The sea baron from Gnewikow

After leaving the Lanke and shipping southwards you can see the quarter Gnewikow (3) to your left. Theodor Fontane writes: "Gnewikow ... promenences out of the reed and the forests. With its spire and its farmhouses it is the lake’s special adornment. For centuries it belonged to the family of Woldeck, now it passed to other hands. The last man of Woldeck ... was a bon vivant and a passionate tourist. His eccentricities made him a folksy figure in the region. He was simply called ‘sea baron’. He shared the hiking and the adventures with the old ‘sea kings’." The sea kings – those were the Vikings and the Normans which plundered Europe’s coasts. And such a hot-shot is supposed to have lived here... Today Gnewikow is a village for the youth. The yellow houses offer about 500 comfortable beds and many leisure time activities for young people and those who still feel young.