Kenz-Küstrow brings together Brick Gothic architecture, a healing spring and villages in gently rolling countryside on the Bodden coast. Springs and streams run through the municipality’s villages. This gives you several different ways to shape your stay: church history in Kenz, the intimate village setting of Rubitz and expansive views as you approach Küstrow from the west.

St. Mary’s Church and the spring

St. Mary’s Church in Kenz was built around 1398 in the Brick Gothic style and stands near a healing spring. The restored former pilgrimage church is a visitor attraction and served as a burial church for the Pomeranian dukes. Architecture, a former pilgrimage tradition and dynastic history therefore come together in the same building. The church can be considered in terms of more than just its approximate date of construction: its former role as a burial place adds another historical perspective to its architectural history.

The term Brick Gothic refers to both the building material and Gothic design, adding an architectural classification to the approximate construction date. The choir windows are a highlight in their own right: they are the largest surviving collection of early medieval stained glass in northern Germany. The church building and its windows thus reveal different aspects of St. Mary’s. The early medieval stained glass dates from an earlier period than the church, built around 1398.

Thanks to its spring, Kenz became the first spa town in what is now Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. At the spring, a pump provides visitors with refreshing, healing water. The spring and church form an ensemble framed by trees, inviting visitors to linger from spring until late autumn. If this is the combination you particularly want to experience, plan around the season and check access arrangements before your visit; these may change.

Villages and landscape

Rubitz offers a rural counterpoint to the sacred architecture. Its village center covers one hectare and features springs, old trees and thatched houses; here, too, the village setting invites you to linger. The area gives you a tangible sense of the village center’s scale, while its houses and trees shape its character. If you would like to see a village ensemble as well as a church during your trip, Rubitz offers a different focus from Kenz.

The municipality’s villages lie in gently rolling terrain crossed by springs and streams. Approaching Küstrow from the west, you can enjoy expansive views across the surrounding countryside and the Bodden. This vista differs in scale from Rubitz’s enclosed village center: here, your gaze opens out across the landscape, while there, the details draw your attention to houses, trees and springs. Comparing the two helps you choose between sweeping landscape views and a closer look at a village setting.

Discover more destinations: Divitz-Spoldershagen, Pruchten, Barth, Trinwillershagen, Fuhlendorf, Lüdershagen, Karnin, Saal

For the overview of the wider region: Amt Barth.