Suckow lies between the hills of the Ruhner Hills and the lowland of Mooster Meadow. In the village, you’ll find traces of history at the village church and a memorial stone; the chestnut avenue offers another way to experience the landscape. The location also makes it easy to plan your journey: Suckow is close to the A 24 motorway and has a motorway entrance and exit.

Landscape and Paths Around Suckow

The chestnut avenue, about one kilometre long, leads from Suckow towards Mentin and invites you to stroll beneath its trees. Its length gives the walk a clear sense of scope without suggesting a specific walking time. The condition of the trees may change over time. For cyclists, cycle route 1 runs from Marnitz via Ruhner Berg, Griebow, Mentin and Suckow back to Marnitz. This offers two distinct ways to explore: a short avenue for a stroll and a route connecting several villages.

A Village with a Shared History

Suckow was first mentioned in historical records under the name “Sucowe” in 1328. Since the Middle Ages, Suckow had been divided between Mecklenburg and Brandenburg. As a result, until the 20th century there was a municipality called Suckow in both the Mecklenburg district of Parchim and the Brandenburg district of Ostprignitz. This historical division gives the village’s history a distinctive geographical context, quite different from its present-day setting between the Ruhner Hills and Mooster Meadow.

A red-brick memorial stone stands near the junction of Schulstraße and Dorfstraße. It commemorates the death march of prisoners from the Sachsenhausen concentration camp in April 1945. The memory of this event is one of the sobering historical traces in the village, complementing Suckow’s older history, which spans several centuries.

Village Church: Building History with Uncertain Dates

Suckow’s village church is a fieldstone hall church surrounded by a fieldstone wall. It is located near the B321; the church building and churchyard are visible from the road. The building’s origins may date back to the 14th century, while the present church is dated to the second quarter of the 16th century. A beam dated 1588 is associated with the church tower and supports the cautious interpretation that the tower may have been added around 1587 to the building, which previously had no tower. The interior also contains a specific work of art history: a Neo-Gothic altarpiece depicting the Crucifixion, by Thomas Fischer, dating from 1867.

Regional Perspectives and Stories

East of Suckow lies the landscape of the Ruhner Hills, designated a nature conservation area in 1994. The Ruhner Tower has a viewing platform 32.5 metres high, reached by climbing 180 steps, with views across Mecklenburg and Brandenburg. An educational nature trail in the Ruhner Hills explains the landscape’s formation and former use with information panels and 23 labelled erratic boulders. The two attractions have different focuses: the tower offers views across the region, while the trail explores its formation and use.

The Slavic hillfort of Ruhner Berge is also nearby, but not in Suckow itself; it is in the municipality of Ruhner Berge. This archaeological monument, more than 1,100 years old, is considered very well preserved; its outer diameter is up to 70 metres and its rampart is about three metres high. Nearby, in Mentin within the municipality of Ruhner Berge, the Something Great Arts Centre is located in the outbuildings of Mentin Castle. It focuses on contemporary dance and performance. Public visiting arrangements may change; check in advance whether a visit is currently possible.

The “Alpaka und Lama Ranch Ruhner Berge” adventure farm, run by the Köllner family, is located in the village district of Suckow. Several traditional tales from Suckow also preserve a recurring motif: a large black dog features in them. Together with the church, memorial stone and regional landscapes, these offer a range of ways to explore the area—from its built and local history to nature and folklore.

Discover more destinations: Granzin, Tessenow, Marnitz, Kreien, Wahlstorf, Lutheran, Kritzow, Lübz.

See the overview of the wider travel area: Amt Eldenburg Lübz.