The best running trails around Banzkow

Why is the old bench a highlight of my bike tour?

Banzkow's potato mouse, made of stone, has stood in the village square since 2000 and warmly welcomes all guests from near and far. This special mouse is dressed in original costumes for various village occasions and stands at the center of several typical boulders, each adorned with medals from state, national, and European competitions. The potato mouse was created to celebrate the 700th anniversary of the municipality of Banzkow and has since become an integral part of the community. It is available not only as a large wooden mouse made from a Lewitz oak tree in the Mirow district, but also as a small souvenir version and as a living original with an ID card as resident number 2235. The stone mouse is made of granite stones.

Banzkow is 15 kilometers south of Schwerin. The Stör waterway flows through the municipality. This connects Lake Schwerin with the Müritz and the Elbe via the Müritz-Elde waterway. The Banzkower lock in the course of the canal regulates the water level of Lake Schwerin next to the weir at its northern outflow. The lock is bypassed by the Mühlengraben. The New Canal branches off from this. https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Banzkow

The Banzkow stone potato mouse has been welcoming guests from near and far to the village square since 2000. For special occasions in village life, the mouse is dressed in original costumes. It stands among several typical local boulders, which bear the medals won in state, national, and European competitions. For the 700th anniversary of the municipality of Banzkow in 2000, the potato mouse was "born" as a permanent mascot. Today, it is available as a small souvenir, as a large wooden mouse made from a Lewitz oak tree in the Mirow district, as a stone mouse in the Banzkow village square, and as a living original with an ID card as resident number 2235. The stone mouse is made of granite stones that "migrated" to this area from Finland 1.89 billion years ago during the Ice Age. The individual body parts were found as they are and have therefore hardly been worked on. The stone mouse was publicly christened with sturgeon water in 2005. On this occasion, a student wrote "The Fairy Tale of the Potato Mouse," which was printed with student drawings from a competition. The living potato mouse is present at all of the community's highlights and in the office. She is also very popular and in demand as an ambassador for the region in her rustic, mobile, thatched house. She has already been a guest in over 20 European countries and at many trade fairs to promote Lewitz and Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. In 2014, for example, she visited all of the partner cities of the state capital Schwerin, the partner regions of the state of MV and the partner community of Banzkow on a trip around the Baltic Sea. This trip not only served to revitalize partnerships and tourism, but above all to promote the idea of friendship in Europe. The information board next to the stone mouse provides information about worthwhile excursions in and around Banzkow, as well as throughout the Lewitz Nature Reserve. https://www.die-lewitz.de/lewitz_erleben/Gesucht-und-gefunden/Orte/banzkow/Banzkower-Kartoffelmaus/

The Banzkow church has belonged to the parish of Plate since the Middle Ages. According to the church visa protocol, a church building has existed in Banzkow since 1534 as a daughter church of Plate. In 1872 the old church was demolished and a new one was built. It is a typical neo-Gothic brick building. When designing the exterior, a certain amount of effort was not dispensed with, so an apse is attached to the four-bay nave, above which rises a panel-jointed east gable, in the west a three-storey tower with an octagonal (octagonal) top rises with a pointed helmet. A sacristy is attached to the north side of the church. The uniform equipment was created together with the new building. The small medieval bell from 1509 has been preserved. Twelve years later, the church received an altarpiece organ made by the organ builder Friese from Schwerin. On May 2, 1875, the new church was solemnly consecrated. On November 9, 1902, the Banzkow church received an altarpiece painted by Clara Möller. It is the copy of the Pfannenschmidt picture in the Serrahner church. In 1929 the second church bell was consecrated with the inscription: "God the glory, peace of the community". The first bell from the church was used for war purposes after it was confiscated in 1917. In 1996, the cemetery wall was renewed by 15 ABM volunteers from the Schwerin "Start" association. https://www.gemeinde-banzkow.de/index.php/kirchengemeinde.html

The cycle path along the Stör begins at this bascule bridge in Banzkow.

Nice place at the church in the middle of town.

Neo-Gothic hall church made of brick from 1875 according to plans by Theodor Krüger with a single-nave, four-bay nave with stepped gable, retracted choir (architecture) with 5/8 end and the west tower with octagonal top and pointed helmet. You can find out more here https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dorfkirche_Banzkow