Kreien: Discover the lake and village history

Kreien invites you to discover nature and village history side by side: Lake Kreien is defined by shallow shoreline areas and underwater vegetation, while the church, farmsteads, and archaeological finds in the village tell a story stretching far back in time. When planning your trip, you can choose to focus on nature experiences or on the village’s architecture and artworks.

Lake Kreien and its landscape

Lake Kreien has a surface area of 16 hectares and a shoreline approximately 2,000 metres long. It is an unstratified shallow lake of the pike-tench lake type. Broad shallow areas along the shore and dense underwater vegetation define its character. Amphibians, waterbirds, birds of prey, and other wildlife are found among the wet meadows and alder carr around the lake—offering another perspective on the landscape alongside swimming and boating.

There is a clear restriction on boats: because of its small size, Lake Kreien may only be used by rowboats. The bathing area is a meeting place for families, children, young people, and older people. During the summer holidays, the municipality stations a lifeguard there. The bathing jetty is also part of the bathing area’s history: it was completely renovated in the winter of 2014/2015 so it could be used again at the start of the bathing season.

Church, art, and traces of village history

The church in the village of Kreien dates from the 14th century. Together with the cemetery wall, it forms the centre of the village; the church and cemetery wall are listed buildings and are more than 630 years old. The rectory and its garden are also part of this centre and are around 200 years old. Kreien Church is a Gothic building made of split fieldstones. Its gables have flat terminations to the east and west. The wooden bell tower stands separately to the west.

Inside, the building’s history is complemented by remarkable woodcarving and painting. Benedikt Dreyer carved the altar group in 1507. The Baroque pulpit dates from 1710, was renovated in 1880, and depicts the four Evangelists painted on wood. A figure of the Archangel Michael, carved around 1250, is located on the north wall. Three hand-forged grave crosses from the cemetery, more than 100 years old, are attached to the south wall. The freestanding bell tower has had its present form since 1880. Its steel bells date from 1922, and the tower was renovated in 1965 and 1995.

The baptismal font also tells of another era: the Renaissance font dates from 1664 and consists of a brass bowl in a wooden container. The brass bowl is not kept in the church. A tour through the village’s history takes you further back in time, too: archaeological finds show that the Kreien fields were inhabited during the Neolithic period, from around 3000 to 1600 BC. Two Bronze Age burial mounds lie in the Kreien area, where neck rings and a bronze sword hilt were found.

The village’s architectural heritage also includes a well-preserved and renovated three-sided farm complex with a brick dwelling house and two brick barns; it is privately owned. The former school, built in 1848, is also now privately owned. The former dairy was built in 1902. In the municipality of Kreien, large farms, smallholders’ dwellings, and smallholdings shape the landscape; they are in good structural condition.

Routes and landscape in the municipality

Near Kreien, a former narrow-gauge agricultural railway from the Kreien estate to the River Elde can still be traced in the landscape as a long field hedge. Throughout the municipality, quiet field and forest paths invite you to hike and cycle. The landscape also bears the imprint of the Ice Age: the so-called Frankfurt ice-margin position extended across the area of today’s municipality. Meltwater flowed through a glacier gate near Hof Koppel, through what is now Kreien Switzerland and Lake Kreien, towards the River Elde. The lake, field paths, and village history offer different ways to explore Kreien and its surroundings.

Discover more destinations

Discover more destinations: Gischow, Kritzow, Werder, Karbow-Vietlübbe, Gallin-Kuppentin, Wahlstorf, Tessenow, Lutheran.

Go to the main travel overview: Amt Eldenburg Lübz.