Choose your focus when looking for accommodation

When looking for accommodation in Güstrow, you can base your choice on the interests you want your trip to revolve around: Renaissance and city history, Barlach’s work, the international nativity scene collection, or the animal and fish worlds at Wildpark-MV. If you also include the wider Rostock destination in your plans, the coast, river valleys, lake district and Molli railway add their own regional themes.

Discover more destinations

Discover more destinations: Gubkow, Amt Bad Doberan-Land, Satow, Amt Laage, Lütten Klein, Groß Lüsewitz, Warnemünde, Mandelshagen.

Back to the overview of the wider destination: Rostock.